API tools faq
paste
Advertisement
jonstond2

God, Ancient Israel (Biblical Studies)

jonstond2
Mar 6th, 2017
325
0
Never
Add comment
Not a member of Pastebin yet? Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!
text 88.49 KB | None | 0 0
raw download clone embed print report
  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. In the Hebrew Bible, the term “God” (Hebrew ʾĕlōhîm or ʾĕlôah; Aramaic ʾĕlāh) typically indicates the supreme deity of ancient Israel. Biblical authors refer to this deity using a wide range of titles, descriptive terms, and metaphors that bring to light God’s various roles, activities, and attributes. God’s personal name, Yahweh, is revealed in theophany (Exod 3:13–15), is invoked in priestly blessings (Num 6:24–26), and introduces most prophetic oracles (“thus says the LORD”). This name must be treated with the utmost reverence (Deut 5:11), and in later Jewish tradition, it cannot even be uttered. Although many biblical texts make a sharp distinction between Yahweh and certain Canaanite deities (especially Baal), it is likely that the Israelite concept of divinity emerged from a Canaanite background and shared numerous common features with it, such as the belief in a divine council and the notion of God as a Divine Warrior. The earliest forms of Israelite religion did not exclude the belief in, or worship of, other deities, perhaps even a goddess (Asherah). More exclusive forms of monotheism probably emerged near the end of the monarchic period, if not later. The notion that Israel’s God is inherently invisible, immaterial, and uncircumscribable might be implied by the second commandment of the Decalogue. However, archaeological evidence suggests that the worship of Yahweh was not always and everywhere purely aniconic. Due to the complex and multifaceted nature of the topic, biblical scholars approach the study of ancient Israel’s God from a diversity of methodological perspectives (literary, historical, sociological, etc.) and use data gleaned from various sources (the Hebrew Bible, comparative ancient Near Eastern (ANE) texts, iconographic materials, and archaeological artifacts). In addition, the study of the nature, character, and activity of ancient Israel’s God is central to the whole task of Old Testament theology and is crucial for understanding the Jewish background of the New Testament.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
  6.  
  7. A number of volumes offer a broad overview of topics pertaining to the study of ancient Israel’s God. Westermann 1979, a classic and often-cited introduction, provides an excellent starting point for beginning students and laypersons, especially those with theological interests. Other volumes, such as Miller 2007 and Mettinger 2005, are more historically oriented in their approach, situating understandings of ancient Israel’s God within the cultural and social context of the ancient Near Eastern world (see also Historical Approaches). However, there are important differences between these two volumes. Although Mettinger 2005 tends to emphasize the distinctiveness of Yahweh in contrast to the gods of Canaan, Miller 2007 underscores numerous points of continuity between Israelite and Canaanite religions. Other volumes focus specifically on the character of God (see also Characteristics of God). Turner 2010, for instance, identifies several dozen literary images of God found throughout the HB and offers concise exegetical reflections on each. Mills 1998 is also interested in images of God but, in contrast to Turner 2010, proceeds in a canonical fashion, highlighting key themes found in specific books in the HB. Lang 2002 outlines God’s character in terms of three thematic categories, each of which is derived from a certain aspect of God’s activities on behalf of the world and humanity. Snaith 1944 focuses on the influence of the HB on the concept of God in the New Testament (NT). Snaith argues that although there is a unity of ideas about God in the Bible as a whole, these ideas are quite distinct from those found in the cultural heritage of the Greco-Roman world. Shah 2012 offers a helpful comparison of the general concept of God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and would be an excellent starting point for students interested in interreligious perspectives on the topic.
  8.  
  9. Lang, Bernhard. The Hebrew God: Portrait of an Ancient Deity. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002.
  10. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  11. Attempts to understand the character of Israel’s God in terms of three heuristic categories: the gifts and practices of wisdom, victory in war, and life through fertility, food, and prosperity. For each category, Lang identifies relevant biblical texts and associated topics.
  12. Find this resource:
  13. Mettinger, Tryggve N. D. In Search of God: The Meaning and Message of the Everlasting Names. Translated by Frederick H. Cryer. Philadelphia: Fortress, 2005.
  14. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  15. Brings together historical and theological approaches to the study of God’s names, titles, and roles in the HB. Emphasizes the distinctiveness of Yahweh from Canaanite deities and downplays points of continuity. This volume is intended for nonspecialists and reflects a Christian theological perspective.
  16. Find this resource:
  17. Miller, Patrick D. Religion of Ancient Israel. Library of Ancient Israel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007.
  18. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  19. The first chapter of this volume, “God and the Gods: Deity and the Divine World in Ancient Israel,” offers an excellent survey of key topics in the study of ancient Israel’s God. Included are a balanced discussion of Yahweh’s relationship with Canaanite deities and the question of the goddess.
  20. Find this resource:
  21. Mills, Mary E. Images of God in the Old Testament. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1998.
  22. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  23. Appropriate for beginning students, this concise book identifies key ideas about God as presented in different parts of the HB, including “God of Law and Covenant” (Exodus), “God and the Temple” (Ezekiel), and “God of Power and Justice” (Psalms). Highlights the diversity of theological perspectives evident throughout the canon.
  24. Find this resource:
  25. Shah, Zulfiqar Ali. Anthropomorphic Depictions of God: The Concept of God in Judaic, Christian, and Islamic Traditions: Representing the Unrepresentable. Washington, DC: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2012.
  26. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  27. An important comparative study of how the three Abrahamic faith traditions attempt to make sense of God both in their sacred texts (HB, NT, and the Quran) and in later theological debates. Focuses especially on what the author considers to be the problematic implications of anthropomorphic or corporeal depictions of the deity.
  28. Find this resource:
  29. Snaith, Norman H. The Distinctive Ideas of the Old Testament. London: Epworth, 1944.
  30. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  31. Examines key ideas associated with God in the HB including holiness, righteousness, covenant love, and spirit. The author argues that these concepts not only strongly influence the NT’s view of God but also sharply differentiate the biblical concept of God from that found in Greco-Roman and other ancient cultures.
  32. Find this resource:
  33. Turner, Mary Donovan. The God We Seek: Portraits of God in the Old Testament. St. Louis: Chalice, 2010.
  34. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  35. This brief volume presents more than sixty images of God used throughout the HB. For each image, Turner provides brief exegetical comments. The book is theologically focused and is explicitly concerned with questions about the contemporary significance of the HB’s portrayal of God.
  36. Find this resource:
  37. Westermann, Claus. What Does the Old Testament Say About God? Translated by Friedemann W. Golka. Atlanta: John Knox, 1979.
  38. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  39. Traces the contours of the HB’s “story” about God. It highlights the distinction between God’s saving and blessing activities as well as God’s judgment and mercy. Also included is a discussion of the human response to God in words and actions.
  40. Find this resource:
  41. Dictionary Entries
  42.  
  43. Most Bible dictionaries contain entries on topics related to God in the HB. Although varying in length and focus, each of these entries provides a suitable starting point for further study. The back-to-back entries in Anderson 1962 still offer one of the most extensive and rigorous treatments of ancient Israel’s God in this genre. Fretheim 2007 is the new and thoroughly revised version of Anderson 1962. However, the content of Fretheim 2007 is considerably different from that of Anderson 1962; as such, these two entries can be read, side by side, as complementary—and equally lucid—introductions to the topic. Rose 1992 and McLaughlin 2000 both focus specifically on names and epithets used for God in the HB, providing important information about the etymology of these terms and the various literary contexts in which they are found (see also Names and Titles for God). Scullion 1992 discusses the character and activity of God as well as how biblical views of God relate to other key theological concepts. Ryken, et al. 1998 is the only entry organized around the diverse range of images of God found in the HB. It is also unique insofar as it provides a brief methodological discussion of how literary images of God can be interpreted. Bullock 1996 is the most theologically oriented entry of the selections provided in this section. It generally leaves aside historical-critical and literary-critical considerations in favor of drawing broader conclusions about the Bible’s view (in both the HB and NT) of God. A vast collection of entries is found in van der Toorn, et al. 1999. This standard reference work, often referred to as DDD, functions as a dictionary of all things divine in the ancient Near Eastern world, including various terms and concepts associated with God in the HB.
  44.  
  45. Anderson, Bernard W. “God, Names of” and “God, OT View of.” In The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Vol. 2. Edited by George Arthur Buttrick, 407–430. Nashville: Abingdon, 1962.
  46. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  47. These two entries appear back-to-back in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (IDB) and together offer one of the most thorough introductions to the topic in this genre. Although still accessible, these entries are detailed and engage a number of important historical, literary, and theological issues in the study of ancient Israel’s God.
  48. Find this resource:
  49. Bullock, C. Hassell. “God.” In Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Edited by Walter A. Elwell, 287–295. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1996.
  50. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  51. A theologically oriented survey of views of God found in various parts of the HB. Explores related theological concepts (covenant, holiness, etc.) and highlights points of connection between the views of God in HB and NT.
  52. Find this resource:
  53. Fretheim, Terrence E. “God, OT View of.” In The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Vol. 2. Edited by Katherine Doob Sakenfeld, 603–618. Nashville: Abingdon, 2007.
  54. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  55. Includes a discussion of literary forms through which knowledge of God is made known in the HB, the meaning and background of divine names and epithets, and various divine attributes and activities. Emphasizes that God is a living reality for Israel but is not free from ambiguity and “impenetrable complexity.”
  56. Find this resource:
  57. McLaughlin, John L. “God in the Old Testament, Names of.” In Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by David Noel Freedman, 514–516. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000.
  58. DOI: 10.5117/9789053565032Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  59. This focused entry concentrates on a select number of names, epithets, and descriptive terms used for God in the HB, including Adon, Baal, El, and Holy One. For each term, McLaughlin catalogues how often and in what context it is used and provides some information about etymology and translation.
  60. Find this resource:
  61. Rose, Martin. “Names of God in the OT.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 4. Edited by David Noel Freedman, 1004–1011. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
  62. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  63. After discussing the function and importance of names in biblical and ancient Near Eastern literature, Rose examines the divine name Yahweh as well as various non-Yahwistic names used for Israel’s deity. Rose also addresses how and why the use of Yahweh diminishes in the post-exilic period and early Judaism.
  64. Find this resource:
  65. Ryken, Leland, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, eds. “God.” In Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Edited by Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, 332–336. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 1998.
  66. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  67. Includes a brief discussion of the different types of literary images used in the Bible and a short methodological reflection on different approaches to interpreting images of God. Aimed at a general (and more theologically conservative) audience.
  68. Find this resource:
  69. Scullion, John J. “God in the OT.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 2. Edited by David Noel Freedman, et al., 1041–1048. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
  70. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  71. Highlights various aspects of God’s character and activity as well as God’s relationship to concepts such as wisdom and prayer. The entry also treats the historical and theological developments that led to more exclusive forms of monotheism in ancient Israel.
  72. Find this resource:
  73. van der Toorn, Karl, Bob Becking, and Pieter Willem van der Horst, eds. Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. 2d rev. ed. Boston and Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999.
  74. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  75. Consists of nearly 500 articles on deities, demons, and a variety of other related concepts. Most articles trace the occurrences of the term in biblical and extra-biblical materials, describe the character and role of the deity/demon in question, and provide a robust bibliography for further study.
  76. Find this resource:
  77. Theological Approaches
  78.  
  79. Broadly construed, God is the underlying topic of all theological inquiry, whether from a Jewish, Christian, or other religious perspective. However, the specific field of biblical theology and Old Testament theology has historically been a largely Christian endeavor. Thus, with the exception of Berkovits 1969, all of the references in this section offer Christian perspectives on the topic, albeit some from progressive and others from conservative theological positions. Anderson 1999 is aimed primarily at seminary students, ministers, and laypersons. Reflecting a Reformed theological perspective, this volume is organized primarily around three types of covenant in the Hebrew Bible. The driving interest of Zimmerli 1978 is ancient Israel’s confession of God as Yahweh. Brueggemann 2005 is arguably the most influential recent contribution to Old Testament theology within more progressive Christian theological circles. This volume balances a deep concern for the vitality of the church and biblical witness with a postmodern critique of normative truth claims that ignore the diverse perspectives on God found both in the Bible and in contemporary faith communities. Brueggemann 2009 recapitulates parts of Brueggemann 2005 and emphasizes God’s dynamic and interactive relationship with Israel, humanity, the nations, and creation. Rather than providing a systematic treatment of the HB’s witness about God as in Brueggemann 2005, Moberly 2013 offers theological reflections on eight key texts intended to be representative of broader traditions within the HB. Waltke and Yu 2007 and Seibert 2009 are both aimed at theologically conservative Christian audiences. Waltke and Yu 2007 stresses that divine kingship lies at the center of Old Testament theology and explores various “gifts” of God in salvation history. Exhibiting a considerably different focus, Seibert 2009 primarily focuses on how Christian readers can respond to portrayals of God in the HB that are theologically or ethically problematic. Berkovits 1969 offers an important Orthodox Jewish reflection on what the HB has to say about God, God’s names, and God’s characteristics. Many other works cited in this article contain information and discussions that would be relevant to theologically focused approaches to this topic.
  80.  
  81. Anderson, Bernard W. Contours of Old Testament Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999.
  82. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  83. Primarily focused on Yahweh’s three major covenants with Israel (Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic). Also treats the holiness of God, the name of God, the characterization of Yahweh, and the incomparability of Yahweh among foreign gods.
  84. Find this resource:
  85. Berkovits, Eliezer. Man and God: Studies in Biblical Theology. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1969.
  86. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  87. A theologian and rabbi from the tradition of Orthodox Judaism, Berkovitz offers seven essays that attempt to capture what the Hebrew Bible says about God. On the whole, treats the HB as a uniform witness about God rather than attending to the diverse, historically conditioned perspectives offered in different biblical texts.
  88. Find this resource:
  89. Brueggemann, Walter. Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005.
  90. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  91. Identifies the Bible’s characteristic testimony about God but also highlights the presence of counter-testimonies that underscore God’s hiddenness, ambiguity, and instability. Includes a helpful historical survey of HB criticism. Slightly revised from the 1997 original.
  92. Find this resource:
  93. Brueggemann, Walter. An Unsettling God: The Heart of the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009.
  94. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  95. Claims that the HB portrays God as profoundly personal and relational, acting upon and potentially influenced by various partners. Emphasizes the notion of divine pathos.
  96. Find this resource:
  97. Moberly, R. W. L. Old Testament Theology: Reading the Hebrew Bible as Christian Scripture. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013.
  98. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  99. Explicitly informed by a Christian theological framework, reflects on eight key traditions in the HB. Of particular note is Moberly’s suggestion that the Shema inextricably binds together notions about the exclusivity and oneness of Israel’s God.
  100. Find this resource:
  101. Seibert, Eric A. Disturbing Divine Behavior: Troubling Old Testament Images of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2009.
  102. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  103. Aimed at theologically conservative audiences and employs an explicitly Christological hermeneutic. Seeks to interpret the HB’s portrayal of God in light of what is revealed about Jesus Christ in the NT.
  104. Find this resource:
  105. Waltke, Bruce K., and Charles Yu. An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007.
  106. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  107. Each chapter of this lengthy volume is organized around various “gifts” God has bestowed on ancient Israel and the world (land, election, kingship, cosmos, etc.). Historical narratives feature most prominently. Aimed specifically at a conservative seminary audience.
  108. Find this resource:
  109. Zimmerli, Walther. Old Testament Theology in Outline. Translated by David E. Green. Atlanta: John Knox, 1978.
  110. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  111. A descriptive and thematic approach focused on the self-revelation of God as Yahweh. Topics treated include Yahweh’s gifts, Yahweh’s commandments, life before God, and crisis and hope. Heavily emphasizes texts from the Pentateuch and the Latter Prophets.
  112. Find this resource:
  113. Historical Approaches
  114.  
  115. Many studies of ancient Israel’s God are driven by historical-critical questions and methodologies. In treating a wide range of issues pertaining to Israelite religion, these volumes shed light on the background and historical development of beliefs about God in the HB. Kaufmann 1960, originally published in Hebrew in 1960, deviates sharply from Julius Wellhausen’s classic documentary hypothesis Die Composition des Hexateuchs und der historischen Bücher des Alten Testaments (3d ed. Berlin: Georg Reimer, 1989) and forwards the somewhat outdated view that monotheism was an original feature of early Israelite religion (see also Emergence of Monotheism). Cross 1973 has had a significant impact on North American biblical scholarship, especially in terms of its understanding of the influence of the Canaanite myth on the view of God in the HB. Smith 2002 follows in a similar direction as Cross 1973 but focuses more explicitly on the dynamics at work in the emergence of Yahweh as ancient Israel’s principal deity. Like Cross 1973 and Smith 2002, Saggs 1978 approaches Israelite religion from a comparative perspective, although he turns to ancient Mesopotamia, not Ugarit, for his comparative material. More comprehensive reconstructions of Israelite religion can be found in both Zevit 2003 and Albertz 1994. Both volumes draw on biblical and archaeological evidence and emphasize the presence of a diverse range of beliefs and practices within the history of Israelite religion. Far more concise in scope, Niditch 1997 offers a user-friendly overview of Israelite religion that would be appropriate for an undergraduate classroom. Albertz and Schmitt 2012 explores understandings of God in family and household religion in ancient Israel.
  116.  
  117. Albertz, Rainer. A History of Israelite Religion in the Old Testament Period. Translated by John Bowden. 2 vols. Old Testament Library. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1994.
  118. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  119. Translated from the 1992 German original, this two-volume work offers a comprehensive survey of the history of Israelite religion from the pre-monarchical period until the Hellenistic period. Includes extensive endnotes and indexes.
  120. Find this resource:
  121. Albertz, Rainer, and Rüdiger Schmitt. Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2012.
  122. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  123. Instead of focusing on the “official” or national religion of Iron Age Israel, this volume explores various aspects of family and household religion, including teraphim, female pillar figurines, votive objects, theophoric personal names, and ancestor worship.
  124. Find this resource:
  125. Cross, Frank Moore. Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1973.
  126. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  127. This influential volume explores the impact of Canaanite religious ideas (“myth”) on the historical traditions (“epic”) of ancient Israel. Among other things, it argues that mythic imagery of Canaanite El, the cult of the Divine Kinsman, and storm god (Baal) imagery converge in the figure of Yahweh as the Divine Warrior.
  128. Find this resource:
  129. Kaufmann, Yehezkel. The Religion of Israel: From Its Beginnings to the Babylonian Exile. Translated and abridged by Moshe Greenberg. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960.
  130. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  131. Noted for its many points of departure from widely held scholarly views, including giving historical priority to the priestly document (P). Argues that the Israelite religion was monotheistic from its pre-Mosaic origins and evinces characteristics that are quite distinct from the beliefs and practices of surrounding nations.
  132. Find this resource:
  133. Niditch, Susan. Ancient Israelite Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
  134. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  135. A concise, accessible, and historically focused introduction to Israelite religion. Touches upon a number of important issues that intersect with the study of the God of Israel but, due to its brevity, does not substantially engage vexing questions about the divine name or the relationship between Yahweh and Canaanite deities.
  136. Find this resource:
  137. Saggs, H. W. F. The Encounter with the Divine in Mesopotamia and Israel. Jordan Lectures in Comparative Religion 12. London: Athlone, 1978.
  138. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  139. A leading Assyriologist, Saggs compares Israelite and Mesopotamian conceptions of the divine in five areas: creation, history, good and evil, communication, and universalism. While noting numerous differences in detail between Israelite and Mesopotamian religions, Saggs concludes that they share many common features.
  140. Find this resource:
  141. Smith, Mark S. The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel. 2d ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002.
  142. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  143. A thorough examination of the development of Israel’s conception of God in light of textual and archaeological evidence. Emphasizes the Canaanite background of Israelite religion, including the dynamics at work in the emergence of Yahweh as the principal deity. Includes a discussion of recent advancements in religio-historical research. Originally published in 1990.
  144. Find this resource:
  145. Zevit, Ziony. The Religions of Ancient Israel: A Synthesis of Parallactic Approaches. New York and London: Continuum, 2003.
  146. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  147. This extensive volume is organized around various sources of evidence, including material culture, temple architecture, figurines, shrine models, inscriptions, and theophoric anthroponyms and toponyms. Emphasizes that, prior to the exile, there was considerable diversity in ancient Israel’s beliefs about God and cultic practices.
  148. Find this resource:
  149. Canaanite Background
  150.  
  151. Within historical approaches to the study of God, a prominent area of interest is the extent to which Canaanite religious beliefs and practices influenced Israelite conceptions of divinity. An excellent survey of the history of this scholarship is found in Smith 2002. The collection of essays in Brooke, et al. 1994 also serves as a helpful starting point for graduate students and researchers interested in comparative approaches to Israelite religion. Habel 1964 and Albright 1968 both posit a sharp contrast between early Israelite and Canaanite views of God. A more balanced—and now widely accepted view—is found in Day 2000. This volume acknowledges that although the biblical view of Yahweh originally was influenced by understandings about the Canaanite deities Baal and El, later biblical authors ultimately rejected certain aspects of Canaanite religion. Smith 2010 makes a similar claim, locating a shift toward more polemical attitudes toward Canaanite deities in biblical texts from the late monarchic and exilic periods. Mullen 1980 looks specifically at the idea of the divine council in both Ugaritic and biblical literature. Korpel 1990 is a massive study that compares a wide range of divine descriptions (including metaphors) in the HB and Canaanite literature.
  152.  
  153. Albright, William Foxwell. Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan: A Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths. Jordan Lectures in Comparative Religion 7. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1968.
  154. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  155. Studies various aspects of the HB in light of Canaanite literature and religion in the Late Bronze Age (LBA). Reflects conservative and now mostly outdated perspectives on such matters as the reconstruction of the Patriarchal Age, the early (Mosaic) origins of Israelite monotheism, and the sharp distinction between early Israelite and Canaanite religions.
  156. Find this resource:
  157. Brooke, George J., Adrian H. W. Curtis, and John F. Healey. Ugarit and the Bible: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Ugarit and the Bible, Manchester, September 1992. Ugaritisch-biblische Literatur 11. Münster, Germany: Ugarit-Verlag, 1994.
  158. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  159. An excellent collection of essays that explores various aspects of Israelite religion in light of a collection of texts from Ugarit (early 21st-century Ras Shamra, Syria). Several contributions address important methodological considerations in the comparative study of Israelite and Canaan religions.
  160. Find this resource:
  161. Day, John. Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 265. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic, 2000.
  162. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  163. Considers how attributes and characteristics of El and Baal were applied to Yahweh in early Israelite religion. Contends that other aspects of Canaanite religion eventually were rejected by biblical authors. Includes excellent summaries of previous research, a thorough bibliography, and an index of primary sources.
  164. Find this resource:
  165. Habel, Norman C. Yahweh versus Baal: A Conflict of Religious Cultures; A Study in the Relevance of Ugaritic Materials for the Early Faith of Israel. New York: Bookman, 1964.
  166. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  167. Posits that the clash between the Israelite and Canaanite religious systems led not only to a sharp polemic against Baal worship in the HB but also to certain distinctive features of Israel’s belief in Yahweh. Tends to downplay important parallels between Baal and Yahweh.
  168. Find this resource:
  169. Korpel, Marjo C. A. A Rift in the Clouds: Ugaritic and Hebrew Descriptions of the Divine. Münster, Germany: Ugarit-Verlag, 1990.
  170. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  171. Surveys a wide range of descriptions of God in Ugaritic and biblical literature, including anthropomorphic, theriomorphic, and physiomorphic imagery. Argues that language about deities is intentionally and inherently metaphorical in both corpora of texts.
  172. Find this resource:
  173. Mullen, E. Theodore, Jr. The Divine Council in Canaanite and Early Hebrew Literature. Harvard Semitic Monographs 24. Chico, CA: Scholars, 1980.
  174. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  175. An important contribution to the study of the divine council motif in Ugaritic and biblical literature. Emphasizes parallels between these materials, sometimes to the exclusion of other important comparative sources (namely, Egyptian and Mesopotamian). Unlike the Ugaritic texts, the HB depicts the prophets as participants in the divine council.
  176. Find this resource:
  177. Smith, Mark S. “Ugaritic Studies and Israelite Religion: A Retrospective View.” Near Eastern Archaeology 65 (2002): 17–29.
  178. DOI: 10.2307/3210894Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  179. An extremely helpful review of how Ugaritic studies has influenced understandings of Israelite religion since the early 1930s. Traces the emergence of new methods (such as the increased use of social sciences), new sources (ancient iconography), and changing religio-historical perspectives.
  180. Find this resource:
  181. Smith, Mark S. God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010.
  182. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  183. A diachronic consideration of the role that cross-cultural recognition of deities (i.e., “translatability”) played in ancient Israel. Although early Israelite religion included a diverse range of deities in ways similar to those of its neighbors, beginning in the late monarchy, biblical texts emphasize God’s nontranslatability, and thus more exclusive forms of monotheism.
  184. Find this resource:
  185. Emergence of Monotheism
  186.  
  187. Questions surrounding the origins and development of monotheism in ancient Israel have received considerable attention in a number of historically oriented studies in recent years. Monotheism in the Hebrew Bible offers a very concise yet nuanced overview of the topic that could help facilitate classroom discussions in either an undergraduate or seminary context. Lemaire 2007 is aimed at beginning students and reflects widely held critical perspectives. Tigay 1986 is a classic and often-cited volume that assesses the extent of monotheism in ancient Israel by looking at theophoric names in the Bible and Hebrew inscriptions. Gnuse 1997 successfully synthesizes previous scholarship in an accessible format and is representative of broader trends in the scholarly literature. De Moor 1997 maintains a middle ground between conservative perspectives, which tend to affirm the pre-monarchic origins of monotheism, and more critical scholarly positions, which locate the emergence of monotheism in the exilic or post-exilic period. Building on Smith 2002 (cited under Canaanite Background), Smith 2004 is a technical monograph aimed primarily at advanced students and scholars in the field. Frymer-Kensky 1992 links questions about Israelite monotheism to a consideration of the role and function of Mesopotamian goddesses (see also the Goddess). Lynch 2014 reflects a considerably different approach insofar as it evaluates types of monotheistic rhetoric in the Old Testament (OT) rather than reconstructs a linear history of monotheistic beliefs.
  188.  
  189. de Moor, Johannes C. The Rise of Yahwism: The Roots of Israelite Monotheism. Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 91. Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press, 1997.
  190. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  191. Situates the rise of Yahwism within the “crisis of polytheism” experienced throughout the ANE at the juncture between the end of the Late Bronze Age and the beginning of the Early Iron Age. Its use of early Hebrew poetry to reconstruct Yahwism prior to 1200 BCE is not widely accepted.
  192. Find this resource:
  193. Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. In the Wake of the Goddesses: Women, Culture, and the Biblical Transformation of Pagan Myth. New York: Free Press, 1992.
  194. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  195. Argues that although some roles of Mesopotamian goddesses were marginalized or eliminated (a phenomenon that is evident in Mesopotamia as well as in the HB), other features were assimilated into the characterizations of Yahweh, personified wisdom, and/or Daughter Zion.
  196. Find this resource:
  197. Gnuse, Robert Karl. No Other Gods: Emergent Monotheism in Israel. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 241. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic, 1997.
  198. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  199. Maintains that pre-exilic Yahwism was essentially polytheistic and that Israelite monotheism gradually evolved over the first six centuries of Israel’s history, culminating in the exilic period. This evolution was punctuated by periods of rapid development in response to specific social and historical crises.
  200. Find this resource:
  201. Lemaire, André. The Birth of Monotheism: The Rise and Disappearance of Yahwism. Washington, DC: Biblical Archaeology Society, 2007.
  202. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  203. Draws heavily on epigraphic and comparative ANE studies in order to present a concise outline of the development of Yahwism from the time of Moses until the end of the Second Temple period.
  204. Find this resource:
  205. Lynch, Matthew J. “Mapping Monotheism: Modes of Monotheistic Rhetoric in the Hebrew Bible.” Vetus Testamentum 64 (2014): 47–68.
  206. DOI: 10.1163/15685330-12341141Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  207. Looks beyond Deutero-Isaiah in order to explore how other parts of the HB articulate Yahweh’s categorical supremacy or supreme uniqueness. Offers a taxonomy of explicit and implicit expressions of monotheistic rhetoric and contends that monotheism may have emerged on multiple fronts and across various historical periods.
  208. Find this resource:
  209. Smith, Mark S. The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel’s Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
  210. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  211. Synthesizes the characteristics of divinity at Ugarit and maintains that the original god of Israel was the West Semitic deity El, who later merged with Yahweh, a warrior god in the Israelite pantheon. Argues that monotheistic language in 6th-century biblical texts was introduced to reinforce Israelite identity in the exile.
  212. Find this resource:
  213. Sommer, Benjamin. “Monotheism in the Hebrew Bible.” In Bible Odyssey. Society of Biblical Literature.
  214. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  215. A brief introduction to the concept of monotheism. Presents evidence from the OT that Israelites believed in the existence of multiple deities and argues that the essence of Israelite monotheism is the affirmation of God’s supreme power over all other deities, not necessarily the denial that other gods exist.
  216. Find this resource:
  217. Tigay, Jeffrey. You Shall Have No Other Gods: Israelite Religion in the Light of Hebrew Inscriptions. Atlanta: Scholars, 1986.
  218. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  219. Approaches the origins and evolution of Israelite monotheism by looking at onomastic evidence from the biblical period. Tigay finds that Yahwistic names far outnumber pagan names in the inscriptional evidence, thus suggesting that the worship of gods other than Yahweh was not widespread in ancient Israel.
  220. Find this resource:
  221. Iconographic Approaches
  222.  
  223. One of the most important developments in the study of ancient Israel’s God in recent years is the rise of iconographic approaches. Although these studies vary in focus and method, they all look to iconographic evidence from Syria-Palestine and the rest of the ancient Near Eastern world in order to understand better the conceptual background of the Hebrew Bible, especially the imagery it uses to describe God. First published in German in 1972, Keel 1997 is a groundbreaking study that attempts to link biblical imagery (from the Psalms) more systematically with corresponding motifs in ANE art. Equally important is Keel and Uehlinger 1998, which is a translation of the 1992 German original. Often referred to as GGG, this volume persuasively demonstrates the value of iconographic evidence when it comes to reconstructing the history of Israelite religion. In discussing the specific issue of the presence of anthropomorphic cult statuary in ancient Israel, Uehlinger 1997 revises some conclusions put forth in GGG. Ornan 2005 attempts to link the origins of the biblical image ban with broader trends toward non-anthropomorphic depictions of deities in Mesopotamian art in the late Iron Age (see also Aniconism). Hulster 2009 follows in the model of Keel 1997 but develops a more sophisticated methodology and offers a more sustained analysis of biblical texts in light of iconographic evidence. LeMon 2010 further refines iconographic methods and offers six accessible case studies in the interpretation of a particular image of God in the psalms (Yahweh’s winged form). In a similar fashion, Strawn 2009 draws on iconographic evidence to elucidate the meaning and background of a particular metaphor of God in the HB; namely, Yahweh as a lion (see also Metaphors for God). Far different in purpose is Keel 1995–. This massive catalogue of Syro-Palestinian glyptic art provides students and researchers with an indispensable primary source of iconographic data, not all of which pertains to ancient Israel’s God.
  224.  
  225. Hulster, Izaak J. de. Iconographic Exegesis and Third Isaiah. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2, 36. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2009.
  226. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  227. Offers helpful theoretical and methodological introductions to a study of the Old Testament, including divine imagery, in light of ancient Near Eastern art. Situates this method within a historically grounded comparative approach. Presents three case studies that illustrate the theory and method in practice.
  228. Find this resource:
  229. Keel, Othmar, ed. Corpus der Stempelsiegel-Amulette aus Palästina/Israel: Von den Anfängen bis zur Perserzeit. 5 vols. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis Series Archaeologica 10, 13, 29, 31, 33. Fribourg, Switzerland: Academic Press, 1995–.
  230. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  231. The most exhaustive (and most recent) diachronic survey of Syro-Palestinian iconography. Five volumes to date, the first being an introduction. Over 5,800 artifacts from over one hundred sites. A related volume by Keel and Jürg Eggler, Corpus der Siegel-Amulette aus Jordanien (Fribourg, Switzerland: Academic Press, 2006), treats Transjordanian glyptic art.
  232. Find this resource:
  233. Keel, Othmar. The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms. Translated by T. J. Hallett. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997.
  234. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  235. Stresses the importance of iconography for accessing the conceptual background of the OT and, in particular, the Psalter. The material is organized thematically and addresses (among others) conceptions of God. Makes a more explicit connection between image and text than in previous catalogues of ANE art.
  236. Find this resource:
  237. Keel, Othmar, and Christoph Uehlinger. Gods, Goddesses, and Images of God in Ancient Israel. Translated by T. H. Trapp. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998.
  238. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  239. This groundbreaking study emphasizes the indispensable role iconography plays in the study of Israelite religion. Using a collection of nearly 8,500 Syro-Palestinian stamp seals, Keel and Uehlinger outline key features of, and developments within, Israelite religion from Middle Bronze IIB through Iron Age III.
  240. Find this resource:
  241. LeMon, Joel M. Yahweh’s Winged Form in the Psalms: Exploring Congruent Iconography and Texts. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 242. Fribourg, Switzerland: Academic Press, 2010.
  242. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  243. Studies Yahweh’s winged form in six psalms in light of Syro-Palestinian iconography. LeMon offers an important revision of previous methodological approaches by seeking to establish points of image-text congruency between larger networks, or constellations, of both iconographic and textual materials.
  244. Find this resource:
  245. Ornan, Tallay. The Triumph of the Symbol: Pictorial Representation of Deities in Mesopotamia and the Biblical Image Ban. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 213. Fribourg, Switzerland: Academic Press, 2005.
  246. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  247. Counters the common belief that the biblical image ban emerges as a direct opposition to the Mesopotamian use of anthropomorphic cult statues. Argues that the biblical image ban was inspired by a corresponding emphasis on non-anthropomorphic divine imagery in Mesopotamian glyptic and monumental art from the 7th through 5th centuries BCE.
  248. Find this resource:
  249. Strawn, Brent A. “Whence Leonine Yahweh? Iconography and the History of Israelite Religion.” In Images and Prophecy in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean. Edited by Martti Nissinen and Charles E. Carter, 51–85. Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments 233. Göttingen, Germany: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009.
  250. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  251. Based on data presented in Strawn 2005 (cited under Metaphors for God), this article examines the origins of Yahweh’s leonine profile in the HB. Suggests that this imagery derives from, but ultimately transforms, ANE pictorial and textual sources that link lion imagery with either the realm of martial goddesses (namely, Ištar or Sekhmet) or the king.
  252. Find this resource:
  253. Uehlinger, Christoph. “Anthropomorphic Cult Statuary in Iron Age Palestine and the Search for Yahweh’s Cult Images.” In The Image and the Book: Iconic Cults and the Rise of Book Religion in Israel and the Ancient Near East. Edited by Karel van der Toorn, 95–155. Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology 21. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 1997.
  254. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  255. Contends that the decrease of anthropomorphic divine images on Syro-Palestinian glyptic art does not necessarily indicate that cultic practices were purely aniconic. Suggests that major cults and temples in Iron Age II Israel were centered around anthropomorphic cult statuary.
  256. Find this resource:
  257. Aniconism
  258.  
  259. A pressing issue within iconographic approaches concerns the history and scope of the biblical ban on divine images, which is articulated, among other places, in the second commandment of the Decalogue (Exod 20:4–6; Deut 5:8–10). This prohibition is often assumed to reflect an underlying belief in the aniconic nature of ancient Israel’s God, but this view has been challenged along a number of fronts (see also Historical Approaches and Historical Approaches: Emergence of Monotheism). Carroll 1977 offers a helpful orientation to some of the main questions pertaining to research on Israelite aniconism. Van der Toorn 1997 also functions as a helpful survey of the topic, with essays addressing the origins, development, and extent of aniconism in ancient Israel. Curtis 1985 examines the theological motivation of the image ban, linking this practice to a broader concern for preventing Israelite assimilation into Canaanite religion. Like Curtis 1985, Hendel 1988 sees in the biblical image ban an effort to distinguish ancient Israel from its neighbors but also offers the novel hypothesis that the image ban emerges from sociopolitical concerns rather than strictly theological ones. Mettinger 1995 situates Israelite aniconism within wider phenomena in the West Semitic world and is arguably the most influential comparative study of the topic. Lewis 1998 functions as a lengthy response to Mettinger 1995, raising critical questions about some of its methods, sources, and conclusions. Schmidt 1995 assesses the question of Israelite aniconism with respect to one particularly vexing artifact—pithos A from Kuntillet ʿAjrud, which includes an enigmatic picture of two figures with an inscription that refers to Yahweh and “his Asherah” (see also the Goddess).
  260.  
  261. Carroll, Robert P. “The Aniconic God and the Cult of Images.” Studia Theologica 31 (1977): 51–64.
  262. DOI: 10.1080/00393387708599966Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  263. Explores three important questions pertaining to Israelite aniconism: What constitutes an image? Why were images of Yahweh prohibited? What is the basis of the prophetic polemic against idols? Suggests that the notion of an imageless cult was solidified by the Aaronide priestly party in post-exilic Israel.
  264. Find this resource:
  265. Curtis, Edward. “The Theological Basis for the Prohibition of Images in the Old Testament.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 28 (1985): 277–287.
  266. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  267. Contends that the basis of the image ban is the belief that Israel’s God, unlike neighboring deities, did not manifest himself through images and was not subject to human control or magical manipulation. Presumes that aniconism was an early and distinguishing feature of Israelite religion.
  268. Find this resource:
  269. Dohmen, Christoph. Das Bilderverbot: Seine Entstehung und seine Entwicklung im Alten Testament. Bonner Biblische Beiträge 62. Königstein, Germany: P. Hanstein, 1985.
  270. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  271. A detailed exegetical study of the literary growth of the image ban tradition in the HB. Includes an analysis of the main terms for images. Dohmen’s conclusion that the prohibition of divine images emerges in a “nomadic” sociological context is now widely rejected.
  272. Find this resource:
  273. Hendel, Ronald S. “The Social Origins of the Aniconic Tradition in Early Israel.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 50 (1988): 365–382.
  274. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  275. Examines potential reasons for the emergence of the image ban in early Israel. Hendel’s new hypothesis is that Israelite aniconism reflects a bias against ancient Near Eastern royal ideology, in which the divine image served as a symbol of the legitimacy of the earthly king.
  276. Find this resource:
  277. Lewis, Theodore J. “Divine Images and Aniconism in Ancient Israel.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 118 (1998): 36–53.
  278. DOI: 10.2307/606297Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  279. Outlines the idea that archaeological materials not considered in Mettinger 1995—namely, bronze male statuary, female figurines, theriomorphic images, and vegetative representations—bears directly on the question of the nature and form of Israelite aniconism.
  280. Find this resource:
  281. Mettinger, Tryggve N. D. No Graven Image? Israelite Aniconism in Its Ancient Near Eastern Context. Coniectanea Biblica, Old Testament Series 42. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1995.
  282. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  283. Argues for a historical development from “de facto” aniconism in early Israel to more programmatic prohibitions in later periods. Distinguishes between material aniconism (stele and other noniconic objects) and empty-space aniconism (the cherubim throne).
  284. Find this resource:
  285. Schmidt, Brian B. “The Aniconic Tradition: On Reading Images and Viewing Texts.” In The Triumph of Elohim: From Yahwisms to Judaisms. Edited by Diana V. Edelman, 75–105. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995.
  286. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  287. Analyzes the relationship between the iconography and inscription on the artifact pithos A from Kuntillet ʿAjrud. Puts forth the intriguing, but difficult to prove, argument that the “final redactor” of the artifact consciously interpreted the two Bes figures as “Yahweh and his Asherah.”
  288. Find this resource:
  289. van der Toorn, Karl, ed. The Image and the Book: Iconic Cults, Aniconism, and the Rise of Book Religion in Israel and the Ancient Near East. Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology 21. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 1997.
  290. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  291. This volume consists of eight essays that probe the history and development of Israelite aniconism. Especially important are essays by van der Toorn (pp. 229–248), Uehlinger (pp. 97–155), and Niehr (pp. 73–95), that touch on underlying methodological considerations in the search for Yahweh’s cult image.
  292. Find this resource:
  293. Characteristics of God
  294.  
  295. Countless articles and monographs have attempted to outline and explain key characteristics of ancient Israel’s God (see also General Overviews). These studies typically offer close exegetical reflections on divine metaphors, divine titles, and/or divine attributes. In many cases, the study of the characteristics of ancient Israel’s God intersects with broader theological concerns, as is evident in most of the following selections. Fretheim 1984 and Fretheim 1988 examine two often-neglected aspects of God’s character in the HB: God’s suffering and God’s repentance, respectively. Both studies reflect on why such themes are central to Old Testament theology. Balentine 1983 and Crenshaw 1984 both scrutinize ancient Israel’s experience of God as being hidden, silent, and even hostile. Like these two studies, the collection of essays in Bergmann, et al. 2011 discusses problematic aspects of God’s character, including the question of divine evil. Although notions about the “image of God” have attracted more attention in later Christian theology than in the HB itself, this topic nevertheless is an important consideration in the study of the Israelite God and, by extension, humanity’s relationship to that God. Curtis 1992 provides a succinct overview of this concept in the HB, focusing specifically on linguistic and historical considerations. Kelly 2013 addresses what is arguably the most central expression of God’s character in the HB—namely, the so-called “Yahweh creed” in Exod 34:6–7. Porter 2009 offers important background information concerning how ancient Mesopotamians imagined their various deities.
  296.  
  297. Balentine, Samuel. The Hidden God: The Hiding of the Face of God in the Old Testament. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983.
  298. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  299. As a corollary to divine presence, highlights biblical notions of God’s hiddenness throughout the HB. Demonstrates that God’s hiddenness, a frequent topic in lament psalms and prophetic judgment oracles, is not only a response to human sin but also a central part of God’s activity in the world.
  300. Find this resource:
  301. Bergmann, Michael, Michael J. Murray, and Michael C. Rea, eds. Divine Evil? The Moral Character of the God of Abraham. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011.
  302. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  303. A collection of essays that presents arguments for and against the moral character of ancient Israel’s God. Several essays contend that some of God’s actions are indefensible when viewed philosophically, whereas others offer a cautious defense of difficult texts from more theological and contextual perspectives.
  304. Find this resource:
  305. Crenshaw, James L. A Whirlpool of Torment: Israelite Traditions of God as an Oppressive Presence. Overtures to Biblical Theology 12. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984.
  306. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  307. Examines five difficult texts about God (the binding of Isaac, the confessions of Jeremiah, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Psalm 73) and argues that they function as a critique of the dominant view of God presented in the Exodus-Sinai tradition.
  308. Find this resource:
  309. Curtis, Edward M. “Image of God (OT).” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 3. Edited by David Noel Freedman, et al., 389–391. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
  310. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  311. A helpful introduction to the biblical background of a topic that has been the subject of considerable reflection in Christian theology. Considers how the notion of an image or likeness of God in Gen 1:26–27 can be understood in light of beliefs about divine images in Egypt and Mesopotamia.
  312. Find this resource:
  313. Fretheim, Terence E. The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective. Overtures to Biblical Theology 14. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984.
  314. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  315. Focuses especially on biblical metaphors that depict God as being vulnerable and argues that these are crucial to understanding concepts about God’s foreknowledge, power, and presence in the world.
  316. Find this resource:
  317. Fretheim, Terence E. “The Repentance of God: A Key to Evaluating Old Testament God-Talk.” Horizons in Biblical Theology 10 (1988): 47–70.
  318. DOI: 10.1163/187122088X00049Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  319. Treats the often-neglected but pervasive theme of divine repentance in the HB. Argues that this concept functions as a “controlling metaphor” insofar as it has a profound capacity to illuminate ancient Israel’s experience and understanding of God.
  320. Find this resource:
  321. Kelly, Joseph Ryan. “Joel, Jonah, and the YHWH Creed: Determining the Trajectory of the Literary Influence.” Journal of Biblical Literature 132 (2013): 805–826.
  322. DOI: 10.1353/jbl.2013.0059Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  323. Focuses on the divine self-revelation in Exod 34:6–7, one of the most prominent expressions of God’s character in the HB. Challenging the scholarly consensus, Kelly argues that the form of this so-called Yahweh creed in the book of Jonah influences that found in the book of Joel.
  324. Find this resource:
  325. Porter, Barbara Nevling, ed. What Is a God? Anthropomorphic and Non-anthropomorphic Aspects of Deity in Ancient Mesopotamia. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.
  326. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  327. A collection of essays from a team of scholars within the field of Mesopotamian studies. Reassesses how ancient Mesopotamians imagined the forms and nature of their deities, including both anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic characteristics.
  328. Find this resource:
  329. Names and Titles for God
  330.  
  331. The HB identifies God using a variety of names and titles. Especially for those with knowledge of biblical Hebrew, Fretheim 1997 offers an excellent overview of the divine name, which is often referred to as the Tetragrammaton (meaning “four letters”). A nontechnical and theologically oriented treatment of the divine name can be found in Parke-Taylor 1975. A much more technical approach is found in Freedman 1960, which presents what is now one of the more widely accepted interpretations of the etymology and meaning of the word “Yahweh.” Several volumes address the sacredness of the Tetragrammaton and its implications for writing and/or speaking the divine name. For instance, Rösel 2007 explains how and why the divine name is translated and vocalized in different ways in ancient Jewish textual traditions. Miller 2009 explores possible meanings of the third commandment of the Decalogue, which warns against using God’s name “in vain.” A number of other volumes focus on the various titles, or epithets, associated with God, especially in the ancestral narratives. For example, modern discussions of ancestral religion and its Canaanite background have been shaped significantly by Alt 1967, a reprinted translation of the 1929 essay Der Gott der Väter. Cross 1973 builds on Alt’s earlier work but critiques and extends certain aspects of his analysis of ancient cult names and El epithets in the HB. Burnett 2001 offers a more recent treatment of key philological, historical, and literary issues pertaining to the term ’elōhîm, one of the most common designations of God in the HB.
  332.  
  333. Alt, Albrecht. “The God of the Fathers.” In Essays on Old Testament History and Religion. By Albrecht Alt, 1–77. Translated by R. A. Wilson. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1967.
  334. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  335. This seminal essay examines ancient cult names and divine epithets and their relationship to Yahweh. Translated and reprinted from the 1929 German original, Der Gott der Väter.
  336. Find this resource:
  337. Burnett, Joel S. A Reassessment of Biblical Elohim. Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series 183. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001.
  338. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  339. Explores the Canaanite background of the use of the grammatical plural form ’elōhîm as a singular noun. Argues that ’elōhîm is commonly used for individual, group, or national patron deities (especially El) in Pentateuchal texts that are thought to originate in Northern Israel.
  340. Find this resource:
  341. Cross, Frank Moore. “The Religion of Canaan and the God of Israel.” In Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel. By Frank Moore Cross, 1–75. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1973.
  342. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  343. In the lengthy first chapter of his influential book, Cross addresses numerous important topics related to the name of God, including the use of El and El epithets in the HB.
  344. Find this resource:
  345. Freedman, David Noel. “The Name of the God of Moses.” Journal of Biblical Literature 79 (1960): 151–156.
  346. DOI: 10.2307/3264465Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  347. Argues that the personal name of God was pronounced yahweh and was derived from a causative (Hiphil) imperfect verb meaning “he (will) bring into being.” Regards the form of the name in Exod 3:14 (’eyeh ’ăšer ’eyeh) as a secondary development.
  348. Find this resource:
  349. Fretheim, Terence E. “Yahweh.” In New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis. Vol. 4. Edited by Willem A. VanGemeren, 1292–1297. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997.
  350. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  351. A topical introduction to the name Yahweh, its possible meanings, transliteration, and use in the common phrase “LORD of hosts.” Also includes a survey of common epithets and metaphors for God in the HB.
  352. Find this resource:
  353. Miller, Patrick D. “Hallowing the Name of God.” In The Ten Commandments. By Patrick D. Miller, 63–115. Interpretation: Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
  354. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  355. In a chapter on the third commandment of the Decalogue (Exod 20:7; Deut 5:11), sheds light on the original meaning of the prohibition of lifting up God’s name “in vain.” Also traces the interpretive development of this commandment in other parts of the HB, NT, and Jewish tradition.
  356. Find this resource:
  357. Parke-Taylor, G. H. Yahweh: The Divine Name in the Bible. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University, 1975.
  358. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  359. A general survey of questions about the meaning, background, and use of the divine name in the HB and later Christian and Jewish traditions. Accessible and well organized, but does not engage critically with key linguistic, exegetical, or onomastic issues.
  360. Find this resource:
  361. Rösel, Martin. “The Reading and Translation of the Divine Name in the Masoretic Tradition and the Greek Pentateuch.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 31 (2007): 411–428.
  362. DOI: 10.1177/0309089207080558Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  363. Investigates how the Tetragrammaton is treated in various ancient textual traditions, including the Leningrad Codex, Qumran literature, the Septuagint (or LXX), and other Jewish versions of the Greek Bible. In the case of the LXX, different Greek terms are used for the Tetragrammaton depending on which aspect of God is being emphasized.
  364. Find this resource:
  365. Metaphors for God
  366.  
  367. Throughout the HB, biblical authors use a wide range of divine metaphors for God’s various roles, actions, and attributes. Following broader trends in the humanities and social sciences, interest in metaphors has increased sharply in biblical scholarship since the late 1980s. The collection of essays in van Hecke 2005 offers a representative sampling of this scholarship, and the brief case studies illustrating various approaches to the interpretation of biblical metaphors would be useful in a classroom. Some studies, such as Brettler 1989 and Strawn 2005, offer a thorough examination of a single metaphor (God is king, and God is lion, respectively) across the HB as a whole. Other studies, such as Brown 2002 and Basson 2006, survey a range of metaphors found in a particular part of the HB (in both cases, the psalms). Still others, such as Bonfiglio 2012, focus on interpreting a single metaphor in a discrete literary context (Yahweh as archer in Zech 9:11–17). Dille 2004 and Løland 2008 both address complex questions surrounding masculine and feminine divine metaphors. The following studies also exhibit a range of methodological approaches. Strawn 2005, Brown 2002, and Bonfiglio 2012 use iconographic evidence to help inform the meaning and background of specific metaphors for God (see also Iconographic Approaches). The exegetical work in Dille 2004, van Hecke 2005, and Basson 2006 is informed by recent work in metaphor theory that highlights the relationship among culture, cognition, and language. Interest in the theological dimensions of biblical metaphors is most evident in Brown 2002.
  368.  
  369. Basson, Alec. Divine Metaphors in Selected Hebrew Psalms of Lamentation. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2, 15. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2006.
  370. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  371. Drawing on conceptual metaphor theories, this volume analyzes biblical language about God in six lament psalms. The study sheds light on the conceptual world (including cognitive processes and physical experiences) that inform divine metaphors in the HB.
  372. Find this resource:
  373. Bonfiglio, Ryan. “Archer Imagery in Zechariah 9:11–17 in Light of Achaemenid Iconography.” Journal of Biblical Literature 131 (2012): 507–527.
  374. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  375. Reexamines the imagery of Yahweh as archer in light of prominent artistic motifs from Achaemenid Persia. Although this metaphor recalls the Divine Warrior motif in Canaanite myths and early Hebrew poetry, it also shares a close conceptual correspondence with depictions of the Achaemenid king as an armed archer.
  376. Find this resource:
  377. Brettler, Marc Zvi. God Is King: Understanding an Israelite Metaphor. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 76. Sheffield, UK: JSOT, 1989.
  378. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  379. An in-depth exploration of metaphors related to the kingship of God. Brettler not only carefully traces the background and use of various entailments of the metaphor throughout the HB but also examines how language about divine kingship potentially influenced biblical understandings of human kings.
  380. Find this resource:
  381. Brown, William P. Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002.
  382. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  383. Brown studies the metaphorical landscape of the Psalter with an eye toward motifs and concepts in ancient Near Eastern iconography. Emphasizes the way in which divine metaphors function as a form of “verbal iconography” insofar as they evoke new ways of seeing God without resorting to material images.
  384. Find this resource:
  385. Dille, Sarah J. Mixing Metaphors: God as Mother and Father in Deutero-Isaiah. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 398. London: T&T Clark International, 2004.
  386. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  387. Focused on the interaction of different divine metaphors in Isa 40–55, including those related to father and mother imagery. Develops the notion of “metaphoric coherence” from George Lakoff and Mark Johnson and suggests that mixing metaphors functions to highlight divine characteristics that initially do not seem compatible.
  388. Find this resource:
  389. Løland, Hanne. Silent or Salient Gender? The Interpretation of Gendered God-Language in the Hebrew Bible, Exemplified in Isaiah 42, 46, and 49. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2, 32. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008.
  390. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  391. Introduces key theoretical considerations in understanding gendered language about God and presents three case studies from the book of Isaiah that feature masculine and feminine metaphors. Concludes that notions of gender and sexuality are salient features in biblical descriptions of God.
  392. Find this resource:
  393. Strawn, Brent A. What Is Stronger than a Lion? Leonine Image and Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 212. Fribourg, Switzerland: Academic Press, 2005.
  394. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  395. Interprets leonine metaphors in the HB in light of comparable motifs in ANE literature and iconography. Although not without differences, leonine imagery in both biblical and extrabiblical materials primarily symbolizes power and threat. Includes a number of appendixes that describe the use and semantic range of this biblical metaphor.
  396. Find this resource:
  397. van Hecke, Pierre, ed. Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible. Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 187. Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press, 2005.
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399. Although not focusing exclusively on divine metaphors, this collection of fifteen essays (six are in German) offers a useful survey of recent approaches to metaphors in biblical studies. A number of methods are on display, but most draw on conceptual metaphor theories.
  400. Find this resource:
  401. Divine Warrior
  402.  
  403. The biblical metaphor for God that has received the most attention in the scholarly literature is that of the Divine Warrior. This metaphor pictures God in the guise of a heavenly warrior who fights alongside or on behalf of Israel. The concept of the Divine Warrior is prominent in the earliest Hebrew poetry and garners renewed attention in the apocalyptic literature of post-exilic biblical texts and early Judaism and Christianity. Hiebert 1992 would serve as an appropriate overview of the topic for undergraduate and graduates students. A seminal study of the Divine Warrior motif is found in von Rad 2000, which is translated and reprinted from the 1951 German original, Der Heilige Krieg im alten Israel. Stolz 1972 critiques the understanding in von Rad 2000 that holy war is a uniform tradition throughout the OT. Several volumes, including Miller 1973 and Kang 1989, approach the biblical idea of the Divine Warrior from a comparative perspective. Both studies draw close parallels between notions of divine warfare in the OT and that found in ANE literature. In a similar vein, Day 1985 highlights the Canaanite background of the biblical Divine Warrior, but it also demonstrates ways in which this motif is uniquely developed and employed by biblical authors. In a far more focused study, Hiebert 1986 looks specifically at the Divine Warrior theophany in Habbakkuk 3. Klingbeil 1999 is unique among the selections listed here because it introduces iconographic evidence into the consideration of Divine Warrior metaphors in the HB.
  404.  
  405. Day, John. God’s Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea. University of Cambridge Oriental Publications 35. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
  406. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  407. A thorough exegetical study of the motif of divine conflict in several dozen OT passages. Along with many other scholars, argues for a Canaanite mythological background. Also shows how the HB employs this motif in unique ways, such as in connection to the creation, the Exodus-Conquest tradition, and eschatology.
  408. Find this resource:
  409. Hiebert, Theodore. God of My Victory: The Ancient Hymn in Habbakkuk 3. Harvard Semitic Monographs 38. Atlanta: Scholars, 1986.
  410. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  411. Interprets Habbakkuk 3 as a theophany about the coming of God as a triumphant warrior. Argues that this text is an example of an early Hebrew Divine Warrior hymn that was placed in the literary context of Habbakkuk 1–2 by post-exilic editors.
  412. Find this resource:
  413. Hiebert, Theodore. “Warrior, Divine.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 6. Edited by David Noel Freedman, 876–880. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
  414. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  415. Traces the HB’s portrayal of God as a warrior from its appearance in the earliest Hebrew poetry through its resurgence in the apocalyptic literature of the post-exilic period. Also explores the development of this theme in post-biblical Jewish literature and early Christian literature.
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Kang, Sa-Moon. Divine War in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 177. Berlin, New York: de Gruyter, 1989.
  418. DOI: 10.1515/9783110884920Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  419. A comparative study of the Divine Warrior motif in the OT and parallel traditions from Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syro-Palestine, and Egypt. Emphasizes that the HB’s view of Yahweh as Divine Warrior is not unique and includes relevant ANE sources.
  420. Find this resource:
  421. Klingbeil, Martin. Yahweh Fighting from Heaven: God as Warrior and as God of Heaven in the Hebrew Psalter and Ancient Near Eastern Iconography. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 169. Fribourg, Switzerland: University Press, 1999.
  422. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  423. Analyzes ANE images that represent deities with warrior and/or god of heaven attributes and argues that these motifs informed the description of Yahweh as a deity fighting from heaven in the psalms. Includes statistics about the distribution of divine metaphors throughout the five books of the Psalter.
  424. Find this resource:
  425. Miller, Patrick D. The Divine Warrior in Early Israel. Harvard Semitic Monographs 5. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1973.
  426. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  427. Drawing heavily on Ugaritic texts and other ANE materials, explores the mythological background of divine warfare in ancient Israel. Contends that early Israel’s understanding of holy war is influenced by, but not identical to, related motifs in the ancient Near East.
  428. Find this resource:
  429. von Rad, Gerhard. Holy War in Ancient Israel. Translated and edited by Marva J. Dawn. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2000.
  430. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  431. Traces the development of various aspects of the Divine Warrior motif in HB literature. Includes both an introductory essay by B. C. Ollenburger on Rad’s theory of Holy War (pp. 1–33) and a helpful annotated bibliography by J. E. Sanderson on “War, Peace, and Justice in the Hebrew Bible,” (pp. 135–166). Originally published in 1951.
  432. Find this resource:
  433. Stolz, Fritz. Jahwes und Israels Kriege: Kriegstheorien und Kriegserfahrungen im Glauben des alten Israel. Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments 60. Zürich: Theologischer Verlag, 1972.
  434. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  435. Argues that the notion of God as a commander (Kriegsherr) is a common element in the various types of warfare depicted in the OT. Concludes that the Divine Warrior motif is a very early feature of Israelite religion.
  436. Find this resource:
  437. Theophany and Divine Presence
  438.  
  439. A number of studies on ancient Israel’s deity discuss the specific issue of God’s self-disclosure, or theophany. Addressing the broad contours of this topic, Hiebert 1992 provides a wealth of relevant scriptural citations and a helpful bibliography for further research. Jeremias 1965 is an important form-critical study of theophany as a literary type in the HB. In contrast, Mann 1977 uses a comparative approach focusing on similarities and differences in notions of divine presence and guidance in biblical and Mesopotamian literature. Other studies, such as Terrien 1978 and MacDonald and de Hulster 2013, trace changing perspectives on theophany in various parts of the HB. Other studies focus more specifically on a particular theophanic form. For instance, Mettinger 1982 concentrates on the origins and subsequent revisions of the Sabaoth title as an expression of God’s presence in the temple. Miller and Roberts 1977 draws attention to the way in which the ark functions as a powerful manifestation of God’s presence and power in 1 Sam 4–6. Lewis 2013 analyzes references to divine fire as an expression of God’s active presence.
  440.  
  441. Hiebert, Theodore. “Theophany in the Old Testament.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 6. Edited by David Noel Freedman, et al., 505–511. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
  442. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  443. An excellent introduction to the various locations (especially the sacred mountains, Sinai and Zion) and forms (natural elements and specific human figures) of God’s self-disclosure.
  444. Find this resource:
  445. Jeremias, Jörg. Theophanie: Die Geschichte einer Alttestamentlichen Gattung. Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament 10. Neukirchen-Vluyn, Germany: Neukirchener Verlag des Erziehungsvereins, 1965.
  446. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  447. A form-critical study that argues that the original life setting of this genre was the victory hymn. Notes that references to theophany eventually are used in other settings, such as prophetic oracles of judgment and salvation, to emphasize God’s power and intervention.
  448. Find this resource:
  449. Lewis, Theodore. “Divine Fire in Deuteronomy 33:2.” Journal of Biblical Literature 132 (2013): 791–803.
  450. DOI: 10.1353/jbl.2013.0057Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451. Argues that fire is one of the most common, though often-overlooked, images used in the HB to depict the active presence of Yahweh. Uses iconographic representations of divine fire to support an interpretation of the problematic phrase ’ēš dāt in Deut 33:2 as “fire flies forth.”
  452. Find this resource:
  453. MacDonald, Nathan, and Izaak J. de Hulster, eds. Divine Presence and Absence in Exilic and Post-exilic Judaism. Colloquium held in the Theologische Fakultät and the Paulinerkirche in the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen in May 2011. Studies of the Sofia Kovalevskaja Research Group on Early Jewish Monotheism 2. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2, 61. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2013.
  454. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  455. This collection of essays deals with changing perspectives on divine presence and divine absence in the exilic and post-exilic periods. Topics include divine abandonment, aniconism, the rebuilding of the temple, the conceptualization of divine presence in the form of Torah, the spirit of Yahweh, and temple vessels.
  456. Find this resource:
  457. Mann, Thomas W. Divine Presence and Guidance in Israelite Traditions: The Typology of Exaltation. Johns Hopkins Near Eastern Studies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977.
  458. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  459. Studies the idea of theophany in biblical and Mesopotamian texts. Concludes that similarities are most evident in texts about the Davidic-Solomonic empire, in which the motif is specifically associated with political leaders. One area of difference is the way in which the HB links divine presence with religious leaders and the people as a whole.
  460. Find this resource:
  461. Mettinger, Tryggve N. D. The Dethronement of Sabaoth: Studies in the Shem and Kabod Theologies. Translated by Frederick H. Cryer. Coniectanea Biblica: Old Testament Series 18. Lund, Sweden: C. W. K. Gleerup, 1982.
  462. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  463. Explains the Sabaoth title as an expression of a distinctly Jerusalemite theology of God’s presence in the temple. This form of theophany is radically transformed in priestly and deuteronomistic literature, both of which challenge a unitary conception of divine presence in the temple in light of the Babylonian exile.
  464. Find this resource:
  465. Miller, Patrick D., and J. J. M. Roberts. The Hand of the Lord: A Reassessment of the “Ark Narrative” of 1 Samuel. Johns Hopkins Near Eastern Studies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977.
  466. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  467. The third of three important monographs on the ark narrative in the 1970s, this volume interprets the ark in light of the capture and return of divine images in the ancient Near East. Argues that the ark was an object in which God’s presence and power were made manifest.
  468. Find this resource:
  469. Terrien, Samuel. The Elusive Presence: Toward a New Biblical Theology. Religious Perspectives 26. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978.
  470. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  471. Argues that the theme of divine presence is at the center of the Bible’s witness about God. Examines variation and development in this theme throughout the canon, including God’s visitation to the ancestors; the Sinai theophany; God’s glory and name; the ark, tent, and temple; personified Wisdom; and the incarnation.
  472. Find this resource:
  473. Divine Embodiment
  474.  
  475. Within the broader category of theophany, it is possible to look specifically at the ways in which the OT speaks of embodied manifestations of God’s presence. The idea of divine embodiment primarily has to do with instances in which the deity is described as having a tangible human form, including various anthropomorphic features (see also Metaphors for God). The most thorough treatment of divine embodiment is Sommer 2009. Though somewhat technical, this volume provides an excellent overview of the various theologies of divine embodiment in Scripture. Another helpful introduction to the topic can be found in the collection of essays in Kamionkowski and Kim 2010. Hamori 2008 sets the study of divine embodiment in comparative perspective and distinguishes between different types of anthropomorphic manifestations of ancient Israel’s God. Like Hamori 2008, Knafl 2014 is concerned with identifying different types of divine anthropomorphisms but considers only texts from the Pentateuch in this study. A number of other studies focus on specific aspects of God’s body. For instance, Strawn 2009 examines the specific idea of Yahweh’s “outstretched arm,” whereas Smith 2014 explores questions more generally about why the HB describes God as having human body parts and human emotions.
  476.  
  477. Hamori, Esther J. “When Gods Were Men”: The Embodied God in Biblical and Near Eastern Literature. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 384. Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 2008.
  478. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  479. Examines anthropomorphic manifestations of ancient Israel’s God, or ’īš theophany. Claims that “concrete anthropomorphism,” in which the deity appears in physically tangible human form, is only evident in Gen 18:1–15 and Gen 32:23–33. Other forms of anthropomorphic realism (through dreams, visions, and symbolic imagery) are evident elsewhere.
  480. Find this resource:
  481. Kamionkowski, S. Tamar, and Wonil Kim. Bodies, Embodiment, and Theology of the Hebrew Bible. Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies 465. New York: T&T Clark, 2010.
  482. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  483. This collection of essays explores a number of questions pertaining to divine embodiment, including the extent to which biblical authors depict God as having a body and how bodies mediate the interaction between God and humans. The essays in section 1 (“God’s Biblical Bodies”) are especially relevant.
  484. Find this resource:
  485. Knafl, Anne K. Forming God: Divine Anthropomorphisms in the Pentateuch. Siphrut 12. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2014.
  486. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  487. Offers a typology of divine anthropomorphisms in the Pentateuch. Although Knafl does not find fundamental differences between the Pentateuchal sources, she demonstrates that each source emphasizes different aspects of the typology.
  488. Find this resource:
  489. Smith, Mark S. How Human Is God? Seven Questions about God and Humanity in the Bible. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2014.
  490. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  491. This volume analyzes a range of topics pertaining to God’s anthropomorphic features in the HB, including why God is said to have human body parts and human emotions and whether God has gender or sexuality.
  492. Find this resource:
  493. Sommer, Benjamin. The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel. New York and Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
  494. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511596568Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  495. Explores theologies of divine embodiment in the HB, especially in texts about the ark, the tabernacle/temple, and the divine kabod. Argues that although some biblical traditions (namely, “P” and “D”) imagine God’s body being localized in one central object/space, others presuppose multiplicity and fluidity in God’s bodily manifestation.
  496. Find this resource:
  497. Strawn, Brent A. “Yahweh’s Outstretched Arm Revisited Iconographically.” In Iconography and Biblical Studies: Proceedings of the Iconography Sessions at the Joint EABS/SBL Conference, 22–26 July 2007, Vienna, Austria. Edited by Izaak J. de Hulster and Rüdiger Schmitt, 163–211. Münster, Germany: Ugarit-Verlag, 2009.
  498. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  499. Through a careful analysis of both iconographic and textual data, Strawn establishes that biblical language about God’s outstretched arm shares many points of similarity with Amarna Age iconography that depicts the life-giving rays of Aten outstretched toward worshippers and delivering the ankh as an expression of life and blessing.
  500. Find this resource:
  501. The Goddess
  502.  
  503. During the last half of the 20th century, much attention has been given to the role of the goddess (namely, Asherah) in ancient Israel. Day 1992, an accessible introduction to the topic for students, summarizes data from a wide range of extrabiblical and biblical texts. Based on a series of lectures given at the Faculty of Theology of Utrecht University, the collection of essays in Becking, et al. 2001 brings together multiple lines of evidence and addresses a number of important topics in the study of Asherah and her role in Israelite religion. Olyan 1988, Binger 1997, and Hadley 2000 all offer detailed studies of evidence for an Israelite goddess. Olyan 1988 contends that the goddess Asherah was widely recognized in Israelite religion and was understood to be the consort of Yahweh. In contrast, Binger 1997 contends that biblical authors primarily understood Asherah as a cult object, likely in the form of a wooden pole or living tree that symbolized the goddess. Hadley 2000 offers something of a mediating position insofar as it suggests that although Asherah was worshipped as an independent fertility goddess in Israel during the monarchic period, the terms ’ăšērâ/’ăšērîm later came to refer to a wooden pole that functioned as part of Yahweh’s cultic paraphernalia. Ackerman 1992 is more interested in locating the veneration of the goddess within a system of popular religious practices in 6th-century BCE Judah. Drawing extensively on iconographic evidence, Cornelius 2004 attempts to identify Asherah’s characteristic features and attributes, especially as they relate to other ancient Near Eastern deities. Dever 2008 is a provocative, though at times polemical, investigation of the contours of Israelite folk religion, at the heart of which is a consideration of the presence of the Asherah cult in ancient Israel.
  504.  
  505. Ackerman, Susan. Under Every Green Tree: Popular Religion in Sixth-Century Judah. Harvard Semitic Monographs 46. Atlanta: Scholars, 1992.
  506. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  507. Examines the prophetic critique of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah in order to reveal the nature of popular religion in 6th-century BCE Judah, which included fertility rites, necromancy, and the worship of various gods and goddesses. Argues that the “Queen of Heaven” mentioned in Jeremiah is a combination of Ištar and Astarte.
  508. Find this resource:
  509. Becking, Bob, Meindert Dijkstra, Marjo C. A. Korpel, and Karel J. H. Vriezen, eds. Only One God? Monotheism in Ancient Israel and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah. Biblical Seminar 77. New York: Sheffield Academic, 2001.
  510. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  511. Discusses the potential connection between Athiratu of Ugarit and Asherah from ancient Israel. Reflects on the implications of this evidence for an understanding of the emergence of monotheism, the role of women in the cult, and the supposed aniconic character of Israelite religion.
  512. Find this resource:
  513. Binger, Tilde. Asherah: Goddesses in Ugarit, Israel and the Old Testament. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 232. Copenhagen International Seminar 2. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.
  514. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  515. After a discussion of evidence from Ugarit and Iron Age Israel, argues that ’šrh refers to a cultic representation (a wooden pole or living tree) that was thought to be identical to the goddess. Concludes that Asherah’s cult was known by the Deuteronomists and even the Septuagint (LXX) translators.
  516. Find this resource:
  517. Cornelius, Izak. The Many Faces of the Goddess: The Iconography of the Syro-Palestinian Goddesses Anat, Astarte, Qedeshet, and Asherah c. 1500–1000 BCE. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 204. Fribourg, Switzerland: Academic Press, 2004.
  518. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  519. Presents the iconography of four goddesses, including how they are characteristically depicted (whether armed, seated, standing, holding objects, or on horseback). Discusses the difficulty in differentiating among the various goddesses based on their often-overlapping iconographic types, titles, and attributes.
  520. Find this resource:
  521. Day, John L. “Asherah.” In The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 1. Edited by David Noel Freedman, et al., 483–487. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
  522. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  523. Offers an excellent introduction to what is known about the goddess Asherah from extrabiblical sources, focusing mostly on textual evidence. Organizes biblical references to ’āšērâ based on whether they denote an independent Canaanite goddess (perhaps a consort of Yahweh) or a wooden cult object symbolizing the goddess.
  524. Find this resource:
  525. Dever, William G. Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008.
  526. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  527. Foregrounds methodological considerations such as the preference of artifactual data over textual data and the distinction between religious belief and religious practice. Marked by sharp polemics against other scholars.
  528. Find this resource:
  529. Hadley, Judith M. The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess. University of Cambridge Oriental Publications 57. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  530. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  531. Looks at evidence for Asherah using Ugaritic literature, biblical texts, and archaeological artifacts. A detailed study that revisits previous scholarship devoted to the topic. Argues that the Asherah becomes a hypostatization of Yahweh’s fertility aspects.
  532. Find this resource:
  533. Olyan, Saul M. Asherah and the Cult of Yahweh in Israel. Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series 34. Atlanta: Scholars, 1988.
  534. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  535. Contends that, despite opposition from deuteronomistic circles, Asherah was a widely accepted part of the Israelite cult from the patriarchal times through the monarchic period. Argues that Asherah is the consort of Yahweh and considers the pairing of Asherah and Baal in the HB merely reflecting deuteronomistic polemic.
Advertisement
Add Comment
Please, Sign In to add comment
Advertisement
Public Pastes
Advertisement
We use cookies for various purposes including analytics. By continuing to use Pastebin, you agree to our use of cookies as described in the Cookies Policy.  OK, I Understand
Not a member of Pastebin yet?
Sign Up, it unlocks many cool features!