Purpose and Motifs of the Sibylline Oracle 5
The purpose of Sibylline Oracle 5 may be seen more clearly after first considering the overall layout and structure of the book. The chart below is a visual outline of the macro structure of Sibylline Oracle 5.
At a glance, one can see how the six oracles relate thematically. The middle four oracles are woes against nations generally. Specifically, however, the target nations alternate between Egypt (oracles 2 and 4) and various Asian nations (oracles 3 and 5). Oracle 6 is also predominantly about Egypt, yet even though it is referred to as the "thrice-wretched Egypt" (488), its distinctive lies in the future conversion of Egypt. Those Egyptian natives who live there in that future day will recognize that their ancestors had embraced gods who were no gods and will consequently repent and build a temple to the imperishable God, the "begetter who is eternal, the ruler of all, the true one, the king" (497?98).
The introduction (Oracle One) is a review of history from Alexander to Hadrian. It is somewhat cryptic in that the ruler's name is not given explicitly, but is rather referred to by the first letter of his name. For example, in verses 12-15, Julius Ceasar and Augustus are furtively acknowledged in this way:
12 There will be the first prince who will sum up twice ten
13 with his initial letter. He will conquer long in wars.
14 He will have his first letter of ten, so that after him
15 will reign whoever obtained as initial the first of the alphabet. [emphasis added]
In line 12, "twice ten" naturally equals twenty. This is a reference to the eleventh1 letter of the Hebrew alphabet, called kaf. The Greek equivalent is "K." Lines 12-13 clarify that the "K" will be the first (or "initial") letter of this ruler's princely title. In Greek epigraphy, the letter "K" was widely used as an abbreviation for "Kaiser" (which, in English, is Ceasar). Line 14 explains what the first letter of his personal name is. In this case, it is ten, corresponding to the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which is yod. The Greek equivalent is the iota, which, as a capital letter is almost identical to the "I" in English, though it is transliterated into English as a "J." Thus, the Greek abbreviation is "I. K.", which stands for Iulius Kaiser (Julius Ceasar). In line 15, the first letter of the alphabet is Aleph, or "A," and thus represents the emperor Augustus.2
The motifs of oracles 2-5 are outlined in the chart above. The following citations are examples of the fourfold pattern consistently found in these central oracles.
Return of Nero as Adversary
Or2: 93-96 For the Persian will come on your soil like hail
and he will destroy your land and evil-devising men
with blood and corpses, by terrible altars,
a savage-minded mighty man, much-blooded, raving nonsense.
Or3: 137-39 The poets will bewail thrice-wretched Greece
when a great king of great Rome, a godlike man
from Italy, will cut the ridge of the isthmus.
Or4: 214-16 For when the three sister Fates, spinning with twisted threads,
lead the one who is (now) fleeing deceitfully
beyond the bank of the Isthmus on high so that all may see him.
Or5: 363-64 A man who is a matricide will come from the ends of the earth
in flight and devising penetrating schemes in his mind.
Advent of Savior Figure
Or2: 107-09 [When Nero comes] wishing to destroy the city of the blessed ones,
and then a certain king sent from God against him
will destroy all the great kings and noble men.
Or3: 158-62 A great star will come from heaven to the wondrous sea
and will burn the deep sea and Babylon itself
and the land of Italy, because of which many
holy faithful Hebrews and a true people perished.
Or4: 256-59 There will again be one exceptional man from the sky
(who stretched out his hands on the fruitful wood),
the best of the Hebrews, who will one day cause the sun to stand,
speaking with fair speech and holy lips.
Or5: 414-17 For a blessed man came from the expanses of heaven
with a scepter in his hands which God gave him,
and he gained sway over all things well, and gave back the wealth
to all the good, which previous men had taken.
Coming Destruction
Or2: 110 Thus there will be judgment on men by the imperishable one.
Or3: 168 Alas, city of the Latin land, unclean in all things,
173-78 But you said, "I alone am, and no one will ravage me."
But now God, who is forever, will destroy you and all your people,
and there will no longer be any sign of you in that land,
as there was formerly, when the great God found your honors.
Remain alone, lawless one. Mingled with burning fire,
inhabit the lawless nether region of Hades.
Or4: 271-75 But the wicked, who dispatched lawless utterance against heaven,
will desist from speaking against each other
but will hide themselves until the world is changed.
There will be a shower of blazing fire from the clouds,
and mortals will no longer enjoy bright corn from the earth.
Or5: 418-19 [God] destroyed every city from its foundations with much fire
and burned nations of mortals who were formerly evildoers.
It is easy to see the recurring pattern in these four oracles. Oracle 6, however, is significantly different. It functions as a conclusion to the book, but also has some distinctive features of its own. There is a pronouncement of woe against Bablyon (i.e. Rome). But its pronouncements are much more expansive than the middle oracles in that it additionally includes both Egypt and Asia. The most distinctive feature of Oracle 6 is the "Battle of the Stars" (512-531). The sibyl speaks of the burning sun and the terrible wrath of the moon when "the stars travailed in battle and God bade them fight" (514). He speaks of Lucifer being mounted on the back of Leo (517). Capricorn assaults Taurus (518); Orion extinguished Libra (520). On through the names of most of the zodiacal luminaries the sibyl goes, describing the faltering destinies of Virgo, Gemini, Aries, Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio, and Aquarius along with Pleiad, Draco, Orion, and the dog star.
There are other more minor motifs that are notable in Sibylline Oracle 5. The sibyl depicts Rome as most reprehensible and totally lacking virtue. This is why Rome is painted with the name Babylon. It is to cast the empire in the light of harlotry. There is base sexual immorality, such as incest, adultery, sodomy, pederasty, and bestiality (e.g. 166-67; 386-96). Rome/Nero is also denounced for its/his cruelty (e.g. 93-97; 145-54; 363-69). The temple is also a consistent refrain throughout the book (e.g. the pagan temples 52-59; 484-91; Jerusalem Temple 150-154; 397-413). This last reference tells of the sacking of Jerusalem by Titus. It is excerpted below:
The desired Temple has long ago been extinguished by you,
When I saw the second Temple cast headlong,
soaked in fire by an impious hand,
the ever-flourishing, watchful Temple of God
made by holy people and hoped
by their soul and body to be always imperishable.
For among them no one carelessly praises a god
of insignificant clay, nor did a clever sculptor make one from rock,
nor worship ornament of gold, a deception of souls.
But they honored the great God, begetter of all
who have God-given breath, with holy sacrifices and hecatombs.
But now a certain insignificant and impious king
has gone up, cast it down, and left it in ruins,
with a great horde and illustrious men.
He himself perished at immortal hands when he left the land,
and no such sign has yet been performed among men
that others should think to sack a great city.
Now, the question must be asked, What is the purpose of Sibylline Oracle 5? It seems clear that the author, being Jewish, was tremendously affected by the fall of Jerusalem. He loves his native land. There may even be a subtle reminiscence of the Exodus motif when the Hebrews, under Moses, were promised that God would give them a land of "milk and honey." The sibyl writes in 218-85:
But the holy land of the pious alone will bear all these things:
a honey-sweet stream from rock and spring,
and heavenly milk will flow for all the righteous.
For with great piety and faith they put their hope
in the one begetter, God, who alone is eminent. [emphasis added]
Though the passage above is pleasant, the overall tone is not. The sibyl generally maintains a very bitter and unforgiving refrain, yet also bears testimony to the "imperishable God" who is the true God. Though wicked Rome seemingly continues to return and inflict pain and cruelty and blasphemy, God will have the last word. This is the reason for the recurring theme of both the Nero adversary and the savior figure. Evil and evil men are very resilient, but their day will end. God will bring retribution and will avenge his holy people. This purpose is the setting for the heavy emphasis on ethics. Verse 357-60, is perhaps the best summary of both the purpose and the basis for ethical living.
But let law, wisdom, and glory rule over the righteous,
lest one day the imperishable God in anger destroy
the livelihood of men with every race and a shameless tribe.
It is necessary to love God, the wise eternal begetter.
Notes
1In Hebrew, each letter has a numerical value. Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, has a value of 1 and each successive letter increases in value by one up to the tenth letter (e.g. aleph = 1; beth = 2; etc.). On the eleventh letter, however, the value increases by ten and thus the value of the eleventh letter is 20 (the value of the tenth letter plus ten). The scientific name for this system is gematria.
2 J. J. Collins, "Sibylline Oracles," in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments, Vol. 1, ed. James H. Charlesworth (New York: Doubleday, 1983): 393.
3Nero reportedly murdered his own mother.
4These lines are generally considered to be Christian interpolations.
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