Sodom and Abrahan

The biblical account of the events preceding the destruction of the two sinful cities illustrates the fact that these emissaries were, on the one hand, anthropomorphic in all respects, and, on the other hand, they could be identified as “angels” as soon as they were observed.

Their appearance was sudden. Abraham “raised his eyes and, lo and behold, there were three men standing by him.”

Bowing and calling them “My Lords,” he pleaded with them, “Do not pass over thy servant,” and prevailed on them to wash their feet, rest, and eat.

Having done as Abraham had requested, two of the angels (the third “man” turned out to be the Lord himself) then proceeded to Sodom.

Lot, the nephew of Abraham, “was sitting at the gate of Sodom; and when he saw them he rose up to meet them and bowed to the ground, and said: If it pleases my Lords, pray come to the house of thy servant and wash your feet and sleep overnight.”

Then “he made for them a feast, and they ate.” When the news of the arrival of the two spread in the town, “all the town’s people, young and old, surrounded the house, and called out to Lot and said: Where are the men who came this night unto thee?”

How were these men—who ate, drank, slept, and washed their tired feet—nevertheless so instantly recognizable as angels of the Lord?

The only plausible explanation is that what they wore—their helmets or uniforms—or what they carried—their weapons—made them immediately recognizable. That they carried distinctive weapons is certainly a possibility:

The two “men” at Sodom, about to be lynched by the crowd, “smote the people at the entrance of the house with blindness … and they were unable to find the doorway.” And another angel, this time appearing to Gideon, as he was chosen to be a Judge in Israel, gave him a divine sign by touching a rock with his baton, whereupon a fire jumped out of the rock.

The team headed by Andrae found yet another unusual depiction of Ishtar at her temple in Ashur. More a wall sculpture than the usual relief, it showed the goddess with a tight-fitting decorated helmet with the “earphones” extended as though they had their own flat antennas, and wearing very distinct goggles that were part of the helmet. (Fig. 61)

Needless to say, any man seeing a person—male or female—so clad, would at once realize that he is encountering a divine aeronaut.

Clay figurines found at Sumerian sites and believed to be some 5,500 years old may well be crude representations of such malachim holding wandlike weapons. In one instance the face is seen through a helmet’s visor. In the other instance, the “emissary” wears the distinct divine conical headdress and a uniform studded with circular objects of unknown function. (Figs. 62, 63)

The eye slots or “goggles” of the figurines are a most interesting feature because the Near East in the fourth millennium B.C. was literally swamped with wafer-like figurines that depicted in a stylized manner the upper part of the deities, exaggerating their most prominent feature: a conical helmet with elliptical visors or goggles. (Fig. 64) A hoard of such figurines was found at Tell Brak, a prehistoric site on the Khabur River, the river on whose banks Ezekiel saw the divine chariot millennia later.

It is undoubtedly no mere coincidence that the Hittites, linked to Sumer and Akkad via the Khabur area, adopted as their written sign for “gods” the symbol, clearly borrowed from the “eye” figurines. It is also no wonder that this symbol or hieroglyph for “divine being,” expressed in artistic styles, came to dominate the art not only of Asia Minor but also of the early Greeks during the Minoan and Mycenaean periods. (Fig. 65)

The ancient texts indicate that the gods put on such special attire not only for their flights in Earth’s skies but also when they ascended to the distant heavens.

Speaking of her occasional visits to Anu at his Celestial Abode, Inanna herself explained that she could undertake such journeys because “Enlil himself fastened the divine ME-attire about my body.” The text quoted Enlil as saying to her:

An early Sumerian ruler invited by the gods to ascend to the heavens was named EN.ME.DUR.AN.KI, which literally meant “ruler whose me connect Heaven and Earth.” An inscription by Nebuchadnezzar II, describing the reconstruction of a special pavilion for Marduk’s “celestial chariot,” states that it was part of the “fortified house of the seven me of Heaven and Earth.”

The scholars refer to the me as “divine power objects.” Literally, the term stems from the concept of “swimming in celestial waters.” Inanna described them as parts of the “celestial garment” that she put on for her journeys in the Boat of Heaven. The me were thus parts of the special gear worn for flying in Earth’s skies as well as into outer space.

The Greek legend of Icarus had him attempt to fly by attaching feathered wings to his body with wax. The evidence from the ancient Near East shows that though the gods may have been depicted with wings to indicate their flying capabilities— or perhaps sometimes put on winged uniforms as a mark of their airmanship— they never attempted to use attached wings for flying. Instead, they used vehicles for such travels.

The Old Testament informs us that the patriarch Jacob, spending the night in a field outside of Haran, saw “a ladder set up on Earth and its top reaching heavenwards,” on which “angels of the Lord” were busily going up and down. The Lord himself stood at the top of the ladder. And the astounded Jacob “was fearful, and he said”:

Indeed, a God is present in this place, and I knew it not… How awesome is this place! Indeed, this is none but the Lord’s Abode and this is the Gateway to Heaven.

There are two interesting points in this tale. The first is that the divine beings going up and down at this “Gateway to Heaven” were using a mechanical facility— a “ladder.”

The second is that the sight took Jacob by complete surprise. The “Lord’s Abode,” the “ladder,” and the “angels of the Lord” using it were not there when Jacob lay down to sleep in the field.

Suddenly, there was the awesome “vision.” And by morning the “Abode,” the “ladder,” and their occupants were gone. We may conclude that the equipment used by the divine beings was some kind of craft that could appear over a place, hover for a while, and disappear from sight once again.