Higgaion Podcast 5: The Divine Council, Part 2
Episode 5 of the Higgaion Podcast continues Michael Heiser’s introduction to the divine council. In this segment, Michael takes up the problem of relating the divine council concept to our tradition of describing ancient Israelite and Judean religion as “monotheistic.”
Should you prefer to listen without going through iTunes U, you may download the file directly and copy it to your favorite MP3 player, or listen right now using the embedded player below.
Please note that for the time being, in spite of Mark Goodacre’s vote to the contrary, I’ve decided to stick with the relatively low-quality monophonic output in deference to listeners who have limited bandwidth or who have to “pay by the K” for downloads. I plan to review this decision frequently, however, and I’m always open to your feedback on this question. (That’s a pun. Get it? Audio quality … feedback … never mind.)
9 comments Christopher Heard | Bible (specific texts), biblical world, podcasting
I’m one of the audio troglodytes who appreciates the smaller file size.
Sure, I have high speed internet, but for spoken-word podcasts, the quality is just fine. What’s more important to me is that it downloads quickly, and takes up less space on my 1-gigabyte mp3 player.
Yes, please keep the sound quality low, & the content quality high. Beware the motive of anyone who wants you to make the files so big, that it’s difficult for people to play.
By the way, isn’t the correct translation of the DSS/LXX version of Deu 32:8 “angels of God”, whereas the later Latin is “sons of God”. Please ask your guest for a clarification of his statement at the 2:46-2:47 point in the podcast. I’m just going by the footnote in my 1984 NKJV.
G.M., the Hebrew DSS manuscript has “sons of God,” and the Latin follows the Hebrew. LXX (Greek) has “angels of God,” as is typical wherever Hebrew MSS have “sons of God.”
This one is more difficult to follow than the first 4. On first hearing it is not clear to me whether this is a word study or a theological point. It is also less than clear why it is important though I agree that it is good to avoid imposition of ‘modern’ ‘concepts’ onto the reading of the text. Specific question – why reference psalm 89:5? – the beni elohim is not mentioned there – or are they – O there it is in verse 6? Nonetheless, Psalm 89 does not seem to fit. This is a huge and pivotal psalm to fit into 5 minutes!
Bob, some of that may be my fault for splitting the audio in two, and for asking Mike to introduce the divine council in just five minutes.
The audio format really presents some challenges. But it is great that it is a ‘hearing’ exercise. That means a limitation on verse references (which are reading prompts not hearing prompts). In listening I found myself wanting to see the context of the references – and so I stopped listening! (mea culpa – but the designer of the sound bite should beware.)
Some questions: 1. will you go on with the divine council – perhaps to deal with the parable of Job 1 and 2 (and the brief reference in Elihu’s speech). I have my own theories about this council. 2. In Psalm 89 the beni elim is sandwiched between two references to the qdoshim – it doesn’t seem like a council meeting.
Bob, I’m going on with other issues in the interpretation of Genesis next.
This may sound trite, but I want to throw it out there anyway. Doesn’t it seem like this is making a lot of concrete inference out of a poetic text? Shouldn’t we give poets a little more leeway to express their ideas and not try to squeeze too much theology out of them?
Just a thought, but this is interesting and I want to look into it more.
Brad, just because a text is poetic in form doesn’t mean its content shouldn’t be taken seriously. Labeling an author a poet doesn’t mean that author doesn’t mean what he or she says. Of course, one must always be sensitive to metaphor and figurative language. But a line like “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment” is not obviously metaphorical in the same way that, for example, “The Lord is my shepherd” is. Plus, the idea of a divine council is so well attested in non-poetic texts like 1 Kings 22 and Job 1-2 that Psalm 82 would seem anomalous if not taken the way Mike explained it in the podcast. To turn the question around: If the poet in Psalm 82 didn’t “really mean it” about the divine council imagery, then what did s/he mean?