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THE LOCATION OF MT SINAI: A RESPONSE TO DR MICHAEL HEISER • Dr. Heiser on his Naked Bible Podcast program 260 repeatedly stated that Jebel al Lawz cannot be the real Mount Sinai and should be abandoned as a candidate. • In doing so, he made several significant errors. • I e-mailed him to discuss these errors, but he was not receptive. • I then invited him to have a public discussion on his own podcast or my program, but he was not willing to do so. • I then invited him to a public debate, but he was dismissive. The following is a review of Heiser’s primary errors: 1 • First, Heiser misinterprets a series of texts (Deut 33; Judges 5; Habakkuk 3) to be part of a “Yahweh from the South” tradition. • This view essentially interprets these texts as referring to Yahweh’s southern origin. • As we will see, these are not “Yahweh from the South” texts that talk about “Yahweh’s origin.” • Instead, they are part of a larger tradition that uses Exodus language while ultimately pointing to the Second Exodus. • Jesus and the New Testament writers interpret these traditions as pointing to Jesus’ Second Coming. • Heiser argues that because these texts use parallelisms, Sinai, Seir, Edom, Paran, Teman all of these places are either the same, or located within the same narrow region. • Jebel al-Lawz he argues, is simply too far south to be included among these other mountains and locations. “Not only do you have Sinai linked to Seir, which is this Edomite region south of Canaan, but we have Mount Paran as the place that Yahweh came forth from. “Well, I thought it was Sinai. I thought it was Horeb.” Well, the answer very well may be, “Yep.” All of those terms could apply to the same place. They could. Now critics of course want to split them all up, as though they must be different places. They don’t have to be different places. In theory they could be. Then you’d have different conflicting traditions. This is where they want you to go. But they don’t have to be, is the point. They don’t have to be. Mount Paran, if you read this verse, would be the same as Mount Sinai, which would be Horeb.” • These texts do not speak of a singular, static, non- complex event, rather they speak of Yahweh as a victorious warrior marching from the south. • It is speaking of the Exodus. • Alternately, these texts speak of Yahweh shining forth and radiating like the dawn over a broad area. • Whether the exodus, or the sunrise, both cover a very large region. “Yahweh is depicted as coming from Sinai and rising like the sun upon Israel from Seir, shining forth from Mount Paran, approaching from Ribeboth-Kodesh … with a flaming fire at his right hand.” —J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, p 334. • While these texts do use parallelisms, this is easily accounted for by the simple fact that all of these locations (Sinai, Paran, Seir, Teman, Edom, Bozrah, etc.,) were part of the same exodus event and route. • Further, they are also all well within the larger region of biblical Edom. • *After posting this response, Heiser posted an addendum on his blog re-emphasizing the parallelisms in these texts. • He argues that the language does not say that Yahweh is going from one place to another. • This was a straw man argument, as we fully agree. • No one is arguing that the texts do not contain parallelisms. • Our contention is simply that they are using language (of the exodus march and the dawn shining forth) which inherently cover a broad region. 2 • Heiser acknowledges that all of these places were in the general area of Edom. • The problem is that Heiser wrongly locates Edom exclusively in southern Jordan. • How does the Bible define Edom? “THEREFORE THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD, “I WILL ALSO STRETCH OUT MY HAND AGAINST EDOM AND CUT OFF MAN AND BEAST FROM IT. AND I WILL LAY IT WASTE; FROM TEMAN EVEN TO DEDAN THEY WILL FALL BY THE SWORD.” (EZEKIEL 25:13) “Ezekiel prophesied that the whole country would be laid waste. Teman was the extreme northern district of Edom while Dedan was in the south; thus the mention of these two cities was a way of referring to the whole nation.” —Lamar Eugene Cooper, Ezekiel, New American Commentary p. 248. CONCERNING EDOM. THUS SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS, “IS THERE NO LONGER ANY WISDOM IN TEMAN? HAS GOOD COUNSEL BEEN LOST TO THE PRUDENT? HAS THEIR WISDOM DECAYED? FLEE AWAY, TURN BACK, DWELL IN THE DEPTHS, O INHABITANTS OF DEDAN, FOR I WILL BRING THE DISASTER OF ESAU UPON HIM AT THE TIME I PUNISH HIM. (JEREMIAH 49:7–8) Dedan: A settlement in northwestern Arabia known for being a center for trade and commerce (Ezek 27:20; 38:13). The reference to Dedan in Ezek 25:13 suggests the site served as a convenient landmark to allude to the far southeastern extent of the territory of Edom (in contrast with the region of Teman marking the northern extent of Edom’s territory). —The Lexham Bible Dictionary The Land of Edom according to Scripture: Michael Heiser’s Map of the Land of Edom Heiser’s Land of Edom (in blue) vs the actual Land of Edom (in gray): Heiser’s Edom Biblical Edom • Teman and Dedan were the northern and southern cities of both Edom and the Nabatean Arab Kingdom. • Today Teman and Dedan correspond to Petra (in Jordan) and al-Ula or Maidin Saleh (in Saudi Arabia). • Teman and Dedan are 400 miles apart. PETRA DEDAN 3 • To argue for the “Yahweh from the South” view, Heiser cites select texts while ignoring several other very important related texts which establish the Second Exodus / the Second Coming theme. • Isaiah 63 • Psalm 68 • Psalm 110 • 1 Enoch 1:1-11 • Jude 14-15 • Zechariah 14:5 • Matthew 16:27; 25:31 • 2 Thes 1:7 • We’ve included all of these passages at the end of this PowerPoint File for reference. These texts combine several very important motifs, establishing their common focus: • The Lord coming with His holy ones: • Deut 33:2; 1 Enoch 1:9; Zechariah 14:5; Matthew 16:27; 25:31; 2 Thes 1:7; Jude 14. “THE LORD CAME FROM SINAI, AND DAWNED ON THEM FROM SEIR; HE SHONE FORTH FROM MOUNT PARAN, AND HE CAME FROM THE MIDST OF TEN THOUSAND HOLY ONES; AT HIS RIGHT HAND THERE WAS FLASHING LIGHTNING FOR THEM.” (DEUTERONOMY 33:1–2) THE GREAT HOLY ONE WILL COME FORTH FROM HIS DWELLING, AND THE ETERNAL GOD WILL TREAD FROM THERE UPON MOUNT SINAI. HE WILL APPEAR WITH HIS ARMY,” HE WILL APPEAR WITH HIS MIGHTY HOST FROM THE HEAVEN OF HEAVENS… LOOK, HE COMES WITH THE MYRIADS OF HIS HOLY ONES, TO EXECUTE JUDGMENT ON ALL, AND TO DESTROY ALL THE WICKED… (1 ENOCH 1:4, 9) I WILL GATHER ALL THE NATIONS AGAINST JERUSALEM TO BATTLE… THEN THE LORD WILL GO FORTH AND FIGHT AGAINST THOSE NATIONS, AS WHEN HE FIGHTS ON A DAY OF BATTLE. IN THAT DAY HIS FEET WILL STAND ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES… THEN THE LORD, MY GOD, WILL COME, AND ALL THE HOLY ONES WITH HIM! (ZECHARIAH 14:3–5). Jesus draws from debut 33, Zech 14 etc and applies it to His return: “FOR THE SON OF MAN IS GOING TO COME IN THE GLORY OF HIS FATHER WITH HIS ANGELS, AND WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.” (MATTHEW 16:27) “BUT WHEN THE SON OF MAN COMES IN HIS GLORY, AND ALL THE ANGELS WITH HIM, THEN HE WILL SIT ON HIS GLORIOUS THRONE.” (MT 25:31) AND TO GIVE RELIEF TO YOU WHO ARE AFFLICTED AND TO US AS WELL WHEN THE LORD JESUS WILL BE REVEALED FROM HEAVEN WITH HIS MIGHTY ANGELS IN FLAMING FIRE, (2 THESSALONIANS 1:7) IT WAS ALSO ABOUT THESE MEN THAT ENOCH, IN THE SEVENTH GENERATION FROM ADAM, PROPHESIED, SAYING, “BEHOLD, THE LORD CAME WITH MANY THOUSANDS OF HIS HOLY ONES, TO EXECUTE JUDGMENT UPON ALL. (JUDE 14-15) “Jude spoke here of the second coming of Christ. The ‘holy ones’ with whom he will come are his angels. The coming of Christ is patterned after God’s theophany on Sinai, where he ‘came with myriads of holy ones’ (Deut 33:2)… That angels will accompany Jesus at his coming is clearly taught in the New Testament as well (Matt 16:27; 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; 1 Thess 3:13; 2 Thess 1:7).” —Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, vol. 37, The New American Commentary, p 472. • The Lord marching through the wilderness or desert of Edom: • Deut 33; Judges 5:4; Psalm 68; Hab 3; Isaiah 63. “THE LORD CAME FROM SINAI, AND DAWNED ON THEM FROM SEIR; HE SHONE FORTH FROM MOUNT PARAN, AND HE CAME FROM THE MIDST OF TEN THOUSAND HOLY ONES; AT HIS RIGHT HAND THERE WAS FLASHING LIGHTNING FOR THEM.” (DEUTERONOMY 33:1–2) “As most scholars have noted, the imagery here is that of the Divine Warrior marching at the head of his armies on behalf of those whom he had chosen… The same motifs appear elsewhere, especially in the Song of the Sea following the exodus (Exod 15:1b– 18); the Song of Deborah (Judg 5:2–5); Ps 68 (esp. vv. 7–10); and the prayer of Habakkuk (Hab 3:2–15).” —Eugene H.
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