Artwork Title: Balaam and the Angel

Balaam and the Angel

The Nuremberg Chronicles

Balaam was a pagan prophet who was summoned to prognosticate against the Israelites. God sent an angel to block his path. Balaam's donkey could see the angel and refused to move on. Balaam struck the animal and threatened to kill it. The angel then revealed itself and warned him to prophesy only good things for Israel. In this image we see Balaam wielding a club, a symbol of fire, seemingly against the angel who wields a sword, a symbol of air. The donkey stares the other way unaffected.
Uploaded on Oct 2, 2014 by Jeremy Donaldson

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