die Gefallenen
a Blog Translation of the Book of Zuriel
die Gefallenen (or
also known as the Book of Zuriel) is an early Gnostic, or Docetae text from sometime
around the 4th Century.
die Gefallenen was
discovered originally in the ruins of 4th Century Christian monastic
community in Syria during the summer of 1923 by Otto von Hemrick. von Hemrick
brought the texts and scrolls he found back to Germany for future study. As part
of the Nazi study of the occult, he began working on translating die Gefallenen. With the help of some
Nazi code breakers, he was able in two years to come up with a translation
matrix for the text. According to his notes, the main text seems to be some
sort of root language common to all languages. He called it the mother language
or more specifically “Muttersprache”. Although the cover of the text has
clearly written on it a 4th century Coptic script which translates
into die Gefallenen or the Fallen (or also the dead soldiers or the fallen soldiers) in English.
die Gefallenen
ended up at Catholic University of America as part of a donation from an anonymous
U.S. GI. Where the book pretty much sat along with notes from Otto von Hemrick in
a box until I came across it while working on my doctoral thesis.
die Gefallenen is
not an impressive book except its age. It uses the standard Coptic style of
stitching of several pages into a bound text between two pieces of wood as
covers. It is clear that at some point during the 4th century, the
original texts were re-bound into single book because the interior pages seem
to be cut up into pieces from what appears to have been an original scroll or
series of scrolls.
Unfortunately, though between the ravages of time, and what
I suspect was von Hemrick’s own research, the text itself has lost its original
bindings and is now held together with some twine around the whole thing. In fact,
reading von Hemrick’s notes a bit I honestly think the original order (if there
was one) has been sort of lost between the 4th Century cut and paste
and von Hemrick’s own cut and paste job of putting the book back together.
What I can tell is that the text appears to be some sort of
diary or recount of events in a person’s life, or possibly a moral tale of some
kind. The author appears to be attributed to a fallen angel known as Zuriel, and appears to be written from the perspective of the fallen angels in general. In
Docetae fashion, Zuriel appears to be learning the mysteries of the spiritual universe
through his journey and experiences. It is possible that in this early
Christian community of monks this text was used as part of a novice’s training
(but I am only speculating here).
Transliterations and Translations
Much of my translation work is based on the translation
matrix developed by von Hemrick and his notes. I have noticed as I translate
the text there are transliterated Hebrew words or what appears to be
"mashed up" Hebrew words. von Hemrick in his notes does complain
about this issue, but evidently the German code breakers provided to him were
unable to remove this aspect no matter how they tried. In short, it would
appear that certain words would always come up as form of transliterated Hebrew
on them.
Codes in die Gefallenen
Despite von Hemrick's use of German code breaking knowhow, some words still end up in Hebrew or some form of mashed up Hebrew. Then in some of the translations it is clear that dates are being mentioned as well as people typically represented either by Hebrew words or a number. The Transliterations Concordance has a list of the suspected code items. I have marked below the translated text sections that contain the code elements.
Just to make it clear, while I can translate the German and Hebrew I haven't a clue what these "codes" mean. Take for instance the numeric code in Revelations. Most scholars agree it represents the Roman Emperor Nero, but even today there is still a bit of a debate on the issue because it all depends upon how you decode the numbers and John didn't provide the decoder ring with book. I have the same issue with die Gefallenen, no decoder ring.
Current Sections of the Translated Texts (only available in the published book now)
Die Anfänge – The
Beginnings, where it starts with the creation of Zuriel and the angels.
Die Entstehung der Erde – The Formation of the Earth, an expansion on the first few lines Genesis
1.
Stolz von Winkeln – Pride
of Angels, seems to explain elements of the spiritual universe like the Abyss.
Die Sünde des Menschen
– Sin of Man, an
expansion on the fall of man in Genesis.
Von Riesen und Hochwasser – From Floods and Giants, an expansion on the
great flood in Genesis.
Ursprung der Unanständigkeit – Origin of Indecency, an expansion on the story
dealing with Noah.
Jakob und der Gefallenen – Jacob and the Fallen, a re-interpretation of
Jacob’s wrestling with an angel.
Gebogenen Stange Völker – The Bent Rod People, an expansion of Onan and foretelling
of the coming of the Nazis party(?).
Ehe von Mann – Marriage of Man, this piece is out of order technically but deals with marriage
and divorce.
Gesicht Gottes – Face of God, this begins a four-part prophetic
section expanding off the first part of the Book of Job.
Reisen Sie zurück in den Himmel- Travel Back to Heaven, an expansion on the
Satan’s return to Heaven in the first part of the Book of Job.
Dichtungen, Trompeten und Schalen - Seals, Trumpets and Bowls, an expansion on the
mysteries of the book of Revelation.
Das Wahrsagen des Christus und der Krieg - The Foretelling of the Christ and the War, the
Satan explains the Gnostic view of Christ.
Ende der Menschheit- The End of Humanity, the Satan prophesies how
he will destroy humanity. (Codes Present)
Wächter Vogel – Guardian Bird, how the Davidic Kingdoms fell
and the beginning of a war in Heaven.
AmerikasZerstörung – Destruction of America, a prophetic vision of how the priests
of the followers of God in America will be eternally sad. Appears to relate to 2
Kings 9:27 and some from what I think is Isaiah 24, plus some personal
reflective material from the writer Zuriel. (Codes Present)
die Hexe – The Witch, or more specifically introduction of demoness Lilith and how she will be used by the Satan especially during a suspected future period of time. Appears to be related to the Book of Daniel but also contains again some personal reflective material from the writer Zuriel. (Codes Present)
Weisheit - Wisdom, this section is a conversation between the Satan and Zuriel over the nature material-spiritual world. I suspect this part was added in at a later date or contributed by another author which is not uncommon.
die Hexe – The Witch, or more specifically introduction of demoness Lilith and how she will be used by the Satan especially during a suspected future period of time. Appears to be related to the Book of Daniel but also contains again some personal reflective material from the writer Zuriel. (Codes Present)
Weisheit - Wisdom, this section is a conversation between the Satan and Zuriel over the nature material-spiritual world. I suspect this part was added in at a later date or contributed by another author which is not uncommon.
Drachenund Löwen - Dragon and Lions, this section deals with Prophet Daniel, the Archangel Raphael, and parts from the book of Tobit. It clearly shows how the Satan "cares" for his own minions, or lack thereof.
die Zwei – The
Two, this section deals with dualism, Zurvanist Zoroastrianism, and The Book of Baruch.
die klagende Sohn - The Lamenting Son, this section deals with a combination of the Second Testament Parable of the Prodigal Son and also Chapter 3 of Lamentations in the Old Testament. In this section we see Zuriel ponder the mystery of human lamenting.
Engel des Dieners - The Angels of the Servant, this section deals with the prophetic Book of Obadiah, where Zuriel has a conversation with four Cherubim. (Codes Present)
Other Posts of Interest
Academic Debate Post dealing with nature of the text.