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Cover of Before the Light Spoke: The Hidden Light of Genesis, the Mother Spirit, and the Zohar — The Illustrated Companion. Afterglow Publishing.

The Mystical Roots of Christianity & Judaism · Episode One

Before the Light Spoke

For everyone who has opened the ancient scriptures and longed to hear their original voice.

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Made by Afterglow Publishing, home of the Afterglow channels on YouTube.

Where can you read the mystical sources of Genesis, the Syriac Mother Spirit, and the Zohar in their original scripts?

Before the Light Spoke (Afterglow Publishing) is a 65-page illustrated sourcebook gathering fifty-three primary-source passages across six chapters in their original Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, Greek, and Syriac scripts, each with our own direct English translation beneath it. It traces the Hidden Light from Genesis, Ezekiel, 1 Enoch, and John to the Syriac fathers and the Zohar.

Inside the companion

Look inside.

Inside page: Chapter 1, The Light of the First Day, with the opening verse of Genesis in Biblical Hebrew and English translation.
Part I opens: Genesis and the hidden light of the first day.
Inside page: an illustration of Ezekiel by the River Chebar beneath the chariot vision.
Full-page illustrations throughout: Ezekiel by the River Chebar.
Inside page: Part II, Chapter 5, The Gates of Splendor, with Zoharic Aramaic and our own translation.
Part II: Zoharic Aramaic in its original script with our own translation.

About this companion

A closer look.

This companion accompanies Episode One of the documentary series The Mystical Roots of Christianity & Judaism, published by Afterglow Publishing. Across 65 illustrated pages it follows that light from Genesis to the Zohar, through the prophets, the Syriac poets, the Song of Songs and the Gospel of John, with fifty-three passages in their own ancient scripts and our own translation beneath each one.

Before God says "Let there be light", the Hebrew of Genesis has already placed the Spirit on the dark water, brooding over the deep like a mother bird warming her nest.

You also get a guide to reading the scripts, a chronological map of the whole stream, a master index of all fifty-three sources, a glossary, and a Listening Companion to the music of the video.

For readers of the Bible and the mystics who want the sources themselves in hand. For anyone drawn to a language of living light, maternal warmth and bridal intimacy in the Jewish and Christian traditions. For students of Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Ge'ez or Greek who like to linger line by line. You need none of these languages to read it: our translation stands beneath every passage.

What you receive

Both files, right away.

This companion is available in many languages. Choose yours before you buy: you receive that language's edition as PDF and EPUB.

One purchase gives you the companion in the language you chose, as both files: the PDF in the printed-page layout, and the EPUB for compatible reading apps and e-readers.

Published and translated by
Afterglow Publishing. Every Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, Greek, and Syriac passage stands in its original script beside our own translation, made directly from those texts.
Formats included
PDF and EPUB, in the language you choose.
Languages available
English · Español · Português (Brasil) · Nederlands · Bahasa Indonesia · 繁體中文 · Deutsch · Français
How delivery works
Right after payment your download page opens with both files. Save them now; they are yours to keep. The page stays open for 30 days at the same address. Stripe emails your receipt.

Watch the complete documentary ↗ on the Afterglow Publishing channel, and read the companion before or after.

From the companion

Four source passages and our translations.

וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּֽיִם׃

Now the earth was unformed and empty, with darkness over the surface of the abyss, and the Spirit of God was brooding over the surface of the waters.

(Genesis 1:2 · Biblical Hebrew)

2 — Genesis 1:2 · Biblical Hebrew · Miqra according to the Masorah (CC BY-SA, cantillation stripped) · Chapter 1.

ውእቱ፡ ይከውን፡ በትረ፡ ለጻድቃን፡ ከመ፡ ቦቱ፡ ይትመረጐዙ፡ ወኢይደቁ፡ ወውእቱ፡ ብርሃነ፡ አሕዛብ፡ ወውእቱ፡ ይከውን፡ ተስፋ፡ ለእለ፡ የሐምሙ፡ በልቦሙ፡፡

He will be a staff for the righteous on which to lean without stumbling; He will be the Light of the Peoples and the hope of those who ache in their hearts.

(1 Enoch 48:4 · Classical Ethiopic Ge’ez)

22 — 1 Enoch 48:4 · Classical Ethiopic (Ge’ez) · Chapter 2.

ܕܟܕ ܒܪܢܫܐ ܐܢܬܬܐ ܥܕܟܝܠ ܠܐ ܢܣܒ ܪܚܡ ܘܡܝܩܪ ܠܐܠܗܐ ܐܒܘܗܝ ܘܠܪܘܚ ܩܘܕܫܐ ܐܡܗ ܘܠܝܬ ܠܗ ܪܚܡܬܐ ܐܚܪܬܐ

For while a man has not yet taken a wife, he loves and honours God his Father and the Holy Spirit his Mother, and he has no other love.

(Aphrahat the Persian Sage, Demonstration 18.10 · Classical Syriac)

42 — Aphrahat, Demonstration 18.10 · Classical Syriac · Chapter 3.

סתים גו סתימין דרזא דאין סוף בקע ולא בקע אוירא דיליה לא אתיידע כלל עד דמגו דחיקו דבקיעותיה נהיר נקודה חדא סתימא עלאה בתר ההיא נקודה לא אתיידע כלל ובגין כך אקרי ראשית מאמר קדמאה דכלא.

What is sealed inside the sealed, the secret of the One without end, broke open and did not break open. Its air is not known at all, until, from within the pressure of its breaking-through, one sealed upper point shone. After that point it is not known at all, and therefore it is called Beginning, the first saying of all.

(Sefer ha-Zohar I:15a · Zoharic Aramaic)

52 — Sefer ha-Zohar I:15a (Bereshit) · Zoharic Aramaic (unpointed consonantal text) · Chapter 6.

Every primary source in this companion is printed in its original ancient script — Biblical Hebrew, Classical Ethiopic (Ge’ez), Biblical and Zoharic Aramaic, Koine Greek, and Syriac — with our own fresh translation beneath it, translated directly from the original languages for this edition by Afterglow Publishing. Where a source text licence requires attribution: Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic text from Miqra according to the Masorah (CC BY-SA); Koine Greek apparatus readings from the SBL Greek New Testament (CC BY).

Audiobook

The audiobook is sold separately. One purchase gives you the audiobook in the language you chose, as downloadable MP3 files that play on any phone, tablet or computer. Download right after payment; your download page stays open for 30 days and the files are yours to keep.