The Phoenix

In ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology, the phoenix is a mythical bird associated with the Egyptian Sun God Ra and the Greek Sun God Apollo but it is also associated with Jesus and THE DOUBLE HEADED EAGLE = 894 was the symbol of the Byzantine empire which was built mostly by Greek alchemists and was based on the Greek WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING.

A long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or born again, associated with the Sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. According to some sources, the phoenix dies in a show of flames and combustion, although there are other sources that claim that the legendary bird dies and simply decomposes before being born again.

According to some texts, the phoenix could live over 1,400 years before rebirth. Herodotus, Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Pope Clement I, Lactantius, Ovid, and Isidore of Seville are among those who have contributed to the retelling and transmission of the phoenix motif. In the historical record, the phoenix "could symbolize renewal in general as well as the sun, time, metempsychosis, consecration, resurrection, life in the heavenly Paradise, Christ, Mary, virginity, the exceptional man, and certain aspects of Christian life".

The phoenix is sometimes pictured in ancient and medieval literature and medieval art as endowed with a nimbus, which emphasizes the bird's connection with the Sun. In the oldest images of phoenixes on record these nimbuses often have seven rays, like Helios (the personified sun of Greek mythology). Pliny the Elder also describes the bird as having a crest of feathers on its head, and Ezekiel the Dramatist compared it to a rooster.

Although the phoenix was generally believed to be colorful and vibrant, sources provide no clear consensus about its coloration. Tacitus says that its color made it stand out from all other birds. Some said that the bird had peacock-like coloring, and Herodotus's claim of red and yellow is popular in many versions of the story on record. Ezekiel the Dramatist declared that the phoenix had red legs and striking yellow eyes, but Lactantius said that its eyes were blue like sapphires and that its legs were covered in scales of yellow-gold with rose-colored talons.

Herodotus, Pliny, Solinus, and Philostratus describe the phoenix as similar in size to an eagle, but Lactantius and Ezekiel the Dramatist both claim that the phoenix was larger, with Lactantius declaring that it was even larger than an ostrich.

Chol (Hebrew: ח֗וֹל‎‎), in most passages of the Hebrew Bible, is a word for sand.

The Westminster Leningrad Codex reads:

אֹמַר עִם־קִנִּ֣י אֶגְוָ֑ע וְ֝כַח֗וֹל אַרְבֶּ֥ה יָמִֽים׃‎

Job 29:18

In one English translation, this reads:

Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,

and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix;

-- New Revised Standard Version

In the Greek Septuagint (circa 200 BCE), the translators used the Ancient Greek expression στέλεχος φοίνικος (stélechos phoínikos, "stem/trunk of a palm tree") when they reached the Hebrew chol in Job 29.

Similarly, the Latin Vulgate (circa 400 CE), uses palma (Latin for "palm tree").

A number of English translations use the term "phoenix" in this verse, while the King James Version and the Luther Bible use "sand" (German "Sand").

Modern scholars have differed in their understanding of Job 29:18. Roelof Van den Broek (1971) believed that "sand" was the most appropriate interpretation in this verse, following the usage in other verses. On his interpretation, "multiply my days like the sand" would be a metaphor for a long life.

On the other hand, Mitchell Dahood (1974) argued in favor of the interpretation "phoenix" on the basis of parallels between Job and Ugaritic texts.

The understanding of chol as a phoenix-like bird has resulted in an amount of discourse on the topic.