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Original fileStamvaders Dan en Gad
About This Work
The print features two side-by-side panels. On the left, Dan is depicted in a turban and robes, pointing toward a scene where a serpent bites a horse's heel, causing its rider to fall. On the right, Gad appears as a muscular warrior in classical armor, holding a sword and standing amidst discarded shields and helmets to signify military victory.
In the Western esoteric tradition, particularly Christian Kabbalah, the Twelve Tribes of Israel were frequently mapped onto the twelve signs of the Zodiac and the twelve months of the year. These correspondences, explored by thinkers like Athanasius Kircher and in various hermetic manuscripts, sought to align the sacred history of the Bible with the celestial order of the cosmos.
Inscriptions(Latin)
DAN Dan factus populi iudex est ut tribus unis. Cerasti, morsu prendenti posteriora, Cætera collatus in semita Colubro Fortis equi; ascensor quo cadet ipse retro .7. GAD Gad animo magnus belli uirtute probatus Ex me prognatus uates præclarus Elias Victoris laudes abstulit ense suo Quem currus uiuum igneus eripuit .8.
Translation
DAN Dan is made judge of the people as one of the tribes. Like a Cerastes, biting the heels of the one grabbing from behind, The rest cast into the path like a serpent Of a strong horse; the rider of which shall himself fall backward .7. GAD Gad, great in spirit, proved by the virtue of war, Born from me, the illustrious prophet Elias, Carried away the praises of the victor with his sword, Whom a fiery chariot snatched away alive .8.
Connected Texts
Genesis 49
The imagery for Dan (the serpent biting the horse's heel) and Gad (the warrior) directly illustrates the deathbed prophecies of Jacob found in this chapter.
Athanasius Kircher
Kircher's later works, such as Oedipus Aegyptiacus, formalize the mapping of the Twelve Tribes (including Dan and Gad) to the signs of the Zodiac.
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 223 mm x width 309 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.