This image comes from the Renaissance tradition of Christian Kabbalah, where Christian theologians attempted to interpret the Kabbalistic Tree of the Sephirot through the figure of Christ and the Gospel of John. The specific woodcut is reproduced in the scholarly book Les Kabbalistes Chrétiens de la Renaissance by François Secret, which studies the Christian Kabbalists of the 15th–16th centuries.

The original engraving likely dates from the mid-16th century (around the 1550s) and belongs to the intellectual circle influenced by figures such as Pico della Mirandola, Johannes Reuchlin, and Guillaume Postel, who were among the pioneers of Christian Kabbalah in Europe.

The exact designer of the plate is unknown, but scholars believe it may have been created within the milieu of Guillaume Postel, a French mystic and orientalist deeply involved in synthesizing Christianity and Kabbalah.

“Qui expansis in cruce manibus, traxisti omnia ad te saecula.”

“You who, stretching out your hands upon the cross, drew all ages (or all the world) to yourself.”

This line echoes the Gospel passage: John 12:32

It reflects an early Christian theological interpretation that the outstretched arms of Christ on the cross symbolically embrace the entire cosmos. Early Church writers often interpreted the crucifixion this way: Christ’s arms reach east and west, gathering the whole world.

“In principio erat verbum.”

“In the beginning was the Word.”

This is the opening line of the Gospel of John (John 1:1):

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

This phrase links Christ with the Logos, the creative divine Word through which the universe was made.

The Sephirotic Tree Inside the oval frame is a vertical structure clearly derived from the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. But instead of Hebrew symbolism, the spheres contain Christian allegorical scenes. These represent stages in salvation history or mystical theology.

Christ on the Cross On the right is the crucifix. Lines connect the wounds of Christ to the spheres of the Tree. This symbolizes the idea that Christ is the axis of the cosmic Tree of Life. The crucifixion becomes the central mystical event through which the divine structure of reality is revealed.

The Evangelist John At the bottom sits St. John the Evangelist, writing. The eagle beside him is his traditional symbol. In Christian iconography the four evangelists are represented by creatures:

• Matthew — angel
• Mark — lion
• Luke — ox
• John — eagle

John is shown receiving the revelation that becomes the Gospel beginning with “In principio erat verbum.”

The Sun and Divine Eye Near the top is a radiant sun with the Eye of God, symbolizing divine omniscience. The crown above it suggests divine kingship or the highest sephira (Keter).

The Cosmic Structure At the bottom is a celestial sphere with stars and a seven-branched menorah, another bridge between Judaism and Christianity. The whole diagram is essentially saying: The Kabbalistic structure of creation is fulfilled in the crucified Logos.

Christian Kabbalists believed that: The Tree of Life (Sephirot) describes the emanations of God. Christ is the center of that emanation. The crucifixion reveals the hidden structure of the cosmos. The wounds of Christ correspond to the divine flow of life. This is why lines connect the crucifix to the Tree.

The image expresses a Renaissance mystical doctrine: Creation flows from the divine Word. The Word becomes incarnate in Christ.Through the cross, the whole cosmos is drawn back to God. The Tree of Life and the Cross are therefore the same spiritual diagram.

Christian Cabala

Christian Kabbalah — The tradition of Pico della Mirandola, Reuchlin, and others who read Christ through the Tree of Life.