1. Hebrew Bible, Song of Songs, 1.9 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Face • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 236; Kaplan (2015) 76, 77, 78
1.9. לְסֻסָתִי בְּרִכְבֵי פַרְעֹה דִּמִּיתִיךְ רַעְיָתִי׃''. None | 1.9. I have compared thee, O my love, To a steed in Pharaoh’s chariots.''. None |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 33.2, 33.26 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism • Anthropomorphism, Face • Anthropomorphism, Sympathy/Engagement • Anthropomorphism, Wrath
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 53, 379; Rowland (2009) 78, 558
33.2. וַיֹּאמַר יְהוָה מִסִּינַי בָּא וְזָרַח מִשֵּׂעִיר לָמוֹ הוֹפִיעַ מֵהַר פָּארָן וְאָתָה מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ מִימִינוֹ אשדת אֵשׁ דָּת לָמוֹ׃
33.2. וּלְגָד אָמַר בָּרוּךְ מַרְחִיב גָּד כְּלָבִיא שָׁכֵן וְטָרַף זְרוֹעַ אַף־קָדְקֹד׃
33.26. אֵין כָּאֵל יְשֻׁרוּן רֹכֵב שָׁמַיִם בְעֶזְרֶךָ וּבְגַאֲוָתוֹ שְׁחָקִים׃''. None | 33.2. And he said: The LORD came from Sinai, And rose from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, And He came from the myriads holy, At His right hand was a fiery law unto them.
33.26. There is none like unto God, O Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heaven as thy help, And in His excellency on the skies.''. None |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 15.3, 15.6-15.8, 15.16-15.18, 24.10, 33.20 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism • Anthropomorphism, Age • Anthropomorphism, Compassion • Anthropomorphism, Eyes • Anthropomorphism, Face • Anthropomorphism, Feet • Anthropomorphism, Mourning • Anthropomorphism, Sleep • Anthropomorphism, Suffering • Anthropomorphism, Sympathy/Engagement • Anthropomorphism, Wrath • Anthropomorphisms • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Bickerman and Tropper (2007) 188; Fishbane (2003) 52, 53, 135, 136, 137, 139, 178, 201, 210, 215, 232, 351, 352, 365, 377, 379, 391; Geljon and Runia (2019) 167; Gera (2014) 89, 90, 312, 315; Lieu (2015) 70; Rowland (2009) 68, 78, 83
15.3. יְהוָה אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה יְהוָה שְׁמוֹ׃
15.6. יְמִינְךָ יְהוָה נֶאְדָּרִי בַּכֹּחַ יְמִינְךָ יְהוָה תִּרְעַץ אוֹיֵב׃ 15.7. וּבְרֹב גְּאוֹנְךָ תַּהֲרֹס קָמֶיךָ תְּשַׁלַּח חֲרֹנְךָ יֹאכְלֵמוֹ כַּקַּשׁ׃ 15.8. וּבְרוּחַ אַפֶּיךָ נֶעֶרְמוּ מַיִם נִצְּבוּ כְמוֹ־נֵד נֹזְלִים קָפְאוּ תְהֹמֹת בְּלֶב־יָם׃
15.16. תִּפֹּל עֲלֵיהֶם אֵימָתָה וָפַחַד בִּגְדֹל זְרוֹעֲךָ יִדְּמוּ כָּאָבֶן עַד־יַעֲבֹר עַמְּךָ יְהוָה עַד־יַעֲבֹר עַם־זוּ קָנִיתָ׃ 15.17. תְּבִאֵמוֹ וְתִטָּעֵמוֹ בְּהַר נַחֲלָתְךָ מָכוֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךָ פָּעַלְתָּ יְהוָה מִקְּדָשׁ אֲדֹנָי כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ׃ 15.18. יְהוָה יִמְלֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד׃' '. None | 15.3. The LORD is a man of war, The LORD is His name.
15.6. Thy right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, Thy right hand, O LORD, dasheth in pieces the enemy. 15.7. And in the greatness of Thine excellency Thou overthrowest them that rise up against Thee; Thou sendest forth Thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble. 15.8. And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up— The floods stood upright as a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
15.16. Terror and dread falleth upon them; By the greatness of Thine arm they are as still as a stone; Till Thy people pass over, O LORD, Till the people pass over that Thou hast gotten. 15.17. Thou bringest them in, and plantest them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, The place, O LORD, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. 15.18. The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.
24.10. and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under His feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone, and the like of the very heaven for clearness.
33.20. And He said: ‘Thou canst not see My face, for man shall not see Me and live.’''. None |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 1.26, 1.31, 6.7 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphic • Anthropomorphic notions (of God) • Anthropomorphism • Anthropomorphism, Mourning • Anthropomorphism, Sorrow • Anthropomorphism, Tears/Weeping • God, calling “He” to him as third-person is anthropomorphic • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 370; Frey and Levison (2014) 270; Geljon and Runia (2019) 167; Kosman (2012) 190; Niehoff (2011) 181; Rowland (2009) 68; Ruzer (2020) 86
1.26. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל־הָאָרֶץ וּבְכָל־הָרֶמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל־הָאָרֶץ׃
1.31. וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־כָּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה־טוֹב מְאֹד וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי׃
6.7. וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶמְחֶה אֶת־הָאָדָם אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָאתִי מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה מֵאָדָם עַד־בְּהֵמָה עַד־רֶמֶשׂ וְעַד־עוֹף הַשָּׁמָיִם כִּי נִחַמְתִּי כִּי עֲשִׂיתִם׃''. None | 1.26. And God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’
1.31. And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
6.7. And the LORD said: ‘I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.’''. None |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Jonah, 3.10 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Mourning • Anthropomorphism, Sorrow • Anthropomorphism, Sympathy/Engagement • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 173; Gera (2014) 184
| 3.10. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, which He said He would do unto them; and He did it not.''. None |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 23.19 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Bloch (2022) 160; Geljon and Runia (2019) 144; Gera (2014) 90, 280
23.19. לֹא אִישׁ אֵל וִיכַזֵּב וּבֶן־אָדָם וְיִתְנֶחָם הַהוּא אָמַר וְלֹא יַעֲשֶׂה וְדִבֶּר וְלֹא יְקִימֶנָּה׃''. None | 23.19. God is not a man, that He should lie; Neither the son of man, that He should repent: When He hath said, will He not do it? Or when He hath spoken, will He not make it good?''. None |
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7. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 60.7, 68.11, 91.15, 103.19, 121.3, 132.14, 137.5 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Age • Anthropomorphism, Compassion • Anthropomorphism, Embodiment • Anthropomorphism, Eyes • Anthropomorphism, Feet • Anthropomorphism, Memory • Anthropomorphism, Mourning • Anthropomorphism, Personality • Anthropomorphism, Sitting • Anthropomorphism, Sleep • Anthropomorphism, Sorrow • Anthropomorphism, Suffering • Anthropomorphism, Sympathy/Engagement • Anthropomorphism, Tears/Weeping • Anthropomorphism, Wrath • God, anthropomorphisms • anthropomorphism • anthropomorphisms
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 62, 71, 135, 139, 142, 146, 147, 148, 150, 151, 153, 165, 174, 177, 226, 310, 356, 358, 359, 360, 365, 367, 373; Stern (2004) 151; Zawanowska and Wilk (2022) 258, 259
60.7. לְמַעַן יֵחָלְצוּן יְדִידֶיךָ הוֹשִׁיעָה יְמִינְךָ ועננו וַעֲנֵנִי׃
68.11. חַיָּתְךָ יָשְׁבוּ־בָהּ תָּכִין בְּטוֹבָתְךָ לֶעָנִי אֱלֹהִים׃
91.15. יִקְרָאֵנִי וְאֶעֱנֵהוּ עִמּוֹ־אָנֹכִי בְצָרָה אֲחַלְּצֵהוּ וַאֲכַבְּדֵהוּ׃
103.19. יְהוָה בַּשָּׁמַיִם הֵכִין כִּסְאוֹ וּמַלְכוּתוֹ בַּכֹּל מָשָׁלָה׃
121.3. אַל־יִתֵּן לַמּוֹט רַגְלֶךָ אַל־יָנוּם שֹׁמְרֶךָ׃
132.14. זֹאת־מְנוּחָתִי עֲדֵי־עַד פֹּה־אֵשֵׁב כִּי אִוִּתִיהָ׃
137.5. אִם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלִָם תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי׃''. None | 60.7. That Thy beloved may be delivered, Save with Thy right hand, and answer me.
68.11. Thy flock settled therein; Thou didst prepare in Thy goodness for the poor, O God.
91.15. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him, and bring him to honour.
103.19. The LORD hath established His throne in the heavens; And His kingdom ruleth over all.
121.3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; He that keepeth thee will not slumber.' "
132.14. 'This is My resting-place for ever; Here will I dwell; for I have desired it." '
137.5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget her cunning.''. None |
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8. Hebrew Bible, Habakkuk, 3.15 (8th cent. BCE - 6th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Memory • Anthropomorphism, Wrath • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 66; Kaplan (2015) 76
3.15. דָּרַכְתָּ בַיָּם סוּסֶיךָ חֹמֶר מַיִם רַבִּים׃''. None | 3.15. Thou hast trodden the sea with Thy horses, the foaming of mighty waters.''. None |
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9. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 40.1, 40.12, 49.14, 52.2, 66.1 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism • Anthropomorphism, Age • Anthropomorphism, Eyes • Anthropomorphism, Feet • Anthropomorphism, Memory • Anthropomorphism, Mourning • Anthropomorphism, Sorrow • Anthropomorphism, Suffering • Anthropomorphism, Sympathy/Engagement • Anthropomorphism, Tears/Weeping • Anthropomorphism, Wrath • Aramaic, anthropomorphisms understood by • God, anthropomorphisms • Targum Jonathan, anthropomorphisms in • anthropomorphisms
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 15, 77, 132, 134, 147, 148, 170, 204, 357, 358; Rowland (2009) 78, 508, 510; Stern (2004) 151, 159, 160, 163
40.1. הִנֵּה אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה בְּחָזָק יָבוֹא וּזְרֹעוֹ מֹשְׁלָה לוֹ הִנֵּה שְׂכָרוֹ אִתּוֹ וּפְעֻלָּתוֹ לְפָנָיו׃
40.1. נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי יֹאמַר אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃
40.12. מִי־מָדַד בְּשָׁעֳלוֹ מַיִם וְשָׁמַיִם בַּזֶּרֶת תִּכֵּן וְכָל בַּשָּׁלִשׁ עֲפַר הָאָרֶץ וְשָׁקַל בַּפֶּלֶס הָרִים וּגְבָעוֹת בְּמֹאזְנָיִם׃
49.14. וַתֹּאמֶר צִיּוֹן עֲזָבַנִי יְהוָה וַאדֹנָי שְׁכֵחָנִי׃
52.2. הִתְנַעֲרִי מֵעָפָר קוּמִי שְּׁבִי יְרוּשָׁלִָם התפתחו הִתְפַּתְּחִי מוֹסְרֵי צַוָּארֵךְ שְׁבִיָּה בַּת־צִיּוֹן׃
66.1. כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה הַשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאִי וְהָאָרֶץ הֲדֹם רַגְלָי אֵי־זֶה בַיִת אֲשֶׁר תִּבְנוּ־לִי וְאֵי־זֶה מָקוֹם מְנוּחָתִי׃'
66.1. שִׂמְחוּ אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְגִילוּ בָהּ כָּל־אֹהֲבֶיהָ שִׂישׂוּ אִתָּהּ מָשׂוֹשׂ כָּל־הַמִּתְאַבְּלִים עָלֶיהָ׃ '. None | 40.1. Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.
40.12. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, And meted out heaven with the span, And comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, And weighed the mountains in scales, And the hills in a balance?
49.14. But Zion said: ‘The LORD hath forsaken me, And the Lord hath forgotten me.’
52.2. Shake thyself from the dust; Arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem; Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
66.1. Thus saith the LORD: The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool; where is the house that ye may build unto Me? And where is the place that may be My resting-place?' '. None |
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10. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 6.26 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Mourning • Anthropomorphism, Suffering • Anthropomorphism, Sympathy/Engagement • Anthropomorphism, Wrath • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 364; Gera (2014) 184
6.26. בַּת־עַמִּי חִגְרִי־שָׂק וְהִתְפַּלְּשִׁי בָאֵפֶר אֵבֶל יָחִיד עֲשִׂי לָךְ מִסְפַּד תַּמְרוּרִים כִּי פִתְאֹם יָבֹא הַשֹּׁדֵד עָלֵינוּ׃''. None | 6.26. O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, And wallow thyself in ashes; Make thee mourning, as for an only son, Most bitter lamentation; For the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.''. None |
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11. Hebrew Bible, Lamentations, 2.4 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Suffering • Anthropomorphism, Wrath • God, anthropomorphisms • anthropomorphisms
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 226; Stern (2004) 151
2.4. דָּרַךְ קַשְׁתּוֹ כְּאוֹיֵב נִצָּב יְמִינוֹ כְּצָר וַיַּהֲרֹג כֹּל מַחֲמַדֵּי־עָיִן בְּאֹהֶל בַּת־צִיּוֹן שָׁפַךְ כָּאֵשׁ חֲמָתוֹ׃''. None | 2.4. He hath bent His bow like an enemy, Standing with His right hand as an adversary, And hath slain all that were pleasant to the eye; In the tent of the daughter of Zion He hath poured out His fury like fire.''. None |
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12. Hesiod, Theogony, 319-332 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • anthropomorphism • anthropomorphism, moral
Found in books: Clay and Vergados (2022) 49; Pirenne-Delforge and Pironti (2022) 235
319. ἣ δὲ Χίμαιραν ἔτικτε πνέουσαν ἀμαιμάκετον πῦρ,'320. δεινήν τε μεγάλην τε ποδώκεά τε κρατερήν τε· 321. τῆς δʼ ἦν τρεῖς κεφαλαί· μία μὲν χαροποῖο λέοντος, 322. ἣ δὲ χιμαίρης, ἣ δʼ ὄφιος, κρατεροῖο δράκοντος, 323. πρόσθε λέων, ὄπιθεν δὲ δράκων, μέσση δὲ χίμαιρα, 324. δεινὸν ἀποπνείουσα πυρὸς μένος αἰθομένοιο. 325. τὴν μὲν Πήγασος εἷλε καὶ ἐσθλὸς Βελλεροφόντης. 326. ἣ δʼ ἄρα Φῖκʼ ὀλοὴν τέκε Καδμείοισιν ὄλεθρον 327. Ὅρθῳ ὑποδμηθεῖσα Νεμειαῖόν τε λέοντα, 328. τόν ῥʼ Ἥρη θρέψασα Διὸς κυδρὴ παράκοιτις 329. γουνοῖσιν κατένασσε Νεμείης, πῆμʼ ἀνθρώποις. 330. ἔνθʼ ἄρʼ ὃ οἰκείων ἐλεφαίρετο φῦλʼ ἀνθρώπων, 331. κοιρανέων Τρητοῖο Νεμείης ἠδʼ Ἀπέσαντος· 332. ἀλλά ἑ ἲς ἐδάμασσε βίης Ἡρακληείης. '. None | 319. He brought to prudent Zeus his weaponry,'320. Thunder and lightning. To Callirrhoe, 321. Begat by glorious Ocean, Chrysaor 322. Was joined in love, and Calirrhoe bore 323. The creature with three heads, Geryones, 324. But in sea-girt Erythea, Heracle 325. Slew him among his oxen on that day 326. He drove his wide-browed oxen on the way 327. To holy Tiryns, after he had gone 328. Across the sea and slain Eurytion 329. The herdsman in an inky-black homestead 330. And Orthus. She then bore a monster, dread 331. And powerful, in a hollow cave: and it 332. Looked like no god or man, no, not a whit, '. None |
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13. Homer, Iliad, 5.855-5.856 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Lipka (2021) 32; Lloyd (1989) 178
5.855. δεύτερος αὖθʼ ὡρμᾶτο βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης 5.856. ἔγχεϊ χαλκείῳ· ἐπέρεισε δὲ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη''. None | 5.855. Next Diomedes, good at the war-cry, drave at Ares with his spear of bronze, and Pallas Athene sped it mightily against his nethermost belly, where he was girded with his taslets. There did he thrust and smite him, rending the fair flesh, and forth he drew the spear again. Then brazen Ares bellowed 5.856. Next Diomedes, good at the war-cry, drave at Ares with his spear of bronze, and Pallas Athene sped it mightily against his nethermost belly, where he was girded with his taslets. There did he thrust and smite him, rending the fair flesh, and forth he drew the spear again. Then brazen Ares bellowed ''. None |
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14. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 9.2 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism • Anthropomorphism, Feet • Anthropomorphism, Wrath
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 77, 79; Rowland (2009) 68, 73, 81, 324
9.2. וְהִנֵּה שִׁשָּׁה אֲנָשִׁים בָּאִים מִדֶּרֶךְ־שַׁעַר הָעֶלְיוֹן אֲשֶׁר מָפְנֶה צָפוֹנָה וְאִישׁ כְּלִי מַפָּצוֹ בְּיָדוֹ וְאִישׁ־אֶחָד בְּתוֹכָם לָבֻשׁ בַּדִּים וְקֶסֶת הַסֹּפֵר בְּמָתְנָיו וַיָּבֹאוּ וַיַּעַמְדוּ אֵצֶל מִזְבַּח הַנְּחֹשֶׁת׃' '. None | 9.2. And, behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his weapon of destruction in his hand; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer’s inkhorn on his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar.' '. None |
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15. Euripides, Hercules Furens, 1341-1346 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Xenophanes, on anthropomorphism of gods • anthropomorphism, Euripidean critique of • anthropomorphism, conflation/split of divine image with cosmic principle • gods, anti-anthropomorphism
Found in books: Pucci (2016) 84, 186; Wolfsdorf (2020) 27
| 1341. No! this is quite beside the question of my troubles. For my part, I do not believe that the gods indulge in unholy unions; and as for putting bonds on hands, I have never thought that worthy of credit nor will I now be so persuaded, nor again that one god is naturally lord and master of another.'1342. No! this is quite beside the question of my troubles. For my part, I do not believe that the gods indulge in unholy unions; and as for putting bonds on hands, I have never thought that worthy of credit nor will I now be so persuaded, nor again that one god is naturally lord and master of another. 1345. For the deity, if he be really such, has no wants; these are miserable tales of the poets. But I, for all my piteous plight, reflected whether I should let myself be branded as a coward for giving up my life. For whoever does not withstand disaster '. None |
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16. None, None, nan (4th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Xenophanes, on anthropomorphism of gods • anthropomorphism • god, anthropomorphic • gods, anti-anthropomorphism
Found in books: Segev (2017) 52; Versnel (2011) 381; Wolfsdorf (2020) 25
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17. Cicero, On The Nature of The Gods, 1.48, 1.77, 1.82, 2.6, 2.120-2.130 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • anthropomorphism • anthropomorphization • gods, anthropomorphism
Found in books: Frede and Laks (2001) 98, 107; Mackey (2022) 309; Rupke (2016) 55; Versnel (2011) 382; Wynne (2019) 95, 138, 141
| 1.48. But if the human figure surpasses the form of all other living beings, and god is a living being, god must possess the shape which is the most beautiful of all; and since it is agreed that the gods are supremely happy, and no one can be happy without virtue, and virtue cannot exist without reason, and reason is only found in the human shape, it follows that the gods possess the form of man. ' "
1.77. Well then, take these arguments one by one and consider what they amount to; for in my view they based on an arbitrary and quite inadmissible assumption on your part. First of all, was there ever any student so blind as not to see that human shape has been thus assigned to the gods either by the deliberate contrivance of philosophers, the better to enable them to turn the hearts of the ignorant from vicious practices to the observance of religion, or by superstition, to supply images for men to worship in the belief that in so doing they had direct access to the divine presence? These notions moreover have been fostered by poets, painters and artificers, who found it difficult to represent living and active deities in the likeness of any other shape than that of man. Perhaps also man's belief in his own superior beauty, to which you referred, may have contributed to the result. But surely you as a natural philosopher are aware what an insinuating go‑between and pander of her own charms nature is! Do you suppose that there is a single creature on land or in the sea which does not prefer an animal of its own specie to any other? If this were not so, why should not a bull desire to couple with a mare, or a horse with a cow? Do you imagine that an eagle or lion or dolphin thinks any shape more beautiful than its own? Is it then surprising if nature has likewise taught man to think his own species the most beautiful . . . that this was a reason why we should think the gods resemble man? " "
1.82. For we have often seen temples robbed and images of gods carried off from the holiest shrines by our fellow-countrymen, but no one ever even heard of an Egyptian laying profane hands on a crocodile or ibis or cat. What therefore do you infer? that the Egyptians do not believe their sacred bull Apis to be a god? Precisely as much as you believe the Saviour Juno of your native place to be a goddess. You never see her even in your dreams unless equipped with goat-skin, spear, buckler and slippers turned up at the toe. Yet that is not the aspect of the Argive Juno, nor of the Roman. It follows that Juno has one form for the Argives, another for the people of Lanuvium, and another for us. And indeed our Jupiter of the Capitol is not the same as the Africans' Juppiter Ammon. " '
2.6. Nor is this unaccountable or accidental; it is the result, firstly, of the fact that the gods often manifest their power in bodily presence. For instance in the Latin War, at the critical battle of Lake Regillus between the dictator Aulus Postumius and Octavius Mamilius of Tusculum, Castor and Pollux were seen fighting on horseback in our ranks. And in more modern history likewise these sons of Tyndareus brought the news of the defeat of Perses. What happened was that Publius Vatinius, the grandfather of our young contemporary, was returning to Rome by night from Reate, of which he was governor, when he was informed by two young warriors on white horses that King Perses had that very day been taken prisoner. When Vatinius carried the news to the Senate, at first he was flung into gaol on the charge of spreading an unfounded report on a matter of national concern; but afterwards a dispatch arrived from Paulus, and the date was found to tally, so the Senate bestowed upon Vatinius both a grant of land and exemption from military service. It is also recorded in history that when the Locrians won their great victory over the people of Crotona at the important battle of the River Sagra, news of the engagement was reported at the Olympic Games on the very same day. often has the sound of the voices of the Fauns, often has the apparition of a divine form compelled anyone that is not either feeble-minded or impious to admit the real presence of the gods.
2.120. "To come now from things celestial to things terrestrial, which is there among these latter which does not clearly display the rational design of an intelligent being? In the first place, with the vegetation that springs from the earth, the stocks both give stability to the parts which they sustain and draw from the ground the sap to nourish the parts upheld by the roots; and the trunks are covered with bark or rind, the better to protect them against cold and heat. Again the vines cling to their props with their tendrils as with hands, and thus raise themselves erect like animals. Nay more, it is said that if planted near cabbages they shun them like pestle and noxious things, and will not touch them at any point. 2.121. Again what a variety tio animals, and what capacity they possess of persisting true to their various kinds! Some of them are protected by hides, others are clothed with fleeces, others bristle with spines; some we see covered with feathers, some with scales, some armed with horns, some equipped with wings to escape their foes. Nature, however, has provided with bounteous plenty for each species of animal that food which is suited to it. I might show in detail what provision has been made in the forms of the animals for appropriating and assimilating this food, how skilful and exact is the disposition of the various parts, how marvellous the structure of the limbs. For all the organs, at least those contained within the body, are so formed and so placed that none of them is superfluous or not necessary for the preservation of life. 2.122. But nature has also bestowed upon the beasts both sensation and desire, the one to arouse in them the impulse to appropriate their natural foods, the other to enable them to distinguish things harmful from things wholesome. Again, some animals approach their food by walking, some by crawling, some by flying, some by swimming; and some seize their nutriment with their gaping mouth and with the teeth themselves, others snatch it in the grasp of their claws, others with their curved beaks, some suck, others graze, some swallow it whole, others chew it. Also some are of such lately stature that they easily reach their food upon the ground with their jaws; 2.123. whereas the taller species, such as geese, swans, cranes and camels, are aided by the length of their necks; the elephant is even provided with a hand, because his body is so large that it was difficult for him to reach his food. Those beasts on the other hand whose mode of sustece was to feed on animals of another species received from nature the gift either of strength or swiftness. Upon certain creatures there was bestowed even a sort of craft or cunning: for instance, one species of the spider tribe weaves a kind of net, in order to dispatch anything that is caught in it; another in order to . . . steadily corps watch, and, snatching anything that falls into it, devours it. The mussel, or pina as it is called in Greek, is a large bivalve which enters into a sort of Penelope with the tiny shrimp to procure food, and so, when little fishes swim into the gaping shell, the shrimp draws the attention of the mussel and the mussel shuts up its shells with a snap; thus two very dissimilar creatures obtain their food in common. ' "2.124. In this case we are curious to know whether their association is due to a sort of mutual compact, or whether it was brought about by nature herself and goes back to the moment of their birth. Our wonder is also considerably excited by those aquatic animals which are born on land — crocodiles, for instance, and water-tortoises and certain snakes, which are born on dry land but as soon as they can first crawl make for the water. Again we often place ducks' eggs beneath hens, and the chicks that spring from the eggs are at first fed and mothered by the hens that hatched and reared them, but later on they leave their foster-mothers, and run away when they put up them, as soon as they have had the opportunity of seeing the water, their natural home. So powerful an instinct of self-preservation has nature implanted in living creatures. I have even read in a book that there is a bird called the spoonbill, which porticus its food by flying after those birds which dive in the sea, and upon their coming to the surface with a fish that they have caught, pressing their heads down with its beak until they drop their prey, which it pounces on for itself. It is also recorded of this bird that it is in the habit of gorging itself with shell-fish, which it digests by means of the heat of its stomach and then brings up again, and so picks out from them the parts that are good to eat. " "2.125. Sea‑frogs again are said to be in the habit of covering themselves with sand and creeping along at the water's edge, and then when fishes approach them thinking they are something to eat, these are killed and devoured by the frogs. The kite and the crow live in a state of natural war as it were with one another, and therefore each destroys the other's eggs wherever it finds them. Another fact (observed by Aristotle, from whom most of these cases are cited) cannot but awaken our supper, namely that cranes when crossing the seas on the way to warmer climates fly in a triangular formation. With the apex of the triangle they force aside the air in front of them, and then gradually on either side by means of their wings acting as oars the birds' on which flight is sustained, with the base of the triangle formed by the cranes gets the assistance of the wind when it is so to speak astern. The birds rest their necks and heads on the backs of those flying in front of them; and the leader, being himself unable to do this as he has no one to lean on, flies to the rear that he himself also may have a rest, while one of those already rested takes his place, and so they keep turns throughout the journey. " '2.126. I could adduce a number of similar instances, but you see the general idea. Another even better known classes of story illustrates the precautions taken by animals for their security, the watch they keep while feeding, their skill in hiding in their lairs. Other remarkable facts are that dogs cure themselves by vomiting and ibises in Egypt by purging — modes of treatment only recently, that is, a few generations ago, discovered by the talent of the medical profession. It has been reported that panthers, which in foreign countries are caught by means of poisoned meat, have a remedy which they employ to save themselves from dying; and that wild goats in Crete, when pierced with poisoned arrows, seek a herb called dittany, and on their swallowing this the arrows, it is said, drop out of their busy. 2.127. Does, shortly before giving birth to their young, thoroughly purge themselves with a herb called hartwort. Again we observe how various species defend themselves against violence and danger with their own weapons, bulls with their horns, boars with their tusks, lions with their bite; some species protect themselves by flight, some by hiding, the cuttle-fish by emitting an inky fluid, the sting‑ray by causing cramp, and also a number of creatures drive away their pursuers by their insufferably disgusting odour. "In order to secure the everlasting duration of the world-order, divine providence has made most careful provision to ensure the perpetuation of the families of animals and of trees and all the vegetable species. The latter all contain within them seed possessing the proprietor of multiplying the species; this seed is enclosed in the innermost part of the fruits that grow from each plant; and the same seeds supply mankind with an abundance of food, besides replenishing the earth with a fresh stock of plants of the same kind. ' "2.128. Why should I speak of the amount of rational design displayed in animals to secure the perpetual preservation of their kind? To begin with some are male and some female, a device of nature to perpetuate the species. Then parts of their busy are most skilfully contrived to serve the purposes of procreation and of conception, and both male and female possess marvellous desires for copulation. And when the seed has settled in its place, it draws almost all the nutriment to itself and hedged within it fashions a living creature; when this has been dropped from the womb and has emerged, in the mammalian species almost all the nourishment received by the mother turns to milk, and the young just born, untaught and by nature's guidance, seek for the teats and satisfy their cravings with their bounty. And to show to us that none of these things merely happens by chance and that all are the work of nature's providence and skill, species that produce large litters of offspring, such as swine and dogs, have bestowed upon them a large number of teats, while those animals which bear only a few young have only a few teats. " '2.129. Why should I describe the affection shown by animals in rearing and protecting the offspring to which they have given birth, up to the point when they are able to defend themselves? although fishes, it is said, abandon their eggs when they have laid them, since these easily float and hatch out in the water. Turtles and crocodiles are said to lay their eggs on land and bury them and then go away, leaving their young to hatch and rear themselves. Hens and other birds find a quiet place in which to lay, and build themselves nests to sit on, covering these with the softest possible bedding in order to preserve the eggs most easily; and when they have hatched out their chicks they protect them by cherishing them with their wings so that they may not be injured by cold, and by shading them against the heat of the sun. When the young birds are able to use their sprouting wings, their mothers escort them in their flights, but are released from any further tendance upon them. 2.130. Moreover the skill and industry of man also contribute to the preservation and security of certain animals and plants. For there are many species of both which could not survive without man\'s care. "Also a plentiful variety of conveniences is found in different regions for the productive cultivation of the soil by man. Egypt is watered by the Nile, which corps the land completely flooded all the summer and afterwards retires leaving the soil soft and covered with mud, in readiness for sowing. Mesopotamia is fertilized by the Euphrates, which as it were imports into it new fields every year. The Indus, the largest river in the world, not only manures and softens the soil but actually sows it with seed, for it is said to bring down with it a great quantity of seeds resembling corn. ''. None |
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18. Hebrew Bible, Daniel, 7.9 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism • Anthropomorphism, Age • Anthropomorphism, Compassion • Anthropomorphism, Mourning • Anthropomorphism, Sorrow • Anthropomorphism, Tears/Weeping
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 232, 370; Rowland (2009) 78
7.9. חָזֵה הֲוֵית עַד דִּי כָרְסָוָן רְמִיו וְעַתִּיק יוֹמִין יְתִב לְבוּשֵׁהּ כִּתְלַג חִוָּר וּשְׂעַר רֵאשֵׁהּ כַּעֲמַר נְקֵא כָּרְסְיֵהּ שְׁבִיבִין דִּי־נוּר גַּלְגִּלּוֹהִי נוּר דָּלִק׃''. None | 7.9. I beheld Till thrones were placed, And one that was ancient of days did sit: His raiment was as white snow, And the hair of his head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire.''. None |
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19. Philo of Alexandria, That God Is Unchangeable, 52-54, 56-60, 63, 69 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphic • Anthropomorphism • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Bloch (2022) 160; Frey and Levison (2014) 270; Geljon and Runia (2019) 144
| 52. Now, some persons, when they hear the expressions which I have just cited, imagine that the living God is here giving away to anger and passion; but God is utterly inaccessible to any passion whatever. For it is the peculiar property of human weakness to be disquieted by any such feelings, but God has neither the irrational passions of the soul, nor are the parts and limits of the body in the least belonging to him. But, nevertheless, such things are spoken of with reference to God by the great lawgiver in an introductory sort of way, for the sake of admonishing those persons who could not be corrected otherwise. '53. For of all the laws which are couched in the form of injunction or prohibition, and such alone are properly speaking laws; there are two principal positions laid down with respect to the great cause of all things: one, that God is not as a man; the other, that God is as a man.14 54. But the first of these assertions is confirmed by the most certain truth, while the latter is introduced for the instruction of the many. In reference to which, it is said concerning them, "as a man would instruct his son."15 And this is said for the sake of instruction and admonition, and not because he is really such by nature.
56. But those who enter into agreements and alliances with the body, being unable to throw off the robes of the flesh, and to behold that nature, which alone of all natures has no need of anything, but is sufficient for itself, and simple, and unalloyed, and incapable of being compared with anything else, from the same notions of the cause of all things that they do of themselves; not considering that in the case of a being who exists through a concurrence of many faculties, he has need of many parts in order to supply the necessities of each of those faculties. XII. But God, inasmuch as he is uncreated, and the Being who has brought all other things to creation, stood in need of none of those things which are usually added to creatures. 57. For what are we to say? Shall we say, if he is possessed of the different organic parts, that he has feet for the sake of walking? But where is he to walk who fills all places at once with his presence? And to whom is he to go, when there is no one of equal honour with himself? And why is he to walk? It cannot be out of any regard for his health as we do. Again, are we to say that he has hands for the purpose of giving and taking? he never receivers anything from any one. For in addition to the fact of his wanting nothing he actually has everything; and when he gives, he employs reason as the minister of his gifts, by whose agency also he created the world. 58. Once more, he had no need of eyes, the organs without which there can be no comprehension of the light perceptible by the outward senses; but the light perceptible by the outward senses is a created light; and even before the creation God saw, using himself as light. 59. And why need we mention the organs of luxury? For if he has these organs, then he is fed, and when he has satisfied himself he leaves off eating, and after he has left eating he wants food again; and I need not enumerate other particulars which are the necessary consequences of this; for these are the fabulous inventions of impious men, who represent God, in word indeed only as endued with human form, but in fact as influenced by human passions. XIII. 60. Why, then, does Moses speak of the Uncreate as having feet and hands, and as coming in and as going out? And why does he speak of him as clothed in armour for the purpose of repelling his enemies? For he does speak of him as girding himself with a sword, and as using arrows, and winds, and destructive fire. And the poets say that the whirlwind and the thunderbolt, mentioning them under other names, are the weapons of the Cause of all things. Moreover, speaking of him as they would of men, they add jealousy, anger, passion, and other feelings like these. But to those who ask questions on these subjects, one may answer,
63. But those who have received a duller and more sluggish nature, and who have been wrongly brought up as children, and who are unable to see acutely, stand in need of physicians for lawgivers, who may be able to devise an appropriate remedy for the existing complaint,
69. and therefore it is that it appears to me that with these two principal assertions above mentioned, namely, that God is as a man and that God is not as a man, are connected two other principles consequent upon and connected with them, namely, that of fear and that of love; for I see that all the exhortations of the laws to piety, are referred either to the love or to the fear of the living God. To those, therefore, who do not attribute either the parts or the passions of men to the living God, but who, as becomes the majesty of God, honour him in himself, and by himself alone, to love him is most natural; but to the others, it is most appropriate to fear him. XV. '. None |
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20. None, None, nan (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • anthropomorphism • anthropomorphization
Found in books: Jenkyns (2013) 248; Mackey (2022) 381, 382
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21. None, None, nan (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • anthropomorphism • anthropomorphization • anthropomorphization, of atoms / atomization, of humans
Found in books: Clay and Vergados (2022) 328; Gale (2000) 46, 47, 96, 105, 132, 133, 263, 264; Jenkyns (2013) 223; Kazantzidis (2021) 34, 35; Mackey (2022) 215, 232, 233, 235, 236, 237; Wynne (2019) 93
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22. New Testament, Colossians, 1.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism • Anthropomorphisms
Found in books: Lieu (2015) 264; Rowland (2009) 83
1.15. ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως,''. None | 1.15. who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ''. None |
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23. New Testament, Ephesians, 1.21 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism
Found in books: Bickerman and Tropper (2007) 143; Rowland (2009) 510
1.21. ὑπεράνω πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ κυριότητος καὶ παντὸς ὀνόματος ὀνομαζομένου οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι·''. None | 1.21. far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. ''. None |
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24. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Isaeum Campense, temple of Isis, anthropomorphic and theriomorphic • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Gale (2000) 133; Manolaraki (2012) 166
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25. Anon., Genesis Rabba, 27.1 (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Face • Mans creation in Gods image, Rejection of Anthropomorphism
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 236; Lorberbaum (2015) 31, 32, 33, 34
27.1. וַיַּרְא ה' כִּי רַבָּה רָעַת הָאָדָם (בראשית ו, ה), כְּתִיב (קהלת ב, כא): כִּי יֵשׁ אָדָם שֶׁעֲמָלוֹ בְּחָכְמָה וּבְדַעַת וּבְכִשְׁרוֹן, אָמַר רַבִּי יוּדָן גָּדוֹל כֹּחָן שֶׁל נְבִיאִים שֶׁמְדַמִּין צוּרָה לְיוֹצְרָהּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דניאל ח, טז): וָאֶשְׁמַע קוֹל אָדָם בֵּין אוּלָי. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר סִימוֹן אִית לָן קְרָיָא אוֹחֳרָן דִּמְחַוַּר יֶתֶר מִן דֵּין, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יחזקאל א, כו): וְעַל דְּמוּת הַכִּסֵּא דְּמוּת כְּמַרְאֵה אָדָם עָלָיו מִלְּמָעְלָה. שֶׁעֲמָלוֹ בְּחָכְמָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי ג, יט): ה' בְּחָכְמָה יָסַד אָרֶץ. וּבְדַעַת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (משלי ג, כ): בְּדַעְתּוֹ תְּהוֹמוֹת נִבְקָעוּ. וּבְכִשְׁרוֹן, רַבִּי בֶּרֶכְיָה בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר סִימוֹן לֹא בֶעָמָל וְלֹא בִיגִיעָה בָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ, אֶלָּא (תהלים לג, ו): בִּדְבַר ה' שָׁמַיִם נַעֲשׂוּ. בִּדְבַר ה' וּכְבָר שָׁמַיִם נַעֲשׂוּ. (קהלת ב, כא): וּלְאָדָם שֶׁלֹא עָמַל בּוֹ יִתְּנֶנּוּ חֶלְקוֹ, זֶה דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל. (קהלת ב, כא): גַּם זֶה הֶבֶל וְרָעָה רַבָּה, וַיַּרְא ה' כִּי רַבָּה רָעַת הָאָדָם בָּאָרֶץ."". None | 27.1. "\\"and god saw the evil of man was great\\" it says: there is a person who\'s fortune is with wisdom and knowledge and skill, r yudan says the ability of the prophets is great for they compare a creation to its creator, as it says: i heard the voice of a man from inside the river. r yehuda the son of simon says i have a verse which is more logical than this as it says: and on the shape of a chair was the shape of a man standing above it. we expound on the verse above, that his fortune was with wisdom,this refers to the verse \\"and god made the earth with wisdom\\" ", ''. None |
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26. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Hair • God, anthropomorphisms • anthropomorphisms
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 265; Stern (2004) 151
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27. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism • Anthropomorphism, Sympathy/Engagement
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 379; Rowland (2009) 558, 608
|
28. Vergil, Georgics, 3.215
Tagged with subjects: • anthropomorphism
Found in books: Gale (2000) 263; Mackay (2022) 43
3.215. Carpit enim viris paulatim uritque videndo''. None | 3.215. But corn-ears with thy hand pluck from the crops.''. None |
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29. None, None, nan
Tagged with subjects: • Xenophanes, on anthropomorphism of gods • anthropomorphism, critiques of • gods, anti-anthropomorphism
Found in books: Sattler (2021) 75, 76, 79, 80; Wolfsdorf (2020) 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
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30. None, None, nan
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Embodiment • Anthropomorphism, Eyes • Anthropomorphism, Face • Anthropomorphism, Feet • Anthropomorphism, Memory • Anthropomorphism, Sleep • Anthropomorphism, Sorrow • Anthropomorphism, Suffering • Anthropomorphism, Sympathy/Engagement • Anthropomorphism, Tears/Weeping • Anthropomorphism, Wrath • God, anthropomorphisms • anthropomorphisms
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 147, 167, 201, 224, 226, 323, 358, 372; Stern (2004) 151
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31. None, None, nan
Tagged with subjects: • Anthropomorphism, Memory • Anthropomorphism, Sorrow • Anthropomorphism, Suffering • Anthropomorphism, Sympathy/Engagement • Anthropomorphism, Tears/Weeping • God, anthropomorphisms • anthropomorphisms
Found in books: Fishbane (2003) 159, 359, 367; Stern (2004) 151
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