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The Council of Yahweh: Its Structure and Membership

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The Council of Yahweh: Its Structure and Membership The Council of Yahweh: Its Structure and Membership by Marylyn Ellen White A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Theology of the University of St. Michael’s College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theology Awarded by the University of St. Michael’s College © Copyright by Marylyn Ellen White 2012 ii The Council of Yahweh: Its Structure and Membership Marylyn Ellen White Doctor of Philosophy in Theology University of St. Michael’s College 2012 Abstract In this dissertation, I establish five criteria for determining a Council of Yahweh text: 1) Multiple gods are present; 2) The setting is Heaven; 3) There is judgment; 4) There is some form of discussion; and 5) Yahweh is the leader of the council. Using these criteria I determine that the Council of Yahweh texts are Isaiah 6, 1 Kings 22, Job 1-2, Zechariah 3, and Daniel 7. Then using the criteria of being named, a witness and involved, along with the literary context, I explore these texts to determine if the characters involved are members of the Council of Yahweh. After establishing a cast of members, I determine that there are three tiers of membership within the council. The first tier belongs to the chief god, in this case Yahweh. The second tier is called the Councilors and the two divisions are the Advisors and the Officers. The third tier is the Agents and the two divisions on this tier are the Commissioned and the Officials. Finally, I explore the potential for conceptual evolution, especially in relationship to monotheism and the participation of human beings within the Council of Yahweh. Table of Contents ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................... II CHAPTER ONE: DEFINING THE DIVINE COUNCIL AND THE PARAMETERS OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................................................................1 INTRODUCTION 1 HISTORY OF SCHOLARSHIP 2 DEFINING THE PROBLEM 11 METHODOLOGY 19 OUTLINE 21 CHAPTER TWO: DETERMINING COUNCIL OF YAHWEH TEXTS............................................ 23 INTRODUCTION 23 24 בני האלהים JOB 1-2 25 26 בני האלהים WITH PROBLEMS MULTIPLE DIVINE COUNCILS 35 DEUTERONOMY 32 35 PSALM 82 38 42 צבא השמים 1 KINGS 22 43 ISAIAH 6 44 ADDITIONAL PLURAL DEITIES PASSAGES 45 ZECHARIAH 3 46 DANIEL 7 48 49 סד 49 דר CHAPTER THREE: EXEGETICAL ISSUES IN COUNCIL OF YAHWEH TEXTS ........................ 51 INTRODUCTION 51 1 KINGS 22 51 EXEGESIS 52 JOB 1-2 55 EXEGESIS 56 ISAIAH 6 57 EXEGESIS 57 ZECHARIAH 3 63 EXEGESIS 63 DANIEL 7 64 EXEGESIS 64 CHAPTER FOUR: COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS ........................................... 72 INTRODUCTION 72 YAHWEH/THE ANCIENT OF DAYS 74 iv 76 השטן 87 רוחה 90 שרפיםה 95 מלאך יהוה THE THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS 98 THE INTERPRETING PERSONA 99 ONE LIKE A SON OF MAN 101 HUMAN BEINGS 108 MICAIAH BEN IMLAH/ZECHARIAH 108 DANIEL 109 JOSHUA 109 ISAIAH 110 CONCLUSIONS 111 CHAPTER FIVE: SYNCHRONIC ANALYSIS...................................................................................112 INTRODUCTION 112 CHALLENGES TO PROPOSING A NEW STRUCTURE 112 TIER ONE 113 THE STRUCTURE OF THE COUNCIL OF YAHWEH 115 TIER TWO 115 Court Officials ........................................................................................................................................................ 115 Advisors.................................................................................................................................................................... 116 TIER THREE 116 Court Officers......................................................................................................................................................... 117 Commissioned ....................................................................................................................................................... 117 NON-MEMBER CATEGORIES 119 Observers................................................................................................................................................................. 119 Vehicles and Defendants................................................................................................................................... 120 CONCLUSIONS 120 CHAPTER SIX: DIACHRONIC ANALYSIS......................................................................................122 INTRODUCTION 122 MONOTHEISM 122 DATING 127 ISAIAH 6 127 1 KINGS 22 130 JOB 1-2 135 ZECHARIAH 3 136 DANIEL 7 140 HUMAN BEINGS AND THE COUNCIL OF YAHWEH 144 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSIONS..................................................................................................151 SUMMARY 151 IMPLICATIONS 153 AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 154 APPENDIX A: MONOTHEISM AND BĚNÊ (HĀ)ʾĚLŌHÎM..........................................................160 APPENDIX B: EXEGESIS OF JOB 1-2 .............................................................................................163 v APPENDIX C: EXEGESIS OF JOB 1-2..............................................................................................164 LITERARY INTERPRETATIONS 164 THE INITIATIVE BETWEEN GOD AND THE ŚĀṬĀN 166 ROVING PARALLELS 169 RESTRICTIONS 170 THE SECOND PERICOPE (JOB 2:1-7) 171 BLAME PASSING 171 SKIN FOR SKIN 172 THE ŚĀṬĀN AND INDEPENDENCE 174 APPENDIX D: EXEGESIS OF ZECHARIAH 3.................................................................................178 APPENDIX E: EXEGESIS OF ZECHARIAH 3 .................................................................................179 THE REBUKE 182 FILTHY CLOTHES HYPOTHESIS 184 THE ŚĀṬĀN AS A SYMBOL 185 THE ŚĀṬĀN AS REPRESENTATIVE OF OBJECTIONS TO JOSHUA 185 THE ŚĀṬĀN AS REPRESENTATIVE OF OBJECTIONS TO JERUSALEM 188 APPENDIX F: THE DATING OF JOB...............................................................................................192 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................................202 CHAPTER ONE: DEFINING THE DIVINE COUNCIL AND THE PARAMETERS OF THE STUDY Introduction The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the membership and structure of the Council of Yahweh as it is portrayed in the Hebrew Bible. The phrase “divine council” is used to describe the government or royal court of the supreme deity. In order to justify a new study on this topic, one must question the underlying assumptions of divine council studies, including the way in which comparative study is usually conducted. I first as it ,השטן became interested in the divine council while researching my Th.M. thesis on was the setting for this character in Job 1-2 and Zechariah 3.1 It was while doing this research that I became dissatisfied with the current scholarship on this topic. Most scholars begin with the texts found at Ugarit or Mesopotamia, outline a structure based on those religious traditions, and then explore the material in the Hebrew Bible in order to determine how it fits with the other religions. This process, while logical, has led to certain assumptions and even results that cannot be confirmed through the Hebrew Bible. Therefore, one purpose of this study is to question those assumptions. In doing so, I will develop the following points: firstly, there are multiple councils in the Hebrew Bible and not all of them belong to Yahweh; secondly, the Council of Yahweh negates a 1 Ellen White, “The Purpose and Portrayal of the śāṭān in the Old Testament” (Th.M. Thesis, Tyndale Seminary, 2004). This earlier study has significantly influenced this project in relationship to Job These influences will be noted throughout the .השטן Zechariah 3, Joshua, and the character of ,1-2 dissertation. Portions of this original study are included at the end of this study in Appendixes A-F. These contain mostly factual information or information that has not changed with further study. If interpretive information is present, it represents views that I still hold unless otherwise noted. Places where there are new contributions, I note in a secondary series of endnotes within the original text. 2 claim for radical monotheism but can reveal insight into the development from polytheism towards monotheism; and finally, there are textual strands that experiment with human membership on various levels within the council. History of Scholarship Research on the divine council is not new. Early studies by Cross, Kingsbury, Lohfink, Pederson, Robinson, and Tsevat are helpful but most of them are neither detailed nor extensive.2 Moreover, most studies have either focused on one passage or one member of the council.3 2 Frank Moore Cross, "The Council of Yahweh in Second Isaiah," Journal of Near Eastern Studies XXII (1953), 274-77; E. C. Kingsbury, "The Prophets and the Council of Yahweh," Journal of Biblical Literature 83 (1964), 279-86; Norbert Lohfink, "Gott und die Götter im Alten Testament," Theologische Akademie 6 (1969), 50-71; J. Pedersen, "Canaanite and Israelite Cultus," Acta orientalia 18 (1939), 1-14; H. Wheeler Robinson, "The Council of Yahweh," Journal of Theological Studies 45 (1944); Matitahu Tsevat, "God and the Gods in Assembly: An Interpretation of Psalm 82," Hebrew Union College Annual XL-XLI (1969-1970), 123-37. 3 Studies of Gen 6:1-4 include L. Birney, "An Exegetical Study of Genesis 6:14," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 13 (1970), 43-52; Umberto Cassuto, "The Episode of the Sons of God and Daughters of Man
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