Two Powers in Heaven

I’ll be back tonight from vacation. I was (literally) in one of the most unwired places in the US (only dial-up, and even that was rare).  Thought I was ready for that, but my pre-planning went awry. It was like a Dilbert cartoon!

I’ll be posting and answering comments starting tomorrow!

Mike

Baal was the chief competitor to the worship of Yahweh during the period of the monarchy. To combat the worship of Baal and argue for the superiority of Yahweh, the biblical writers would (with some frequency) utilize certain Baal symbols, titles, and imagery in their descriptions of Yahweh.  The effect was to displace Baal in the mind of the reader with Yahweh.  Here are some examples:

• Yahweh is said to have defeated the dragon and the sea (as though the sea was an enemy) in passages like Ps 74:12-15 and Isaiah 27:1. This is precisely what Baal does in Ugaritic literature:

What manner of enemy has arisen against Baal,

of foe against the Charioteer of the Clouds?

Surely I smote the Beloved of El, Yam;

Surely I exterminated Nahar, the mighty god?

Surely I lifted up the dragon,

I overpowered him;

I smote the twisting serpent,

The coiled one-with-seven-heads!¹

• The sea conflict is associated with Yahweh’s kingship (cf. Ps 74:12-15; Isa 27:1; Job 7:12). Following Baal’s victory over the sea in Ugaritic literature, Baal’s palace / temple was built for him. Following Yahweh’s victory over the sea (the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and the Reed Sea incident) Exod 15:17 tells us of the establishment of Yahweh’s sanctuary (the tabernacle).
• As noted in an earlier post about the meeting place of the divine council, Yahweh’s sanctuary is described in terms reminiscent of Baal’s. We saw in that earlier post that Yahweh’s tent dwelling followed descriptions of El’s dwelling. However, part of that post noted how Yahweh’s dwelling matches descriptions of Baal’s abode:
  • “The Ugaritic god Baal, the deity who oversaw the council for El (see below) held meetings in the “heights” (mrym) of Mount Zaphon (Ṣapānu, apparently located in a range of mountains that included El’s own abode. In Baal’s palace in Ṣapānu there were “paved bricks” (lbnt) that made Baal’s house “a house of the clearness of lapis lazuli” (bht ṭhrm ʾiqn ʾum).” We could add that Psalm 48:1-2 calls Mount Zion the “heights” (mrym) of the north” (Hebrew = zaphon = Ṣapānu).
• One of the most familiar titles of Baal in the ancient world was the “cloud rider” who makes the clouds his chariot. For example:

What manner of enemy has arisen against Baal,

of foe against the Charioteer of the Clouds?

• This title shows up in various wordings in the Old Testament as a title of the God of Israel:

Isaiah 19:1 - An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, Yahweh is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.

Deut. 33:26 - “There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty.

Psalm 68:32-33 - ³² O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; sing praises to the Lord, Selah ³³ to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens; behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.[ABD notes that: “It is doubtful, however, whether the expression rōkēb bāʿǎrābōt used of Yahweh in Ps 68:5-Eng 68:4 is to be rendered “rider on the clouds” on the analogy of Baal’s Ugaritic epithet rkb ʿrpt, contrary to a widely held view. The expected translation of the Hebrew expression would be “rider through the deserts, ” since ʿǎrābâ regularly means “desert” in the OT, and it should be noted that this fits the context in the Psalm, dealing as it does with the wilderness wanderings. (Cf. too Isa 40:3, bā˓ǎrābâ měsillâ “a highway in the desert” with Ps 68:5-Eng 68:4, sōllû lārōkēb bāʿǎbōt “raise a highway for him who rides through the deserts.” ) Probably the Hebrew expression is to be understood as a deliberate distortion of Baal’s epithet rkb ʿrpt. Vol. 1:549. This may be the case in this verse, but at any rate, the motif is still imitated if not copied.]

Psalm 104:1-4 - ¹ Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, ² covering yourself with light as with a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent. ³ He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters; he makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; ⁴ he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.

The cloud rider motif is very important. It will be the focal point of the next post, where this deity title is applied to another figure in a scene where Yahweh is already present-the second power.

Technorati Tags: Baal, Divine Council Co-Regency, Yahweh