The Pearl
In chapter 68 of the Kebra Nagast the angel Gabriel gives the dying Solomon a sign. Salvation, he says, was created in the body of Adam in the form of a Pearl before Eve was made. It did not pass to Cain or Abel but to Seth, then down through the firstborn to Abraham. From there it chose Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Judah over Reuben, then Perez, Jesse, David and Solomon.
The Pearl does not go to Solomon's firstborn in Ethiopia or to his youngest son, but to Rehoboam, and on to Joachim and Hanna. At the appointed time it is born as a woman "seven times purer than the sun", and the Redeemer puts on her flesh. The chapter heading names her as Mary. All who carried the Pearl, and their wives, are promised that they will not be destroyed.
Details
- Symbolizes
- Salvation carried through chosen forefathers
Key Chapters
Key Passages
The Pearl from Adam to Mary
The Kebra Nagast 68:1-23
" And again, there shall be unto thee a sign that the Saviour shall come from thy seed, and that He shall deliver thee w...
1 And again, there shall be unto thee a sign that the Saviour shall come from thy seed, and that He shall deliver thee with thy fathers and thy seed after thee by His coming. Your salvation was created in the belly of Adam in the form of a Pearl before Eve.
The carriers of the Pearl will leave Sheol
The Kebra Nagast 69:1-3
And Solomon turned and looked at the Angel and stretched out both his hands, and said, " My lord, is the coming of the S...
1nd Solomon turned and looked at the Angel and stretched out both his hands, and said, " My lord, is the coming of the Saviour of which thou speakest near or far off? " And the Angel answered and said unto him, " He will come three and thirty generations from thy kin and from thy seed and will deliver you.
Did You Know?
The angel says the Pearl waited in Judah until four sinners had been born, then came to Perez, called the patient one.
David received the Pearl as Jesse's seventh son, after six sons whom the angel calls men of wrath.
Gabriel calls himself the protector of those who carry the Pearl, from the body of Adam to the womb of Hanna.
The angel says God created the whole world for the sake of the Pearl and for the sake of Zion.
Three angels are assigned in the chapter: Michael to Zion, Gabriel to the Pearl, and Uriel to the wood of the Cross.