The goal or purpose of this paper is to show the differences between the modern way thinking of "who" God is and "what" He is like.... and how this thinking developed over time or what it has evolved into since the time of Cyrus the Great.
To show the great influence Persia apparently had upon Jewish culture due to Zorasteriamism.
Then comparing these newer ways of thinking to the original views that Israeli or Jewish culture had before their exile into Babylon in 586 BCE when they were originally a polytheistic culture.
For the scripture was written and the stories within were developed while they were very polytheistic. For at that time the gods of Israel were very human like and we were made in their image and likeness.
In this old way of thinking, this pantheon of gods were limited in their knowledge and wisdom and these gods were viewed to be very physical like any man living today.
What happened over time however, after Cyrus...., the Judean elders started changing their stories from their original polytheistic past and narrative to a monotheistic view point.
However, because they were still developing at this time, the old viewpoints of El still come through. Likewise, one can see where they substituted the name of another deity with the name of El, where El originally didn't belong there.
For today "God" is viewed as a spiritual being with no physical body. "He" is also omni-present and all-knowing or omniscient... and in other modern circles, having no human form whatsoever.
However, this is no where near the viewpoint of ancient Israel. In fact, Israel was no different, for example, than ancient Greece in their mythologies, where Zeus had a physical body, limited in this way and that way. He was the god of this and that and he had sons and those sons had children too.
El was viewed the same way. El was married to Asherah and they had about 70 children together, if not more.
El was the chief deity and the father of the gods or of the pantheon. He was creator of all and of mankind.
Some of his kids were Baal, Yamm, Mot, Dagon and others like Lotan who was a great sea monster deity where the word, "Leviathan" comes from. This mythology remains intact pretty much in the Tanach. Which is pleasing to see, because you are finally tapping into the truth of how ancient Israel actually thought.
So, in reality Israel acknowledged and was apart of the polytheistic Canaanite religion and/or mythologies.
So.... let's move on with the words of the actual Tanach and see this ancient way thinking of how they viewed El as a physical being with limitations like other mythologies do with their gods.
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In Genesis 1, and through out the Bible... it says, "And God said.....," where He actually speaks. Thus, He physically has an actual voice and what comes from that voice is the very original of all languages, being Hebrew.
[Of course that is a biased way of thinking from Jewish culture]
This is an example of what the texts says:
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
The "us" in this text is actually a carry over from Israel's polytheistic days. For El was the Chief Deity, the Father of Gods and Creator of all. His wife Asherah, with their 70 sons and daughters and then their sons' sons and daughters. Baal, Yamm, Lotan, Dagon, Mot and Yehwah being some of them.
This forms the great council or heavenly court.
Do your history of the Canaanite Religion and also the Ugaritic texts.
So, then we read that El, the Father of this pantheon made man to look like Him as well as the other gods.
[20] And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
[21] And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
[22] And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
[23] Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
In Genesis 1, and through out the Bible... it says, "And God said.....," where He actually speaks. Thus, He physically has an actual voice and what comes from that voice is the very original of all languages, being Hebrew.
[Of course that is a biased way of thinking from Jewish culture]
This is an example of what the texts says:
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
The "us" in this text is actually a carry over from Israel's polytheistic days. For El was the Chief Deity, the Father of Gods and Creator of all. His wife Asherah, with their 70 sons and daughters and then their sons' sons and daughters. Baal, Yamm, Lotan, Dagon, Mot and Yehwah being some of them.
This forms the great council or heavenly court.
Do your history of the Canaanite Religion and also the Ugaritic texts.
So, then we read that El, the Father of this pantheon made man to look like Him as well as the other gods.
So El and this pantheon of deities have physical bodies.
El then "saw" all that he created and behold it was "very good."
If the ancient authors wanted to convey modern viewpoints of several circles and that of Maimonides, where "God" doesn't have any form whatsoever ...
They could have just as easily wrote, El created the light.... El created mankind from the dust of the earth..... without saying: El said; El saw; let us make mankind in our image; and so forth.
But, let's continue....
In Genesis 3, after we see the man (Adam) eating the fruit that his wife gave him....
We see this:
"....And they heard a noise from God walking in the garden.... ....[so they] hid themselves."
So we see El literally walking in this unique garden and while walking makes noise.... Adam and Eve get startled by El, because they didn't expect him there and so they hid themselves.
So, you see how this is like old Greek mythology where the gods have physical bodies and like those mythologies.... we then see El asking the odd question, "Where are you" indicating his limits of knowledge and thus displaying man's cute mythologies?
In the modern evolution of Judaic and Christian thinking, this seems very odd.... because with the modern thinking of theology one believes that "God" is all knowing.... yet here El doesn't know.
Remember, these are the mythologies from old pantheon days. Where a certain god is known for this and another deity is known for that.
So, again, here we see El with a very physical body making noise as he walks in the garden, whether that be from crushing leaves under foot, brushing against a limb with his garment, to whatever else the noise supposedly came from when El walked.
The cherubs El puts in place to guard the tree of life are also physical, else what is the point of threatening them with death from a physical sword that they are holding.
In this myth, by the way, this is the lesson that modern thinkers don't grasp, because of whatever influences they might have. Christians have their influences separated from Jewish though. Nonetheless, here it is...
The gods of this pantheon are eternal to a point.... and this tree of life is the only way for man to escape their normal destined doom of natural death.
Christian "spiritual death" and their apologetics don't apply here.
Remember, Adam and Eve are new to existence.... not like they had parents telling them while growing up that are constantly reminding them that some trees are for food while others are there to just look at.
So, Adam and Eve were destined to die as it was, for that is how El made them. However, El gave them an opt out by providing the tree of life there.
However, they never took of that tree, ever. And, as long as they never ate from it.... they were just going to die at some point.
This is the whole meaning behind the words of El when he says.... "surely die" if they should dare eat of the tree of knowledge.
Why? Because it is clear El didn't want them to eat from both trees, so if they ate from the knowledge tree first by disobeying... El would then prevent them from eating from the very powerful tree that would give them eternal life. Thus, they would "surely die" in their natural state and so blowing their chance for eternal life.
In this, by the way, we see why Paul is soooo wrong in his wild theology in that death came to all men due to Adam sinning. Nope, not at all, rather death was their natural state or order or normal outcome. Furthermore, their sin was atoned for from the animals El provided their garments from. The consequence of their transgression however was that they were permanently banned from the garden and so had to work way more harder to get food for themselves.
From this whole narrative comes the polytheistic and mythological answers to:
1) why we die;
2) why weeds form;
3) why women have pain during labor;
4) why we, of all species, wear clothes
5) and why we work from the sweat of our brow just to eat, where the other species don't seem to
6) why snakes slither and have no limbs
7) why we have an innate fear of snakes or serpents
Seven answers to life's questions wrapped up in one convenient myth.
Now lets move on:
When we get to the tower of Babel story, we see the heavenly court having some sort of meeting again... so El wants to do something about it.
This myth obviously came later, to give a mythological reason why an old ziggurat never got completed. If this myth originated in Babylon, or earlier in Sumer.... Israel adopted it while there after 586 BCE.... which in and of itself tells us that the Judeans were still very much polytheistic at the time.
Nonetheless, here it is and here we see the physical aspects of El....
[5] And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men were building.
[6] And the LORD said, Behold, the people are one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
[7] Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
[8] So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
[6] And the LORD said, Behold, the people are one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
[7] Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
[8] So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
So you see how old this thinking is, soooo mythological in its delivery? Its exactly like the myths of the Greeks. Where El and the other gods are somewhere above and they had to physically come down to "see" what is going on. Then El asks the other gods to help in confounding them all.
And so.... they had to come down just to confound them.
In modern thinking, "God" is all knowing and all powerful and can do things without help and doesn't need to go somewhere just to do something.
Thus, if you leave these stories in their original polytheistic mindset, they are much easier to understand. But what you have today are the modified, edited and redacted versions of these old myths.... thanks to the elders of Judea that came back to Jerusalem sometime after Cyrus the Great which started promoting a monotheistic worldview.... which isn't their genuine heritage.
Moving on....
In Genesis 18, we see El appearing physically before Abraham as one of the three "men" and there Abraham talks with him after running to meet them all. Abraham also physically gives them food to eat, and water to wash their feet. So here we see a very physical deity!!!
Here is a snippet:
[1] And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
[2] And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
[3] And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
[4] Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
[5] And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
[7] And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
[8] And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
[33] And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
[2] And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
[3] And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:
[4] Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:
[5] And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
[7] And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.
[8] And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
[33] And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
So we see that El is very physical and the two other "men," who are the two angels in the next chapter that visit Lot.
Moving on...
In Exodus... Moses sees his physical back...
Exodus 33
[18] And he (Moses) said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
[19] And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
[20] And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
[21] And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
[22] And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
[23] And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
[19] And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
[20] And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
[21] And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
[22] And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
[23] And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
So we see here, El is still a very a physical being. What I find interesting is that this particular author is way down the line of Israel's theological evolution. While the author still admits El is very physical... for some reason this particular author thinks El's face can't be seen, though elsewhere other authors don't share that view.
Again, the modern Torah was written sometime after 380 BCE, after Ezra, and before 285 BCE when the Greek Septuagint was created in Alexandria Egypt.
Moving on....
1 Kings 22:
[18] And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
[19] And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.[20] And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
[21] And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
[22] And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
[23] Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
This is a fine example of the "heavenly court" being seen as we see in Gen 1 and Gen 11 with the word, "us" being used in those passages. Though this story is heavily modified to reflect monotheism now and that only angels instead of the other deities makeup this heavenly court.
I just wish they left the story alone... nonetheless El is physical and you can see him and that he has a chair to sit on.
Ohhhh, this throne actually reminds me of the creation narrative again, something I skipped over.
In those narratives, like with other gods in other mythologies, we see El tired and needs to be refreshed after creation.... for here is Exodus
Exodus 31
[17] It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
In story of Noah, El seems to have forgotten about Noah while he was on the ark, for this is what we read:
Genesis 7:24 - 8:1
And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.
And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth...
And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that was with him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the earth...
Okay, so far we see El with a very physical body; he doesn't know everything; and he gets tired and needs to be refreshed. He eats and washes his feet and so forth. Lastly, like in other myths, El can seemingly get distracted and forget things.
Moving on to Isaiah....
Isaiah 6
[1] In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
[2] Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
[3] And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
[4] And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
[5] Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
[6] Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
[7] And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
[2] Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
[3] And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
[4] And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
[5] Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
[6] Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
[7] And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.
This is very physical stuff and El definitely has a physical body as well as these seraphim and the objects that are seen and used.
One passage I don't care to use because how long it is, but.....
Ezekiel 1, I will let you read on your own.
Next comes from Daniel
Daniel 7
[9] I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
[10] A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
[10] A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
What I find interesting is this about Daniel....
This book was written after Alexander the Great died and after the time his generals has all ready been reigning for some time.... and yet, El is still seen as a physical person. Another note on this.... this author obviously don't share the views of the author of the certain passage of Exodus where El's face can't be seen. Maybe it was a priest that wrote Exodus and he is just used to the holy of holies ritual where "God" can't be seen and, thus, he must go in with smoke from the incense.
Keep in mind that this is what the "law" says....
Leviticus 16:13
[13] And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not
We know that Yom Kippur doesn't exist till after Ezra, namely after Nehemiah 9. For in Nehemiah 8, we see them reading the whole law.... whatever version that was.... and there is no mention of Yom Kippur. Nope, only after the Tabernacle Feast do the people do something very simular to Yom Kippur on the 24th, not the 10th as what our current Torah says.
So, the authors of the unique passage found in Exodus and that of Lev 16, have simular views... if it is not the same person. Yet, Daniel who came later, doesn't hold the view that His face is not allowed to be seen.
Nonetheless, it is clear that the bible teaches that El is a physical being that you can actually see and feel.
So.... you can see that Judaism and Christianity has evolved over time to deal with whatever made them change their views over time. The views primarily changed due to people not willing to admit that their religious views don't align with facts, truth and real history. They don't align because they are mere inventions by superstitious story tellers.
At the root of things there "might be" a genuine historical nugget, but it breaks off from there and becomes something all to itself.
What needs to be said is this....
After coming back from Babylon and Persia, the elders redacted the narratives so that they reflected condemnation for worshipping other gods where in fact that was their normal culture in the past. This is why there is so much worship of Baal and Asherah and other gods in the scriptures.
Maregaal
11:04 pm
1-4-2022
