In a post on “The Words of Gad the Seer” and in a related book review for Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship, I’ve shared the dramatic story of the discovery and eventual translation of a Hebrew text found in India purporting to be “The Words of Gad the Seer,” one of the lost books mentioned in the Bible. In the recently translated text published by Jewish scholar Meir Bar-Ilan in the book, Words of Gad the Seer, a favorite passage of mine is a sermon said to be given by King David near the end of his life. This contains an apparent reference to multiple worlds all full of the glory of God:

178 And the Lord appeared unto David in the time of his old age and said to him: ‘Behold, I am with thee, and I am your God, and behold, My covenant is with you; fear not, neither be dismayed, for your God is your helper’. 179 And David bowed down to the Lord and rejoiced in his heart. 180 And the Lord said: ‘These are the words you will speak to the ears of the people in My name so they will obey [the words] and they will live, for there will be no more anger on them’. 181 And the Lord put His words in his mouth. 182 Then David assembled all Israel in Jerusalem, and he made to himself a pulpit of wood and he stood upon it before all the people. And he opened his mouth and said: 183 ‘Hear, O Israel, your God and my God is one, the only One and unique, there is no one like His individuality, hidden from all, He was and is and will be, He fills His place but His place doesn’t fill Him, He sees but is not seen, He tells and knows futures, for He is God without end and there is no end to His end, Omnipotence, God of truth, whole worlds are full of His glory. 184 And He gave each one free choice: if one wants to do good – he will be helped, and if one wants to do evil – a path will be opened for him. 185 For that we will worship our God our king our Lord our saviour with love and awe, for your wisdom is the fear of the Lord and your cleverness is to depart from evil.

Verse 183 has “whole worlds are full of His glory,” a passage that I have reflected upon many times recently as I contemplate the wonders of the cosmos and vast scope not only of God’s Creation, but of His work and glory in bringing to pass eternal life for His children who are willing to choose Him. It’s not just us on this little sphere, but there are many worlds where His glorious work is underway. Verse 183 is similar to Isaiah 6:3, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah speaks of just the earth itself, not many worlds.

I wondered if the Hebrew behind the English “worlds” actually might refer to celestial bodies or something else. To check, I reached out to Dr. Meir Bar-Ilan, the highly respected professor who has sought to bring the attention of the world to this overlooked ancient Hebrew text that was found among a Jewish colony in Cochin, India, and asked about the Hebrew in this passage. He was very generous n responding and share some text from the extensive Hebrew edition with much more commentary. Here is his reply of June 21, 2023, shared with his generous permission:

Verse 183, end, reads:

מלא כל העולמות כבודו [מלא = מלוא]

In Hebrew: Melo kol haOlamot Kevodo

It was translated [p. IX] ‘whole worlds are full of His glory’.

The word Kol = all [= a lot of /many]; the word Melo = whole.

The crucial word is Olamot (plural) = Olam (sing.)

The word olam has two meanings:

A. In temporal dimension: eternity [comp. vv. 29, 365]. 

The suffix -ot [fem. pl] equals suffix -im [mas. pl] as in v. 240 [Ps. 145].

[I do not know how your Hebrew is. Compare: Halonim (Bib. He.) = Halonot (Modern He.) = windows].

B. In spatial dimension: Olam = world, hence His glory is in all the worlds that exist [while acknowledging there are / were more worlds.

What exactly are these worlds? I assume, like you, other celestial bodies [stars or planets], implying they are not gods but were created by the Creator:

In my commentary I added:

מן ההקשר, ומן הצורה ‘עולמות’ (לעומת ‘עולמים’: להלן רמ), נראה שכאן הכוונה לעולמות במימד המקום, היינו שכבודו של ה’ מצוי בכל העולמות שברא (בו-זמנית). רעיון ריבוי העולמות יוחס על ידי תיאופרסטוס (371 – 287 לפנה”ס) לאנאכסימנדר (לערך 611 – 547 לפנה”ס),[1] וייתכן שהוא היה מוכר לתנאים ולאמוראים.[2] הפסוק הידוע (ישעיה ו,ג): ‘קדוש קדוש קדוש ה’ צבאות מלא כל הארץ כבודו’, תורגם: ‘…קדיש לעלם ולעלמי עלמיא’,[3] ביטוי בערך ההפלגה הדומה לכתוב כאן. ראה עוד להלן שסט: ‘מלא כל שמים וארץ כבודו’, ולהלן שעד: ‘עד נצח עולמות’.

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[1] קירק וראבן, עמ’ 123-121.  G. S. Kirk and J. E. Raven, The Presocratic Philosophers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962.

[2] מנחות כט ע”ב; עוקצין ג,יב; ועוד; מרחביה, התלמוד, עמ’ 78; ליברמן, תוספתא כפשוטה, א, עמ’ 123.

[3] תרגום המיוחס ליונתן על ישעיה ו,ג; תפילת ‘ובא לציון’: בער, סדר, עמ’ 127.

From the context, and from the form ‘worlds’ (as opposed to ‘worlds’: see below), it seems that here the reference is to worlds in the spatial dimension, that is, the glory of the Lord is found in all the worlds he created (simultaneously). The idea of multiple worlds is attributed by Theophrastus (371 – 287 BCE) to Anaximander (approximately 611 – 547 BCE),[1] and it is possible that it was known to the Tannaim and Amoraim.[2] The well-known verse (Isaiah 6:3): ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory’, was translated: ‘…holy forever and for the worlds of worlds’,[3] an expression roughly equivalent to the division written here. See also below: ‘The heavens and the earth are full of His glory’, and below: ‘Forever worlds’.

[1] Kirk and Raven, pp. 123-121. [G. S. Kirk and J. E. Raven, The Presocratic Philosophers, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1962.]

[2] Menachot 29b; Uktzin 3:12; and more; Merchavia, The Talmud, p. 78; Lieberman, Tosefta Kifshuta, I, p. 123.

[3] The translation attributed to Jonathan on Isaiah 6:3; The prayer ‘And he came to Zion’: Bear, Order, p. 127.