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The Divine Council in the Pentateuch: A Conference Paper
Dr. Heiser's 2016 paper presented at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society.
25 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 27, 2016
About the author
Michael S. Heiser
77 books1,042 followersMike Heiser is a scholar in the fields of biblical studies and the ancient Near East. He is the Academic Editor of Logos Bible Software. Mike earned the M.A. and Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004. He has also earned an M.A. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania (major fields: Ancient Israel and Egyptology). His main research interests are Israelite religion (especially Israel’s divine council), biblical theology, ancient Near Eastern religion, biblical & ancient Semitic languages, and ancient Jewish binitarian monotheism.
Mike blogs about biblical studies at The Naked Bible, and fringe beliefs about the ancient world at PaleoBabble. He offers courses to the public in Old Testament, biblical theology, Israelite religion, ancient languages, the Book of Enoch through his online institute, MEMRA.
Mike's other academic interests include the paranormal and the occult. His UFO Religions blog discusses how the pop cultural belief in aliens shape religious worldviews. Mike has been a frequent guest on a number of radio programs such as Coast to Coast AM. He is best known for his critique of the ancient astronaut theories of Zecharia Sitchin and his paranormal thriller, The Facade, which intertwines many of his interests.
Mike blogs about biblical studies at The Naked Bible, and fringe beliefs about the ancient world at PaleoBabble. He offers courses to the public in Old Testament, biblical theology, Israelite religion, ancient languages, the Book of Enoch through his online institute, MEMRA.
Mike's other academic interests include the paranormal and the occult. His UFO Religions blog discusses how the pop cultural belief in aliens shape religious worldviews. Mike has been a frequent guest on a number of radio programs such as Coast to Coast AM. He is best known for his critique of the ancient astronaut theories of Zecharia Sitchin and his paranormal thriller, The Facade, which intertwines many of his interests.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 4, 2024
Short and super-packed with insight. Some of the more technical details will probably go over your head (they did mine) but it's not hard to understand what he's saying. Below is one of the more significant sections. Also...did you know that Moses, Aaron and the elders of Israel all ascend Sinai and God manifests visibly to them and shares a meal with them in Exodus 24? Bc I can't believe I've read over those verses before but never noticed that.
"In discussing this issue, Garr writes, “There are no certain attestations of the majestic plural in pronouns. The ‘royal we’ was not part of the vocabulary of kings or individual gods in the ancient Near East.”…The plural of majesty is, as we know, frequently appealed to in evangelical circles as a misguided means for offering a Trinitarian explanation for the plurality. Given that all three members of the Trinity are co-eternal and co-omniscient, it makes little sense to announce something to them. They should already know what’s going on. With Garr (and many others, of course), I’d agree that Gen 1:26 and Gen 11:7 are God speaking to members of the divine council, the heavenly host. God is announcing his intentions to persuasively elicit a positive response. When it comes to the creation act (Gen 1:27) and the dispersion at Babel (Gen 11:8, 9), the grammar is equally clear that only God is actor—the verb forms and pronouns switch back to singular. So what’s the point of the plural-singular juxtaposition? It shows that, somehow, humanity, God, and the members of the heavenly host/divine council are linked. We share something. That something is explained by the concept of imaging God (the image is a status, not a quality, given to humans; we image God on earth like the members of the council image him in the spiritual world—we are all representatives of the single Creator)."
"In discussing this issue, Garr writes, “There are no certain attestations of the majestic plural in pronouns. The ‘royal we’ was not part of the vocabulary of kings or individual gods in the ancient Near East.”…The plural of majesty is, as we know, frequently appealed to in evangelical circles as a misguided means for offering a Trinitarian explanation for the plurality. Given that all three members of the Trinity are co-eternal and co-omniscient, it makes little sense to announce something to them. They should already know what’s going on. With Garr (and many others, of course), I’d agree that Gen 1:26 and Gen 11:7 are God speaking to members of the divine council, the heavenly host. God is announcing his intentions to persuasively elicit a positive response. When it comes to the creation act (Gen 1:27) and the dispersion at Babel (Gen 11:8, 9), the grammar is equally clear that only God is actor—the verb forms and pronouns switch back to singular. So what’s the point of the plural-singular juxtaposition? It shows that, somehow, humanity, God, and the members of the heavenly host/divine council are linked. We share something. That something is explained by the concept of imaging God (the image is a status, not a quality, given to humans; we image God on earth like the members of the council image him in the spiritual world—we are all representatives of the single Creator)."
April 13, 2023
Yet another priceless work from Mike. Essential reading for all serious Bible readers. Mike opens up The Word like no other I know of. I have many of his publications and they are ones I re-read regularly. He bring a level of scholarship to his work beyond description by me. What he opens up for us is something I could never do for myself with my limited education.
Thank you again Mike for this one..
Rob blessings🙏
Thank you again Mike for this one..
Rob blessings🙏
November 17, 2021
A bit fast and furious for me.
I've read enough of Dr. Heiser's material to follow along but could use a bit more explanation. I'll settle for coming back and re-reading this material.
I've read enough of Dr. Heiser's material to follow along but could use a bit more explanation. I'll settle for coming back and re-reading this material.
January 2, 2017
2 power view
Technical work. Draws parallel between Caananite religion and Israelite religion. Two powers; EL and BAAL and YHWH and the ANGEL OF THE LORD.
Technical work. Draws parallel between Caananite religion and Israelite religion. Two powers; EL and BAAL and YHWH and the ANGEL OF THE LORD.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews