God Of Israel Research Articles

The Obedient Bride: Patriarchy and Jewish Religious Fundamentalism

The biblical Covenant retains a powerful hold on believers around the world. I take Jewish religious fundamentalism to be the consequence of an ardent relationship of subjugation and submission between the God of Israel and his faithful congregation, or Covenant partner, or Bride. Given the Middle East context, I try to arrive at the Bride's own perspective of this unique bond and its political implications. That requires telling the story, as sympathetically as a non-believer can, of what outsiders, both Jewish and gentile, may see as a bewildered casualty of history; a victim who has, directly or through secular proxies, grown powerful enough to violate the rights of those she categorises as sinners, traitors, enemies, or inferiors.

"Sonne der Gerechtigkeit": Studien zur Solarisierung der Jahweh-Religion im Lichte von Psalm 72

Sonne der Gerechtigkeit: Studien zur Solarisierung der Jahwe-Religion im Lichte von Psalm 72, by Martin Arneth. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur Altorientische and Biblische Rechtsgeschichte 1. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2000. Pp. ix + 244. DM 98.00. In this book Arneth is not interested in whether Yahweh is related to the ubiquitous sun-deities in any of their ancient Near Eastern variations and adaptations (lama in Mesopotamia [mast.]; Sapsu in Canaan [fem.]; Re in Egypt), or in examining solar motifs within popular Israelite religion per se. Based on a dissertation directed by Otto Eckart, this monograph begins rather with Ps 72 and proceeds exegetically to explore the breadth and depth of solar Leitworten animating explicitly Yahwistic theological discourse within the OT. The book's goal is to prove that in addition to the rejection of Assyrian solar religion (2 Kgs 23:11), is also a positive reception of Assyrian Samas-ideas with anti-Assyrian intentions in late-eighth-century Yahwism (p. 17). In carefully constructed arguments, Arneth moves from close textual analysis to insightful literary analysis to exhaustive comparative analysis, focusing mostly on Hebraic and neoAssyrian sources. Ameth reminds us that previous approaches to this sensitive question tend to oscillate between two poles. J. Morgenstern, for example (The Gates of Righteousness, HUCA 6 [1929]: 137), posits a full-blown sun-cult behind OT solar language, and tries even to prove that the Jerusalem temple, because of its east-west orientation, is a solar cult-site. Subsequent scholarship has been quick to dismiss such theories, though not so quickly the Bible's unavoidable solar rhetoric, particularly as it is enunciated in the Psalms (Pss 19:5-7; 72:5, 17; 84:12; 104:2-3). Thus the question remains: How did this language get here and how does it function? With H.-P. Stahl (Solare Elemente im Jahweglauben des Alten Testaments [OBO 66; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1985], 28-39), Arneth agrees that there are two lines of Old Testament tradition on this matter-one deuteronomistic and the other characterized by problemless, positive acceptance of solar elements (pp. 5, 201). Without denying the importance of the first, Arneth chooses to investigate the second, discovering (with Stahli) that within it one finds two primary roles enacted by Yahweh: righteous judge and compassionate healer. Since the same two themes appear in the solar language of the coronation literature of Israel's neighbors (particularly Assyria), the bulk of the study asks whether Hebrew tradents from this second line have not deliberately and intentionally adopted and subordinated these traditional solar roles to Israel's God, their purpose being to enhance Yahweh's regal reputation at a difficult moment in Judahite history. To answer this question, Arneth begins with a thorough textual analysis and proceeds to a rigorous literary analysis of Ps 72. Whereas previous scholarly opinion tends to view the psalm as unstructured and randomly repetitive (e.g., Gunkel), Arneth sees a highly developed ABB'A' structure in w. 9-11, symmetrically sandwiched between two chiasms: IMAGE FORMULA5 Since similar chiasms appear also in Old Babylonian (Codex Hammurabi) and neoAssyrian sources (particularly in the Assurbanipal coronation literature), the poetic juxtapositions of fertility, justice, judgment, and cosmic/sun-moon motifs in Ps 72 seem neither accidental nor unprecedented. In my opinion, Arneth is to be applauded for successfully positioning Ps 72 within this plausible sociohistorical matrix. Where the book is less successful is in its insistence on a (written? …

Judith M. Hadley. The Cult of the Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess. University of Cambridge Oriental Publications 57. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. xv, 262 pp.

Did the God of Israel have a wife? Posed in the context of monotheistic Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity this is, of course, a nonsensical question. However, even in the heavily edited Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible there remain traces of an earlier stage of belief in which Yahweh was accompanied by other beings. Among these para-human figures is Asherah, the form of whose name clearly indicates her feminine gender. In recent years numerous scholars have addressed the ticklish question of the original relationship between this lady and the Lord of Hosts, a problem that involves probing into the prehistory of the Hebrew scriptures.

Israel's election and God's silence: Jewish destiny's peculiarity and exemplarity

Israel's election and God's silence: Jewish destiny's peculiarity and exemplarity

We and They in Romans

According to cultural anthropologists ingroup/outgroup divisions are fundamental to Mediterranean views of the world. This essay considers Paul’s in-group/outgroup, or “we/they” perceptions. The ethnocentrism revealed in this dichotomy indicates that Paul, like other Mediterraneans of his time, showed little interest in the outgroup. Not surprisingly, neither was the God of Israel. Non-Israelites simply did not fit into the divine plan of things until non-Israelites, some centuries later, began to identify with Paul’s “we” – something Paul did not foresee.

“I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD AND YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME”: IDENTITY AND PLURALITY

International Review of MissionVolume 91, Issue 363 p. 516-522 “I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD AND YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME”: IDENTITY AND PLURALITY Monica J. Melanchthon, Monica J. Melanchthon Dr Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon is Professor of Old Testament Studies and Head of the Department of Women's Studies at the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, Chennai, India.Search for more papers by this author Monica J. Melanchthon, Monica J. Melanchthon Dr Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon is Professor of Old Testament Studies and Head of the Department of Women's Studies at the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, Chennai, India.Search for more papers by this author First published: 25 March 2009 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-6631.2002.tb00364.x AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume91, Issue363October 2002Pages 516-522 RelatedInformation

Contemplating God: YHWH and Being in the Theology of St Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas's treatise on God's essence, it is argued, contemplates Israel's God metaphysically. But Aquinas's purpose is a biblical one: encountering God through contemplating, with all available intellectual resources, God's names. Aquinas thus integrates his metaphysical reflection on the name 'I am Who am' into a rich account of YHWH, Moses, the Mosaic Law, and the relationship of Christians to the contemplative life enjoyed by Moses and sustained, against various forms of idolatry, by the Mosaic Law.

Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (review)

The Jewish Quarterly Review, XCII, Nos. 3-4 (January-April, 2002) 497-505 Review Essay Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, ed. Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter W. van der Horst. Second Extensively Revised Edition . Leiden, Boston and Köln: Brill; Grand Rapids, Michigan and Cambridge , UK: William B. Eerdmans, 1999. Pp. xxxviii + 960. Victor Avigdor Hurowitz, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev According to a well-known aggadah (Midrash Rabbah on Exod 5:2; cf. Targum Yerushalmi, ad loc), Pharaoh, not knowing the God of Israel, examined his palace archives where the names of the gods of all the nations were listed in order to verify the credentials of the upstart YHWH whom Moses claimed to represent. Were he living in Mesopotamia, he could have asked to see a copy of the great god list An = Anum. If he were alive today, he would certainly request the book under review. The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (DDD) is an encyclopedia of all the divine, semi-divine, deified, hypostasized, and no-longerdivine beings mentioned in the Bible. DDD's purpose is to provide convenient , state of the art information and an updated, comprehensive bibliography about every indigenous and foreign deity mentioned in Scripture: both how they were conceived of in their religions of origin and how they are portrayed or function in the Bible. Any deity suspected of being mentioned or alluded to in the Bible even once is included, no matter how obscure , minor or dubious he/she is, whereas gods who are not mentioned in the Bible are excluded from DDD irrespective of their rank and stature in their native habitats. The hefty tome contains over 600 entries, which, when reduced by approximately 150 cross-Jistings, leaves a total of close to 450 separate articles. It is an international effort, with 106 participants from Europe, North America, and Israel, who each contributed anywhere from one to forty-six articles. Each article contains as many as five sections: a discussion of the divine name or title, its meaning, and etymology; a study of the deity outside the Bible, be it in Ancient Near Eastern or classical literature ; the deity in the Hebrew Bible; the deity in Christian Scripture; bibliography . The second edition has twenty-one more entries than the first edition,1 and many entries have been revised, corrected, and updated. For 1 According to the preface to the revised edition there are "some thirty" new articles. A comparison of the tables of entries for each of the two editions gives the 498THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW the purpose of the project, the problematic, controversial concept "Bible" has been given a maximalist definition, making it congruent with the Holy Scriptures of the Orthodox Churches. DDD's Bible thus consists of the Jewish canon, the complete Septuagint including apocryphal and pseudepigraphic books, and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. The introduction explains that four types of deities are included: gods still recognized as such by the authors and the audience; gods mentioned in proper nouns; demythologized or decommissioned gods mentioned albeit not in their capacity as gods; and "ghost-gods" whose presence has been posited by individual scholars but whose actual mention in the Bible or in the Ancient Near East remains questionable. Yet these categories do not exhaust the true range of topics covered. Some gods are represented in several articles by their name, the natural phenomenon they are associated with, and certain epithets by which they are known. There are also articles on divine symbols, deified cult objects, divine manifestations, divine attributes, divine titles, and even pejoratives or euphemisms. Gods and other concepts not eligible for separate entries but discussed in passing are registered in an index. To a certain extent, DDD is a dictionary of god-related terms and not gods per se. It parallels to a degree the highly important book by K. L. Tallqvist, Akkadische Götterepitheta (Helsinki, 1938; reprinted 1974) which contains both divine names and divine epithets. DDD is extremely informative and useful. It has been composed competently by experts in the pertinent disciplines, and should be a standard reference work found in every university...

A Reassessment of Biblical Elohim

A Reassessment of Biblical Elohim, by Joel S. Burnett. SUDS 183. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001. Pp. xv + 172. $39.95. In keeping with the stated purpose of the series, this monograph represents the slightly modified doctoral dissertation of the author. Burnett's thesis was submitted to the Johns Hopkins University in 1999. Burnett begins his study with the surprising fact that the topic of 'el6hfm has not received much scholarly attention. This study (in brief introductory chapter and three main chapters) attempts to address the philological, historical, and literary issues which remain unresolved in association with this term. Burnett does this by examining ancient West Asian comparative material as well as internal biblical material in order to determine the origin and meaning of the term. He also explores the role of elohim in Israelite religion from history-of-religions perspective. Burnett offers an examination of the pentateuchal source E, with critical assessment of the source criticism behind the identification of E material as separate collection. In his first main chapter (ch. 2) Burnett explores the comparative, extrabiblical evidence for 'elohim as grammatical used as singular noun. Burnett cites several Late Bronze Age Akkadian examples of ilanti from Syria-Palestine in which this (gods) functions as singular. Furthermore, he notes, the usages occur in the coastal and valley areas, but not in the mountains and hinterlands of this region. Burnett argues for Canaanite origin for this expression whose meaning (god) is unaffected by singular or form. Noting the imprecision of the phrases of majesty and the like, Burnett makes case for this usage as concretized abstract plural (p. 22). Phoenician inscriptions offer Iron Age parallels in their usage of ilm as singular, and although Aramaic may be used as evidence, no certain examples of this usage have yet been found in that language. If any of the potential examples do confirm this usage, they may be clearly traced to borrowing from Canaanite. Burnett compares the inscription from Deir Alla to this phenomenon before turning to the first-millennium Akkadian examples of written as plural. Royal correspondence, wisdom literature, ritual texts, an inscription of Nabonidus, hymn texts, and personal names all attest the significant usage of the gods with singular meaning of deity or god, with no specific nuance. Burnett then turns attention to 'elohim as common noun in its generic and abstract character. Although lel(5him is used interchangeably with other words for in the Hebrew Bible, its usages are somewhat more flexible than other words. Elohim also stands as the usual word for individual, group, territorial, or national patron deities. This is reflected in the epithets god of the fathers and god of Israel. Burnett ends the chapter by discussing singular and lel,ohim in international and Israelite contexts in the biblical narrative. Burnett handles this material well. He makes coherent case for Canaanite origin for the usage of 'elohim; however, he seems at times to hold to fairly early monotheistic interpretation of Israel's usage of the word. The third chapter focuses on the title 'elohim in Israelite religion. Burnett notes at the outset that texts utilizing 'eldhim, as opposed to the name, tend to be northern in origin. As representative of this northern orientation, Jeroboam's cultic phrase these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt (p. 80) in 1 Kgs 12:28 is discussed at some length. Comparing this formula with the Philistines' statement in 1 Sam 4:7-8, Burnett suggests that both were based on a longer exodus litany, one in which 'elohim serves repeatedly and exclusively as the designation of the divine (p. 84). This exodus litany included other beings who assisted in the plagues and exodus: the destroyer, the messenger of God, the pillars of cloud and fire, hail, pestilence, death, and plague, God's burning anger, fury, indignation, and distress, according to Exod 12-15 and Ps 78 respectively. …

The Lord's Mercy Endures Forever

What can it mean for Christians to affirm that the mercy of the God of Israel endures forever, even after Auschwitz? Christian respect for Jewish otherness can foster reconciliation in a way that embodies the Lord's blessing of “all the families of the earth.”

Web Forum: Apocacide, Apocaholics and Apocalists

Web Forum: Apocacide, Apocaholics and Apocalists

Like Father, like Son: The Role of Abraham in Tabernacles — John 8:31–59

Chapters 7 and 8 of the Fourth Gospel present a unified narrative focussed upon the issue of Jesus' identity. Abraham functions as a witness to Jesus' identity and relationship with Israel's God. For the Johannine Christians, living in their own time of conflict with emerging post-70 Judaism, the confrontation at Tabernacles offers clarity and hope in their struggle for identity. Abraham's testimony demonstrates that the traditions of Israel now find their fulfilment and perfection in Jesus.

First-Century Jewish Monotheism

In recent scholarship there has been considerable discussion over whether first-century Jewish religion can be described meaningfully as 'monotheistic', and, if so, how this affects our understanding of the rise of early 'high' Christology. This essay offers refinements in our approach to the question and concludes that we can attribute 'monotheism' to first-century Judaism, provided that we build our understanding of the term inductively. Ancient Jewish monotheism was a distinctive version of the ancient 'high god' pattern. The distinctives were in beliefs and practice. The key distinctive beliefs were (1) the high god is known and is the God of Israel, (2) this God presides over a heavenly host of other heavenly beings but is distinguished from them as creator of all and as ruler of all. In addition, and most importantly, there was a distinction in religious practice: This God is to be worshipped exclusively. First-century Jewish monotheism was, thus, an exclusivist, monarchical view of God, manifested particularly in 'orthopraxy' in cultic/liturgical matters.

Aanneming tot kind van God by Paulus in Romeine 8 teen die agtergrond van die Jerusalemse tempelkultus - Deel II

Paul’s notion of “adoption” in Romans 8 in the light of the Jerusalem temple cult In a previous article it was shown that the marriage arrangements advocated within the sphere of the Second Temple cult in Jerusalem provided the parameters for the use of the metaphor “Israel as family”. When Paul explained who the people really were who constituted the true “Israel of God”, he used the same metaphor as point of departure in spite of being influenced by the Greco-Roman thought and Hellenistic-Semitic wisdom tradition on the concept “divine sonship”. This article aims to show how Paul, who personally did not know Jesus of Nazareth, continued to transmit the “heart” of Jesus’ message about children entering God’s kingdom. Paul achieved this by making use of the notion “adoption”. The article describes the trajectory from Paul to Jesus to John the Baptist, the initiator of the idea of an inclusive and egalitarian community.

The God of Israel and Christian Theology. R. Kendall Soulen

<i>The God of Israel and Christian Theology</i>. R. Kendall Soulen

Theology of the Old Testament: testimony, dispute, advocacy

In this powerful book, Walter Brueggemann moves the discussion of Old Testament theology beyond the dominant models of Walter Eichrodt in the 1930s and Gerhard von Rad in the 1950s.Brueggemann focuses on the metaphor and imagery of the courtroom trial in order to regard the theological substance of the Old Testament as a series of claims asserted for Yahweh, the God of Israel. This provides a context that attends to pluralism in every dimension of the interpretive process and suggests links to the plurality of voices of our time.

Herod: King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans (review)

Hebrew Studies 39 (1998) 248 Reviews allows one to identify it with the God of Israel. This seems to be at odds with the fact that there is no reference to God in the book, and Levenson does not fmd convincing any attempt to explain this phenomenon. But he rejects the conclusion that Esther is a secular book. The absence of religious rites is also disturbing, but, he comments, this should not be pressed unnecessarily, because Esther serves as the etiological legend for a festival, Purim. Levenson correctly points out that God seems to be responsible for the patterns of coincidences and the resulting reversals found in Esther. A unique characteristic of this commentary is that the author includes the Greek additions to the Hebrew text and provides a commentary for each one of them. He argues that the Septuagint of Esther is a translation of a lost Hebrew text similar, but not identical to the Masoretic Text. In agreement with David J. A. Clines (The Esther Scroll [Sheffield, 1994]), he argues that the additions, with their explicit use of religious language, have the purpose of assimilating the story to a scriptural norm. Yet, he leaves the door open for the possibility that the Masoretic Text might have been the innovator by eliminating all references to God from the story. This is a very useful volume for theologians, teachers, and pastors. Angel Manuel Rodriguez Biblical Research Institute Silver Spring MD 20904 J0447J.2566@compuserve.com HEROD: KING OF THE JEWS AND FRIEND OF THE ROMANS. By Peter Richardson. Pp. xxv + 360. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996. Cloth, $34.95. Herod: King 0/the Jews and Friend 0/the Romans has an introduction, thirteen chapters, a list of maps and abbreviations, a preface, acknowledgments , a chronology of Herod's life, a select bibliography, and indices of references to ancient texts, modem authors, places, and subjects. It is an interesting, well written, albeit poorly formulated biography of Herod. Richardson seems unaware of relevant aspects of Roman History or the modem understanding of Second Temple Judaism, depending on normative interpretations of Judaism rather than descriptive analysis of the data. Consequently, this work is not as useful as it could have been. Nevertheless, some chapters are well done, some conclusions are extremely good, and Richardson has amassed a great amount of well-collated and informative data about Herod for the reader's consideration. Hebrew Studies 39 (1998) 249 Reviews Although the work is replete with examples of flawed scholarship, only a few will suffice to illustrate the problems. Richardson claims to be objective (p. xii), but, when evaluating Josephus' material, his objectivity is only manifest when he disagrees, even tentatively, with the text (e.g., pp. 52-53. 60.69, 76-77. 110, etc.) or hesitantly agrees with it (e.g., pp. 129-130. etc.). For the most part. he uncritically accepts Josephus' interpretation of events. Many things Richardson accepts as correctly interpreted by Josephus or any of his sources and treats as "Jewish" are only to be so construed from a normative vantage, even today. Therefore, Richardson refers to "observant Jews" (p. 31), "Jewish tradition" (p. 40) and "practices of Judaism" (p. 73) as if there were one standard for all Judaeans. Ignoring the variant practices much less the existence of various sects of Jews in Judaea and the diaspora, he assumes that "Jerusalem" was "the cult center of all Jews everywhere " (p. 135); that there was a "heartland of Judaism" that was "more thoroughly Jewish" than other areas (p. 137); that "Jewish territory" was "governed by the laws and customs of Judaism" (p. 137), which Herod had breached (p. 237). He distinguishes between Jews and Hellenists as if some of the latter were not Jews (p. 214). Additionally, Richardson makes numerous unwarranted assumptions about the Romans. For example: "The rise of new Imperial forms of governance changed the Mediterranean world" (p. xiii); and "This was a period of transforming societal change. Class boundaries were altered during the transition from Republic to Empire" (p. xii). He refers to the Romans as creating "profound cultural and social changes altering forever conditions " (p. xiii). He suggests that the Romans viewed the unrest in...

Book Review: The God of Israel and Christian Theology

Book Review: The God of Israel and Christian Theology

Reviews

Nicholas Lash, The Beginning and End of ‘Religion’Thomas S. Hibbs, Dialectic and Narrative in Aquinas: An Interpretationof the Summa Contra GentilesDenys Turner, The Darkness of God: Negativity in Christian MysticismJoseph P. Wawrykow, God’s Grace and Human Action: ’Merit’ in the Theology of Thomas AquinasBradley Nassif (ed.), New Perspectives on Historical Theology: Essays in Memory of John MeyendorffGerald O’Collins, Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of JesusAlan J. Torrance, Persons in Communion: Trinitarian Description and Human ParticipationR. Kendall Soulen, The God of Israel and Christian TheologyDavid J. Gouwens, Kierkegaard as Religious ThinkeRonald F. Thiemann, Religion in Public Life

Karl Barth and the Future of the God of Israel

Karl Barth and the Future of the God of Israel