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Hey everyone welcome back to another instillment of our Yahweh teachings as the Bibles main character on Critical Thinking Aloud. This is a continuation of our foundational series on What is the Bible?
We love to teach others about value of interpreting the Bible through the ancient Near Eastern context of the Biblical authors. This passions was born out of our own recognition of the vaule this way of interpreting the scriptures in its original context can bring to ones Bible study.
Our hopes for this series is to help our readers build a “portfolio” about the ancient Near East to use as a guide while studying the scriptures.
We believe that the best way to engage with any content is within its own immediate context. Therefore if you haven’t yet been able to go through the other teachings in this series we suggest you do so first by clicking here.
Today we will be continuing our study on Yahweh as the Bibles main character by looking at Yahweh’s Spirit revealed in tandem of both the Visible and Invisible forms of Yahweh throughout the Old Testament narrative.
How we are going to learn
In this teaching we will be looking at the topic of The Spirit of Yahweh in the ancient Near Eastern biblical authors worldview. As I have done in the past with other teachings I want to quote from scholarly sources to make my point. I do this in hope that you will see this isn’t just my interpretation of the Scriptures but that this view is steeped in acadeemia.
We will be using two amazing sources which we highly recommend.
- Faithlife Study Bible: This is an amazing resource that is free if you download the app or use it online. To download the app or use this resource online visit their website here. This resource is also available in print which you can purchase here.
- The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: This is my favorite resource for gaining a better understanding for the ancient Near Eastern worldview of the Biblical authors. This is available in a multitude of variations all of which you can find on our resource page here.
Let’s get started
The Old and The New
Many of us are familiar with the Invisible Yahweh in the Old Testament. This is the invisible creator God of the Israelite community who is later describe by Jesus and His followers as the Father. Generally speaking, christians know much less about the second visible form of Yahweh revealed in the Old Testament. In my experience christians know even less about the relationship between these two forms of Yahweh and the Spirit of God in the Old Testament.
Our teachings on the Visible Yahweh centered around the ancient Near Eastern biblical authors description of the Invisible God revealing Himself visibly to humanity through the theophany of a man. In the Old Testament this man theophany is describe in four ways.
Over the past weeks we covered the four ways which the Visible Yahweh is described throughout the Old Testament in human form. These are The Word, The Angel of the Lord, The Name, and The Rider on the Clouds.
This week we will be covering how the ancient Near Eastern biblical authors described the relationship between the Invisible and Visible forms of Yahweh and The Spirit.
Don’t worry
During the pass four teachings on the Visible Yahweh I have been letting you guys know not to worry about the language we were using concerning the binitarian Godhead. Since then I had been asked the question by a viewer “was Critical Thinking Aloud teaching something that departs from orthodox Christian teaching about the trinitarian nature of the Godhead?”
This was a legitimate question steaming out of the Binatarian Godhead language we used from the ancient Israelite theology.
Be Happy
I really appreciate our Critical Thinking Aloud community. Hearing from you guys at anytime concerning anything is a great joy. This question was no different. I really appreciate this viewers concern. My answer to him is the same that I am going to give to you now.
Don’t worry! I can assure you that we are not departing from Christian orthodoxy regarding the trinity. Instead the opposite is true. We are convinced that we are returning back to the biblical authors orthodox view regarding the trinity which is derived from the Old Testament Binatarian Godhead theology of the ancient Israelites.
This is one of the many example which highlights the benefits of studying the ancient Near Eastern context of the Biblical Authors.
God Chose to Appear to Us
The Trinity that we have come to know as Christians is rooted in this Old Testament binatarian Godhead theology. Ever since the beginning the Invisible God has chosen to make Himself known to humans through His visible manifestation in the form of a Man.
Before His incarnation, Jesus, the Visible Yahweh, was known in the Old Testament as the second person of the trinity by four different descriptions.
In the four weeks of our mini series on the Visible Yahweh we have discussed all of Yahweh’s man theophany motifs. The Word, The Angel of the Lord, The Name, and The Rider on the Clouds which are all use in the Old Testament to describe the Invisible God appearing in a visible form to humans as a man.
Recall this quote from one of our recommended resources
“Theophanies set the precedent for Jesus. They help make sense of why and how God chose to appear in human form.”
Faithlife Study Bible: in the Article: Theophany in the Old Testament
Theophany
Remember theophany is a visible manifestation of a deity revealed to humanity. Throughout these teaching we have been looking at the ancient Near Eastern view of theophany and the role it plays in the pantheon of a nation.
Here is another quote from that same resource
“Since people cannot possibly process God’s nature as a disembodied, formless spirit, theophany allows God to make His presence known in a physical way that people can discern through their senses.”
Faithlife Study Bible: in the Article: Theophany in the Old Testament.
God uses theophanies many times throughout the Hebrew Bible. Fire, a still small voice, a storm cloud are only a couple of examples of God communicating to humanity via theophanies.
The Spirit
As Christians we have probably thought about the nature of the trinity a good amount. That being how does the members relate to each other, if anything what can we compare the trinity to, and what it is like?
But have you ever asked yourself the question: where did the concept of the Trinity come from? Where did this Theological concept originate? Where are its origins, or how did the first believers in the New Testament (all of which were strict monotheistic Jewish converts) accepts this notion as being true?
Foundations
The foundation of christian Trinitarian theology (what we know about God as revealed in a triune nature) is rooted in the Old Testament. Yahweh revealed as three persons in a trinity is not a New Testament concept, but is theology firmly established in the Hebrew Bible.
As we have done in the other teachings on Yahweh we will be looking at familiar passages of scripture. Some of which we have looked at in detail as recently as our Visible Yahweh Mini Series. Today we want to revalue these text to see the Spirits role in these stories.
We want to keep our minds open and critical think about these scriptures since most likely have already formed a certain understanding of these familiar texts. Doing so will help us to draw new conclusions from these passages, some of which we may have never entertained before.
Moses
“23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.” So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again. However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction.”
Number 11:23- 31
Let us reflect on what is going on here in this passage. Did you notice who all appears here with Moses and these seventy elders?
We first read about Moses talking with the Lord. Presumably this is the Invisible form of Yahweh since we have no anthropomorphic language here apart from the idiomatic phrase “The Lord’s arm”.
A Hebrew Idiom
The Hebrew idiom “The Lord’s arm” is a reference to Gods power and ability to accomplish what He has declared. This should not be confused with a literal/physical arm of the Visible Yahweh. While the Visible Yahweh has arms here the Hebrew idiom clearly is being used to challenge Moses’ doubt that the Lord would be able to provide enough meat for the massive body of people.
However next we read that “the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him”. Here it is! This is the appearance of the Visible Yahweh onto the scene. Everything that we have gone through over the past six teaching we are going to see emerge in the texts we are coving today.
It’s time to use that “portfolio” we have equipped you with!
The Lord in the cloud is the Invisible Yahweh in Visible form i.e. The Visible Yahweh. This theophany of the Lord was visible to everyone there. The visible Yahweh is present in this scene when He comes in the cloud but here we also see the third member of the Trinity show up with the Spirit of the Lord at work.
There is a connection between the visible Yahweh and the Sprit being made in this passage. After the Lord in the cloud comes the Spirit is able to rest on these seventy elders. At the very least the author seems to be communicating that what happen to these elders is directly tied to their experience with both the Visible Yahweh in the cloud in combination with the moving of Yahwehs Spirit upon them.
The Invisible Yahweh, the Visible Yahweh who appears in the cloud, and The Spirit all emerge in this account, leaving us with a clear trinitarian framework of the Godhead to reflect on in the Old Testament.
Gideon
This is the same chapter that we used to identify the Invisible Yahweh revealed Visibly through the man theophany as The Angel of the Lord. If you have forgotten the details you can check out that teaching here.
On the heels of Gideon discovering that He has been called to save Israel through an encounter with both the Invisible and Visible forms of Yahweh we read this:
34 “Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.”
Judges 6:34
In Judges Chapter 6, not only do we have the Binatarian Godhead language of the ancient Israelites, but also we see what is later known as the Trinitarian Godhead at work in Gideons calling .
Before we proceed I wanted to give alittle bit of information on the spirit moving on people which I found to be interesting.
Ancient Near Eastern Context
Here is a quote from one of our recommend resources on the moving of the spirit
“6:34 the spirit of the Lord came on Gideon. According to the normal use of this form of this Hebrew verb (‘to clothe’), the Hebrew reads ‘the spirit of the Lord put on Gideon,’ suggesting that the spirit ‘wears’ Gideon, i.e., the Spirit is inside him, rather than Gideon ‘wearing’ the Spirit, as an external force. This raises the question whether the Spirit functions as an internal or external force. A statement in an Akkadian wisdom text raises the same issue: ‘The demon has clothed himself in my body as with a garment; sleep covers me like a net.’…One Akkadian text reads, ‘He [the asakku-demon] enveloped the miserable man like a garment.'”
The notes go on to say:
“The Spirit of the Lord usually appears in Judges to facilitate the calling of an army. Since Israel has no central authority, only Yahweh has the ability to call out the tribes, and his authority is recognized in anyone who does so.”
The NIV Culture Backgrounds Study Bible: Notes on Judges 6:34 pg 421
There is precedent in the ancient Near East for a divine being’s spirit to come onto a person to empower them. This is exactly what we see happens to Gideon. After His encounter with the Visible and Invisible forms of Yahweh the Spirit comes upon him to summon an army.
Job
“By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent.”- NIV
“By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.”- NKJV
Job 26:13
Breath/Spirit
Looking at these two different translations we can notice something about the way that each translator chose to translate this word into English. Both are correct and mean the same thing because in the Hebrew language the word “Ruach” can mean both spirit and breath. This same word can also be translated into mind or wind as well.
For a visual illustration of this concept check out this amazing short video on The Spirit (Ruach) by our friends over at The Bible Project by clicking here.
His Hand
It is interesting that in the second half of this verse we have anthropomorphic language associated with “piercing the fleeing serpent”. If you recall our earlier study we made the statement that only the Visible Yahweh as the man theophany has hands.
I don’t want to get off on a tangent now but this piercing of the fleeing serpent is tied up in Yahwehs rule over creation and chaos in the creation narrative. We will get into this and many more topics like this subject in later installments as we progress here on Critical Thinking Aloud.
Our theises for today is made clear in this verse that the Invisible form as well as the corporeal form of the Visible Yahweh along with the Spirit are responsible for the creation of the Heavens and subduing of chaotic forces.
Ezekiel
“In the sixth year, in the sixth month on the fifth day, while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign Lord came on me there. 2 I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal. 3 He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the idol that provokes to jealousy stood. 4 And there before me was the glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain. 5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy.”
Ezekiel 8:1-5
This is a great passages for us to look at together to cover the topic of the trinity in the Old Testament. Here we see all three members of the Godhead present. There is the one with a “figure like that of a man”, the Spirit, and “the Glory of the God of Israel”.
This is amazing and I hope it is a real eye opener for those of you who have never thought about this before. The Invisible Yahweh, The Visible Yahweh revealed via the man theophany, together with The Spirit are all present in this vision that Ezekiel is experiencing.
The anthropomorphic language of a hand being the vehicle which transports Ezekiel by the hair not only bears relevance to our study today on the trinitarian nature of God revealed in the Old Testament, but also confirms the value of our ongoing studies of the deep theological roots found in connection to the ancient Near East.
Here is a quote to help us realize the significances
“took me by the hair of my head. The vision of the departure of the glory of the Lord from the Jerusalem temple reflects formal elements of a definite type of vision known in Akkadian literature. A shining figure that had the appearance of fire took Ezekiel by the lock of his hair. A similar expression is found in ‘The Vision of the Netherworld by an Assyrian Crown Prince.’ The tablet comes from Ashur and is dated around 670 BC. The composition describes how an Assyrian prince (perhaps Ashurbanipal), for unknown reasons, wishes to see the netherworld. To this end he sacrifices to Ereshkigal, the queen of the netherworld, and prays to her and to Erra/Nergal, her consort. His request is granted, and in a dream he receives a vision of the netherworld. He sees Erra/Nergal as a shining figure with lighting flashing from his arms. Erra/Nergal then takes the prince by the hair and carries him. The same expression occurs in the Mesopotamian myth Negal and Ereshkigal, where it is said that Nergal seized Ereshkigal by the hair.”
The NIV Culture Backgrounds Study Bible: Notes on Ezekiel 8:3 pg 1343
This scene is immensely helpful for us to understand the relationship of the Binatarian Godhead known to ancient Israelites. Both the Invisible Yahweh represented in the “Glory of the God of Israel” and the Visible Yahweh as shining man theophany are interacting with Ezekiel.
Ezekiels experience also gives us a glimpse at the inner workings of what we now refer to as trinitarian theology. Both forms of Yahweh along with the animated Spirit of God accompany Ezekiel at the Temple in Jerusalem. All this and we have it framed in the ancient Near Eastern context to boot.
In conclusion not only would the Israelite community be able to relate to this text but the surrounding nations would have had a theological context for this experience as well. This passage of the Old Testament that clearly defines for us a Trinitarian Godhead in its ancient Near Eastern context of the Biblical authors is simply amazing.
Critical Thinking Aloud
This is our sweet spot, where we are totally in our element. We may sound like a broken record because of how frequent we refer to the importance of learning about the ancient Near Easter context of the biblical authors but this is exactly why!
There is so much value in interpreting the scriptures in its original context.
We did not inherit a theology concerning the triune nature of God which was invented in the first century shortly after Christ was put to death and resurrected. On the contrary. As we have proved today by using only a hand full of scriptures that the trinitarian Theology of the New Testament is only a continuation of that which is established in the Hebrew Bible.
Yahweh has always been revealed as triune in nature, but it is only in the New Testament that we see the Visible Yahweh embodied in the man Jesus Christ.
The second power of the trinity who was revealed to humanity throughout the Old Testament in the form of Yahwehs theophany of a man via The Word, The Angel of the Lord, The Name, and The Rider on the Clouds, joins humanity when He becomes fully man in the New Testament.
The God-Man Christ Jesus will be the focus on our next installment of Critical Thinking Aloud’s main characters of the Bible series.
Citations:
Faithlife Study Bible. J. D. Barry et al. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012
NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Grand Rapids, Michigan USA Zondervan 2016
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