Hymns and Hymnwriting     •     Echoes of Creation

Text

Fourth Esdras (also called 2 Esdras) is the best known¹ of the apocryphal apocalypses. It contains a series of seven visions, written about 100 A.D., but based on earlier biblical and apocryphal writings. This section from the third vision is based on Genesis 1, Job 38, and Proverbs 3:19ff. Unlike other ancient apocalypses^1a 4 Esdras expresses a radically moral perspective in its mythic language, avoiding both sectarian triumphalism and literalistic voyeurism.

The vivid language attracted my attention: this metrical version is surprisingly literal^1b at the phrase level. I rearranged the order of phrases to form three stanzas. The fourth stanza came from more scattered phrases later in that chapter, as the subject moved from first things to eschatology. And again, the stanza seemed a necessary conclusion of the hymn, which can be outlined:

Stanza 1: Creation of the Universe -- Genesis 1

Stanza 2: Creation of Humanity's first home -- Genesis 2

Stanza 3: Humanity's moral choices -- Genesis 3 and 4

Stanza 4: End of creation and of sin.

The metaphors may seem unfamiliar, but are profoundly scriptural. The "floodgates" ("portals", RSV) are the boundaries set for the sea, vividly pictured in Job 38:8-11. This sets the stage for a whole series of also mythic resonances².

In stanza two, it's obvious that Paradise and Eden are the same thing. But what is Zion doing here? The temple on Mount Zion was a "mythic" model of the "holy place" that Eden had become when Adam and Eve were expelled. The "seven peaks" is my own addition, in an attempt to emphasize the mythic dimension³.

If the imagery of stanza three seems obscure, think of temptation (sin) "crouching at the door" of Cain's home, and God's retort to Cain, "your brother's blood cries out from the ground." 2 Esdras 6 says says nothing about God's plan of redemption -- scholars consider this a Jewish work, and possible Christian influences on it remain controversial. But for my purpose, the perfect sacrifice was "slain from the foundation of the world.⁴"

Stanza four, like the source vision, moves from creation to the end of time. The effects of creation and fall are reversed -- but God still Is.

This song represents an attempt to take a functional approach to theology. It could be compared to Hebrews 11, which takes the same approach to human history. Noah's industry, Abraham's obedience, Daniel's wisdom, David's strength, Jeremiah's endurance -- are all traced back to Faith as a first cause. Here, the same approach is taken toward God's actions.

It is easy enough to say, as the medieval philosophers did, that God "is" this, or God "is not" that. It is not so easy to see what, if anything, all that means. And I'd rather avoid the presumption of speaking about God's nature. I propose that "God is Ω" means: "All that I can conceive of Ω⁴ is in some way a pale reflection of God's nature, which I can only know through his actions."

And God "is" many things: but of all those things we can perceive, "wisdom" is surely one of the most profound reflections of God's nature, one of the most significant characteristics of God's act of communication. And, unnaturally enough, wisdom is represented very poorly in our songbooks. We are quick enough to sing that God "is" love, and perhaps might and authority, but ... is that all? Not according to the Bible.

The song suggests that God chooses to act, and his actions will be effective because they were chosen wisely. Neither might nor authority nor love could be effectively expressed without that wisdom. So if we celebrate the goodness that conceived such a purpose for us, ought we not also to celebrate the wisdom without which it could not have been carried out?

Use

This song, considered merely as another genre of praise, could be used almost any time. It might be used before bible study, to focus on Wisdom as an attribute of God which we should learn to imitate, and as a suggestion of what we might do if we were imitating God.

Music

This meter is unusual; but it was imposed by the text.⁵ I don't know of a tune that would fit without modification; so I reviewed iambic pentameter tunes looking for one whose last line could be somehow stretched. This fine early American tune "Birmingham" contains a single fortituous four-note slur--in the last line, and climaxing at what would have been the end of my fourth line. Merely breaking the slur provided the needed syllables.

Birmingham is a joyful, active diatonic tune, with a strong climax, constant movement in melody and bass, clear major harmonies, and simple (not trite) inner parts. It shouldn't present any difficulty to anyone who reads even a little music.

Notes

¹Quoted by Ambrose of Milan and others; included by Jerome in the (New Testament) Apocrypha of the Vulgate translation; it remained among the "disputed books" for some centuries. In the East, it was received into the Russian Orthodox canon, but not the Greek Orthodox canon. In the West, it was finally rejected at the Roman Catholic church at the Council of Trent. (Possibly, an extended passage denying the possibility of Purgatory, by then a settled part of Catholic theology, influenced that decision.)
Most people have heard the story of how the Spanish courtiers quoted the Bible to Columbus to prove the world was flat. That bit of fiction was invented by Washington Irving, out of a truly profound ignorance of both science and history. Of course, any medieval scholar knew the world was round, knew approximately how large it was (a simple calculation first recorded by Eratosthenes in the third century B.C.), and even knew roughly how much of the circumference was covered by Eurasia (Strato had given estimates of latitude and longtitude in his geography in the first century A.D.) The problem, as everyone then knew, was that the cruising range of the available ships was less than the remaining circumference of the earth. The Bible was not involved on that issue. But Columbus quoted from 2 Esdras in his Bible (which suggested--erroneously--that six sevenths of the earth's surface was land area) to show that there must be islands along the way. It's hard to tell how much that quotation influenced the royal decision: the Faeroes, Canaries, Azores, and Iceland were already colonized, so this was a plausible supposition.

^1aIn contrast, the writer of I Enoch, starting from a materialistic and literal reading of Job 38:22, claimed to have seen stockpiles of hail in his tour of the heavenly "arsenals"--which the King James Version unhappily translated "treasuries", leading some of our own materialistic literalists to wax rhapsodic on the economic benefits of hail. And this is, to their minds, an example of the scientific facts revealed by divine inspiration!
Inspiration has done nothing to deserve such a defense. But we are ignoring the modes of divine communication, and tolerating these teachers who "mishandle the word of truth." This isn't right.

^1bAs can be seen by reviewing the verses referenced at the end of each line. Even what may seem to be some of the more contrived rhymes or surprising word choices ("quenched", "abates", "spanned") are directly from the RSV.

²See the discussion of Myth and a specific application to Psalm 93.

³Historically, Jerusalem was said to have been built on seven hills. But the emphasis, both in the song and in the underlying text, is mythic. In Proverbs, Wisdom had set up seven pillars. In Mesopotamian myth, the paradise of the dead was surrounded by seven walls (each with a gate.) The great ziggurat at Ur had seven stages. And note the title of Thomas Merton's mystical autobiography "Seven Story Mountain."

⁴Revelation 13:8.

^4a That is (as it ought to be) a much more modestly tentative assertion than the typical proposition of systematic theologians.

⁵The first line is metrically identical to the RSV text.

This text, © Stephen Hutcheson, 2005, and offered freely for use under a Creative Commons License. These studies are created by members of the West Allen Church of Christ in Allen, Texas