Bela-Shemesh

The term "Bela-Shemesh" is a compound derived from Hebrew roots. "Bela" (בֶּלַע) can signify "swallowing" or "devouring," while "Shemesh" (שֶׁמֶשׁ) translates to "sun." Together, they suggest a dominion or lord over the sun, or perhaps a solar aspect attributed to the Moon.

TluLord of the Sun", the name of the Moon during that period when the Jews became in turn .solar and lunar worshij)j)ers, and when the Moon was a male, and the Sun a female deity. This period embraced the time between the allegorical expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden down to the no less allegorical Noachian flood. (See Secret Doctrine, 1. 397.) Bembo, TahUt of; or M<nsa Isiaca. A brazen tablet inlaid with designs in Mosaic (now in the Museum at Turin) which once belonged to the famous Cardinal Bembo. Its origin and date are unknown. It 50 TnEOSOPiirrAL is coviTod with Efryptian fifjuns and liirrofrlypliics, and is supposed to have iK'i'n an ornanu'nt in an ancient Tcinplc of Isis. The learned Jesuit Kirelier wrote a description of it, and Montfaiieon has a ehai)ter devoted to it. [w.w.w.] The only Knjjlish work on the Isiac Tablet is hy Dr. W. Wymi Westcott. who };ives a photofjravyiriin addition to its history, description, and occult sifjnifieance. Ben ( ll'I'.i. A son; a eniiinion jn-ctix in prnpir names to denote the son of so-and-so. e.g., Ben Solomon, Ben Ishmael, etc. Be-ness. A term coin«'il hy Theoso|)hsts to render more accurately the efwential nieaninp of the untranslatable word Sat. The latter word doe.s not mean "Bein<:", for it presupposes a sentient feeling or some cons<'iousiu'ss of existence. But. as the term Sat is applied solely to the absolute Principle, the universal, unknown, and ever unknowable Presence, which philosophical Pantheism postulates in Kosmos, calling it the basic root of Kosmos, and Kosmos itself — "Being" was no fit word to express it. Indeed, the latter is not even, as translated by some Orientalists, "the ineompresensible Entity"; for it is no more an Entity than a non-Entity, but both. It is, as said, ab.solute Be-ncss, not Being, the one secondless. undivided, and indivisible All — the root of all Nature visible and invisible, objective and subjective, to be sen.sed by the highest spiritual intuition. l)ut never to be fully

Blavatsky's inclusion of "Bela-Shemesh" in her 1892 lexicon offers a fascinating glimpse into a particular, perhaps speculative, period of ancient Hebrew religious thought. The phrase itself, "Lord of the Sun," is immediately arresting. It posits the Moon, typically seen as a reflector or a secondary light, as holding a primary, almost sovereign, position over the Sun. This isn't merely an astronomical observation; it's a theological statement, one that reverses the usual patriarchal or solar-centric divine hierarchies.

The period Blavatsky situates this concept within—between the expulsion from Eden and the Noachian flood—is itself a deeply symbolic epoch, a time of primal origins and cosmic upheaval. To associate this "Moon-as-Lord" concept with such a foundational era suggests that the earliest understandings of the divine cosmos might have been more fluid, less rigidly defined by the dominant solar symbolism that would later prevail in many cultures. Mircea Eliade, in his explorations of archaic cosmologies, often emphasized the primal significance of the Moon, its connection to cycles, water, and the feminine, before the ascendancy of solar deities.

The notion of the Moon as male and the Sun as female is particularly intriguing. This gendered inversion of celestial powers points to a complex interplay of symbolism, where the familiar archetypes are reconfigured. It invites us to consider how different cultures have projected their understanding of power, creation, and gender onto the heavens. The Moon, with its waxing and waning, its association with tides and hidden influences, could easily have been perceived as a potent, even dominant, force in a pre-patriarchal or dualistic cosmological framework.

This concept, while perhaps not widely attested in mainstream historical or religious scholarship, serves as a potent reminder that esoteric traditions often preserve or reconstruct alternative narratives, challenging the consensus and opening up new avenues for interpreting ancient symbolism. It suggests that our modern, scientifically ordered view of the cosmos may obscure older, more fluid, and symbolically rich understandings of celestial relationships and their divine implications. The study of such terms encourages a deeper appreciation for the variegated ways humanity has sought to map the divine onto the observable universe.

RELATED_TERMS: Moon, Sun, Cosmology, Mythology, Gender Symbolism, Hebrew Mysticism, Archetypes