Excursus: The Divine Messiah and Ancient Jewish Monotheism

A previous article was discussing what Paul might have meant when he said Christ was in the form of a god before becoming human (Philippians 2:5-8). It was mentioned that the ancient Jews viewed supernatural beings as being "gods". This article will provide a wider image of this belief, as reflected by the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.

Strict Monotheism or Jewish Monoteism?

Most of today's religions that promote some kind of monotheism, hold to the idea that there is only one God. All other beings that would be called gods are necessarily false gods. This can certainly be labeled as strict monotheism. But is this only a modern version of monotheism?

As this article will show, the ancient Hebrews had a broader definition. Not only was there one God who created everything, and a lot of other false gods which the nations were worshiping. There was also a third category of gods: the supernatural beings populating the spiritual realm. These gods were not false gods because they were not competing with the one true God for worship, and were not worshiped.

Supernatural Beings

A first example of beings from this category can be found in 1 Samuel. The medium of En-Dor tells Saul what she sees:

1 Samuel 28:13 "I see a divine being coming up out of the earth."

NASB translates divine being but the Hebrew word used by the medium is Elohim, which means god(s). She literally says she sees an elohim, in other words a god, a supernatural being. The medium certainly believed that what she saw was a supernatural being, so she called it a god.

Other people too have seen supernatural beings - for real this time - and called them gods. Here's what happens to Jacob:

Genesis 32:24-30 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved."

Hosea 12:4 makes it clear that the "man" Jacob physically fought with that night, was an angel. He says he has seen "God" face to face. But does the Hebrew text have Jacob saying he saw Almighty God himself? This is a relevant question, since we know that God says:

Exodus 33:20 "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!"

If we compare the Hebrew text for 1 Samuel 28:13 where the medium says she saw a god, with the text having Jacob saying he saw elohim, we notice they both use the same phrase.

When the Septuagint - a translation from Hebrew to Greek made by ancient Hebrews - translates this verse, it has no definite article before theos, god. The Septuagint therefore has Jacob saying he saw a god, not God Almighty himself, whom nobody can see and live. Similarly, a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into English, made by Jews and published by The Jewish Publication Society, called

The TANAKH, a new translation (into contemporary English) of The Holy Scriptures according to the traditional Hebrew text (Masoretic). The Jewish Bible: Torah, Nevi'im, Kethuvim.

translates Genesis 32:30 (31 in this version) this way:

Genesis 32:31 So Jacob named the place Peniel, meaning, "I have seen a divine being face to face, yet my life has been preserved."

This certainly explains why Jacob didn't die, and why the angel tells him "you have striven with elohim", that is, with "a god" (vs. 28). Again in this verse, the Septuagint translates "a god" and JPS' Tanakh reads "you have striven with beings divine and human".

Also, the text itself indicates that Jacob knew this was an angel and not God himself, since this "man" asks his permission to leave, Jacob wrestles him and asks for his name.

In conclusion, there are strong indications that Jacob said he has seen a god, a supernatural being. Another instance of somebody saying they've seen a god when they've seen a supernatural being, can be found in Judges 13:

Judges 13:20-22 For it came about when the flame went up from the altar toward heaven, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. Now the angel of the LORD did not appear to Manoah or his wife again. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. So Manoah said to his wife, "We will surely die, for we have seen God."

At first, Manoah and his wife don't know this "man" was in fact an angel of God. But after he ascends in flames, they know it was in fact a supernatural being, an angel of Yahweh. But then they say "we have seen God"!

Is it possible that like in the case of Jacob, they are actually saying they saw a god? The Septuagint lacks again the definite article before theos, allowing this to be "a god", just as the same Septuagint again lacks the definite article before "angel" in the previous verse, where many English translations (like KJV) read:

Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD

Just as the Septuagint and JPS' Tanakh say:

Judges 13:22 And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, for we have seen a divine being."

This particularity of Hebrew thought, designating supernatural beings as gods, can be also seen in other parts of the Septuagint, where there are several instances where the Hebrew translators thought that a certain verse referring to elohim was referring to angels - who of course are supernatural beings. The most well-known instance is Psalm 8:4-5 where NASB says:

What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God [elohim], And You crown him with glory and majesty!

The "English Bible in Basic English" translation says a little lower than the gods, while others like NIV say a little lower than the heavenly beings. Indeed, elohim can be translated as god or gods. The Hebrew translators of the Hebrew Scriptures used the plural, and not only the plural, but translated angels:

"Thou madest him a little less than angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honour" - Brenton's translation of the Septuagint.

They clearly thought that when the psalmist wrote elohim, gods, he referred to angels, therefore viewing angels as gods, because they are supernatural beings, reflecting the power and glory of the Almighty God. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews agrees, quoting the Septuagint:

Hebrews 2:6-7 But one has testified somewhere, saying, "What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels;

Other instances where the Hebrew idea that angels are gods is reflected:

Psalm 97:7 Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, Who boast themselves of idols; Worship Him, all you gods [elohim in Hebrew, angels here in the Septuagint].

Psalm 138:1 A Psalm of David. I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods [elohim in Hebrew, angels here in the Septuagint].

Daniel 2:11 "Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods [elohim in Hebrew, angels here in the Septuagint], whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh."

Interestingly enough in the case of Daniel 2:11, it is indeed the angels who explain the meaning of Daniel's visions - see 7:16, 23; 8:16; 9:23; 10:12, 14, 21.

It is therefore to be noted that ancient Jewish monotheism cannot be identified with today's strict version of it. The ancient Hebrews could designate certain beings as "gods" without being polytheistic. These angelic beings were gods in contrast with fragile and mortal humans, they belonged to the spiritual realm to which the Almighty God also belonged. They were not gods in a religious sense - nobody was trying to worship them - but rather in a sense where their nature was contrasted with the weak material human nature.

But this godly status was not restricted to supernatural beings in ancient Jewish monotheism. Although not as often as in the case of supernatural beings, humans were called gods as well. Psalm 82's Hebrew text says:

1 god stands in the congregation of god, among gods he is judging [...]
6 [god says] "you are gods, sons of the supreme all of you"

This is a psalm where God is admonishing these gods for not judging justly (vs. 2-4). They are humans, because they "will die like men and fall like any one of the princes" (vs. 7), despite being gods. Jesus certifies as well that these gods are humans by quoting this verse in John 10:34, and then adding that these were the ones to whom the word of God came, that is, humans.

Why were the unjust judges of Israel called "gods"? Judging is certainly a prerogative and a privilege of God, one He delegated to the human judges of Israel. They were called gods because they were performing a divine activity.

Supernatural Messengers, Divine Representatives of God

An additional reason for designating angelic supernatural beings as "gods" could be the fact that often, the angels of God are messengers sent to humans, representing Yahweh himself. We will inspect some of the instances where this is the case.

Abraham and the Visiting Angels

Yahweh visits Abraham:

Genesis 18:1-2 Now the LORD [Yahweh] appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth,

Although it is said that Yahweh visits him, he sees three "men" visiting him. These are certainly angels, as the writer of Hebrews acknowledges:

Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.

The text of Genesis itself indicated this. Genesis 18:22 says "the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom"; later, 19:1 says

"Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening".

They were only two now, because after the writer says that "the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom", he adds that Abraham was still standing in front of the LORD:

Genesis 18:22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD.

Not all three angels proceeded to Sodom, one remained in the company of Abraham. The three angels were representatives of Yahweh, were not Yahweh himself. Nevertheless, they speak as if they are God, saying "I will surely return to you at this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son" - 18:10. Verse 13 says that the LORD, Yahweh, asks Abraham something, and then verse 17 reads "The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" (also vs. 19-20, etc).

This angel speaks like he is God himself, in the first person. This is possible because it is God himself who speaks through him, just as he told Moses about Aaron:

Exodus 4:15 You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do.

It was God's words that were coming out of the angel's mouth. Another instance where an angel stands for God himself:

Genesis 22:11-12 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."

The angel once again speaks as if God himself speaks. The same thing happens with Hagar, Abraham's servant:

Genesis 16:9-10 9 Then the angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority." Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count."

Moses and the Angels of God

The same thing happens with Moses in Exodus 3. The angel of the LORD appeared to him (vs. 2). But it is said that "when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him" (vs. 4). It is God who speaks, although we know it is an angel of God. Then the angel says:

Exodus 3:6 "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Not only does the angel say "I am the God of you father", but the writer himself notes that Moses was afraid of God. The angel is just a mere stand-in for God. It is God who speaks and who is there present - through his angel of course. Moses speaks to God (vs. 13), and God sends him to the elders of Israel to tell them:

Exodus 3:16 The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me

Christians in the first century knew very well also, as verse 2 says in fact, that this was an angel of God:

Acts 7:30-32 After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.' Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look.

While it is said that God gives the Law - including the 10 commandments - to the people of Israel gathered at mount Sinai, the first century Christians knew God did that through angels:

Exodus 19:11, 17-19 and let them be ready for the third day, for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. [...] And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder.

Exodus 20:1-4 Then God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. [...]

Nehemiah 9:13 "Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments.

Galatians 3:19 Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

Hebrews 2:2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty

Acts 7:53 you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.

Again, angelic supernatural beings are acting in behalf of God. Also, when Moses climbs the Sinai mountain, where he spends 40 days in the company of God, it is known by these Christians that God was there with him through an angel:

Exodus 34:2 So be ready by morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to Me on the top of the mountain.

Acts 7:38 [Moses] is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai

Liberation from Egypt

God saves Israel from the Egyptian slavery. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt" He says (Exodus 20:1). It is said that God was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day, of fire by night:

Exodus 13:21-22 The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

Numbers 14:14 [...] They have heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, for You, O LORD, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

Nehemiah 9:12 "And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day, And with a pillar of fire by night To light for them the way In which they were to go.

But a bit later, just before crossing the Red Sea with the Egyptians on their tail, we are told that in fact it was an angel of God who was going before them in the pillar of cloud:

Exodus 14:19 The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them.

Numbers 20:16 'But when we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out from Egypt

Again, a supernatural being acts as a stand-in for God, as God's representative. In the same vein, God tells Moses after they escaped from the Egyptians:

Exodus 33:14 And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest."

But just before that, God says how He will do that:

Exodus 33:2 "I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.

Exodus 23:20-23 "Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.

So how did God's "presence" (Exodus 33:14) go with the Israelites? God was present on the road among them through his angelic supernatural being. Isaiah also writes:

Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old.

Other instances where angels stand in for God:

Judges 2:1 Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you

Judges 6:11-12, 14, 16, 20-23 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah [...] The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him [...]

The LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" [...] But the LORD said to him, "Surely I will be with you [...]

The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat" [...] Then the angel of the LORD put out the end of the staff that was in his hand [...] When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face." The LORD said to him, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die."

Zechariah 3:1-2 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!

Notice how the LORD says to Satan "The LORD rebuke you". Of course, God himself would not say "God rebuke you" since He is the God who would do the rebuking. The LORD that speaks these words is an angel of the LORD who represents the LORD himself.

The Divine Messiah

When the ancient Hebrew translators rendered elohim - "god(s)" - as angel(s) in Psalm 8:5, 97:7, 138:1 and Daniel 2:11, thus revealing their belief that these texts spoke of supernatural beings, they did not stop there, but did the same thing in a text speaking of the Messiah.

Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God [Angel in the Septuagint], Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

The phrase "Counselor, Mighty God" is translated by them in Greek as: "Angel of Great Counsel". So if they are consistent in their reason for translating "god(s)" as "angel(s)", they might view this Messiah - who is given to Israel by being born as a child - to be a supernatural being.

But this is not necessarily so. The noun "angel" means "messenger" in Greek and Hebrew. The same word is used for human messengers, and for the supernatural messengers of God. So one could argue that this messenger could be in fact simply a human messenger.

That is one possibility, but how probable would this possibility be? Let us not forget what is the starting point of all this: "a mighty god". Were any of the human messengers ever described to be gods? Not really. So the fact itself, that the translators of the Septuagint applied to same treatment to this "god" as to the other "god(s)", these other "god(s)" being viewed as supernatural beings, gives weight to the conclusion that they viewed the Messiah as a supernatural being.

This background then, of ancient Jewish Monotheism, where Hebrews call supernatural beings "gods" although they know there's only one Almighty God and that He is the Creator of these beings, sheds light on some of what is said in the New Testament.

The disciples of Christ Jesus were Hebrews, as was he himself one. They all had this background. Then Thomas' exclamation towards Jesus saying "my¹ god" (John 20:28), does not step out of the frame of ancient Jewish Monotheism, just as patriarch Jacob and the parents of Samson never did when they called the supernatural messenger sent by God to them as "god". Especially since Thomas received the message Jesus sent through Mary that Jesus has his own God (John 20:17).

The same can be said about John 1:1 where the Word was a god², and Philippians 2:6 where the preexistent Son was in the form of a god³.

Another aspect of this ancient Hebrew Monotheism, that these supernatural messengers stand in for God, acting in behalf of God and speaking God's words to the ones they are being sent to, is also significant in the case of Jesus. He says:

John 14:24 the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.

John 12:49 For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.

John 14:10 The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.

John 14:24 the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.

John 17:8 for the words which You gave Me I have given to them

John 17:14 I have given them Your word

Like the supernatural messengers sent in the past, Jesus speaks the words God told him to. In fact, more than a thousand years before his coming, God said that:

Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Jesus also testifies that he came as a representative of God, just like those angels did:

John 5:43 I have come in My Father's name

In fact, he explicitly says he stands in for God:

John 12:45 45 "He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.

John 14:8-9 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father '?

Matthew 10:40 "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

But even when he stands in for God, he explains that "a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him (John 13:16).

Conclusion

In conclusion then, ancient Jewish Monotheism is not identical with today's strict monotheism. No strict monotheist today would call other supernatural beings "gods".

The difference between Ancient Jewish Monotheism and the strict version is defined by two aspects:

• Supernatural beings are called "gods". This is probably done to contrast their nature with the weak, physical human nature.
  
• Angelic supernatural beings are often presented as a stand-in for God. They act in behalf of God and their action is ascribed to God (liberation from Egypt for example), and they speak often as if God himself speaks, even speaking in the first person. God puts his words in their mouth.

What is said about Christ Jesus comes in agreement with the above points. His divine status is defined by the context of his time, the ancient Jewish Monotheism.

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¹Thomas not only says that Jesus is a god but that he is his god; Jesus was already his master, and Thomas his disciple, therefore Jesus is his god.<sup>(go back)

2</sup>See Jason Beduhn, Truth in Translation, p. 113 for a discussion on the translation "a god" in John 1:1.<sup>(go back)

3</sup>See the discussion on Philippians 2:6 here. Paul knows as well that Jesus has his own God (Ephesians 1:3,17 etc) ^{(go back)}