The Creation Cycle

The Sarajevo Haggadah manuscript.

The Creation Cycle

Two pages containing eight framed miniatures, each one with scene, are dedicated to the seven days of creation (Genesis Chapter 1 and 2: 1-3). The pages face each other so that the entire cycle can be viewed continously from right to left, with no need to turn the pages. The pages are divided horizontally into two sections, each containing a pair of rectangles of unequal size. The first and last rectangles (upper right on fol. 1v, and lower left on fol. 2r) are long and narrow, while the one next to each of these is correspondingly wider.

Fol. 1v, A (Scene 1) - Pre-Creation: Formless Earth
"Now the earth was formless" (Gen. 1:2a).

The opening rectangle is dedicated to the shape of the universe before Creation, as described in verse 2 of Genesis 1, the first three words of which are cited in the inscription above the miniature. The artist however depicted the second section of the verse: "and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters." "The spirit of God" is seen as wavy rays of gold against the black darkness, rising vertically above the horizontal blue waves of water set against a white background.

Fol. 1v, B (Scene 2) - The First Day: Division of Light from Darkness
"First Day / Let there be light [...] / and [God] separated the light from the darkness" (fragments from Gen 1:5; 1:3-4)

The symbolic shape of the universe is shown as an arched rectangle - a design which is repeated in the next five rectangles (Scenes 2 through 7). In this scene it is divided vertically into two distinct sections - on the right , the bright and shiny white surface represents light, while the black surface, left, signifies darkness. And though the firmament is mentioned in the biblical text only in reference to the second day, the miniature depicts a series of narrow arched bands, alternately blue and white.

Fol. 1v, C (Scene 3) – The Second Day: Separation of Sky from Water
"Second Day / Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters" (Gen. 1:8; 1:6).

As narrated in the verse, the scene depicts the division of "the waters [under the sky] from the waters [above the sky]." (The Bible says that this "separated the water under the expanse from the water above it." God called the expanse "heaven", which we night call "sky"). It is set in the basic framing format of the arch with the firmament in altering colors, here painted in blue, highlighted by whitedots along the inner side of the arch – a feature repeated in the following days (Scenes 3 through 7). From a central point in the firmament emanate golden rays, reperesenting the deity and its command, as narrated in the text. These radiate out as they reach a white circle below, representing earth, in which the waters are divided: the upper section is void (air), while the lower is illustrated with waves of water, in a similar manner to the episodeof the formless world just above.

Fol. 1v, D (Scene 4) – The Third Day: Creation of Dry Land and Vegetation
"Third Day / Let the water [...] be gathered [...] / [A]nd let dry land appear [...] / Let the earth put forth grass" (fragments from Gen. 1:13; 1:9; 1:11).

The familiar firmament design with rays of gold radioating over the circle of earth reappears here. The arched framing device is set against the alternating color – dark cinnamon. Earth is shown with the waters of the sea, above which is a stretch of land on which tall green grass and three trees are growing.

Fol. 2r, A (Scene 5) – The Fourth Day: Creation of the Sun, Moon and Stars
"Fourth Day / Let there be lights (Gen. 1:19; 1:14) / Sun, Moon and Stars."

The first scene on the facing page repeats the previous composition, with most of its details and even the cinnamon color of the background field the same. To these are added new iconographic features and notable changes. Firstly, the white and blue firmament now bears four gold stars and two circles – the sun on the right, painted in gold, while to the left, a smaller dark circle stands for the moon. While the circle of earth with the grass and trees is similar if not identical, it is the only one in the cycle that depicts the rays of light radiating from earth towards heaven and not vice versa.

Fol. 2r, B (Scene 6) – The Fifth Day: Creation of Birds, Fishes and Animals
"Fifth [Day] / Let the water teem [with swarms of living creatures] / and let birds fly above the earth" (Gen. 1:23; 1:20).

The cummulative scene of Creation is enhanced on this panel with the new creatures created on that day: different types and sizes of fish in the water, one of which is considerably larger than the others, apparently in reference to "the great whales" created on the fifth day (Gen. 1:21); a pair of birds perched on the tree tops; and four legged animals – right, an unidentified spotted beast (a leopard or cheetah?) standing on its hind legs, and left, a lion with its left forepaw raised. The latter, however, are not mentioned in the biblical text among the creatures created on the fifth day, and, unlike the fish and birds, are not mentioned in the inscription above the miniature.
The golden rays of light are once again shown as in the scenes of the second and third days, radiating from heaven towards earth.

Fol. 2r, C (Scene 7) – The Sixth Day: Creation of More Animals and Man
"Sixth Day / Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature (Gen. 1:31; 1:24) / Creation of Man."

The last episode with the scheme of earth set in an arched rectangle, set here against a blue field, has some of the faunal motifs from the previous scene and some new ones – set in a slightly different format. However, the main addition is the relatively large figure of a naked reclining man. This is obviously Adam, modeled on Christian prototypes – omitting the figure of the female, created with Adam according to the corresponding text (Gen. 1:27). The caption given to the scene ("Creation of Man") is indeed not a direct quote from the biblical text.

Fol. 2r, D (Scene 8) – The Seventh Day - Day of Rest
"Sabbath Day."

The last image in the seven-day creation cycle differs from the previous scenes. It depicts a seated man set in a new framework consisting of a trefoil Gothic arch with golden spandrels, and a building with a pair of windows in the background. The man is bearded and dressed in a long gown and cap, as are other male figures in the subsequent pages. Some Christian cycles skip this scene while others show God resting. Based on the latter, von Schlosser and Muller identified the figure as the Jewish God, who looks different from the Creator in the corresponding depictions. This hypothesis was not accepted, and later scholars assumed that this is a man (perhaps even a Cataln Jew), seated in restful and calm mood, as is typical in Jewish tradition on the Sabbath. Here again, the inscribed caption is not a direct quote; in fact the name of the seventh day, Shabbat, appears for the first time only in the book of Exodus. Despite the new framework and composition adopted for this scene, the artist actually connects it visually with the previous days of Creation by reusing the white dots along the inner side of the trefoil arch.

The Sarajevo Haggadah manuscript is an exquisite example of Medieval Hebrew illuminated and decorative art. The Haggadah (story) is a Passover Haggadah read during the Jewish feast of Passover. It contains a collection of lyrical works from the “Golden Age” of Jewish-Arab culture from the 10th-13th centuries, prayers for the Passover feast and instructions for the evening prayer on Passover eve. It’s one the first, perhaps only, illuminated Jewish manuscripts and has survived a range of trials and tribulations over the centuries. It evokes times when Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together in medieval Spain and offers testimony to the expulsion of Jews from Spain.