Right hand of God

God Inviting Christ to Sit on the Throne at His Right Hand (1645) by Pieter de Grebber

The Right Hand of God (Dextera Domini "right hand of the Lord" in Latin) or God's right hand may refer to the Bible and common speech as a metaphor for the omnipotence of God and as a motif in art.

It is also a placement next to God in Heaven, in the traditional place of honour, mentioned in the New Testament as the place of Christ at Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69, Matthew 22:44 and 26:64, Acts 2:34 and 7:55, 1 Peter 3:22 and elsewhere. These uses reflect use of the phrase in the Old Testament, for example in Psalms 63:8 and 110:1.[1] In the Bible, to be at the right side "is to be identified as being in the special place of honor".[2] In Jesus' The Sheep and the Goats, the sheep and goats are separated with the sheep on the right hand of God and the goats on the left hand.

The implications of this anthropomorphic phrasing have been discussed at length by theologians, including Saint Thomas Aquinas.[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Psalm 110:1 in parallel translations: http://bible.cc/psalms/110-1.htm
  2. ↑ Leland Ryken, James Wilhoit and Tremper Longman III, ed. (1998). "Right, Right Hand". Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. InterVarsity Press. pp. 727–728.
  3. ↑ Aquinas, Thomas. "Question 58. Christ's sitting at the right hand of the Father". Summa Theologica. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
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