In which I analyze the most explosive text-critical variant in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 32:8
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2024
- So how many Gods/gods are we talking about here?! is this open polytheism in the Bible? A brief exploration, with notes here below so you can follow the trail for yourself.
Deut 32:7-9 (NRSV):
Remember the days of old;
consider the years long past;
ask your father, and he will inform you,
your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High [Elyon] apportioned the nations,
when he divided humankind,
he fixed the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of the gods [bene elohim];
9 the Lord’s [YHWH's] own portion was his people,
Jacob his allotted share.
Deuteronomy in the Dead Sea Scrolls: www.deadseascr...
The Leningrad Codex: archive.org/de...
Codex Sinaiticus: www.codexsinai...
Psalm 82 in the NRSV: www.biblegatew...
On the word "Elohim" in Hebrew: • In which I discuss the...
Popular biblical scholar Michael Heiser arguing against the polytheism idea: thedivinecounc...
Essays from scholars on rethinking the concept of "monotheism": www.eisenbraun...
Originally created for SBIS 510 Introduction to the Old Testament at Portland Seminary
Link to our course playlist: • SBIS 510 Old Testament...
My faculty bio: www.georgefox....
My personal site: briandoak.com
Exactly! Psalms 82 is very supporting of the “sons of God” interpretation of Duet. 32. These two passages are the basis of the book “The Unseen Realm” by Dr. Michael S. Heiser. He spends the entire book talking about Israel being YHWH’s portion. But when we also look at the the significance of the prophecy in Daniel 7 about the “One like a Son of Man” who “comes with the clouds” (words held only for YHWH in ancient Hebrew religion) being given domain as king over all the earth. Meaning that the appointing of those Gods over the nations was temporary, and Jesus overthrew them all. Great book!
Ngl "Psalm 82 is a banger" had me rolling!
נהדר.
Thank you. A logical, careful and balanced explanation.
I had a similar thought about the first commandment when I was quite young. It's explicitly a monolatrous commandment, not a monotheist principle. I learned later, as you pointed out, that each nation in the Levantine area had their own principal god, and it makes much more sense in that context. The continual turn of the Israelites towards Baal speaks of Yahweh simply not being seen as important enough for the whole nation of Israel, and it took the conquering of the north by Assyria and the subsequent dominance of Judah and their preferred form of worship that slowly moved to monotheism that created the Jewish world that Jesus came out of.
Who are the gods of the regions outside of the near-east? Are the gods of each native group around the world all linked to the divine council?
Wouldn’t it be great if we could reconcile the Norse/Northern European, the Celts, the South Asian, East Asian, South East Asian, Australian, Pacific Island, Sub-Saharan Africans and North and South American gods with the Near/Middle Eastern and Mediterranean gods.
How could Moses be speaking about the "sons of Israel" when Israel did not exist in the time of Moses?
"Israel" is a reference to a nation of people, not necessarily a nation state.