The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2492 page)

Throne of God
.

Jewish vision of the transcendent power of God. God is described as sitting on a throne by the
prophets
Micaiah (1 Kings 22. 19),
Isaiah
(Isaiah 6),
Ezekiel
(Ezekiel 1) and
Daniel
(Daniel 7. 9). The imagery is also to be found in
Talmudic
and
midrashic
sources. Some mystical tracts speak of God's throne as his ‘
merkavah
’ (chariot). In the
Pentateuch
, the
Ark
of the Covenant is understood as the throne of God, (and in his mercy seat). Many Jewish philosophers, such as
Sa‘adiah
Gaon and
Maimonides
, interpreted all talk of God's throne as
allegory
.
In Islam, the throne of God became a subject of controversy in the early years: how literally was it to be taken? The
Qur’
n
speaks frequently of al-‘Arsh (e.g. 7. 54, 9. 129) and of al-Kursi (the footstool, but often taken to be a synonym of al-‘Arsh), notably in
yat al-Kursi
, the verse of the Throne, 2. 256. Conflict arose because to take these verses literally would imply extreme anthropomorphism; to take them metaphorically might seem to impugn the direct meaning of the Qur’
n.

 
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see
HAG
.

 
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Thurible
or censer
.

A metal vessel for the ceremonial burning of
incense
, carried by a thurifer.

 
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(Chin.). Lord, God, especially in China as in
Shang-ti
.

 
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