Quis ut Deus?
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Quis ut Deus?, a Latin sentence meaning "Who [is] like God?", is a literal translation of the name Michael (Hebrew: מִיכָאֵל, transliterated Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl).
"Michael" appears as the name of several men in the Old Testament.[1] In the Book of Daniel it is the name of the "prince" of the people of Israel.[2] In the New Testament the name is given to an archangel in the Epistle of Jude 1:9 and, in the Book of Revelation 12:7, to the leader of angels who defeat "the dragon" and his fallen angels, a dragon identified in Revelation 12:9 as "that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world".
The sentence Quis ut Deus? is particularly associated with Archangel Michael.[3][4] In art St. Michael is often represented as an angelic warrior, fully armed with helmet, sword, and shield, as he overcomes Satan, sometimes represented as a dragon and sometimes as a man-like figure. The shield at times bears the inscription: Quis ut Deus,[5] the translation of the archangel's name, but capable also of being seen as his rhetorical and scornful question to Satan.[6]
The Scapular of St. Michael the Archangel also bears this phrase.[7]
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See also
References
- ^ Numbers 13:13, 1 Chronicles 5:13–14, 6:40, 7:3, 8:16, 12:20, 27:18, 2 Chronicles 21:2, Ezra 8:8
- ^ Daniel 10:13, 10:21, 12:1
- ^ John Elven, 1854, The book of family crests Henry Washbourne Publisher, page 112
- ^ Ann Ball, 2003 Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices ISBN 0-87973-910-X page 520
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia [1]
- ^ Studies in Revelation by Hampton J. Keathley, 3rd, J. Hampton Keathley III 1997 Biblical Studies Press ISBN 0-7375-0008-5 page 209 [2]
- ^ John F. Sullivan, 2009 The Externals of the Catholic Church ISBN 1-113-71408-5 page 202