Council of YHWH, Pt. 2

I was recommended Michael Heiser's The Unseen Realm a few years ago but never felt a strong desire to read it. Last Winter I decided to teach a class on the spiritual realm which included some classes specifically discussing the role of angels and demons. I had written a paper on the demonology in the ANE and Second Temple Judaism worldviews before, so I was somewhat familiar. However, I decided to get Heiser's book to take another look at it all. I was blown away.

What follows are some of my takeaways from his books. I realize that some of these are unorthodox and I am willing to concede my stance on a number of points. But as it stands right now, What I am reading here makes the most sense out of what we find in scripture.

I think his treatment in the three books of his I read: Angels, Demons, and The Unseen Realm are unmatched. Unseens Realm is what really shook my view of the Hebrew conception of demonology, angelology, and the spiritual realm. It (Unseen Realm) is now in the top 5 books that have shaped my theology the most (I think that is deserving of a post all on its own - let me know if you'd be interested in reading that.)

The underlining concept in The Unseen Realm is the council of YHWH. I'm going to overview of few of these occurrences, discuss their significance, and make some application which will segway into several future posts.

A basic outline for this series will be as follows:

1. What are the roles/duties of those within the Divine Council as seen in the Old Testament?

2. Prophets as members of the Divine Council

3. Members of the New Covenant as Members of the Divine Council

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This entry will continue with the last in that I am going to observe and comment on a few more instances where we can see the role of God's heavenly host. The last post contained narrative sections of scripture that painted three, very clear pictures of what those members of YHWH's council do. From Job we read that his council members can fill the role of "Accuser," and "Surveyor." In 1 Kings 22 the roles can include that of "Council Member" and as well as the more controversial "Deceiver." Lastly, Zechariah conveyed some typological connections to Christ in advocating for the people of Jerusalem.

Next, I think it's worth continuing in this vein and looking at specific titles that are attributed to what we would typically just call "Angels," but Heiser correctly points out that this title is simply one that describes the function and not the nature of these beings. We want to look at more of these functionary titles to consider what the Heavenly Host is up to in the spiritual realm.

The most obvious is "Angel" (מַלְאַ֧ךְ mal'akh)and is used 213x in the Hebrew Scriptures with the most uses appearing in the book of Judges. We have to remember that this Hebrew word does not strictly mean "angel" but means "messenger" except when applied to those being who are sent as messengers by YHWH. Context often controls the way we translate words, this is even more prevalent in the Hebrew language. That means that this word does not have as narrow of meaning as many people often think. Not only does not tell much about that being's function, but it tells nothing of its nature.

Genesis 18-19 gives us a more nuanced look at what angels are than most realize. At the beginning of 18:1 the LORD appears to Abraham and in 18:2 the LORD is three men... okay, odd. The LORD and the other two men have some physical indication of who they are. Maybe YHWH has come to him in a way Abraham has seen him before (Acts 7:2-3; note that Stephen is referencing a theophany that would have come before our account of YHWH appearing to Abraham in Genesis 12). Whatever the case, Abraham sets a meal before the three men and they eat (18:8). The two men depart for Sodom in which they are now simply called "the messengers" (הַמַּלְאָכִ֤ים same word as before but in the plural with a definite article). This could indicate these are just normal people, except they have divine powers that allow them to blind their attempted rapists (19:11). These are not regular men and the fact they have their origin in appearing with YHWH to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre, I personally think it is safe to conclude these are "angels" in the full sense of the term.

There are several other instances we could look at for angel, but I think it's worth stopping here to consider the "angel of the LORD" term that we find a ton of times in the OT. Accordance shows 56 occurrences of "the angel of the LORD" in the OT and 10 occurrences of "angel of God." I don't think I will spend time analyzing the possible differences between the two. [[[In short, at times the angel of God seems to equate to any other type of divine being (1 Sam 29:9) and at other times there seems to a "one of a kind" type of divinity attached to it like in the account of Manoah (Judg 13). It doesn't help that in almost every occurrence both the angel of the LORD and the angel of God are anarthrous (no article making the noun definite).]]] I like the ESV in this regard because it will decipher between "angel of God (אֱלֹהִֽים elohim)" and "angel of the LORD (יְהוָֹ֥ה YHWH)." Not that this affects my views of these passages, I believe these are referring to the same entity, but some translations don't and I think that is troublesome.

I think it's worth looking at two examples in particular when considering who the AotL ("angel of the LORD/God") is in the Hebrew Scriptures. What we see in both of these passages is the writers equating the AotL to YHWH in very explicit ways. It's important we don't dismiss this type of exaltation of the AotL primarily because this is one of the ways New Testament readers have come to the doctrine of the trinity. By Jesus equating himself to YHWH, especially in the gospel of John, we have come to affirm as believers that Jesus is God (John 1:1-3; "I AM" statements throughout John are good ones to reference as well).

We'll take them in order of appearance in the Hebrew scriptures so we'll start with the famous incident Moses and the burning bush. Again, I think what is in favor of the AotL being a representation of YHWH is the fact that the Hebrew writer will also equate the two. It's all contained in the first few verses of chapter 3. In verse 2 you have the AotL appearing "In a flame of fire" out of the "midst of the bush." In verse 4, יְהוָֹ֥ה (YHWH) sees that Moses has noticed it, אֱלֹהִֽים (elohim) then calls out from the bush. This אֱלֹהִֽים (elohim) then says that he is the אֱלֹהִֽים (elohim) of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v. 6). The אֱלֹהִֽים (elohim) is then identified as יְהוָֹ֥ה (YHWH) in verse 7 and speaks to Moses and tell him he has seen his people's affliction (the clearest picture of this is in verse 14 "elohim says to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM").

I can see where someone would object and say that both the AofL and elohim were in the bush, but I think this is a biased reading. It makes more sense that the writer is equating all three of the titles here.

Lastly, is Judges 2:1-4 where the AofL speaks, but in a way that is peculiar to other divine encounters. There is no, "Thus says the LORD..." formula, rather - quiet explicitly - the AofL says, "I brought you up out of Egypt..." I think instances like this can be explained by the passage in Exodus 23:20-23 where many have developed "Name Theology." While YHWH is delivering the Mosiac covenant to Moses on Mt. Sinai, he says that the people must obey the angel that will lead them to the promised land. This is because the angel will not pardon their transgressions, "for my name is in him."

What is proposed in Name Theology is that often biblical writers will refer to the presence of God, God himself, simply as "the Name." Because of this, scholars began uncovering a unique tie between YHWH and his name. Where this is most greatly evidenced is in 2 Samuel 6 and Isaiah 30 where the equation is undeniable. While "Name Theology" originated with Martin Noth's Deuteronomistic History (DH) it is has undergone some major critique over the past few decades and it is something that I can see reflecting biblical truth.

For me, when YHWH tells Moses that "my name is in him" (the angel that leads them through the wilderness) he is communicating that his very presence will be guiding Moses. This is confirmed in Exodus 13 where we see it is YHWH who is the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night (cf. Det 1:32-33). Moses is also told in Exodus 23:20-23 that this angel will go before and "...be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." It is then in Deuteronomy 2:30-3:10 that we read it was the LORD going before Moses and the Israelites and handing over enemy after enemy to them.

I'll leave it there. I guess this deviates somewhat from the "divine council" but it ties in enough I believe to be included in the discussion. I know it's not comprehensive, but for me, there is enough there to wrestle with and not be so comfortable with what I have often heard regarding the Angel of the LORD. Hopefully, this gets you thinking as well. Let me know you're thoughts!