yahweh as "the god of my father"

Yahweh as "The God of My Father"Author(s): J. Philip HyattSource: Vetus Testamentum, Vol. 5, Fasc. 2 (Apr., 1955), pp. 130-136Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1516118 .

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YAHWEH AS "THE GOD OF MY FATHER"

BY

J. PHILIP HYATT Nashville

Many theories have been proposed to explain the origin of Mosaic Yahwism. The theory which appears to be most widely held by critical scholars is that Moses learned the worship of Yahweh from the Midianites (or Kenites) through his father-in-law, who was a priest 1). This theory can find some support in Biblical passages, but involves a large amount of speculation regarding matters on which we are not informed in the Old Testament. We shall doubt- less never reach unanimity of opinion on this problem, but I wish to propose a theory which I believe to be new. It has the merit of being based directly on Biblical evidence, and it makes use of recent studies of the religion of the period immediately preceding Moses.

I

In his monograph Der Gott der Viter 2), Albrecht ALT studied the Genesis narratives dealing with patriarchal religion and ad- vanced the hypothesis that each of the great patriarchs worshipped a special patron deity, in addition to whatever other deities he may have feared. This deity, or numen, appeared to the patriarch in a special revelation; the patriarch then worshipped him as his patron and passed on his cult to his descendants. Thus, the special deity of Abraham was called n;rimK ni;K; Isaac's deity was pnrw rnO, translated by ALT as der Schreck Isaaks; and Jacob's special deity was :pS' 't:tK, "the Mighty One of Jacob". On the basis of Gen. xv 1, LESLIE has suggested that the name of Abraham's god was "the Shield of Abraham" 3); and ALBRIGHT thinks that the name of

1) For a recent statement of the theory see H. H. ROWLEY, From Joseph to Joshua (Schweich Lectures 1948), London 1950, pp. 149-61.

2) Originally published in Beitrdge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testa- ment, ed. by R. KITTEL, III/12, Stuttgart 1929; reprinted in ALT, Kleine Schriften zur Geschichte des Volkes Israel, I, Miinchen 1953, pp. 1-78.

3) Old Testament Religion in the Light of its Canaanite Background, New York and Nashville 1936, p. 67.




Isaac's god should be rendered "the Kinsman of Isaac" 1). ALT was able to point to parallels in the religion of the Palmyrenians and Nabateans, who lived about a thousand years later than the Hebrew patriarchs, but in a culture which was similar to patriarchal culture.

Julius LEWY, in an article dealing with the contribution of Old Assyrian cuneiform texts to Biblical interpretation 2), pointed out that the phrase "god of thy father" occurs in those texts, particularly in the formula Assur u il abika littuld, "Asshur and the god of thy father be witness". LEWY thought that this "god of thy father" was identical with Ilabrat (whose name occurs in the second position in some forms of the formula); he was critical of ALT'S theory regarding patriarchal religion, believing that the father's god was not a separate deity, but identical with El Shaddai. For our purpose, the significant feature about LEWY'S study is that it points to a parallel to the patriarchal patron deity in a period not far removed from the time when the patriarchs presumably lived.

This type of deity occurs in other Near Eastern texts that have been recently discovered and published.

In a letter found at Mari (eighteenth century B.C.), written from Ishi-Addu, king of Qatna, to Isme-Dagan, king of Ekallatim, the following phrase occurs: as-sVum ilim sa a-bi-ia3), which is to be translated "by the god of my father". 4) This witness is significant because of the date and provenience of the letter; other important parallels to early Biblical narratives have come from Mari.

The same type of deity may occur also on the hieroglyphic Hittite inscription found at Topada, which H. E. DEL MEDICO has recently attempted to decipher and translate 5). He finds on the lines numbered 411, 701, 707, 716, and 818 a phrase which he reads DINGIR dada (me)

1) From the Stone Age to Christianity, Baltimore 1940, pp. 188-89, 327. Cf. Journal of Biblical Literature, LIV, 1935, pp. 188-91.

2) "Les textes paleo-assyriens et l'Ancien Testament", Revue de l'Histoire des Religions, CX, 1934, 29-65; see pp. 50-64.

3) G. DOSSIN, Archives Rovales de Mari, V, TCL XXVI; Paris 1951, text 20, line 16.

4) G. Dossin, Archives Royales de Mari, V: Correspondance de Iasmah-Addu, Paris, 1952, p. 37, translates the phrase "a cause du dieu de mon pere", but he notes (p. 129) that C. J. GADD prefers to render it "par le nom du dieu de mon pere". In the latter case, he says, aSSum has its original meaning as derived from ana sum. This seems to be correct.

5) "L'inscription hieroglyphique de Top-ada", Archiv Orientdlni, XVII, 1949, 117-152 (= Symbolae ad Studia Orientis Pertinentes Frederico Hrognj Dedicatae, Pars Prima). I am greatly indebted to my friend, Prof. G. E. MENDENHALL, University of Michigan, for calling my attention to this text and the Mari letter.

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(r) and translates "le dieu des ancetres." In all except the first occurrence the phrase is followed by ma-as or ma-an, translated "vigou- reux", as modifying the deity. DEL MEDICO, in commenting on this inscription, expresses the belief that for Parminah, the place where the inscription was written, the "god of the ancestors" was Salamulu, the king himself, because the same adjective (ma-as) is applied to him in the first line. This is possible, especially in view of the Hittite practise of deifying deceased kings, but the interpretation is not wholly necessary. It should be observed that nothing in the sign group compels us to take as plural the word which is translated "ancestors". In the first line the very same sign appears, where it must be singular, since it describes the king. We may have to do, therefore, with a "father's god", that is, the patron deity of an ancestor 1). DEL MEDICO dates this inscription in the eighth century B.C. It belongs in any event to the neo-Hittite period which followed the fall of the Hittite Empire. In the present state of our knowledge (or ignorance!) of hieroglyphic Hittite, we should draw no far- reaching conclusions from this inscription, but only note that it may indicate the worship of a father's god.

C. H. GORDON has suggested that a cult similar to that of the patriarchs existed at Ugarit 2). He refers to a phrase in the Keret text (line 41), tr.abh, which he says describes El as the "Bull of his [Keret's] father". It seems probable that we should rather translate the phrase "Bull, his father", El being referred to as the father of Keret. While we do sometimes find the phrase tr.abh.il or the like (for example, Keret 59, 76-7, 169), we also find the phrase tr.il.abk (GORDON 129, lines 16, 17), which should be rendered "Bull El, thy father" 3). In any event the evidence here does not indicate that the cult, if indeed it was of a "father's god" type, was a separate cult. Even if GORDON is correct, the "Bull of thy/his father" is El.

In discussing the Biblical evidence for a deity of this type, Herbert G. MAY has pointed out that the Biblical passages should be sifted more carefully than was done by ALT 4). He maintained that we are

1) There is no reference to this type of deity in E. LAROCHE, Recherches sur les Noms des Dieux Hittites, Paris 1947.

2) "The Patriarchal Age",Journal of Bible and Religion XXI, 1953, 238-43; see p. 239.

3) See the translations of Ugaritic texts by H. L. GINSBERG in James B. PRIT- CHARD, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, Princeton 1950, pp. 129 ff.

4) "The God of My Father-a Study of Patriarchal Religion", Journal of Bible and Religion, IX, 1941, 155-58, 200.

132




dealing in the Old Testament with two different titles: "the god of my (thy, etc.) father" and "the god of my (thy, etc.) fathers". The former is a genuine title in patriarchal religion, but the latter title is late, occurring almost exclusively in passages that are quite late.

2

If we accept ALT'S theory regarding patriarchal religion as basically correct, with refinements and revisions as made by others, and then note that the phrase "the god of my (thy) father" occurs three times in narratives concerning Moses, we may find a clue to the origin of Moses' worship of Yahweh. The three passages are Exodus iii 6, xv 2, and xviii 4. MAY recognized these passages as important, but declared that the title was in these instances archaistic, and not a part of the living vocabulary of Moses' time. It seems very arbitrary to say that the title is archaistic here in Exodus and not in the patriarchal narratives, since the documents in which it occurs all come from a time later than both the patriarchs and Moses. The title ought to be taken seriously as part of the living vocabulary of Moses' religion as well as of patriarchal religion.

The first of the three passages is Exodus iii 6. This is in the account of Moses' experience at the burning bush. He hears Yahweh (or the angel of Yahweh) say to him: "I am the god of thy father, the god of Abraham, the god of Isaac, and the god of Jacob". MT has "'i;, "*3x ^"n. The Samaritan text has as the last word Ipn}x and thus reads "god of thy fathers". It seems probable, however, that MT is correct, the Samaritan being influenced by the plural formula, which occurs later in the same chapter, vss. 15-16. Inasmuch as the plural formula is far more frequent in occurrence, it is very significant that when Moses is reported to have first heard the title it is in the form, "the god of thy father". This may well be an accurate record of Moses' experience. The latter part of the verse which contains the formula, "the god of Abraham, the god of Isaac, and the god of Jacob", is the result of later theological reflection, when Yahweh became amal- gamated with the patriarchal patron deities after the Hebrews entered Canaan.

The second passage is Exodus xv 2. This is in the song which Moses and the people of Israel sang after the crossing of the Red Sea. Vs. 2 may be translated as follows:

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J. PH. HYATT

Yah is my strength and my song, and has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him, the god of my father ('": '1?r), and I

will exalt him.

The poem now preserved in Exodus xv 1-18 is undoubtedly late in its present full form; it can hardly be earlier than the settlement in Palestine, for vss. 13-18 speak of events involved in that settlement. Some scholars date it very late; PFEIFFER, for example, puts it in the second half of the fifth century 1). However, the first twelve verses of the poem contain no ideas and refer to no events which make it necessary to date them late. They may well have been composed not long after the crossing of the Red Sea, and handed down orally for a period of time before being written down. The repesentation of Yahweh as "a man of war" (vs. 3), who fights against the Egyptians by the use of his "wind" (vs. 10) or "the blast of thy nostrils" (vs. 8), and who is a god among other gods (vs. 11)-all of this is entirely appropriate to the time of Moses. In vs. 2 we probably have a genuine reminiscence of the formula "the god of my father", which goes back to the Mosaic age.

The third occurrence is Exodus xviii 4. This is in the E account of the visit of Jethro with Moses, an account which is one of the cornerstones of the Midianite (Kenite) theory of the origin of Yah- wism 2). Vss. 2-4 relate that Jethro had taken Zipporah and her two sons after Moses had sent them back to Midian, and explain the names of the two children. The second child has the name Eliezer, and the explanation of it is: "For the god of my father was my help ('1xr-i' ' t51n "' ) and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh." The reference to the returning of Moses' wife and children from Midian is quite obscure, for we are never told that Moses had sent them back to Midian. Also, the place of Jethro's visit with Moses is uncertain. Vs. 5 seems to indicate that it took place at Sinai ("the mountain of God"), but the narrative does not actually bring the Hebrews to Sinai until ch. xix. Regardless of these difficulties, the explanation of

1) Introduction to the Old Testament, New York and London 1941, p. 281. 2) See the recent article by Chr. H. W. BREKELMANS, "Exodus XVIII and the

Origins of Yahwism in Israel", Oudtestamentische Studien, X, 1954, 215-24. He maintains that Jethro came to Israel in order to make an alliance with it, and that this chapter is a record of the covenant ceremony between Midian and Israel, and has nothing to do with the introduction of Yahwism among the Israelites by Jethro.

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the name of the second child seems very likely to be an ancient one, particularly in view of the fact that it is not the explanation we expect from the name itself. The child's name may originally have been "El-abi-ezer" or the like, and subsequently it became shortened to the more common form "Eli-ezer". Thus the name probably con- tained the formula, "god of my father", as a genuine recollection of Moses' experience at the burning bush. We cannot now determine whether the child was born while Moses was still in Midian, perhaps soon after the experience at the burning bush, or later. If the latter part of the explanation of the name is genuine, "and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh", the child was born after the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea. It is far easier to suppose that the name was shortened from the form suggested to Eliezer, than to suppose that an original "Eliezer" was expanded, or was explained by the use of the longer formula, especially since the usual form of the later period was "the god of my fathers".

3

On the basis of these references in Exodus to the god of Moses' father, and ALT'S theory regarding patriarchal religion, we may construct a theory to explain the origin of Moses' knowledge of Yahwism. There must be a considerable amount of speculation in our theory, but that is inevitable in dealing with an age for which we have such a small amount of authentic material.

We may conjecture that Yahweh was in the first instance the patron deity of one of Moses' ancestors. He was not necessarily the deity of Moses' own father. The ancestor in question is more likely to have been his grandfather or a more remote ancestor. It is not necessary to suppose that the ancestor was in the line of Moses' father, Amram, for it may as well have been through his mother. She is reported to have borne the name Jochebed (Exodus vi 20, Numbers xxvi 59), apparently a theophoric name with the divine element "Yahweh" in shortened form ). Since she is described as the aunt (father's sister) of Amram, the patron deity Yahweh may have been handed down through either line.

It is possible that the family of Moses had been in Egypt only a short time before Moses' birth. The borders of Egypt were crossed

1) See T. J. MEEK, Hebrew Origins, Revised Edition, New York 1950, p. 97. Since the name is preserved only in P we can, in my opinion, have little con- fidence in its authenticity.

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136 HYATT, YAHWEH AS "THE GOD OF MY FATHER"

frequently by nomads and travelers, and the people later known as Israelites was composed of several disparate elements. If Moses' family had only recently come into Egypt, that would help explain his reaction to the brutal treatment accorded one of his fellow- tribesmen, which led to the murder of an Egyptian and Moses' subsequent flight to Midian. His reaction was not that of one whose family had been in Egypt for a long time and had become accustomed to injustice, but of a newcomer from the desert, with ideas of free- dom and justice known in the desert.

We may go on to conjecture that Moses' family came into Egypt from Midianite territory. That would readily account for his flight to Midian, his experience with Yahweh at the burning bush, and the close associations between Midianites (or Kenites) and Hebrews. Our theory can do justice to the valid elements in the hypothesis that Moses' knowledge of Yahwism was derived from the Midianites, but denies that his knowledge was mediated through his father-in- law.

Much has been written on the original meaning of the name "Yahweh." If our theory is correct, it is best to explain the name as a causative form of the verb "to be, to exist", with the meaning "Sustainer of X"-X being the name of the ancestor of Moses to whom this deity first revealed himself1). Moses' experience with Yahweh at the burning bush was perhaps not his first knowledge of his ancestor's patron deity, but in that encounter Yahweh, "the god of his father", was revealed anew to him in great power. When Moses went back to Egypt to deliver the Hebrews from bondage, he did not go in the name and under the power of a deity wholly unknown to the Hebrews in Egypt. His fellow-Hebrews probably would not have followed his leadershiip if he had come in the name of a wholly new and foreign deity. Yahweh had been known for some time to a part of the Hebrew group, to Moses' own clan, who had inherited the cult of Yahweh from one of their ancestors.

1) Cf. Julian OBERMANN, "The Divine Name YHWH in the Light of Recent Discoveries", JBL, LXVIII, 1949, 301-23. I do not intend to imply that I agree with OBERMANN in his explanation of the name as a participle. Cf. G. R. DRIVER, JBL, LXXIII, 1954, 125-31.



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