The Characterization of the Deity Yahweh

Chapter Ten explores the notion of Yahweh as the Holy One to speak primarily about priestly religion. The Hebrew Bible’s portrayal of human holiness concentrates on cultic management. Holiness is used ideologically to construct and reinforce rank, power and privilege. This is especially true of Moses, Aaron and the Aaronid priests. On performance and “the ritual body,” Chapter Ten examines the ritual acts of clothing and anointing, and ritual substances (e.g. oil) that serve to mark sacerdotal rank. Chapter Ten articulates how each of the Hebrew Bible’s many traditions has its own nuances about who can be holy and why it vitally matters for the control and exercise of cult. The Hebrew Bible preserves opposing voices with regard to restricting and expanding holiness—including the role of women—and whether holiness should be narrow (cultic) or comprehensive, covering a wide array of cultic, economic, judicial, moral and social parameters.

El Worship

Chapter Four considers the worship of El, the deity who appears in the name of the eponymous ancestor Israel. Sociologically, the concepts here are those of ancestral traditions, the so-called “God of the Fathers,” and family religion—standing apart from the religion of a centralized state and a hierarchical priestly cult. Each of the various “El” traditions are discussed in detail: El Berith, El Elyon, El Roi, El Olam, El Bethel, and the most famous, El Shadday. Key functions of El traditions are highlighted: El as father, divine kinsman, and benevolent protector as well as El’s role as the head of a mythological divine council. The chapter explores whether El was the original god of Israel, including associations with exodus traditions.

The Characterization of the Deity Yahweh

Chapter Eight intentionally juxtaposes Yahweh as Warrior and Yahweh as Parent. In the ancient world gods were perceived as and needed to be powerful—to right the wrongs, protect one’s crops and vanquish one’s enemies. Moreover, the notion of Yahweh as Divine Warrior transcended the mundane to include what has been labelled “cosmic” warfare where a super-endowed deity could vanquish seven-headed dragons who threatened society at large. Alternative voices provided a counter narrative that God is a force of peaceful existence. Thus Chapter Eight balances tales of divine warfare with powerful rhetorical aspirations of disarmament. According to the prophet Isaiah, people can choose to beat their swords into plowshares, to learn of war never more. Using the language of family religion, this chapter describes the compassionate side of divinity, how Yahweh is portrayed as a caring father to Israel his child, like a mother nourishing her newborn.

Introductory Matters

Chapter One articulates what is entailed in writing a comprehensive work on ancient Israelite religion. After surveying the massive nature of the task, it describes the scope of the present work. The concept of divinity is chosen as an organizing principle. The contents of the following ten chapters are then described in brief. These include: (2) the history of scholarship on ancient Israelite religion; (3) methodology; (4) El worship; (5) the iconography of the deity El; (6) the origin of the god Yahweh; (7) the iconography of Yahweh including the aniconic traditions; (8) how God is characterized as a warrior and a family deity; (9) how God is characterized as king and judge; (10) the holiness of God; (Ch. 11) conclusion. Chapters 8-10, in addition to describing divine traits, probe how divinity can be used as a lens with which to view the lived reality of religious experience.

Methodology

Articulating a thoughtful methodology is desideratum, for today’s analyses of Israelite religion (indeed, of the academic study of religion in general) are dramatically different than those of past generations. This chapter articulates the academic disciplines required for the task at hand: textual studies (including epigraphy, linguistics and comparative Semitics), archaeology, art history, the philosophy of religion, and various social-scientific approaches (e.g. socio-linguistics, gender, ethnicity, ritual performance, spatial theory). The categories of “religion” and “Israelite” are probed. Particular attention is then devoted to the nature of our source material including (a) textual sources (e.g. epigraphy, onomastica, the Hebrew Bible) and source-criticism of the Hebrew Bible; (b) the nature of the archaeological record, and (c) the use of comparative ancient Near Eastern materials.

Conclusion

Chapter Eleven briefly articulates the contents of the core chapters. The volume was intentional in restricting its treatment of divinity to El and Yahweh—with minimal coverage of female divinity, the plurality of divinity and the preternatural (angelic and demonic)—for pragmatic reasons. These topics, especially Levantine goddesses, deserve full scale treatments. To illustrate this (as an apology), Chapter Eleven has a lengthy excursus detailing what a full treatment of just a single goddess (ʿAštart = Astarte) would entail using the same parameters espoused in the current volume (e.g. text, iconography, ancient Near Eastern comparanda). The volume concludes with comments about how humans (modern and ancient alike) privilege certain divine attributes in their conceptualizations of divinity. Yet overall, ancient Israel’s wedded traditions argue that God cannot be reduced to a single attribute, a single explanation. God’s traits do not sit in isolation from one another. They are holistic and integrated.

The Iconography of Divinity: Yahweh

Chapter Seven explores the ways in which Yahwistic divinity was represented in text and object. Whether Yahweh was embodied anthropomorphically or theriomorphically (with bulls and lions) or taking up residence in solid stone is situated within the broader philosophical debate coming from ancient Israel’s well-known aniconic traditions that advocated that the image of God cannot and must not be fashioned. Anthropologically, here we come up against Rudolph Otto’s theories that humans can be fascinated by the irresistible appeal of the numinous while at the same time standing in utter dread of the danger, even lethality, of the sacred. The ubiquity of anthropomorphic language used of Yahweh resides on the pages of the Hebrew Bible alongside multiple traditions that represented Yahweh abstractly. These include (a) the use of fire, (b) a notion of abstract “radiance” (Hebrew kābôd), (c) the Deuteronomic/Deuteronomistic Name (šēm) Theology, and (d) portraying Yahweh invisibly.

The Origin of Yahweh

Chapter Six examines the historical origin of Yahweh, the dominant deity of Israelite religion. Readers can evaluate the Hebrew Bible’s foundation stories about Yahweh (and vis-à-vis El worship) juxtaposed next to the epigraphic record with datable texts ranging from 14th-13th centuries BCE Egyptian geographical lists to a ninth century BCE Moabite inscription to multiple ninth-eighth centuries BCE Yahwistic inscriptions from a remote site on the Darb el-Ghazza caravan route just south of Qadesh-Barnea, a site with a long biblical pedigree. Additional topics include the meaning of the name Yahweh and its attestations in extra-biblical sources as well as the geographic origin of the deity. The latter includes a review of the Midianite-Kenite hypothesis studied alongside archaic Hebrew poetry (biblical and epigraphic) describing militaristic wilderness theophanies. Methodologically, the chapter also describes the Canaanite cultural continuum from the Middle Bronze Age through the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

The History of Scholarship on Ancient Israelite Religion: A Brief Sketch

In order to study the broad topic of divinity, it is essential to survey the history of scholarship, especially to understand the foundation of views inherited by modern scholars. The Enlightenment is chosen as a starting point due to the growth of the critical study of the Bible during these times. Germanic scholarship of the Hebrew Bible in nineteenth century is articulated as a critical turning point. Subsequent developments include the emergence of sociological methods, the “history of religion” comparative approach, and the “myth-and-ritual” school of thought. Newly discovered archaeological remains caused yet another shift, with scholars now debating whether ancient Israel’s religion was in fact as unique as confessional traditions taught. More recently, varying methodological approaches have exploded on the scene including epigraphy, socio-historical linguistics, revisionist historical hermeneutics, feminist approaches, intertextuality, and iconographic studies together with the maturing of the fields of archaeology and sociology.

The Characterization of the Deity Yahweh

Chapter Nine intentionally juxtaposes God as king and God as judge. Royal cult includes monarchs as sponsors and even performers of religion. As Yahweh was the King par excellence, so certain “incomparable” kings were linked to the divine via cult. As Yahweh was the Chief Magistrate, so monarchs were ordained of God to ensure justice and equity. Chapter Nine articulates judicial ideals that sound quite contemporary as they provide legal safeguards for the disadvantaged of society. Chapter Nine also looks at non-royal judiciaries—the roles of the paterfamilias, fathers and mothers, kinsmen, tribal “heads,” tribal “officials,” town elders, and priests. Chapter Nine documents prophetic voices speaking out against injustice in order to advocate change for the disenfranchised. It also explores nuanced theodicies that include affirmations that Yahweh is indeed just (Leibniz’s théodicée), but that lessens not the absurd and maddening ways in which divine retribution plays out (Qoheleth, Job).