Maybe the God of the Bible is not as unique as you thought.
Once again, I want to be clear, what we have been talking about in these articles on “Who Is God?” is not something new. Biblical scholars have known these things for a very long time, however, this information never had a “Trickle-down” effect, and it never made it to Sunday school.
In Chapter 3, we discussed that more than likely the ancestors of Israel did believe in multiple Gods (polytheism). We listed several verses from the Hebrew Scriptures, (The Old Testament) pointing this out. It is also important to know that this is not a debate among scholars and archaeologists. There are multiple archaeological sites in Israel where polytheistic evidence has been found. One could say that polytheism, the belief in multiple Gods was alive and well before and during the biblical times in Israel.
In this article, we will talk about some of these early remnants of Polytheism in Jewish writings found in the Bible. First, we start with the Hebrew word for God found in the Bible, the word “Elohim” (אֱלֹהִ֑ים ). The word “Elohim” is found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures of the Bible and is literally translated as “Gods”. It is the plural form of the word “God”. Scholars believe the word “Elohim” is derived from a word for “God” from the country called, Ugarit, a country where they believed in many Gods.
One example, where the word “Elohim” is used in the Bible, is in Genesis 1:1, where we read, “God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.” Though our English Bible translations are correct, it is still important to remember that the word “Elohim” is plural and is literally translated, “Gods”. Why is this important? More than likely the word “Elohim” (Gods) reflects the ancient polytheistic beliefs that reach back to an older creation story where it just wasn't one God who created the world, but many Gods. If this is true, the older Creation story may have read something like, “When the Gods began to create the heavens and earth…” How these other Gods were involved in this creation is not completely clear, but, Job 38:1-7 gives us a little hint. In verse 1, we are told that when God (yahweh) laid the foundation of the earth, “...the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” What were these other Gods doing while the God, Yahweh, created the world? They were shouting for joy, they were cheering the God, Yahweh, on.
Many scholars agree that such a creation story may have existed among the ancient Semitic people because we do have older creation stories in the Bible. Yes, you read that correctly, there is more than one creation story in the Bible. Not only do we have older creation stories in the Bible, but some of these stories also have a flare of polytheistic images and beliefs. Here are a few creation stories: (P) Genesis1:1-2:4a and (J) Genesis 2:4b-25, Judges 5:4b-5.
Let’s take a look at one of these creation stories in the Bible where we find an early remnant of polytheism. Judges 5:4b-5, which also borrows words and images from a polytheistic Ugaritic story. Note the striking parallels of Judges with this myth. I am using the translation of Gravett, Bohmbach, Greifenhagen, and Polaski:
Judges 5:b-5 Ugaritic Story
The Earth trembled, Ba’al opened a rift in the clouds;
and the heavens poured, his holy voice Ba’al gave forth
the clouds indeed poured water. Ba’al repeated the is[sue] of his lips
The mountains quaked before the At this h[oly] voice the earth quaked
LORD, the One of Sinai, at the issue of his [lips]
before the LORD, the God the mountains were afr[aid].
Of Israel.
Above, we have one story from the Bible (Judges) and another story from a religious Ugaritic text. For a Jew or Christian, one might call this Ugaritic story, a pagan story. Either way, there are interesting similarities in these stories: both the God of the Bible and the Ugaritic God, whose name is Ba’al, are presented as "Storm Gods" who are pouring forth water. Both of these Gods are causing the earth to tremble. There are other passages in the Bible well, such as Psalm 29, Psalm 77, Psalm 114, and Psalm 89 that also exhibit these early remnants of polytheism. In the Bible, God is described as the Cloud Rider and in Ugaritic Myths, Ba'al is also described as the Cloud Rider. In the Bible, God is described as the Mountain God and in the Ugaritic story, Ba'al is described as the Mountain God.
Curiously enough, all throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, the Ugaritic “Gods” are either mentioned or alluded to: El, Ba'al, Anat, Asherah (a goddess), Yamm, and Mot are all in the Bible. The God of Death, Mot, is not only alluded to in the Hebrew Scriptures (The Old Testament) but also in the New Testament. In Isaiah 25:8 we read, “he [God] will swallow up death forever.” This Scripture in Isaiah is also quoted by Paul in the New Testament and used by clergy in funeral services, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54).
We could continue by mentioning other early polytheistic remnants found throughout the Bible. However, it is adequate to say, when you ask the question, “Who Is God?” Remember, you are asking a big and complicated question. Friends, this is not Sunday school.
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