Alpha and Omega
Alpha and Omega (Gr. "το 'Αλφα και το Ω") is an appellation of God in the book of Revelation (verses 1:8, 21:6, and 22:13). Its meaning is found in the fact that Alpha(Α) and Omega(Ω) are respectively the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Twice when the phrase appears, it is clarified with the additional title "the Beginning and the End" (21:6, 22:13).
Some thus see the term "Alpha and Omega" as a paraphrase of Isaiah 44:6: "I am the first and the last." While the context in the Book of Revelation is clearly related to this, Jewish scholarship has revealed it also to be Hellenized form of a well-known rabbinical dictum: "The seal of God is Emet (Truth)," the word Emet being derived the first, the middle, and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, interpreted by the ancient rabbis as symbolizing the beginning, middle, and end of all things.
Revelation 1:11 in the King James Version quotes the resurrected and glorified Jesus as the one who states: “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.” Other verses in Revelation describe the “Alpha and Omega” as being either God or His angel. However, the occurrence in 1:11 is not found in some of the oldest Greek manuscripts, including the Alexandrine, Sinaitic, and Codex Ephraemi rescriptus. It is, therefore, believed by most critical scholars to be spurious and is omitted in some modern translations.[1]
Traditionally, however the phrase is used in Christianity as evidence for Jesus' divinity and unity with God the Father. Therefore the letters Alpha and Omega in juxtaposition are often used as a Christian visual symbol.
This phrase is interpreted by many Christians to mean that Jesus existed from the beginning of time (as the second person of the Trinity), and will exist eternally.
Emet (אמת), literally "truth," one of the names of God in Judaism, has been interpreted as consisting of the first, middle and final letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Jewish background
The Hebrew for truth is Emeth. It is composed of three letters: Aleph=Alpha, Mem=My, and Thaw=Theta. The Aleph and the Thaw are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, equivalent to the Alpha and Omega in the New Testament scripture, which are in Greek. Thus the term Emeth (truth) begins with the first letter of the alphabet and ends with the last. This led the Jewish sages to find in this word a mystical meaning.
The Aleph or the first letter of Emeth (truth) denotes that God is the first of all things. There was no one before Him of whom He could have received the fullness of truth. The Thaw, or last letter, in like manner, signifies that God is the last of all beings. There will be no one after Him. Thus Emeth is a sacred word expressing that in God truth dwells absolutely and in all plenitude.
In the Talmud (Yoma 69b., and Sanh. 64a.), the following is related: "The men of the great synagogue prayed to God to remove from the earth the Evil Inclination, as the cause of all trouble. Immediately a scroll fell from heaven with the word Truth written thereon, and thereupon a fiery lion came out of the sanctuary. It was the spirit of idolatry leaving the earth". "This legend shows", says Rabbi Hanina "that the seal of God is truth".
In the Hebrew Bible, when God passed before the face of Moses on Sinai He proclaimed himself as "YHWH, YHWH, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin" [(Exodus 34:6-7). God's being is fullness of goodness and truth and are considered foremost among God's moral attributes. God is an infinitely pure spirit and his being embraces Emotion, Intellect, and Will. Truth is the final object of the intellect, and goodness is that of the will, while beauty is the object of emotion. In the Psalms these are praised and invoked with holy and loving fondness, in verses such as Psalms 24:10, 34:11-12, 56:4, 84:11 etc.
Christian usuage
The manner of expressing God's eternity by means of the first and last letters of the alphabet seems to have passed from from the synagogue into the Church. In place of the Aleph and Thaw, the Alpha and Omegain Scripture) were substituted. But the substitution of the Greek letters for those of the Hebrew tongue inevitably caused a portion of the meaning and beauty in thus designating God to be lost. The Greek letters Alpha and Omegain Scripture) have no relation to the word Truth. Omega is not the last letter of the word aletheia (truth), as Thaw is of the word Emeth. The sacred and mystical word Truth, expressing in Hebrew, through its letters Aleph and Thaw, God's absolute and eternal being, had to be sacrificed. "Alpha-Omega" (and its Hebrew equivalent) signify an absolute plenitude, or perfection. It is a Jewish saying that the blessing on Israel in Lev., xxvi, 3-13, is complete because it begins with Aleph and ends with Thaw. Jehovah's absolute perfection is expressed in Is., xli, 4; xliv, 6, by the phrase, "I am the first and the last". Plato, "De Legibus", IV, 715, describes God in the same manner: archen te kai teleuten kai mesa ton onton apanton echon, and quotes this phrase as a palaios logos. Cf. also Josephus, C. Apion., II, xxiii. The phrase fitly expresses the idea that God is eternal, the beginning and end of all things. The fourth Gospel, after stating that the "Word was God", says, "and the Word dwelt among us full of grace and truth". Grace stands for goodness. The phrase is identical with Exodus 34:6, "full of goodness and truth". We have here the two great divine attributes, Truth and Goodness, assigned to Christ in all their fullness. What Moses has said of God, the Evangelist says of Christ. In the Apocalypse the "Alpha-Omega" taking the place of its Hebrew equivalent occur in the first chapter to designate God, i, 8; but in the last two chapters to designate Christ (Ap., xxi, 6; xxii, 13). It is an argument that its author believed in the divinity of Christ. In the earlier ages of the Church the Alpha and Omegain Scripture) were used as the monogram of Christ. These letters became His crest. The poet Prudentius says, "Alpha et Omega cognominatus, ipse fons et clausula omnium quae sunt, fuerunt, quaeque post future sunt" (Cathemer., 9, 11). The "Alpha-Omega" symbol was written under the arms of the cross within a circle or triangle. (Fig. 1). Sometimes the Alpha is found on the right and the Omega on the left to indicate that in Christ the beginning and the end are joined into one. (Fig. 2). This crest is found on the coins of the Emperor Constans and Constantius (Martigny, 458-459). (Fig. 3). The early Christians had the two letters engraved on their signet rings [Fig. 4 (Vigouroux, Biblical Lexicon)]. Sometimes the Alpha and the Omega are written in the Nimbus, or halo, of the Lamb; for instance, in the paintings of the Catacombs of Petrus and Marcellinus, third century. We further find these two letters in frescoes and mosaics of several ancient churches; for instance, in the chapel of St. Felicitas, and in San Marco in Rome; in the world-famed mosaics of Ravenna, in Galla Placidia, St. Crisologo, St. Vitale. In the course of time Alpha and Omegain Scripture) ceased to be used as the monogram of Christ for church paintings and ornaments. During the last centuries the letters I.H.S. (see ABBREVIATIONS, ECCLESIASTICAL) have completely taken their place. Recently, however, on tabernacle doors and antependia the older device is again met with.
This symbol was suggested by the Apocalypse, where many believe that Christ, as well as the Father, is "the First and the Last" (ii, 8); "the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end" (cf., xxii, 13; i, 8). Clement of Alexandria speaks of the Word as "the Alpha and the Omega of Whom alone the end becomes beginning, and ends again at the original beginning without any break" (Strom., IV, 25). Tertullian also alludes to Christ as the Alpha and Omega (De Monogamiâ, v), and from Prudentius (Cathemer., ix, 10) we learn that in the fourth century the interpretation of the apocalyptic letters was still the same: "Alpha et Omega cognominatus, ipse fons et clausula, Omnium quae sunt, fuerunt, quaeque post futura sunt." It was, however, in the monuments of early Christianity that the symbolic Alpha and Omega had their greatest vogue.
Though many commentators and dictionaries apply this title both to God and to Christ such need not be the case. [2] Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament (1974) observes: “It cannot be absolutely certain that the writer meant to refer to the Lord Jesus specifically here . . . There is no real incongruity in supposing, also, that the writer here meant to refer to God as such.” However, most Christian denominations teach that it does apply to Jesus and God.
Notes
- ↑ Robert Young, Concise Commentary on the Holy Bible p. 179. Baker Book House, 1977.
- ↑ The following sources indicate that it applies to God and Jesus:
- Alton Bryant, The New compact Bible Dictionary. Oliphants, 1967.
- Wm Smith, Dictionary of the Bible. J. Murray, 1893.
- Geoffrey William Bromiley, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. W.B. Eerdmans, 1979-1988. ISBN 0802881602 ISBN 9780802881601.
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia Retrieved September 21, 2007.
- Jewish Encyclopedia Retrieved September 21, 2007.
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