Wikipedia's first sentence called it “visible manifestation of god to humans”. Today it says “encounter with a deity that manifests in an observable and tangible form”. Sections present on October 6, 2023 no longer exist: “Ancient Greek religion; The burning bush; The pillar of cloud and pillar of fire; Mount Sinai; In Isaiah and Ezekiel; Nontrinitarians”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
John the Baptist baptizes Jesus in The Baptism of Christ by Leonardo da Vinci . A theophany is a visible manifestation of God to humans . According to the philosopher Philo , God is purely transcendent , so his interactions with the material world are through an expression of himself, his Logos , or Word. It was through this Word that God created the world. Perhaps the best known example of theophany in the Torah is where God appears to Moses and, by many analyses, the entire nation of Israel on, and at the foot of, a mountain variously called Sinai or Horeb , and reveals his name and the text of the Ten Commandments to Moses. Jewish inter-testamental tradition personifies this expression of God as a special angel who has the task of representing God to men. This angel is called the Angel of the Face, or the Angel of the Presence , or Metatron , in Hebrew ; anan or mal'ak , said to have the highest place in heaven next to God, and who intercedes for Israel . Christianity posits that God is a trinity ; it also teaches that God became especially immanent through the Incarnation of Jesus , who is at once fully God and fully human. The Feast of Theophany in the Eastern Orthodox Church on January 6 of the Julian Calendar celebrates Jesus' baptism in the Jordan , at which time both Jesus' divinity and the Trinity was made manifest by the appearance of Jesus , the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove , while the audible voice of the Father was heard.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16264812.
The opening as it stood in 2010 9 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Death of Semele by Peter Paul Rubens Ezekiel's Vision by Raphael Look up theophany in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.Theophany , from the Ancient Greek (ἡ) Θεοφάνεια - Τheophaneia (meaning "appearance of God"), refers to the appearance of a deity to a human, or to a divine disclosure.This term has been used to refer to appearances of the gods in the ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions.While the Iliad is our earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in the Classical tradition (and they occur throughout Greek mythology), probably the earliest description of a theophany is in the Epic of Gilgamesh .The term theophany has acquired a specific usage for Christians and Jews with respect to the Bible : It refers to the manifestation of God to man; the sensible sign by which the presence of God is revealed.Only a small number of theophanies are found in the Hebrew Bible , also known as the Old Testament .J.T.Burtchaell, "Theophany", in New Catholic Encyclopedia , 2nd ed.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 367177900.
The opening as it stood in 2015 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Peter Paul Rubens ' Death of Semele , caused by the theophany of Zeus without a mortal disguise Theophany (from Ancient Greek [(ἡ) θεοφάνεια theophaneia ] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup ( help ) , meaning "appearance of a god") refers to the appearance of a deity to a human or other being. This term has been used to refer to appearances of the gods in the ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions. While the Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in the Classical tradition (and they occur throughout Greek mythology ), probably the earliest description of a theophany is in the Epic of Gilgamesh . The term theophany has acquired a specific usage for Christians and Jews with respect to the Bible : It refers to the manifestation of God to man; the sensible sign by which the presence of God is revealed. Only a small number of theophanies are found in the Hebrew Bible , also known as the Old Testament . See in general Latourelle, René (1966).Theology of Revelation (Théologie de la Révélation) .In Rupprecht, Carol Schreier (ed.).The Dream and the Text: Essays on Literature and Language .
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The opening as it stood in 2020
Appearance of a deity to a human Peter Paul Rubens ' Death of Semele , caused by the theophany of Zeus without a mortal disguise Theophany (from Ancient Greek (ἡ) θεοφάνεια theophaneia , meaning "appearance of god") is the appearance of a deity to a human. This term has been used to refer to appearances of the gods in the ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions. While the Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in the classical tradition/era (and they occur throughout Greek mythology ), probably the earliest description of a theophany is in the Epic of Gilgamesh . The term theophany has acquired a specific usage for Christians and Jews with respect to the Bible : it refers to the manifestation of the Abrahamic God to people; the sensible sign by which his presence is revealed. Only a small number of theophanies are found in the Hebrew Bible , also known as the Old Testament . See in general Latourelle, René (1966). Theology of Revelation (Théologie de la Révélation) . In Rupprecht, Carol Schreier (ed.). The Dream and the Text: Essays on Literature and Language .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963018454.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Appearance of a deity in an observable way Peter Paul Rubens ' Death of Semele , caused by the Theophany of Zeus without a mortal disguise Theophany (from Ancient Greek (ἡ) θεοφάνεια theophaneia , meaning "appearance of a deity") is an encounter with a deity , in which it manifests in an observable form.Traditionally the term "theophany" was used to refer to appearances of the gods in ancient Greek and in Near Eastern religions.While the Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in classical antiquity (which occur throughout Greek mythology ), the earliest description appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh . In Rupprecht, Carol Schreier (ed.). The Dream and the Text: Essays on Literature and Language .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1176027759.
The opening as it stood in 2025 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Appearance of a deity in an observable way "Theophanies" redirects here.Peter Paul Rubens ' Death of Semele , caused by the Theophany of Zeus without a mortal disguise Theophany ( Ancient Greek : θεοφάνεια , romanized : theopháneia , lit. ' appearance of a deity ' ) is an encounter with a deity that manifests in an observable and tangible form.It is often confused with other types of encounters with a deity, but these interactions are not considered theophanies unless the deity reveals itself in a visible form. Traditionally, the term "theophany" was used to refer to appearances of the gods in ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions. While the Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in classical antiquity , the first description appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh .In numerous creation stories , a deity or deities speak with many kinds of animals, often prior to the formation of dry land on earth.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1286222631. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “visible manifestation of god to humans”. Today it says “encounter with a deity that manifests in an observable and tangible form”. Sections present on October 6, 2023 no longer exist: “Ancient Greek religion; The burning bush; The pillar of cloud and pillar of fire; Mount Sinai; In Isaiah and Ezekiel; Nontrinitarians”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
visible manifestation of god to humans
Now
encounter with a deity that manifests in an observable and tangible form
Sections that no longer exist
Present on October 6, 2023, absent today, with no near-matching heading in the current article and the article shorter overall, so this is not a renamed heading or a topic absorbed into a fuller treatment. 7 sections of 400 characters or more gone since October 6 2023, with the article 1,165 characters shorter.
Ancient Greek religion
The burning bush
The pillar of cloud and pillar of fire
Mount Sinai
In Isaiah and Ezekiel
Nontrinitarians
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
