In an intriguing twist on ancient theology, a former Bible translator posits that the original Hebrew Bible might be referencing alien entities rather than a singular deity. This bold theory has reportedly caught the attention of the Vatican.
Mauro Biglino, an Italian scholar known for translating biblical texts for Edizioni San Paolo—a prominent Catholic publisher affiliated with the Vatican—has extensively studied Hebrew scriptures. He argues that certain Hebrew words describe not just supernatural beings but potentially spacecraft, implying encounters in biblical times.
In a conversation with the Daily Mail, Biglino indicated that trustworthy sources have informed him that some individuals within the Vatican are not only aware of his controversial work but are also engaging in theological discussions about its potential ramifications.
Nevertheless, Biglino has yet to offer concrete evidence to substantiate claims that the Vatican is actively monitoring him or considering any measures against his research. “Given the impact of my publications, I suspect it’s only a matter of time before [the Vatican] reacts in some capacity,” he suggested.
Biglino is an advocate for the ‘ancient alien’ hypothesis. This theory proposes that technologically advanced extraterrestrial beings visited Earth in antiquity and were misidentified by early civilizations as deities, angels, or demons.
In particular, he argues that the Hebrew word ‘Elohim’ refers to multiple beings rather than one God and that passages in Ezekiel describe advanced technology, including flying vehicles.
Biglino further alleged that factions within the Vatican, including historians, archaeologists and scientists, are ‘fully aware’ that the Bible may contain a radically different story from the one taught by religious leaders.
‘Many of them are fully aware that the Hebrew Bible presents a much more complex picture than the simplified version generally offered in religious teaching,’ he said.
Pictured: One of the most complete Hebrew Bibles still in existence, seen in New York in 2023
Pictured: Mauro Biglino (Left) discusses his ideas about the real meaning of the Hebrew Bible
However, Biglino’s interpretation is rejected by mainstream biblical scholars, who explain that Elohim can be grammatically plural while referring to the singular God of Israel, depending on the surrounding language.
Scholars also generally interpret Ezekiel’s extraordinary vision as symbolic religious imagery – not a literal description of spacecraft or extraterrestrial visitors.
Biglino’s argument begins with the Hebrew word Elohim, which is plural in form, and biblical passages that describe ‘assemblies’ or ‘councils’ of divine beings.
He also pointed to figures including Yahweh, Elyon and Shaddai, names or titles traditionally understood as referring to the same God, as possible evidence of multiple powerful beings.
Biglino told the Daily Mail that mainstream theology tends to interpret such figures as ‘spiritual beings, angels, symbolic expressions or manifestations of the one transcendent God.’
‘My approach is different because I begin with the Hebrew words, their grammar and the concrete actions attributed to the biblical protagonists,’ he explained.
Biglino argued that the Elohim behave more like physical rulers than an all-knowing, eternal God, traveling between locations, holding councils, dividing territory, forging alliances, fighting wars and governing different populations.
‘They eat, drink, rest and experience emotions such as anger, jealousy and fear. Above all, they are not described as immortal,’ he continued.
Biglino believes that the word ‘Elohim’ in the Bible refers to multiple beings – not one God – and that passages in Ezekiel seem to refer to advanced technology including flying vehicles
Biglino highlighted Psalm 82, which describes God presiding over an assembly of divine beings and warning that they will ‘die like mortals.’
He also cited Deuteronomy 32, which describes nations being divided among higher powers, as evidence of multiple powerful beings rather than one immortal God.
However, neither passage mentions aliens or extraterrestrial technology. Scholars generally interpret the other figures as spiritual beings subordinate to the God of Israel.
Although Elohim is plural in form, it is frequently paired with singular verbs when referring to Israel’s God, a grammatical detail supporting a singular meaning in those passages.
Nevertheless, Biglino argued that Vatican specialists must have considered whether the texts preserve accounts of contact with nonhuman intelligences.
He believes his theory poses a far greater challenge to Catholic teaching than the possibility that life exists elsewhere in the universe.
The Vatican Observatory has publicly discussed extraterrestrial life, but Biglino predicted that the Church would regard any aliens as creations of the same universal God.
Biglino (Left) claimed that the Vatican has been monitoring his work, which challenges the Catholic Church’s interpretation of the Bible
‘Asking whether microbial or intelligent life may exist on another planet is relatively unproblematic for theology.
‘Asking whether non-human beings came to Earth in the past, interacted with our ancestors and were subsequently identified as “gods” is far more challenging,’ he said.
Biglino said his interpretation emerged while translating 17 books of the Old Testament for a Catholic publisher.
He pointed to the Hebrew word kavod, traditionally translated as the ‘glory’ of God, which he said is also associated with weight, heaviness and physical substance.
In Exodus and Ezekiel, Biglino claimed, the kavod arrives, departs, moves through space and produces noise, fire and light. It can also be dangerous to people nearby.
‘In these contexts, it behaves like something physically present,’ he said.
‘It appeared to contain the memories of different peoples who had relationships with powerful beings possessing superior knowledge, longer lifespans and technologies that the ancient writers could describe only through the vocabulary available to them.’
Biglino predicted that the Church would gradually adapt its teachings if governments eventually confirmed the existence of technologically advanced nonhuman beings.
‘It could simply say that these beings, like humanity, are creatures of the one universal God,’ he said.
However, while scholars acknowledge that ancient Hebrew words can carry several meanings, linguistic ambiguity alone does not establish that the Bible describes aliens or advanced machinery.