Quiet Epiphanies

Abstract

In Genesis, the first book of the Torah and of the Jewish and Christian Bibles, God appears to, speaks to, and instructs several individuals, including Noah and Abraham. Abraham is recognized by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as a significant figure in their respective traditions. In Genesis, God appears to Abraham several times, giving him instructions and establishing his covenant with him. Some of these encounters are high-relief epiphanies, such as God’s appearance to Abraham when he is 99. But other epiphanies given to Abraham are not high relief. Though consciously received, some epiphanies are what may be called quiet epiphanies in contradistinction to high-relief epiphanies. In the book of Genesis, several of the epiphanies given to Abraham have this character. In this chapter, we consider two quiet epiphanies experienced by Abraham, as presented in the book of Genesis, and, as presented later in the Tanakh, a quiet epiphany in which God manifests himself in interior quietude to the prophet Elijah. We also consider quiet epiphanies in the Christian tradition, as recounted in the New Testament, including what Christians call the Epiphany, the appearance of the Christ child to the Magi, and the quiet epiphany in which the angel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she will bear a son to be called Jesus.