The Rudolf Steiner Archive

27. On the Significance of the Oldest Parts of the Old Testament

[ 1 ] I wanted to say a few more things about the significance of the oldest parts of the Old Testament before moving on to other topics. I have often told you that, when it comes to interpreting the Old Testament, one reaches a point where one begins to be able to take it more or less literally. Now, in the nineteenth century, we experienced an age that was as ill-suited as possible to comprehending something like the Five Books of Moses. Whoever comprehends these Five Books of Moses finds themselves growing not only in insight into the world, but also in inner appreciation and reverence for all the writings that speak to us—as something that is not merely a human voice, but — let us leave this, for the time being, expressed in vague terms — as something that resounds down to us from spheres higher than the human ones.

[ 2 ] In fact, we could—and perhaps one day will be able to—trace these writings back to their origins, to the actual original theories behind them, to their earliest inspirers. But we will not do that today. We want to touch on a question that stems from a historical fact—one that, while it cannot be established today through the external means of scholarship, will become quite self-evident once the Theosophical Movement has taken deeper root. So, I would like to begin by considering a historical fact. At the time when Christianity first took shape, when Jesus of Nazareth was alive, there was the School of Philo in the famous city of Alexandria. Among the manifold teachings that Philo imparted, the most outstanding were those he gave his students on the Five Books of Moses.

[ 3 ] I note that among these disciples was the evangelist who wrote the Gospel of John. The Spirit, then, lives in the fourth Gospel, just as it lived in the Egyptian schools. This interpretation required a very special spiritual disposition, and Philo first told his students that these five books of Moses had not been written to express what is initially recounted in them, but that this was merely an outer garment to express profound inner human truths. Line by line, the Old Testament is to be understood allegorically, as symbolic of inner human processes—processes that also unfolded in time, that is, the processes took place within the best of the people over many hundreds of years, from the time when Abraham wandered through the land of Canaan until the time when the Jews were taken into Babylonian captivity. Events took place there not outwardly, but within the souls—events that were, however, connected to historical events. However, one cannot understand the historical events unless one relates them to the inner events. Above all, the students were led into a state of mind in which the entire Testament appeared to them as a revelation of the inner human self.

[ 4 ] I will give you a few examples right away. What I have told you was regarded by nineteenth-century scholars as mere myth—especially the explanations given by Philo. He presented these even more forcefully in oral debates. Everything that has come down to posterity from this was regarded as an allegorical interpretation to which no further significance should be attached. In the nineteenth century, the approach was to remain primarily on the physical plane and to examine the facts that presented themselves to the historian. Even though the Bible’s chronology was called into question, and even though the belief that the world was created 4,000 years before the birth of Christ had been abandoned, at the beginning of the nineteenth century the Bible was still regarded as a kind of historical document—something that provided us with accounts of historical events. The events that were recounted—even if they were recounted inaccurately—were taken as if they were the be-all and end-all. I am now speaking from the standpoint of external scholarly research. What occurred in the occult realm was not taken into account at all.

[ 5 ] However, the achievement of deciphering cuneiform script led to a discovery. It turned out that the stories found in the Old Testament can also be found in Babylonian legends and myths. Specifically, these describe a creation myth that is very similar to the biblical one. The story of the Fall is also told in a very similar way in Babylonian mythology. The content of the significant seal impressions is particularly telling. It is the seal impression depicting two people sitting under a tree with a serpent nearby. Here, on a seal impression that is much older than the scriptures themselves, we have a depiction of the Fall of Man. Thus, in cuneiform we have the story of the Fall, the salvation of humanity similar to that through Noah, and so on, so that it became clear that the view that the Old Testament text was based on divine revelation—given directly to Moses by God—could not be sustained. It goes without saying that secular scholarship has concluded that the Jews did not receive these legends as revelations, but rather that they brought them with them when they migrated from their tribal homeland and that these legends were subsequently influenced by outside sources.

[ 6 ] The further back one goes in the Old Testament, the clearer it becomes. One must assume that what we are told about Joseph—who lived around the time of the pharaohs and who helped the Jews attain a prominent position in Egypt—is true. And one must further assume that there was indeed such a man as Moses.

[ 7 ] At least there was a sense that there would be a shared history. In later times, historical records once again undermined the foundations of purely historical research in that regard. We have documents that attest that, during the time when the story of Joseph unfolded, peoples whom we can only describe as “Hebrews” lived in the land of Canaan, and that they appealed to the pharaoh for assistance during a famine. These letters are written in the Babylonian language and addressed to the Egyptian pharaoh. From this, it can be inferred that the Babylonian language must have been held in high esteem. The language of the educated at that time was Babylonian, just as the French language was among us in earlier centuries.

[ 8 ] However, something else has come to light. The identity of Joseph has become highly questionable. History has gradually obscured this figure. It has turned out that a figure who served as a governor in a Jewish land is identical to Joseph, so that the story in the Bible corresponds to a governor who could not have experienced the events described. At the pharaoh’s court, he advocated on behalf of the Jews before the pharaohs. We would therefore not have a Joseph who spoke on behalf of his people in the manner described in the Bible, but rather one who, as a governor, took the Jews under his protection—and that they, too, made the journey to Egypt at that time. Today it seems more questionable than ever that the Israelites’ exodus to Egypt actually took place. It is entirely impossible that the exodus under Moses could have unfolded as it is recounted. It is said that the Jews went into the desert; this is recounted as if no other peoples had been there. Yet precisely at that time, this region must have been inhabited by other peoples who would have put up a powerful resistance. So if we take all of this literally, the whole story hangs in the air.

[ 9 ] Secular [historiography] has contributed to the dismantling of the Bible. When the critic begins to apply his criticism, he finds himself facing a void. Ultimately, the critic must conclude: “I can’t say anything at all.” It may be one way, but it may also be another—that is the conclusion to which the secular critic must necessarily arrive.

[ 10 ] I can, of course, only offer a rough outline on this matter. But if you were to go through and examine the issue, you would find—as I have indeed suggested—that the result can be nothing other than what I have indicated: higher criticism and absolute futility. This will likely lead one to ask: Are those interpretations offered by Philo of Alexandria—that it is merely a play on words—correct, or were the ancient documents perhaps written in the sense that Philo of Alexandria was still able to understand, but which was later forgotten?

[ 11 ] An answer can be found not only in the first book of Moses, but also in the later books, if one examines them from an esoteric perspective and asks oneself: Did events unfold literally as they appear to be described there, or were the writers advocates of esotericism—were they spirits who linked an inner meaning to what they portrayed outwardly? All the regions in question—the ones said to have been traversed by Abraham, the ones where Abraham must have lived during the time preceding a great invasion of the people—the regions north of the Euphrates; Persia, India, and then also Egypt—all these regions were dotted with occult schools. They had been left more or less undisturbed, particularly until the year 2,500 B.C. But in the middle of the third millennium B.C., great migrations of peoples took place. The people known as the Babylonians also settled there around this time. Earlier, there were even more peoples who knew what priestly rule meant.

[ 12 ] In all these regions, there were seven degrees of initiation. The first degree was the degree of the “Ravens.” Those initiated into this degree were the ones who maintained the connection between the outside world and the secret sites. Therefore, the ravens are the scouts who bring news of the outside world to those inside the temple, from which they find opportunities to act. When the old Barbarossa asks, century after century, whether the ravens still fly around the mountain, this is nothing more than the occult interpretation of whether the connection with the outside world still exists.

[ 13 ] In the second degree of initiation, those who were able to use the Word were those who had learned enough to be inspired by the spiritual life. They were called the Warriors.

[ 14 ] In the third degree of initiation were those who could act through deeds, who stood firm through their strength. They were called the “Lions.” A warrior is one who acts through the word; he is what was also called a prophet. Those, however, who have become lions work through action. Their influence, however, sometimes goes more or less unnoticed. They are often not recognized at all.

[ 15 ] Those initiated into the fourth degree were called the “Occultists,” [who worked inside the temple].

[ 16 ] Those initiated into the fifth degree were called by the name of the respective [people] in each country. In India, they were called: “The Human Being” — “Manas.” Only he in whom Manas had dawned was a human being in the true sense. Among the Persians, they were called “Persians”; among the ancient Chaldeans, they were called “Chaldeans.” The entire people were, of course, called Chaldeans, but the initiates of the fifth degree were specifically referred to by that name. That is why there was always confusion as to when the term referred to the people and when it referred to the initiated priests. The initiates of this degree were priests who studied astronomy and astrology.

[ 17 ] Those initiated into the sixth degree were called “Sun-Walkers” everywhere. Their lives had become so rhythmic that they unfolded as regularly as the sun’s course. It would have caused chaos if it had deviated from its path, just as the sun would cause chaos if it were to stray even a step from its course. The Sun-Walkers were those who were called upon to rule the peoples. The kings of the Near East, South Asia, and Egypt were prepared for this through their initiation into the sixth degree. Among the governors of Egypt, then, we find Sun Runners who had attained a high degree of development, who understood the secret language of the world, and who also knew how to live out the spiritual mysteries. It was said of such people that they led a life like the sun and that the sun, moon, and stars bowed before them, just as the moon and stars bow before the sun.

[ 18 ] Such “sun-runners” or “sun heroes” are featured in a wide variety of legends and myths. Hercules is nothing other than a sun hero. The twelve labors represent the passage through the twelve signs of the zodiac. Jason is also such a sun runner, who set out from the rugged land of the barbarians to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Thus, one can find myths featuring sun heroes among various peoples. Scholars have long wondered why the heroes of myths are so often depicted in similar ways. People have marveled that the life of the Buddha, the life of Hercules and Zarathustra, the life of Osiris, and the life of Christ are so similar. If they had known that these were initiates of the sixth degree and that the life of a solar hero was simply being recounted, they would not have needed to be surprised. Even the story of Christ is part of this, and it is evident from it that these were real events in his life, though they were predetermined by his fellow initiates. The course of his life had been mapped out millennia in advance. The life of a “sun-walker” was described beforehand, for throughout the millennia, the life of such a hero has unfolded in the same way.

[ 19 ] I would like to draw your attention to the story of Joseph. Read it and listen to what I would like to say by way of guidance. Israel, Joseph’s father, made him a multicolored coat. Among the Persians, those initiated into the fifth degree were called “Persians”; among the Israelites, they were called “Israeb.” It was an actual custom that those initiated into the fifth degree would bow before those initiated into the sixth degree on a specific day. Joseph told his brothers about his dream of the sheaves bowing down before his own, whereupon his brothers said to him, “Are you going to become our king and rule over us?”—but they did not understand everything. Now he expressed himself even more clearly by telling his brothers another dream: “Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me.” Here Joseph spoke of his desire to be initiated into the sixth degree. “Let’s throw him into a pit,” said the brothers. The “pit” is the place of initiation. A “wild beast” tore Joseph apart. The tearing of earthly garments symbolizes the dying off of the lower self. The story shows us that Joseph has grown into a Sun-Walker, a Sun-Hero.

[ 20 ] Egypt was the site of those temple complexes where the highest-ranking initiates resided. The seventh degree is the degree of the “Fathers.” Abraham belonged to the Fathers only in Chaldea. Moses was then also able to be initiated into the Egyptian mysteries through Joseph, and from this came what Moses spoke to his people.

[ 21 ] This is, in a sense, a sample of the kind of teaching Philo imparted to his students. The scholars had no idea that these were mental processes; rather, they believed that actual historical events were being described. Now, however, we also understand why biblical criticism has nothing left to stand on. It does not adhere to the actual content; it lets it slip through its fingers.

[ 22 ] The Jews of the early Christian communities described Jesus’ initiation in a similar way. The key to this lies in the ancient commentaries that exist for the Bible and the Vedas.

[ 23 ] [Fairy tales, such as “The Seven Little Goats,” are also mental processes that must be interpreted esoterically. - External criticism always lets the true content slip by; it takes the symbols as literal events. - External scholarship lacks the keys; it does not know how to interpret such things.)

[ 24 ] Next time, I will go through one of the most significant stories—one you have heard many times, but whose inner meaning is as infinitely deep as almost nothing else—the story of Cain and Abel. On the one hand, we have Cain’s murder; on the other hand, the entire human race is descended from Cain. The great mystery lies in Abel, who offered the animals of the forest as a sacrifice, and Cain, who offered the fruits of the field.