The English translation of the artistic etude by Sergei Arkhipov, titled “Истоки библейских преданий в обозрении врача”. The etude that mentions LCF is based on the Prologue and Epilogue of the essay: Архипов СВ. Дети человеческие: истоки библейских преданий в обозрении врача. Йоэнсуу: Издание Автора, 2025. [Arkhipov SV. Human Children: The Origins of Biblical Legends from a Physician's Perspective]. We hope that the machine translation has preserved the meaning and poetic tone of the original Russian text.
The Origins of Biblical Legends from a Physician’s
Perspective
Sergey
Arkhipov
Scene
Nurmes is a quiet town, anchored
among the waves of emerald hills of Northern Karelia. At night, the windows and
lanterns of the settlement are reflected in the adjacent lakes, like the lights
of an impressive ship in the mirror of the roadstead. During the day, along the
long street-deck, past the birch masts, wise “passengers” slowly walk and
talkative “cabin boys” rush by. The shrill cries of seagulls, the damp gusty
wind, the growl of motorboats, sparkling ripples, and a flotilla of rowboats
leave no doubt as to where you are.
The liner is securely held by
invisible chains, and, probably, therefore, despite the splashing waters, the
pitching is imperceptible. The huge vessel does not even tilt under the weight
of loaded cars and railway cars driving over the bridges. There are no peakless
caps in sight, but the naval order all around implies that the sailors
conscientiously carry out their watch. Instead of short strikes on the ship's
bell, time here is marked by the toll of church bells drifting across on the
water. Any minute now the original the ship bell to ring out, the boatswain's
pipe will start to sing in a trilling voice – “All hands on deck!”, and the
skipper will order: “Raise the sails!” The crew is clearly preparing for the
voyage, resoundingly dropping and loudly rolling logs, probably into the hold.
In daylight, the workers salute passing boats with rainbow fountains of
watering machines, and in the twilight, they light up the fairway and the
firmament with a pink-golden glow. The air is transparent, assertive, fresh,
and saturated with the aroma of sawn resinous wood. The captain lingers,
waiting for either the tide, or a fair breeze, or perhaps a cherished sign by
which to set off on a journey.
Little by little, the frozen
excitement of the malachite hills is encrusted with shimmering marble. Through
the frosty haze, the ark-city is illuminated by a stingy copper Sun hanging above
the winding edge of the close horizon. Gradually, the majestic boat is
decorated with sparkling snowflakes, captivated by the ice and plunged into
concentrated thoughtfulness. There is a feeling of a wintering sea expedition,
trapped in hummocks, guarded by severe icebergs. Everywhere is blinding
whiteness and motionless silence. Only occasionally can you hear a woodpecker
mending spars, sharply hammering a couple of nails into it.
Pacification…
Suddenly, at the end of the laconic
Arctic day, a mysterious revival of the landscape occurs. Coloured garlands are
lit everywhere, lamps are lit at the entrances and behind the windows of
houses. Man-made marvels are echoed by flashes of polar lights, covering
clusters of dazzling constellations with mother-of-pearl. Earthly and heavenly
fireflies wink at each other, reminding of some upcoming event.
The long-hidden secret begins to
reveal itself: why the captain was late with the departure, what the World and
the crew of the drakkar-peninsula were expecting. That evening, the outbreaks
of doorways become more frequent, and the bluish-milk paths are filled with
hurrying silhouettes. In the darkness their streams, skirting the snowdrifts,
gesticulate, creak with loose fluff and soar like smoky battleships on a
campaign. The neighborhood strives for the Temple, which soared to a black
bottomless vault, crowned with the Star of Bethlehem. As if at the signal of
the ship's horn, those who came running huddled near the stage, like sailors at
the wheelhouse. Wrapping themselves tighter from the flying cold crystals, the
community of different ages reverently freezes in anticipation of the action.
Drama “Immanuel”
And the anthracite-cold mist opened
up. And a corner of Nazareth appeared, incomprehensibly stuck in the boundless
snows. And no one was at all embarrassed by either the southern location of the
place or the carpenter Joseph in his warm attire. And now, the measured
righteousness of the cabinetmaker is cuts in half by the descending Archangel.
And, standing on a hillock in the shining imprint of the Moon that has sunk
into oblivion, the Messenger proclaims: “... do not be afraid to take Mary your
wife,” for according to the prophet she: “... will bear a Son, and they will
call His name Emmanuel!”.
The humble confusion of the husband
in the adult gathering evokes a mosaic of feelings. How will it all go from
here? He did not banish! He accepted her! He lifts her onto a pony, and they
hurry away through the darkness. Behind – the whistle of the blizzard; above – spruce
branches reach; on either side – the hushed spectators; ahead – the unknown.
Terrible Herod gloomily listens to
the dignified speech of the Magi, about the imminent birth and accession to the
throne of the Ecumenical Ruler. In desperate fear of the collapse of power, the
fierce king sends an army to children to destruction. With spears and torches,
without trembling in soul, the villains zealously rush after the fugitives.
The travelers rush about, seeking
for shelter in the blizzard, and find no compassion around. Rejecting the
pursued, people know not that the hour of reckoning through children draws
near.
The episode of the production is
captivating, completely paralyzing the contemplators. Memories resurrect the
horror of their own ancestors, who repeatedly escaped from the enemy with
bundles of belongings and deprivation on their shoulders. The hand of hard
times overtook the weak and the little, casting iconographic images of the
deceased from an alloy of hatred and sadness in the memory of those who
miraculously remained alive.
A small cave in a snowy slope
shelters Mary the fugitive, while nearby Joseph treads anxiously. Pausing, the
elder flings up frozen hands and surveys at the foot of his elevation. A little
lower, worried, a patient sea of sparkling, sincere eyes is spread out. With
each passing second the frost grows fiercer: it burns tense faces, chills hands,
and the snowstorm lashes the ankles ever more furiously. The onslaught of
blizzard swirls and the piercing cold intensify the test of steadfastness and
Faith.
Like a beacon’s bright flash in
utter darkness, a newborn’s cry suddenly rises to the sky. Parting the veil,
Mary emerges from the grotto, bearing the child for the slaughter and salvation
to the crowd. Wise men and shepherds approach with reverence, God’s Angels
descend, shaggy pine tops and transparent birch branches bow low. Approaching
heavenly lights peer intently into the hearts of the witnesses of the miracle.
Divertissement
The once faceless, silent disunity
awakens, unites with inspiration, smiles, makes noise, starts dancing to a
simple melody and touching tune.
He has appeared!
The knowledge of the fate of the
infant obscures the general joy, and clouds thoughts about the fate prepared
for the Son of Man.
The transformed public, heading for
home comfort, carefully hides from the prickly snowstorm in their frosted
palms, the timid flame of the Christmas candles. The city-ship, hitherto
covered with raven drapery, brightens. The streets are seized by an uplifted
bustle, just like the embankment at the meeting of the flotilla returning to
port. Those who disperse are mentally transported from modern Nurmes to the New
Testament Bethlehem, and further to the origins of biblical legends. In those
moments, eyewitnesses and actors soar above the hardships of everyday life,
forget ailments, and glimpse a ray of hope in existence. Miraculously, it grows
warmer within and without.
What was the one born that night
like and did he really live? Did the Holy Family exist, now tirelessly caring
for us in the divine abode? When did their Old Testament ancestors wander the
Earth and where did they come from? In what era and where did this epic story
begin? Who wrote it – and why was it reshaped into legend?
Prelude
The uplifting performance in Finnish
Nurmes, which retold the story of the birth of the New Testament Emmanuel in
Judean Bethlehem, has ended. Illuminated by the polar lights, the audience
hurried from the cold to homes, to their hearths. Someone set out the dishes
and poured glogg. We opened the folios. Their spines and edges refracted the
biblical epic, like the facets of crystal prisms splitting a white beam into a
rainbow spectrum.
Creation and Birth
And we saw – in the beginning there
was movement, and it was not clear why, where and when. And the most ancient
movement was creation, and there was nothing before it, including movement. And
it became the opening chord of the Cosmos’ formation as we know it. And if
there was something before, then it is not known what it was and whether it was
at all: Something, Someone or Nothing. And movement arose, and the World was formed,
and everything in it began to move. And to this day everything is in movement
and will be in movement, and is movement. And movement will cease, again, by
some movement at the end of everything, in the final act of the play The
Genesis of the Universe. And only this is known to us, and we know nothing
more, and do not guess at all. And we do not understand either the structure or
the essence of the coming dark, majestic Stillness.
And because of the movement, from
something, came into being: matter, energy, and information, and time their was
welded together. And these substances flowed and transformed into one another,
waning and waxing, took shape and lost it, synthesized and divided, joined and
separated – ceaselessly in motion. And the interstellar gas thickened, and the
Sun flared up, and space whirled around it, and dust coalesced into small
bodies and planets. And the latter rotated, and crowded, and collided, and
heated, and cooled. And rocky spheres among them, in the “Goldilocks zone,” gathered
liquid water into oceans. And the waters boiled, and froze, and evaporated, and
condensed, and became enriched with salts, and into them fell blocks from the
skies, and pierced by lightning, frothed, mixed, stagnated, and began to move
again.
And suddenly, somehow, perhaps only
in Earth’s shallow waters, the living emerged from the non-living. And, unlike
the lifeless, the living acquired the ability to reproduce itself and regulate
the values of the average daily mechanical stress of its organisms. And the
living in the water also moved continuously, but not like the lifeless, but
purposefully and then went out onto dry land, and went deeper into the soil,
and took off, and populated everything and everyone. And living beings were
born, and grew, and changed, and gave life, and took it away, and died. And
they passed into the living, and into the geomorphic, and into the gaseous, and
into the liquid, and did not stop for a moment in tireless movement until the
hour of death – an irreversible mismatch of energy, mass, and information.
And finally, in the north of Africa,
man blossomed – a conscious, assertive and inquisitive creature. And the coming
of modern people to the face of the earth was also a movement, and as
mysterious as the origin of life itself. And the intelligent could not sit
still, and they became interested in the lands beyond the seas. And, moving
from the continent-cradle on other expanses, some settled in the Zagros
Mountains. And the oldest settlers with the nicknames Adam and Eve, were
imprisoned by harsh cold, and kept safe in a convenient valley. And the pair
was replaced by a second, and a third, and the next. And there Mankind was in
motion and satisfying needs, and in accordance with the natural course of
events, and with the seasons, and transformed the surroundings and objects, and
its appearance, and was subject to changeability. And from this tranquil past,
their descendants composed the legend of Eden’s Garden. And they departed the
highlands and preserving ancestors’ story in their hearts.
And one day the heavenly floodgates
revealed, and streams fell upon the earth, and the springs of the great abyss
opened, and flooded the plains, and drowned the tribes between the ridges. And
the exceptionally far-sighted and savvy hid in the rocky ark and thus survived
the local “universal” flood. And then they multiplied, and multiplied, and
developed the area, and took possession of it, and grew grain and grapes, and
settled. And in constant movement they feuded, and made friends, worked and
idled, and got married and parted, and tried to comprehend everything, and
inclined towards the incomprehensible. And they sought out what was needed, and
made it with their own hands, and founded settlements, and built towers, and
formed the first civilization – the Sumerian.
And so a man named Terah in
Ur-Kasdim, a Mesopotamian city in the land of Shinar, gave birth to Abraham,
who fathered Isaac in Canaan, who gave us the legendary Jacob, who raised
Joseph, who, together with a surgeon-physician, created the Book of Bereshit
(Genesis), in Egypt under the Hyksos and in it described the beginning of
existence and his lineage. And the descendants made this work the basis of
morality and Faith. And they read, and studied, and supplemented this
manuscript for thousands of years, both in years of defeats and in times of
victories, and drew from it both strength and will, and regulations. And Judges
ruled, and Kings sat on thrones, and states were built and disintegrated, and
people were driven into slavery, and returned from it, continuing to adhere to
the covenants set forth by their ancestors.
And to the series of dynasties was
added the named father of Jesus Christ, a carpenter named Joseph. And he lived
righteously, and worked, and married Mary. And when he noticed his wife's
unusually early pregnancy, he took her away from the eyes of his fellow
villagers. And the family went from Nazareth through Judea to Egypt, thereby
avoiding both unnecessary questions and misinterpretations. And over the child
in the womb and the future mother hung like the sword of Damocles, the road
that once destroyed Rachel. Both husband and wife realized the likely tragic
outcome of their exodus. And those to whom the travelers appealed for shelter
sensed that gloom. And no one wanted to see death, even someone else's, in the
house or nearby.
And they came across a stable in
Bethlehem, fortunately not occupied by cattle. And, hastily cleaning it, Joseph
prepared for Mary’s labor. And he hurried to a caravan standing nearby, with
which, perhaps, a midwife is going. And we are sure: help comes to the woman in
time. And they swaddled and laid the baby in a manger. And the eyewitnesses
rejoiced at the safe birth of the child. And the shepherds who came from the
nearby field, having found the abode of the livestock, cleaned and transformed
into a dwelling, kindly agreed not to disturb the rest of the mother and her
firstborn. And then they told everyone they met about this wonderful incident
with a happy ending. Both old and young marveled at the patronage from Above
for these travelers.
And Joseph set a festive table for
kindhearted chance acquaintances. And the invited gifted Jesus the only
presents of His life. Mary and the infant regained strength under the herd's roof.
And in accordance with Moses’ law, after thirty-three days they come to
Jerusalem, and after thirty-three years they will appear again – he in glory,
and she in sorrow.
Ministry and Teaching
Returning to Nazareth with a newborn
child will undoubtedly raise a wave of slander. Anticipating gossip, Joseph
heads further, as planned, – to Egypt. To the Nile Valley, he follows the path
of Abraham and the Midianite merchants who brought Joseph there. The wanderers
settle in the diaspora of co-religionists, where the family head, skilled in
carpentry, earned a living during his stepson’s early years. When it turns out
to be impossible to accurately calculate the child's age, a return journey is
made – “to the land of Israel” to Nazareth of Galilee. In that village, Jesus
spends his childhood, his unusual inclinations manifest themselves, and in
adolescence, a thirst for knowledge is revealed. The boy, ignorant of birth
father, was chiefly raised by his mother. Subsequently, the younger children
absorb her attention.
The maturing Jesus gradually
distances himself from his parents, brothers, and sisters. The young man
immerses himself in his thoughts, peers keenly into the surrounding reality,
drawing initial information about nature from the First Book of Moses. The
earliest scientific encyclopedia is fascinating. It fascinates with the secrets
of the structure of the universe, the levels of organization of life, the
anatomy, and physiology of people. This work inspired Him to master healing
arts, uncover true causes of ailments and gait impairments after damage to the
enigmatic the sinew of the hip joint (ligament of head of femur).
Like Joseph, at the age of 16-17,
Jesus, equipped with a small capital, leaves provincial Nazareth and heads to
highly developed Alexandria. The example of the successful career of the
beloved heir of Patriarch Jacob gives hope for better prospects of fate. The
applicant’s talent and memory were highly appreciated by the teachers of
Museion, and they enroll him in medical school. Within the walls of the famous
Academy, the unique student absorbs knowledge and becomes a doctor.
Jesus accumulates clinical
experience in the Nile Delta for almost a decade. The spirit of the polymath
physician, the scientific editor of the Book of Bereshit Imhotep the Younger,
hovering over Egypt, lights the torch of the polyglot, the
physician-philosopher Jesus of Nazareth. However, the risk of exacerbating the
smoldering ethnic conflict in Alexandria forces the intellectual to return to
his native land – to Galilee.
In search of the meaning of life,
Jesus makes a pilgrimage to the Jordan. Wise John notices and proclaims the
pastoral calling of his godson. Solitude in the desert puts priorities in
place, and convictions finally crystallize in a phantasmagoric dream. The
villagers of Nazareth did not accept the son of a cabinetmaker as a medical
expert. He settles further away, in Capernaum, where he opens a medical
practice. Attractive character traits, effective therapy, useful recommendations
and kind parting words contribute to his popularity. People are drawn to him
for health restoration, and for explanations, and for enlightenment.
Due to the failure of the health
care system in Roman Palestine, many patients yearn for healing. The priests
are concerned with prevention, and the available doctors are unable to cover
all the sufferers. Jesus sees the need for doctors and begins training
disciples. They practice practical skills in internships and learn ideology
through parables with commentary. The unsystematic process of training leads to
complaints about the students and casts a shadow on the methods of the Master.
In a sermon on a hill near the Sea
of Galilee, Jesus unveils an original social doctrine and explains its cornerstones.
He defined His Service’s chief aim: the creation of a harmonious community of
fellow tribesmen on the foundation of adjusted principles of the Jewish
confession. According to the idealistic plan, conflicts in the humane network
will decrease, the level of mutual trust will increase, the psychological
climate will improve in families, in settlements, and in the country.
Horizontal connections will help like-minded people support each other
regardless of power, religious prescriptions, and the region of residence. This
will improve the health of society as a whole, prevent injuries, somatic and
mental illnesses of specific subjects. Later, Jesus agrees to include other
ethnic groups into the community other that have accepted the universal formula
for arranging the noosphere proclaimed by him.
Priests saw the new Messiah’s deeds
and teachings as threats to their welfare and sway over the flock. Signals
began to arrive about the impending reprisal against the founder of the
expanding humane community. Jesus ponders how to prevent the fellowship from
collapsing in the event of his demise. He composes an unprecedented scenario of
death. In the culminating episode, he is supposed to leave a memorable message
to his followers, a testimony about himself and the Teaching, simultaneously
denouncing the ill-wishers and encouraging those who follow. In allegorical
sayings, Jesus promises to rise again, implying memories of his image. The
Shepherd speaks of further dwelling “on the clouds of heaven,” namely in the
thoughts of new generations.
In our opinion, in the concept
developed by Jesus, “God” is not impersonal, but a very specific patron of the
three Old Testament Patriarchs and Mesopotamian Ur – the Sumerian-Akkadian “lord
of knowledge” Nanna. This essence is Constancy: the laws of human existence, of
living and lifeless matter, as well as lists, rules, effects, processes,
orders, constants. Schematically and briefly: the Deity of Jesus is Science. Understanding
of the algorithms of nature allowed him to clearly see and reshape the future
as if it were the Son of the “Most High”.
The crucifixion – a planned
euthanasia, executed aided by the flawless ally Judas Iscariot – achieved its
intended impact. Spectators, “beating their breasts,” trudged from Golgotha, and
closing their eyes, imagined the symbol: “Physician on the Cross.” The foretold
ascension to “heaven,” as intended, wasn’t physical flight or biological
revival but a transition into a positive collective memory.
Cadence
The Assumption of the healer of
souls and flesh gave birth to a stream of social radiation, the impulse of
which, having passed through the ages, influenced billions of destinies. In the
absence of the Teacher, distortions and additions to the Teaching are understandable,
as well as negative side effects. At the same time, the acceptance of the
reality of Jesus and an impartial analysis of his Message removes the patina of
mysticism that has accumulated for two thousand years.
Natural science liberates the theses
of the Sermon on the Mount’s and related ideas from dogmatic captivity,
initiates a pragmatic attitude towards fantasies, deceit, dreams,
hallucinations and supernatural entities described in the book of Bereshit. As
a result, a harmonious and solid worldview is acquired – a “scientific
religion” based on the immutable laws of the Universe. The earthlings or
colonists of Mars united by it, bound by ethical ties, will someday be able to
form a progressively developing society without lies and parasitism. Their
support will be: a healthy perception of the incomprehensible and scientific
facts, the importance of the individual and moral standards.
The name and good intentions of the
Galilean Physician are tenderly preserved on the shores of Finland’s Lake Pielinen.
Here, Christmas hymns and the Son of Man’s aspirations still fill the sails
with the ship-town Nurmes. It glides over Northern Karelia’s malachite waves
toward a harmonious Future, drawing and us – Human Children – along.
Amen!
Sergey Arkhipov.
2025.
Joensuu
.
Author:
Arkhipov S.V. – candidate of medical sciences, surgeon, traumatologist-orthopedist.
Citation:
Arkhipov S. The Origins of Biblical Legends from a Physician’s Perspective: An Artistic Etude. About round ligament of femur. April 11, 2025. [The English translation of the artistic etude by Sergei Arkhipov: Архипов С. Истоки библейских преданий в обозрении врача: художественный этюд. О круглой связке бедра. 11.04.2025. https://kruglayasvyazka.blogspot.com/2025/04/2025_11.html]
Keywords
ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, history, first patient, injury, damage, Bible, Genesis
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