Chapter Four Laws concerning Idolatry in Early Judaism and Christianity

The subject of food offerings to idols, dealt with in 1Cor 8-10, is crucial to understanding Paul's practical and theoretical relationship with the Jewish Law. This is why it was excluded from the discussion of First Corinthians and here receives a separate chapter. On the other hand a correct appreciation of the subject requires insight in the significance of idolatry in early Judaism and Christianity, and the practical attitudes developed towards it. In other chapters this information is provided in the course of our study of Paul. Not so here. The present chapter provides a survey of ancient Jewish idolatry laws and of the early Christian attitudes towards idol offerings, while the next chapter will be devoted to Paul himself.

Biblical and Early Post-Biblical Law For Second Temple Jews, the Tora was the source of prime authority both for the rules which shaped life and for the theological value these had. Discussion will therefore start with the laws concerning idolatry and their significance within the biblical narrative. Following this the embodiment of these biblical conceptions in practical life of the earlier Second Temple period will be discussed. In the Tora, the prohibition of idolatry has an axiomatic absoluteness. This is evident from the fact that it is the first commandment of the Decalogue following the solemn opening statement: 'I am the Lord your God ... You shall have no other gods before Me; you shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them' (Exod 20:3-5). When read with halakhic precision,' the passage appears to contain four distinct prohibited actions: not to have, not to make, not to serve idols and not to bow down for them. These prohibitions are repeated elsewhere, especially in the two covenant sections in Exodus 21-22 and 34 and in Deuteronomy,2 with further commandments being added: not to

1 Mekh Yitro 6 (p223-5); MekhRSbY p146f. 2 See, in addition to the passages menti9ned below, Lev 19:4; 26:1; Deut 4:15-20; 13:6-18; 17:2-7; 27:15. Cf arrangement of texts by Albeck, Mishna 4, 319f and 321 nl.

151 partake in the sacrifices to other gods (Exod22:19; 34:16), not to adopt customs typical of their worship (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut 12:30f; 16:21f), not to mention their names (Exod 23: 13), to destroy their images, altars and similar structures when found in the promised Land (Exod23:24; 34:13; Deut7:5; 12:2f), and not to compromise or make marriage agreements with their adherents (Exod 34:15f; Deut 7:2f). The Tora commandment to 'utterly detest and abhor' the heathen gods (Deut 7:25f) is specified in prophetic texts in the sense that the idols must be considered impure and also rendering the Israelites and their houses and utensils impure (Isa 30:22; Jer 19:13; Ezek 22:3f; 36:25). The simple reason given for these prohibitions is that the Lord is 'a jealous God' who cannot bear Israel's devotion to other gods (Exod 20:5; 34:14). As such, it is the obverse side of Israel's election into the covenant that 'you shall be my own possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation' (Exod 19:6; cf Deut 7:6). Israel is called to be God's own people and to carry out his commandments; the prohibition of idolatry is to safeguard that calling. Hence the ultimate crisis in Israel's existence is not its servitude to Pharao or other idolatrous rulers, but its almost complete self-degradation into a nation of idolaters: the episode of the golden calf (Exod 32). Were it not for Moses' faithfulness and intercession on behalf of Israel, and for his main argument: God's faithfulness to the promise he gave to the Patriarchs (Exod 32:13), God would have had no grounds on which to uphold Israel's election. Thus the ultimate crisis turns into the final revela• tion of God's divine Name, or in other words the attributes spelling out his relationship towards man: 'YHWH, The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness .. .' (Exod 34:6). The golden calf narrative in Exodus has its counterpart in Numbers 25, the illicit alliance of the Israelites with the Moabites and their Baal-Peor. It is noteworthy that there is a direct and explicit connection here between sexual immorality and idolatry. A tradition preserved in Rabbinic literature likewise associates the 'playing' of Exod 32:6, the verse quoted extensively by Paul, with sexual orgiasm.3 The same is pithily expressed in Exod 34:15f, 'play the harlot after their gods', and it is a basic ingredient in prophetic idiom. 4 The lesson is that sexual relations with the Canaanite peoples inescapably lead to invol• vement in their idolatry. Hence the prohibition on marriages with Canaanites is understood as an extension of the prohibition on idolatry (Exod 34:15f; Deut 7:2f). The Baal-Peor event figures in the didactic Psalm, 106:28, 'They joined together with Baal-Peor and ate sacrifices to the dead' ,Sand is also referred to as a revealing experience at the beginning of the long prophetic admonishment presented by the book of Deuteronomy (3:29-4:4). Indeed that book as a whole, both in overall structure and in its details, continuously stresses the

3 tSot 7:7 (R. Eliezer son of R. Yose ha-Gelili); GenR 53,10 (p567; R. Akiva); Tanh, ki tisa 20 (123a); TanhB, ki tisa 13 (57a); cfRashiadlocandTgPs-Yon. Str-B 3, 410overlooks this. Cfj'MIUJ:.I in Gen 26:8 and the interpretation GenR 64,5 (p704f). 4 Cf also Lev 17:7. For the prophets see Hos 1-4; Jer 3-5; Ezek 16; 23, etc. ' The latter expression also Jub 22:17, see below p153, 157.

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