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Foundational Passages & Structure

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Grammatical-historical Exegesis. Each biblical document, and each part of a biblical document, must be studied in its contextboth its immediate literary context and the wider situation in which it appeared. This calls for an understanding of the following elements: Biblical languages Types of literature represented Historical background / geography Life setting Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 611-612

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The context for understanding the Hebrew OT is not: the Roman Catholic Church The context for understanding Genesis is the context in which it was written. the Protestant Reformation 20 th /21 st century evangelicalism pre-late 19 th century Christianity

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God did not create a new culture for Israel that was foreign to the rest of the known world at the time. God worked in and through ancient Israel as it culturally was. He did not change Israels worldview so He could dispense revelation to them. Gods revelation to Israel was culturally decipherable (i.e., they could understand it) and culturally consistent (it was not alien to the culture).

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We honor Gods decision to reveal truth to humanity WHEN, WHERE, in what CULTURE, and to WHOM he did by letting the Bible be what it is not making it what wed like it to be. Inspiration operates within a cultural context chosen by God in his sovereign wisdom.

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God of Israel (Psalm 82:1 and other pss) The gods of Yahwehs divine council (Psa. 82:1) gods of various nations (for example) Ashtoreth, the god(dess) [elohim] of the Sidonians, Chemosh, [elohim] of Moab (1 Kings 11:33), Milcom, the god [elohim] of the Ammonites Demons [shedim] (Deut 32:17 = KJV; BHS)Deut 32:17 BHS Disembodied human dead (1 Sam 28:13)1 Sam 28:13 Angels (?) Genesis 35:1-7 (cp. Gen 32)Genesis 35:1-7

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elohim = place of residence term gods of councildemons angels disembodied dead YHWH / godhead

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El / Athirat | Baal sons of El malakim YHWH / Godhead sons of God Dt. 32:8-9 / princes of Daniel 10 malakim / angels (messengers) Ugarit Israel

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YHWH / Godhead sons of God Dt. 32:8-9 / princes of Daniel 10 malakim / angels (messengers) Observations: Who is Absent? Israel At Ugarit, MOT was the lord of the Underworld / Sheol, but is not listed in the pantheon or offering lists (feared but not worshipped). The word demons (shedim) in the HB is rare (Deut 32:17; Psa 106:37); not with Sheol; the rephaim are mentioned in Sheol Helel ben Shachar is demoted [to Sheol (satan not used for him or with Sheol in OT) The human dead are in Sheol; righteous hoped for removal.

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at the source of the two rivers midst of the double deep fountain Zion and Eden are well watered sacred gardens / mountains (Gen 2:8-14; Eze 28:13-16; Joel 3:18; Ezek 47:1- 12) Mount Tsaphanu tsaphanu yarkete tsaphon Zion is the heights of tsaphon (Psa 48:1-2; Isa 14:13) mount of assembled council puhru mo edhar mo ed mount of assembly (Isa 14:13) Ugarit / El & Baal God of Israel

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Decrees issued from the tents of El d d il Tents (see below) El and the gods lived in tents & tabernacles hlm ms knt hl mo ed ms kn Yahweh lived at the tent of meeting and tabernacle El and council meet in a house and temple bt hklm bt hykl Lords house temple Baals palace had paved bricks & a court that shone like lapis lazuli lbnt hsr lbnt hsr Ex 24:9ff.; 27:9 (courtyard of tabernacle) Els AbodeYahwehs (El) Abode

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The Greek form of the name Babel = Babylon and is from the native Akkadian Bb-ilim, which means "Gate of the god", which summarizes the religious purpose of ziggurats.

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A manifestation of ANE cosmology, The earth was a disc of land which surrounded by a salt water ocean, both of which floated on another sea of fresh water called Apsu. Above was a solid dome firmament; stars fixed on it. A world mountain formed an axis mundi that joined all three layers. The role of the temple was to act as that axis mundi, a meeting place between gods and men. Rectangular with four corners pointing in cardinal directions to symbolize the four rivers which flow from the mountain to the four world regions.

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19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the L ORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the L ORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance. Deut 17:3 Israel apostasized; called demons in Deut 32:17

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Genesis 11 = the disinheriting of the nations Genesis 12 = Call of Abram to create a new for Himself (His portion Deut 32:9) The OT Story: Israel vs. the nations YHWH vs. their gods Examples: 1 Samuel 26:17-19; 2 Kings 5:17-191 Samuel 26:17-192 Kings 5:17-19 Deut 32:8-9 (cp. Deut 4:19-20) = basis for OT explanation for the pantheons of the nationsDeut 4:19-20 Played out in election / recipient of revelation Played out in the wars under Moses and Joshua Jerusalem an Amorite site at one time (Ezek 16:3)

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1. The LORD is our God; the LORD is one. 2. The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 3. The Lord our God is one Lord. 4. The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5. Our one God is the LORD, the LORD. POINT: The Shema presumes divine plurality; other gods are over the nations they are real and were put there by Yahweh

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Corollary Question

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none besides me; none like me not denials of the existence of other elohim; statements of incomparability. these denials occur in the same chapters and books as those that refer to other elohim (Deut 4, 32; Isaiah 40-66) these denials phrases are used elsewhere we denial of existence cannot be possible.

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Denial PassagesHebrew phrases from them Deut 4:35 Deut 4:35 Deut 4:39 Deut 4:39 Deut 32:12 Deut 32:12 Deut 32:29 Deut 32:29 Isa 43:10-12 Isa 43:10-12 Isa 44:6-8 Isa 44:6-8 Isa 45: 5-7 Isa 45: 5-7 Isa 45:14 Isa 45:14 Isa 45:18 Isa 45:18 Isa 45:21-22 Isa 45:21-22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 See Isa 47:8, 10; Zeph 2:15Isa 47:8, 10Zeph 2:15