The Temple of Jerusalem
le pendu said:
Is it possible that the name "La Maison Dieu" is a literal translation of "Bethel"?
If so, what is the Bethel being depicted? Is it perhaps a reference not to the actual tower itself, but a reference to meteorites?
And if meteorites, is it a reference to the large flaming object in the upper portion of the cards? Or is it to the circular objects along the side? Or Both?
And what of the tower? I can't find any connection between Bethel and a tower. So why show the tower at all?
I go back to some of Robert's original questions, adding more questions and partially going off-topic, I am afraid
That the meaning of Bethel is "the house of God" is explicitly stated in the Bible (Genesis 28:17/28:19).
The term Bethel occurs many times in the Bible (more than 60), and generally seems to be a reference to a village (and a temple) with that name.
The expression "house of God" also appears many times (more than 80). It would be interesting to know what is the hebraic expression used, for instance, in the Genesis.
It seems that meteorites were used in the building of temples (Rosanne). This is similar to Genesis:
28:18 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that
he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil
upon the top of it.
Since the "magical" stone was made a pillar of the temple, the temple actually became a single thing with the stone. The Tower (or temple) and the Meteorite are (made to be) the same thing.
Is it possible that the difference between "the actual tower itself" and the meteorite is not so deep?
Plinius says that meteorites falling at daytime were thought to be pieces of the Sun. Can this explain why the Tower seems to be striken by the Sun.
The expression "house of God" in the Bible often is a reference to the
Temple of Jerusalem. The destruction of the temple in 70 CE is the most famous destruction of a building in history. Possibly someone (in Marseille?) associated the image of the Tarot card to this famous historical episode?
Actually, early cards such as Grigonneur do not represent a Tower, but something more similar to a castle. If TdM engravers associated the card to the Temple of Jerusalem, why did they represent a tower instead of a more conventional temple?
What is the earliest association of "Maison Dieu" with the Tower card?
Which is the first tower card in which a proper tower is present?
Marco