> I wonder whether this description is even
> older (e.g. in Judaism) -- or for that matter, how old the kneeling
> posture for prayer can be documented, and in what cultures/traditions.
>
> Bob
>
I would assume it came from Judaism. Votive figures from other
traditions--Greek, Mesopotamian, Aegean--stand before the gods, to whom
they've sometimes brought gifts. Sumerian votive figures don't clasp the
hands in the same manner we do when praying, with palm against palm. Instead,
the finger of one hand clasp the fingers of the other, and the palms are
oriented in different directions.
I think the earliest OT example of a person not standing on his or her feet is
when Abraham is told Sarah will bear a son. He laughs so hard he falls on the
ground, and the passage is not clear on whether he ever gets up from the
ground, though of course this need not imply he was kneeling before God.
pat sloane
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