DOES GOD LIE? DIVINE DECEIT AS A THEOLOGICAL PROBLEM IN ISRAELITE PROPHETIC LITERATURE

by

J. J. M. ROBERTS Princeton

Can one trust the gods? This question has a strange sound to the ears of those who have been raised or trained in the Jewish or Christian tradi­ tions. First of all, there is only one God, and of course you can trust him. God does not lie; it is against his very nature. The Old Testament characterizes Yahweh as a god of truth (Ps. xxxi 6) or faithfulness (Deut. xxxii 4), who is just and right (Deut. xxxii 4; Pss. xcii 16, cxix 137, cxlv 17), and without iniquity (Deut. xxxii 4; Ps. xcii 16). His word and judgements are straight (Ps. xxxiii 4) and true (Pss. xix 10, cxix 137, 151- 60) and altogether righteous (Ps. xix 10). He does not lie, because he is not a man that he should lie or change his mind (Num. xxiii 19; 1 Sam. xv 29); what he says he will do, and what he promises he will bring to pass (Num. xxiii 19). The New Testament also characterizes God's word as truth Qohn xvii 17), denies that there is any unrighteousness in him (Rom. ix 14), and speaks of him as 0 &~E\)Oi]~ aEO~, "God who does not" or "cannot lie" (Tit. i 2). Finally, the author of Hebrews claims that when the divine promise is confirmed by the divine oath, these two things make it impossible for God to prove false (Heb. vi 18). Despite the initial strangeness of the question, however, it may be pro­ fitable to pursue it. The very fact that God felt constrained to swear an oath suggests that, for whatever reason, humans were inclined to distrust the divine word, even the word of promise.! Moreover, when one moves from the monotheistic world of Judaism and Christianity to the polytheistic world of the ancient Near Eastern matrix out of which Judaism and Christianity arose, one can see even more justification for distrusting divine promises. If the god of my city is only one god in a whole pantheon, how can I be sure that he will be able to fulfill his pro­ mises? How can I be sure that the divine assembly will not overrule his desire and even his promises to bless his city and its inhabitants?

1 Note God's repeated oaths in Ps. lxxxix 34-6 that he would not lie to David or change his promise, yet the point of the psalm is that God has not kept his word. 212 J. J. M. ROBERTS

The ancient Mesopotamian polytheist was aware of this problem, but it did not prevent him from making claims about the reliability of the word of his gods and goddesses similar to those found in Scripture. Thus we read of Enlil "whose word cannot be changed, whose reliable consent cannot be transgressed" . 2 We read of Shamash, "whose yes remains yes, whose no, no", 3 and "whose positive answer no god can change". 4 Similar comments are made about Ninurta, Marduk, and numerous other gods and goddesses. Yet, as the cuneiform literature shows, such claims must be taken with a grain of salt. In the Atrahasis epic,5 for instance, the mighty Enlil finds his exalted command thwarted at every turn by the wily Enki. Even when he forces the whole divine assembly to swear an oath not to inform mankind of the annihilating flood the gods have planned, Enki finds a way of getting around the oath and succeeds both in warning Atrahasis and in preven­ ting Enlil from accomplishing his purpose of wiping out mankind.6 Moreover, neither the deviousness nor the impotence of the gods always works to the benefit of mankind as they do in the Atrahasis story. In the Lamentation Over the Destruction ofUr, Ningal, the city goddess ofUr, piteously implores Enlil and Anu to spare her city, but all her supplica­ tions are in vain before the implacable decision of the divine assembly. 7 In the Adapa story, the deviousness of Enki/Ea saves Adapa's life, but it prevents Adapa from gaining immortality (ANET, pp. 101-3). When Adapa is brought before the judgement seat of Anu, Ea teaches him how to get the gods Tammuz and Gizzida to plead his case, but Ea also tells Adapa not to accept food or drink from Anu, because it will be the food and drink of death. This, however, is a lie. Anu offers Adapa the food and drink of immortality, but Adapa, obedient to the divine lie, turns down this boon, and so Adapa, and perhaps all mankind,8 is doomed to die. The story calls to mind the doubt the serpent created in Eve's mind in the biblical story of temptation (Gen. iii 1-4). Obviously the questions of divine power and trustworthiness were critical questions in the ancient Near Eastern world when the outcome of a person's plans depended on the decision of the gods. In Mesopotamia, the pious person did not undertake any major task with­ out inquiring of the gods whether that task would be successful. If the

2 fa qibit plfu la innennu u annafu kinu la innettiqu, CAD a, ii, p. 134. 3 fa annafu annu ullafu allu, CAD a, ii, p. 135. 4 fa ... annafu ilu mamman la enu, CAD a, ii, p. 135. 5 W. C. Lambert and A. R. Millard, Atra-hasls: The Babylonian Story of the Flood (Oxford, 1969). 6 pp. 100-1, vi 5-19. 7 ANET, pp. 455-63, especially the third song, p. 458a. 8 The broken ending of the text precludes certainty on this point.