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Behemoti ja Leviatani metamorfoosid. Uurimus Piibli folkloorist ning selle retseptsioonist juudi, kristlikus ja gnostilises pärimuses

100%
Lahe J.
Mäetagused
|
2025
|
vol. 92
113-150
EN
The article explores the transformation of Behemoth and Leviathan – mytho-logical creatures mentioned in the Bible – and traces their development within later Jewish, Christian, and Gnostic traditions. Although their role in the Bible is marginal, they attain significant importance in post-biblical literature, where they become associated with primordial chaos, divine power and eschatological cosmology. The first section of the article analyzes the descriptions of these two beings, especially in the Book of Job. Behemoth is portrayed as a massive land creature, often associated with the hippopotamus, while Leviathan is depicted as a sea monster, interpreted variously as a crocodile or a dragon, but with clear mythical and cosmological traits. The author emphasizes the possible origins of these creatures in Ancient Near Eastern chaos myths. The second section examines their development in Jewish pseudepigraphal texts (e.g., 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, 1 Enoch), where they are eschatological beings preserved by God for a future banquet for the righteous. These texts explore their separation and habitats – Behemoth on land and Leviathan in the sea – as well as their gender and symbolic significance. In the third section, the rabbinic tradition is addressed, where Leviathan and Behemoth acquire additional roles. New motifs emerge, such as their immense appetite and thirst, and Leviathan’s cosmological role as related to the axis mundi. The rabbinic tradition also emphasizes their roles in the messianic banquet and a cosmic struggle, with positive reinterpretations replacing earlier demonic associations. The fourth section focuses on the reception of Behemoth and Leviathan in early Christian tradition. Here, their demonic aspects become more pronounced, especially in the Book of Revelation, where they are interpreted symbolically as manifestations of evil – land and sea beasts opposing God. In Gnostic literature, Leviathan is linked to the demiurge and hostile cosmic forces, representing cosmic deception and material entrapment. The article demonstrates how the motifs of Behemoth and Leviathan underwent a complex evolution from peripheral biblical creatures to central figures in religious and cosmological worldviews, with their significance varying across traditions and historical contexts.
2

Mitra kuju Indias ja Mithra kuju Iraani usundites – uurimus vordlevast mutoloogiast

63%
Lahe J., Martti K.
Mäetagused
|
2016
|
vol. 65
117-160
EN
This article is a systematic approach to the character of deity, who bears the name Mitra in India, but in Iran is called Mithra (later Mihr). The study aims to give answers to three questions: 1) What are the similarities between the Indian Mitra and the Iranian Mithra, if we leave aside the name of the deity? 2) What are the differences between these two deities? 3) What are the changes that the depiction of Mitra/Mithra has gone through in Indian and Iranian mythologies? To answer these questions, the article first gives an overview of Mitra in India, then of Mithra in Iran, and finally compares the two. Both approaches start with a comprehensive overview of sources. In India the main source for the study of Mitra is Vedic literature (ca 1500/1200–600/500 BC), namely the Rigveda, Atharvaveda, Yajurveda, and Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa. These sources are consistent, describing Mitra as a deity connected with the Sun, the incarnation of divine order, harmony, and friendship among mankind. Some light is thrown also on Mitra in post-Vedic literature, mainly in epic literature (ca 300/200 BC–200/300 AD). In Iran, the sources are even more varied. They start with Iranian scripture Avesta (ca 1000–300 BC) and epigraphic sources from Achaemenian dynasty (6th–4th century BC), and continue with written sources from Greek and Roman writers (6th century BC to 3rd century AD), epigraphic material, and data from coins from Kushan (1st –3rd centuries AD) and Sassanid periods (3rd–7th centuries AD), not to forget Pahlavi writings from medieval Persia (7th–10th centuries AD). According to the sources, Iranian Mithra is a divine warrior, ruler of the worlds, judge of the dead, and protector against demons. He is still connected with the Sun, and helps the mankind, but more aggressively than Indian Mitra, who has ceded all his warlike attributes to his dual companion Varuṇa. The article concludes that the cult of Mithra that was so influential in the Mediterranean region has probably borrowed more from Iran than India.
3

Mitra esmamainimine Hetiidi kuninga Suppiluliuma I ja Mitanni kuninga Sattiwaza lepingus?

63%
Lahe J., Sazonov V.
Mäetagused
|
2019
|
vol. 73
5-14
EN
In 1907 a treaty was found in the Hittite royal archive in Boğazköy. It was forged between the Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I and the Mitanni king Šatiwaza. Among the deities named in this contract is DINGIR.MEŠ Mi-it-ra-aš-ši-il. This is usually understood to refer to the god Mitra. However, the authors of this article draw attention to the fact that the name occurs in the plural form; the divine classifier DINGIR (“god” before Mitra’s name) is written in the plural form DINGIR.MEŠ, meaning “gods”. They are of the opinion that it should not be understood as a proper name but as a denomination of a group of deities that one could translate as “gods of the treaties”.
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