Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information The God of Israel In the ancient Near East the God of Israel stands unique; he is the central character of the Old Testament. The collection of essays in this volume presents the histor- ical background against which belief in him developed and discusses aspects of the topic that remain unresolved or largely unaddressed. What was he like? How does he differ from other gods of the ancient world? And what difference does the worship of this god make, both in the world of the Bible and now? The papers presented contribute to the continuing discussion about the God of Israel and other deities in the ancient Near East, and the emergence of monotheistic belief and worship. A multifaceted approach is adopted in which comparative, theolog- ical, historical, literary-critical, cultural, narratological, canonical, exegetical and ethical issues feature prominently. robert p. gordon is Regius Professor of Hebrew at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information University of Cambridge Oriental Publications 64 The God of Israel A series list is shown at the back of the book © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information The God of Israel edited by ROBERT P. GORDON University of Cambridge © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, S˜aoPaulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521873659 C Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge 2007 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2007 Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library ISBN 978-0-521-87365-9 hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information For John A. Emerton © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information CONTENTS List of contributors page ix Preface xi List of abbreviations xiii Part I General perspectives 1 Introducing the God of Israel 3 Robert P. Gordon 2 Aniconism in the Old Testament 20 Nathan MacDonald 3 Imitation of God in the Old Testament 35 John Barton 4 Monotheism and the God of many names 47 Ronald E. Clements 5 God, creation and the contribution of wisdom 60 Katharine J. Dell 6 By royal appointment: God’s influence on influencing God 73 Diana Lipton 7 Is monotheism bad for you?: some reflections on God, the Bible, and life in the light of Regina Schwartz’s The Curse of Cain 94 R. W. L. Moberly 8 Old Testament monotheism and Zoroastrian influence 113 Simon J. Sherwin Part II Texts and themes 9 God, women and children 127 Janet E. Tollington 10 The exegesis of the divine name in Exodus 139 Graham I. Davies vii © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information viii Contents 11 The de-deification of deities in Deuteronomy 157 Judith M. Hadley 12 Is God moral?: on the Saul narratives as tragedy 175 Peter J. Williams 13 Standing in the Council: when prophets encounter God 190 Robert P. Gordon 14 Ugaritic polytheism and Hebrew monotheism in Isaiah 40–55 205 Klaus Koch 15 Interpreting Jonah’s God: canon and criticism 229 Philip P. Jenson 16 The God of the pre-Maccabees: designations of the Divine in the early Hellenistic period 246 James K. Aitken 17 Deity in Ecclesiasticus 267 William Horbury Index of passages cited 293 Index of authors 305 © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information CONTRIBUTORS JAMES K. AITKEN,Teaching Fellow in Hebrew and Aramaic, University of Cambridge JOHN BARTON,Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scrip- ture, University of Oxford RONALD E. CLEMENTS, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament Studies, King’s College, University of London GRAHAM I. DAVIES, Professor of Old Testament Studies, University of Cambridge KATHARINE J. DELL,Senior Lecturer in Old Testament Studies, University of Cambridge ROBERT P. GORDON,Regius Professor of Hebrew, University of Cambridge JUDITH M. HADLEY,Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Archaeol- ogy, Villanova University WILLIAM HORBURY, Professor of Jewish and Early Christian Studies, University of Cambridge PHILIP P. JENSON, Lecturer in Old Testament, Ridley Hall, Cambridge KLAUS KOCH,Emeritus Professor of Old Testament, University of Hamburg DIANA LIPTON, Lecturer in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies, King’s Col- lege, University of London NATHAN MACDONALD, Lecturer in Old Testament, University of St Andrews R. W. L. MOBERLY, Professor of Theology and Biblical Interpretation, University of Durham SIMON J. SHERWIN,Sometime Post-Doctoral Fellow, The British Academy JANET E. TOLLINGTON,Director of Old Testament Studies, Westminster College, Cambridge PETER J. WILLIAMS, Senior Lecturer in New Testament, University of Aberdeen ix © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information PREFACE In recent years there has been a developing interest specifically in Israel’s God, even while attention has continued to be paid to the religion of ancient Israel and to the theology of the biblical books that informs accounts of, and responses to, that religion. The reasons for this more focussed interest in Israel’s God are various, but they include the continuing contribution of archaeological and inscriptional evidence to our appreciation of the religious and cultural context in which Israelite religion and faith developed, the application to biblical texts of literary approaches that have established themselves elsewhere in the humanities, and the challenge of issues that changing cultural agendas bring to bear on the biblical text. The present volume seeks to make its contribution partly by taking up issues that have already proved fruitful in discussion and also by giving attention to some that have not been explored to the same degree. The papers presented here originated in a series of seminars held under the auspices of the Old Testament Seminar of the Faculty of Divinity and the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Cambridge, in the period 2001–4. Most of the contributors are regular members of the Seminar, or have been in the past, while two – John Barton and Klaus Koch – made guest appearances. As is noted in the introductory chapter, we may take it as axiomatic for the period of the Israelite kingdoms that worship was not mono-focussed in the way that the prophets and others demanded. Nevertheless, the working title of the Seminar series, The God of Israel, has been retained for the volume, as representing an essential truth about the relationship of YHWH to the people of Israel. The first meetings of the Old Testament Seminar were held in St John’s College in the late 1960s, under the leadership of Andrew Macintosh, Ronald Clements and the late Barnabas Lindars. The chairmanship then passed to John Emerton when the Seminar moved into a faculty setting just over twenty-five years ago. It is the wish of the current co-chairmen of the Seminar – Graham Davies, Katharine Dell and myself – that this volume be dedicated to John, who set a standard of contribution from the chair that is rightly remembered as one of its most notable features during the many years that he organized the Seminar. xi © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information xii Preface Finally, warm thanks are due to Michael Sharp, Sarah Parker and Elizabeth Davey of Cambridge University Press for their fine work under pressure during the preparation and production stages, and to Jan Chapman for the exceptional care and skill with which she copy-edited the volume. Robert Gordon © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-87365-9 - The God of Israel Edited by Robert P. Gordon Frontmatter More information ABBREVIATIONS AB The Anchor Bible ABD D. N. Freedman (ed.), Anchor Bible Dictionary (1992) AGAJU Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums ANEP J. B. Pritchard (ed.), The Ancient Near East in Pictures (1954) ANET J. B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament (3rd edn, 1969) AfO Archiv fur¨ Orientforschung AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament ATD Das Alte Testament Deutsch AThANT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments BARev Biblical Archaeology Review BBB Bonner Biblische Beitr¨age BDB F.