The Divine Council

Overview:Divine CouncilFoundational Passages & Structure1Preliminary Thoughts Biblical InterpretationGrammatical-historical Exegesis. Each biblical document, and each part of a biblical document, must be studied in its contextboth its immediate literary context and the wider situation in which it appeared. This calls for an understanding of the following elements:Biblical languagesTypes of literature representedHistorical background / geographyLife settingElwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 611-6123(Uncomfortably ?) ObviousThe context for understanding the Hebrew OT is not:the Roman Catholic Church The context for understanding Genesis is the context in which it was written.

the Protestant Reformation20th/21st century evangelicalismpre-late 19th century Christianity4The Bible in Context God did not create a new culture for Israel that was foreign to the rest of the known world at the time. God worked in and through ancient Israel as it culturally was. He did not change Israels worldview so He could dispense revelation to them.

Gods revelation to Israel was culturally decipherable (i.e., they could understand it) and culturally consistent (it was not alien to the culture).5The Bible in Context We honor Gods decision to reveal truth to humanity WHEN, WHERE, in what CULTURE, and to WHOM he did by letting the Bible be what it is not making it what wed like it to be. Inspiration operates within a cultural context chosen by God in his sovereign wisdom.6The Bible in Context

7Foundational Passages Psalm 82:1

9Psalm 82:1

10Psalm 89:5-7

11elohim as sons of God

12Doesnt saying that there are many elohim mean polytheism?Who gets called elohim?God of Israel (Psalm 82:1 and other pss)The gods of Yahwehs divine council (Psa. 82:1) gods of various nations (for example)Ashtoreth, the god(dess) [elohim] of the Sidonians, Chemosh, [elohim] of Moab (1 Kings 11:33), Milcom, the god [elohim] of the AmmonitesDemons [shedim] (Deut 32:17 = KJV; BHS)Disembodied human dead (1 Sam 28:13)Angels (?) Genesis 35:1-7 (cp. Gen 32)14Elohim realm elohim = place of residence term15Rank in OT Unseen WorldUgaritIsrael16Rank in OT Unseen WorldObservations: Who is Absent? IsraelAt Ugarit, MOT was the lord of the Underworld / Sheol, but is not listed in the pantheon or offering lists (feared but not worshipped).The word demons (shedim) in the HB is rare (Deut 32:17; Psa 106:37); not with Sheol; the rephaim are mentioned in SheolHelel ben Shachar is demoted [to Sheol (satan not used for him or with Sheol in OT)The human dead are in Sheol; righteous hoped for removal.17Location of the Council / Gods Abode at the source of the two rivers

midst of the double deep fountainZion and Eden are well watered sacred gardens / mountains (Gen 2:8-14; Eze 28:13-16; Joel 3:18; Ezek 47:1-12)Mount Tsaphanutsaphanuyarkete tsaphonZion is the heights of tsaphon (Psa 48:1-2; Isa 14:13)mount of assembled councilpuhru moed har moedmount of assembly (Isa 14:13)Ugarit / El & BaalGod of Israel18Location of the Council Meeting Place Decrees issued from the tents of Eldd il Tents (see below)El and the gods lived in tents & tabernacles hlm msknt hl moedmsknYahweh lived at the tent of meeting and tabernacleEl and council meet in a house and templebt hklm bthyklLords house

templeBaals palace had paved bricks & a court that shone like lapis lazulilbnt hsrlbnt hsrEx 24:9ff.; 27:9 (courtyard of tabernacle) Els AbodeYahwehs (El) Abode 19The Divine Council Worldviewof the Old Testament Deuteronomy 32:8-9, 43

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Genesis 11The Greek form of the name Babel = Babylon and is from the native Akkadian Bb-ilim, which means "Gate of the god", which summarizes the religious purpose of ziggurats.22Ziggurats A manifestation of ANE cosmology, The earth was a disc of land which surrounded by a salt water ocean, both of which floated on another sea of fresh water called Apsu. Above was a solid dome firmament; stars fixed on it. A world mountain formed an axis mundi that joined all three layers.

The role of the temple was to act as that axis mundi, a meeting place between gods and men. Rectangular with four corners pointing in cardinal directions to symbolize the four rivers which flow from the mountain to the four world regions.

23Deuteronomy 4:19-2019 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance.Deut 17:3 Israel apostasized; called demons in Deut 32:1724Deuteronomy 32:8-9, 43

25Deuteronomy 32:8-9, 43

26Deuteronomy 32:8-9, 43

27 Old Testament Cosmic GeographyGenesis 11 = the disinheriting of the nationsGenesis 12 = Call of Abram to create a new for Himself (His portion Deut 32:9)The OT Story:Israel vs. the nationsYHWH vs. their godsExamples: 1 Samuel 26:17-19; 2 Kings 5:17-19Deut 32:8-9 (cp. Deut 4:19-20) = basis for OT explanation for the pantheons of the nations Played out in election / recipient of revelationPlayed out in the wars under Moses and JoshuaJerusalem an Amorite site at one time (Ezek 16:3)28Other FAQs Doesnt the Shema say that there is only one God?Deuteronomy 6:4 our God (vs. the other ones)1. The LORD is our God; the LORD is one. 2. The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 3. The Lord our God is one Lord.

4. The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5. Our one God is the LORD, the LORD. POINT: The Shema presumes divine plurality; other gods are over the nations they are real and were put there by Yahweh31Ive tried to talk to my Jewish friend about believing in Jesus, but she says she cant because Judaism only accepts one God, not a Trinity

What do I say? (Hint: John 10:34-35)Corollary Question 32What about verses that say there is none other besides Yahweh?Incomparability of YHWH none besides me; none like me not denials of the existence of other elohim; statements of incomparability. these denials occur in the same chapters and books as those that refer to other elohim (Deut 4, 32; Isaiah 40-66) these denials phrases are used elsewhere we denial of existence cannot be possible.34Incomparability of YHWHDenial PassagesHebrew phrases from themDeut 4:35Deut 4:39Deut 32:12Deut 32:29Isa 43:10-12Isa 44:6-8Isa 45: 5-7Isa 45:14Isa 45:18Isa 45:21-22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11See Isa 47:8, 10; Zeph 2:1535