The Israelite high priest sees God face-to-face upon the Ark of the Covenant

The Doctrine and Covenants section 93 verse 1 reads:

Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am; (D&C 93:1)

This superlative promise was one of the foundations of Joseph Smith’s restoration, and whose revelations repeated throughout his calling as God’s prophet:  

Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will. (D&C 88:68)

Furthermore, the promise is extended particularly to those who come into the temple:

And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it;

Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God. (D&C 97:15-16)

LDS scholar Richard L. Bushman, in his extraordinary biography of the prophet, noted that a personal theophany was one of Joseph’s most important goals for the Saints.  Indeed, the “endowment,” as the early Saints understood it, involved seeing God:

In the temple, the long awaited endowment of power was to take place.  Joseph hoped his Saints would face God as Moses’ people never could.¹

Oliver Cowdery told the Twelve, when they were ordained in February 1835, that they were “not to go to other nations till you receive your endowments.”  Because they had not known Jesus in mortality, these modern apostles had to know Him by revelation. “Never cease striving until you have seen God face to face,” Cowdery told them.²

Joseph once taught this as key to the endowment:

I feel disposed to speak a few words more to you, my brethren, concerning the endowment: All who are prepared, and are sufficiently pure to abide the presence of the Savior, will see him in the solemn assembly.³

Methodist biblical scholar Margaret Barker has recently shown that seeing God face-to-face was one of the original purposes of the temple in ancient Israel during the First Temple period (Solomon’s Temple) and before⁴.  The heavenly ascent to the throne through the temple was rewarded by a face-to-face meeting with God, a fact that was later suppressed and edited from the Bible by a group known as the Deuteronomists.  Indeed, the Bible is correct “as far as it is translated correctly”⁵.

But what does it mean to see God face-to-face, or to see the face of God, or to even “be in God’s presence” when we go to the temple?  Should we expect to see God physically with our eyes when we attend the temple?  While this may be one of the meanings of the phrase, I believe there are several ways we may interpret this, and which may help to give us a fuller understanding of our temple experience.

Here is a short list of possible interpretations of seeing the face of God:

• Literally seeing God’s face, even our face before His face (face-to-face), with our physical eyes and senses
• Spiritually seeing God, through revelation and with our spiritual eyes
• Coming to a greater knowledge of God and his divine nature, being, and plan
• Seeing ourself, as heirs of God, becoming like Him
• Seeing our brothers and sisters, also as heirs of God, becoming like Him

I will attempt to go into more detail about each of these, and there is some overlap.  This will be a series of posts, this first article focusing on the first point of literally seeing God, the Father and/or His Son, Jesus Christ.

Literally Seeing

This is perhaps our first and foremost interpretation of what it means to see God face-to-face, or to be in His presence.  One of the inaugural events of the restoration of the Gospel in these latter days was the vision of God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ, to the boy Joseph Smith.  He testified:

When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other--This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (Joseph Smith–History 1:17)

Later Joseph said,

I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; (Joseph Smith–History 1:25)

It could be said that Joseph’s purpose ever after this event was to help others, the Saints, have the same revelation.  It was to bring them back into God’s presence, and to see Him.  This was what the temple was to provide, and it did and has so provided.

John Murdock recorded his experience at a prayer meeting with Joseph:

During the winter of 1833 we had a number of prayer meetings in the Prophet’s chamber.  In one of those meetings the Prophet told us, if we could humble ourselves before God, and exercise strong faith, we should see the face of the Lord.  And about midday, the visions of my mind were opened, and the eyes of my understanding were enlightened, and I saw the form of a man, most lovely.  The visage of his face was sound and fair as the sun.  His hair a bright silver grey, curled in most majestic form, His eyes a keen penetrating blue, and the skin of his neck a most beautiful white.  And He was covered from neck to the feet with a loose garment, pure white, whiter than any garment I have ever before seen.  His countenance was most penetrating, and yet most lovely.. And while I was endeavoring to comprehend the whole personage from head to feet, it slipped from me.  But it left on my mind the impression of love, for months, that I never felt before to that degree.⁶

In January of 1836, a few months before the dedication of the Kirtland temple, Joseph recorded a vision while in the temple:

The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell… Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. (D&C 137:1, 3)

Several other early members of the Church  recorded that they saw Christ in the temple on that occasion:

The Bishop of Missouri, Edward Partridge, wrote that “a number saw visions & others were blessed with the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.  The vision of heaven was opened to these also, some of them saw the face of the Saviour, and others were ministered unto by holy angels.”⁷

On another occasion, Zebedee Coltrin, one of the presidents of the seventy, related this experience as recorded by Wilford Woodruff:

Zebedee Coltrin related a vision in the temple in Kirtland after the School of the Prophets was organized. He said while sitting in council, a personage passed through the room dressed in usual clothing. Joseph said that was the Savior. Soon another personage passed through the house clothed in fire His features and feet were visible, but his body was wrapped in flames. Joseph said that was God the Father…⁸

At the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, Edward Partridge recorded testimonies:

On the first day of the dedication, President Frederick G. Williams, one of the Counselors to the Prophet, and who occupied the upper pulpit, bore testimony that the Savior, dressed in his vesture without seam, came into the stand and accepted of the dedication of the house, and that he saw him, and gave a description of his clothing and all things pertaining to it.⁹

Shortly after the dedication of the temple, the Saints received their endowment.  Joseph wrote,

The Saviour made his appearance to some, while angels ministered unto others, and it was a penticost and enduement indeed, long to be remembered for the sound shall go forth from this place into all the world, and the occurrences of this day shall be hande[d] down upon the pages of sacred history to all generations, as the day of Pentecost.¹⁰

A few days later, Joseph and Oliver Cowdery received another vision in the temple:

The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.

We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.

His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:

I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father. (D&C 110:1-4)

In the same vision the Lord promised his Saints:

For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.

Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house. (D&C 110:7-8)

Many years later, on the day of the death of President Wilford Woodruff in 1898, Lorenzo Snow was in the Salt Lake Temple, seeking guidance from the Lord.  This account comes from the Improvement Era:

Passing through the Celestial room and out into the large corridor a glorious manifestation was given President Snow which I relate in the words of his grand-daughter, Allie Young Pond, now the wife of Elder Noah S. Pond, recently president of the Northern States Mission:

"One evening while I was visiting grandpa Snow in his room in the Salt Lake Temple, I remained until the door keepers had gone and the night-watchmen had not yet come in, so grand-pa said he would take me to the main front entrance and let me out that way. He got his bunch of keys from his dresser. After we left his room and while we were still in the large corridor leading into the celestial room, I was walking several steps ahead of grand-pa when he stopped me and said: 'Wait a moment, Allie, I want to tell you something. It was right here that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to me at the time of the death of President Woodruff. He instructed me to go right ahead and reorganize the First Presidency of the Church at once and not wait as had been done after the death of the previous presidents, and that I was to succeed President Woodruff.'

"Then grand-pa came a step nearer and held out his left hand and said: 'He stood right here, about three feet above the floor. It looked as though He stood on a plate of solid gold.'

"Grand-pa told me what a glorious personage the Savior is and described His hands, feet, countenance and beautiful white robes, all of which were of such a glory of whiteness and brightness that he could hardly gaze upon Him.

"Then he came another step nearer and put his right hand on my head and said: 'Now, grand-daughter, I want you to remember that this is the testimony of your grand-father, that he told you with his own lips that he actually saw the Savior, here in the Temple, and talked with Him face to face.'"¹¹

So can the Saints literally see God in the temple?  The answer is, absolutely.  As promised in D&C 93:1, D&C 88:68, and D&C 97:15-16, the Lord promises to manifest himself to us.  Joseph recorded a few years later:

When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves.

John 14:23--The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man's heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false. (D&C 130:1, 3)

Is it a common occurrence?  Probably not.  The early Saints had to prepare themselves substantially before such a manifestation was given them.  In today’s parlance we might say that it is upon making one’s calling and election sure, receiving the more sure word of prophecy, and the Second Comforter, that such a revelation could take place in the temple.  But it is certainly not unheard of, and it was one of the primary reasons the temple was restored in latter days.  It is precisely what Joseph desired for the Saints in building the temple.

It is curious that we do not discuss this aspect of the temple more often today.  We often teach that the temple is where we can go to be in God’s presence, and to feel His Spirit, but not necessarily to see His face.  What are your thoughts about that?  Please share with us in the comments below.

(Continued in Part 2)

Seeing the Face of God in the Temple – Part 1

1. Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, 217.
2. Ibid., 308.
3. DHC VII p. 308-310
4. Margaret Barker, Temple Themes in Christian Worship, 146-49
5. Article of Faith 8.
6. An abridged Record of  the Life of John Murdock, p. 23, Church Archives
7. Richard L. Bushman, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, 313
8. The Journal of Wilford Woodruff, October 11, 1883
9. JD 11:10
10. Ibid., 318
11. LeRoi C. Snow, “An Experience of My Father's,” Improvement Era, September 1933.

From http://www.templestudiesgroup.com/Symposia.htm:

Symposium V will be held on Saturday 2 July 2011, 10am-4pm. Since 2011 is the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, the subject will be The Temple Hidden in the Bible.

• Dr Paul Joyce [Oxford] Images of the first Temple hidden in Ezekiel.

• Dr David Sheppard [Chester] The Temple hidden in the Isaiah Targum.

• Dr Scott Mandelbrote [Cambridge] Temple images in early printed Bibles.

• Dr Margaret Barker The Temple in Kings and Chronicles.

“Alas, I was not quoted correctly. I am discovering all sorts of things that I am supposed to have said.

My points are that they are codices and not scrolls, and ‘what are they forgeries of’ if they are forgeries.

Everything else is media generated.”

[...]

If this is true (and I’m sure it is), it’s really sad that today’s media is so willing to lie, cheat, and trample on people’s reputations in order to make a story.  Verenna notes that it appears that Davies was misquoted as well.

In other “metal plates” news, Daniel McClellan offers evidence that not only are some of the bronze codices arguably forgeries, but there is evidence that some of the lead ones are as well. While (as Bill Hamblin notes in the comments) this is not absolutely conclusive, it’s beginning to look that way more and more. See his post here: http://danielomcclellan.wordpress.com/2011/04/01/on-the-lead-vs-bronze-codices/

I’ve posted about the discovery of the Jordanian lead plates two times now, and have been following the news stories closely over the last few days. As I have said, extensive investigation must still be done to verify the authenticity of the find, and determine facts such as precise dating, who made them, and their meaning. Unfortunately, the details keep getting stranger and stranger.

I’m usually one who likes to believe. Joseph Smith once taught, “I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief.” But the facts seem to be stacking up against this one.

Here’s the current state of things.

Details favoring authenticity:

• Initial metallurgic research on the plates shows they “look” about 2,000 years old, based on their type of corrosion, which they say “would be impossible to achieve artificially.”¹
• Carbon dating on a piece of leather found with the plates, with the image of a crocodile on it, had results indicating its about 2,000 years old.²
• Scholars who have examined them are cautious but interested, believing they could be early Christian writings – Dr. Margaret Barker and Professor Philip R. Davies.³
• Jordan’s Department of Antiquities, and its director Ziad al-Saad, has expressed great interest in the plates, saying they could date from early Christianity. The Jordanian government is working to repatriate them.⁴
• The plates contain a number of true ancient symbols, including menorah, palm trees (lulav), eight-pointed stars, archaic Hebrew characters, etc.

Details favoring forgery:

• Initial metallurgic research is not based on the composition of the metal, but appearances. Who did this metallurgic research?
• Who did the carbon dating on the piece of leather found with the plates?
• Conflicting reports on their source – were they founded by a Jordanian Bedouin between 2005-2007, or are they an Israeli’s family possession over 100 years old? (Another alternate history has also emerged placing their origin in Alexandria and being found in northern Egypt.)
• The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has dismissed the discovery as forgeries. They “absolutely doubted their authenticity. The IAA has said they are a “mixture of incompatible periods and styles without any connection or logic. Such forged motifs can be found in their thousands in the antiquities markets of Jordan and elsewhere in the Middle East.”⁵
• Initial reports stated there were twenty codices in the collection⁶. Later reports state there are up to seventy⁷.
• Most ancient plates with writing that have been formerly discovered were engraved with their inscriptions into the metal. I’m unaware of any that were cast with metal in molds, such as this one, resulting in raised figures.
• Most ancient plates that have been found were made of copper, gold, or bronze, not lead.
• There were similar plates found in the 19th century that were also cast in lead with a mixed unknown language inscribed on them, known as the Sinaia Lead Plates. These are considered by archeologists today to be modern forgeries.
• Another discovery of lead plates called the Lead Books of Sacromonte were writings on circular plates, bound with lead wire, and are now considered by experts to be 16th century forgeries. They were also a mix of languages, and cryptic texts.
• David Elkington, the archeologist that is spearheading the recovery effort, is not widely known among archeologists, and has published a questionable, almost new-age type, book called In the Name of the Gods.
• David Elkington already has a lengthy 320 page book and documentary film in the works about the Jordan plates discovery. The websites say the book was published in May, 2010. Most significant discoveries are only followed years later by detailed books and documentaries.
• In an interview with David Elkington, he mentions that the eight-pointed stars found on the plates are surely Messianic signs, and representative of the star of Bethlehem, neither of which is really true.⁸ Such a star can represent a god, but is not necessarily Messianic.
• An expert in ancient inscriptions, Professor Andre Lemaire, said the writing he saw on the codices didn’t make sense, and it was “a question apparently of sophisticated fakes”.⁹
• Much of what is being said about the dating of the plates is that they are first century AD. Multiple things seem to suggest a later 3rd or 4th century date however, including the appearance of a cross (only began to be used as a symbol by Christians centuries after the crucifixion), and a menorah (was typically forbidden to be represented by Jews until Late Antiquity).
• Detailed high resolution photos of the plates have not been released publicly for expert scrutiny.
• Other recent communications have shown that David Elkington may be in possession of other certain forgeries, claimed to be part of the same collection.

Conclusion

All-in-all these things lead me (no pun intended), and others, to believe that the plates are probably a very elaborate and careful forgery. Whether they are a modern forgery or an ancient forgery is yet to be seen. If they are an ancient forgery, they may still yield interesting insights into ancient times.

As Dr. Margaret Barker initially said of the findings:

If they are a forgery, what are they are forgery of? Most fakes are drawn from existing material, but there is nothing like this that I have seen.¹⁰

I wouldn’t be surprised if someone let loose the joke on us all tomorrow.  Surely archeologists have April Fools pranks too.  If that’s it, this one certainly takes the cake!

UPDATE: The Deseret News has published an article detailing the weaknesses of the discovery also.

Jordanian Lead Plates: Authentic or Forgery?

1. http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110330/ts_yblog_thelookout/could-lead-codices-prove-the-major-discovery-of-christian-history
2. http://www.thejc.com/judaism/judaism-features/46028/heavy-metal-secrets-a-mid-east-cave
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12888421
4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12888421
5. http://www.thejc.com/judaism/judaism-features/46028/heavy-metal-secrets-a-mid-east-cave
6. http://www.thejc.com/judaism/judaism-features/46028/heavy-metal-secrets-a-mid-east-cave
7. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12888421
8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9439000/9439430.stm
9. http://www.thejc.com/judaism/judaism-features/46028/heavy-metal-secrets-a-mid-east-cave
10. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368252/Are-artefacts-discovered-remote-cave-secret-writings-years-Jesus.html

Posts on NothingWavering.org that link to this one:

• Temple Study - LDS Temples, Mormon Temples, Study Blog: Authentic Ancient Metal Plates
• Temple Study - LDS Temples, Mormon Temples, Study Blog: Jordanian Lead Plates: Authentic or Forgery?
• Temple Study - LDS Temples, Mormon Temples, Study Blog: More Details about Ancient Metal Plates from the BBC

One of the codices in the collection of metal plates discovered in Jordan

UPDATE: See the latest updates about this discovery at Jordanian Lead Plates: Authentic or Forgery?
–
A few days ago we wrote about an interesting discovery of ancient sealed metal plates that were found within the last few years in Jordan, and are starting to create a stir among archeologists. The BBC News religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott just published more interesting details, and photos, of the plates, in a report entitled “Jordan battles to regain ‘priceless’ Christian relics“. The BBC also includes a set of 7 more detailed photos here.

Some additional details include:  

• There are 70 or so “books” or codices in this collection, each between 5-15 leaves made from lead, and bound with lead rings.
• The leaves are about the size of a credit card.
• Some experts and suggesting the books may have been made by early Christians in the years just following the crucifixion.
• There is uncertainty whether they are of Jewish or Christian origin, but several say there is evidence of Christian origin in the signs and symbols used in the books.
• Some purported symbols include a cross, a tomb, and the city of Jerusalem.  A menorah is also seen as representing the holy of holies of the temple in Jerusalem, and the presence of God.
• One of the only lines of texts yet to be translated from the books says “I shall walk uprightly,” a line from the Book of Revelation? (I’m unsure what reference they are referring to).  It’s been shown in the past that such a line is a kind of “worthiness” requirement for those who would ascend to the temple in ancient times (from Psalms 15).

Dr. Margaret Barker adds more commentary of what appears to be Christian provenance:

“We do know that on two occasions groups of refugees from the troubles in Jerusalem fled east, they crossed the Jordan near Jericho and then they fled east to very approximately where these books were said to have been found…

“[Another] one of the things that is most likely pointing towards a Christian provenance, is that these are not scrolls but books. The Christians were particularly associated with writing in a book form rather than scroll form, and sealed books in particular as part of the secret tradition of early Christianity.”

Again, extensive investigation must still be done by a host of experts before a solid understanding of the authenticity and meaning can be made from this discovery.  But as the director of Jordan’s department of antiquities, Ziad al-Saad, notes, it could be “the most important discovery in the history of archaeology.”

More Details about Ancient Metal Plates from the BBC

A couple of press releases are now circulating related to the cache of metal plates.

Bryce Haymond over at TempleStudy.com links to one, plus he give a great outline of the nature of the plates and what some people think may be on them (he mentions “secret teachings” and “Temple based documentation”).

See his post here: http://www.templestudy.com/2011/03/22/ancient-sealed-metal-plates-secret-temple-texts-discovered-middle-east/

Jim Davila links to the same press release, with his comments here.

The following is another, slightly different press release that I have just uploaded to Scribd. My thanks to Rick Huchel for this, who got it from Margaret Barker.

Lead Plates Press Release

UPDATE: See the latest updates about this discovery at Jordanian Lead Plates: Authentic or Forgery?
–
David Larsen at HeavenlyAscents.com has pointed out an interesting recent discovery (see his posts here and here).  A collection of dozens of books made from metal plates have been found in Jordan that initial tests show date from the first century AD.

Now this certainly sounds exciting, particularly to the Latter-day Saints. As we know, Joseph Smith said that he received and translated ancient sealed gold plates, in what became The Book of Mormon.

This find is interesting for a number of reasons:

• The books are written on metal plates (lead and copper)
• They are bound by rings on one side (also known as codices)
• Many of the books are “sealed” on all sides
• They appear to be from the first century AD, and may be the earliest Christian documents ever found
• Scholars have noted that, if authentic, this could be bigger than the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls
• They appear to be written in an archaic Hebrew script
• Some appears to be written in code
• The sealed nature, and code appearance of the text, suggests that these may contain “secret teachings,” perhaps even “Temple based documentation”
• A number of recognizable symbols appear, including the menorah (which can be seen in the photos above), branches, fruits, trees, and of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), associated with the enthronement rituals of ancient Davidic kings, and with the coming of the Messiah

Dr. Margaret Barker commented on the discovery:

“The Book of Revelation tells of a sealed book that was opened only by the Messiah. Other texts from the period tell of sealed books of wisdom and of a secret tradition passed on by Jesus to his closest disciples. That is the context for this discovery. So if they are forgeries, what are they forgeries of?"

Extensive investigation must still be done to verify the authenticity of these plates and their meaning.  If they are genuine, this could be a huge discovery. (See an update of this discovery from the BBC News).

See below for the full press release issued today about the find:
Sealed

Ancient Sealed Metal Plates with Perhaps Secret Temple Texts discovered in Middle East?

Posts on NothingWavering.org that link to this one:

• Temple Study - LDS Temples, Mormon Temples, Study Blog: Jordanian Lead Plates: Authentic or Forgery?
• Temple Study - LDS Temples, Mormon Temples, Study Blog: More Details about Ancient Metal Plates from the BBC

Just an update on my last post regarding the supposed discovery of a cache of ancient inscriptions written on metal plates.  This find continues to generate interest and a number of biblical scholars, including Margaret Barker, Philip Davies, and Jim Davila, have expressed opinions on the matter, based on what information they’ve been able to get hold of.

On PaleoJudaica, Jim Davila has a link to a DailyMail article, “Are lead tablets discovered in a remote cave in Jordan the secret writings about the last years of Jesus?” This article is quite sensationalist and left me wondering how the content of the plates went from possibly being related to the Kabbalah to being about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Davila is probably correct to suggest that this is a “silly misunderstanding” of the journalist.

The redeeming virtue of the article is that it quotes both Barker and Davies on the topic.

Speaking of Margaret Barker, the articles notes:

She has had access to photgraphs taken of the codices and scrolls, and is wary of confirming their authenticity.
But she said if the material is genuine then the books could be ‘vital and unique’ evidence of the earliest Christians.
‘If they are a forgery, what are they are forgery of?’ she said.’ Most fakes are drawn from existing material, but there is nothing like this that I have seen.’

For Philip Davies:

However, Philip Davies, emeritus professor of biblical studies at Sheffield University is convinced the codices are genuine after studying one.
He has told colleagues privately that he believes the find is unlikely to have been forged, say the Sunday Times.

The DailyMail also notes that:

Two samples were sent to a laboratory in England where they were examined by Peter Northover, head of the materials science-based archaeology group.
The verdict was inconclusive without more tests, but he said the composition was ‘consistent with a range of ancient lead.’

Davila  provides links to the Unicode Mailing List of “Menorah- and Hebrew-inscribed lead plates of dubious provenance.” If these list postings are about the same plates, it looks as if there are individuals that are earnestly trying to find scholars who can authenticate the writing on them and are already coming up with some that are offering possibilities. Davila notes that the inscriptions are written in a Paleo-Hebrew script and some of the individuals on the list are suggesting that the dialect may be an archaic form of Samaritan or the Kanaanaean branch of Phoenician.

The links to the mailing list that Davila provides are here and here.

You can also see images of the plates in question here and here.

Davila, who remains skeptical about the discovery, until better analyses come along, posted a preliminary list of nine different criteria that he feels need to be fulfilled before we can start to accept these plates as a true discovery of ancient inscriptions:

1. Publication in a scholarly journal of the metal analysis that shows the lead to be ancient.

2. Publication in a scholarly journal of the carbon-14 tests that show the associated leather to be ancient and of a comparable date to the lead.

Even if the antiquity of the materials is demonstrated, this proves nothing, since ancient materials are sometimes available on which to write fake inscriptions.

3. Publication of the location and details of the supposed discovery and analysis of the site by archaeologists.

4. Analysis of the patina of the script which demonstrates the writing to be ancient. If it is modern and unretouched, this will be obvious. If it has been retouched to seem ancient, this may or may not be detectable (see the controversy over the patina of the James Ossuary and the Jehoash inscription).

5. Full publication of all the texts with good photographs.

6. Analysis of the script by paleographers.

[...]

See here for the full list of criteria he outlines and for the complete post.

I agree that it is important to be very careful with this type of find, especially with all the attention and money that these discoveries tend to generate.  However, if care is taken to analyze them properly, and, if proven to be authentic, this is potentially an incredibly significant find (especially if the text can be deciphered, but also simply for the value of having additional Jewish texts written on metal).

—————————

In Ezekiel 1, the prophet experiences an amazing theophany that has inspired and perplexed readers for centuries. Ezekiel was privileged to see the Merkabah, the flying chariot-throne of God, and “upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it” (Ezek 1:26).

In the account that we have of this vision, we read of a whirlwind, fire, living creatures, wheels, a firmament, and other complex images. Attempts to depict what Ezekiel was seeing have been varied and rather amusing. Early Jewish and Christian writers were enamored with Ezekiel’s vision, and much time and effort was dedicated to pondering its mysteries (as can be seen in the Ma’asei Merkavah and the Kabbalah, for example). Looking past the imagery, many scholars have recognized in Ezekiel’s Merkabah the essential elements of Solomon’s Temple, which had been destroyed. If we are to understand what Ezekiel was seeing, we must look to the Temple!

Hebrew University’s Rachel Elior analyzes the similarity between the Merkabah imagery and the Temple setting. The winged cherubim of the Holy of Holies (1 Kgs 6:23–29, 8:6-7; compare Ezek. 1:5–11),  the stands in the Temple court with their copper wheels (I Kings 7:27–30, 33; compare 1:10, 13-16), the four threesomes of creatures facing all four points of the compass, the lions, oxen, cherubim, and ofanim (wheels)-all made of burnished bronze –

-became four sacred winged creatures, sparkling with that same bronze luster, with the faces of lions, oxen, eagles, and human beings. They stood on four wheels (Heb. ofanim) which had the appearance of “two wheels cutting through each other” and faced all four points of the compass (Ezek 1:4–11, 16–21), like their counterparts in the Temple. The gold-plated winged cherubim in the sanctuary, whose wings were extended and “touched each other”, and which stood on their feet, were transformed in Ezekiel’s vision into sacred, sparkling, winged creatures, “each of whose wings touched those of the other” (Ezek 1:9) and whose legs “were fused into a single rigid leg” (Ezek 1:7); their appearance was “like burning coals of fire…” (Ezek 1:13). There is thus a whole system of correlations between the ideal picture of the destroyed earthly Temple and the visionary Temple revealed in heaven (Rachel Elior, The Three Temples, trans. David Louvish; Oxford: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2004).

Ezekiel saw the principal elements of the First Temple form a mobile unit which was not fixed in an earthly Temple but was a heavenly reality that could travel wherever God pleased. In essence, however, this is the vision of Isaiah (Isa 6)–Yahweh seated upon the cherub-throne in the Holy of Holies. Ezekiel was visited by this chariot-throne while in exile in Babylon, and then saw it return to the Temple in Jerusalem. In a time when the people had lost their city and their Temple but hoped to return and rebuild it again, Ezekiel’s visions gave them the assurance that God could and would be with them at all times and in all places.

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If you haven’t yet seen it, my notes from Margaret Barker’s recent lecture at the Temple Studies Symposium last week has some good stuff on Ezekiel and his vision of Eden (chapter 28, also skipped by this SS lesson) and how it relates to Adam and the temple. You can see my notes here.

Also on this topic, see also the following series of videos from Professor William Hamblin’s presentation at the SANE conference at BYU in November 2008.

What is the Chariot in Ezekiel 1, Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Adam and Eden are the beginning and the end of the Bible.

An overly literal reading of the text can obscure profound insights.

The Return to Eden was an important part of Christian teaching. See Cyril of Jerusalem, First Lecture on the Mysteries, 1.  Jesus is the last/second Adam & great high priest. The NT reverses story of Adam and Eve.

Original temple represented Garden of Eden. Sometimes the word “paradise” is not used in scripture — we often get forest, orchard, garden of delight, garden on plain, etc.

Ezekiel, a priest (Ezek. 1:3), described Eden as the mountain garden of the ‘elohim (Ezek. 28:13–14). The Genesis Eden was the garden where Yahweh of the Elohim (the “LORD God”) walked. Ezekiel’s Eden was the “garden of the gods” on the holy mountain of the gods/God (Ezek 28:12–19). The key figure in Ezekiel’s Eden became Adam. The figure in Ezekiel’s Eden was remembered as a high priest. In Ezekiel, the character driven out was the high priest. Ezekiel’s story is likely earlier than Genesis.

The figure in Ezekiel wore 9 different stones in Hebrew text, but twelve stones in Greek — just like high priest’s breastplate. He was a cherub, or was with the cherub.

In Exod. 25:8-9, 40 — Moses has a vision was the 6 days of creation. He had to replicate on earth what he had seen in his mounatin-top vision. Gen 1 = Exod. 14. The creation of Adam corresponds to the high priesthood.

The temple itself was built as a paradise place. The Great Hall of temple was decorated as a Garden, with cherubim and palm trees carved on the walls (Ezek. 41:15–20). The Temple was on a high mountain just as Ezekiel’s Eden is on high mountain (Ezek. 40:2).  He saw a river flowing from the temple, just as rivers had flowed from Eden (Ezek. 47:1–12).

Righteous are like trees in the temple of the Lord; there was a bronze serpent in temple; also a representation of the chariot(s) to the sun.

2 Enoch 8 — When the Lord returned to Paradise, he rested on throne under Tree of Life; When he returned to Paradise, seated on the chariot of cherubim, all the plants came into bloom, and the throne was set by the tree of life (Apocalypse of Moses 22:3-4).

The temple as Eden was the setting of the Book of Revelation: the heavenly city as a huge holy of holies (Rev. 21:15–16), the tree of life and the heavenly throne, the river of the water of life (Rev. 22:1–2).  – Christians in Holy of Holies. eating fruit of Tree of Life; restored access to the Tree of Life (Rev. 2:7; 22:3-4)

Adam created male and female in Gen. 1, and in Gen. 2 was formed from dust and then given breath of the Lord (Gen. 2:7). Breath of Life — ritual for giving life, power of speech. Only in Garden was Adam separated into distinct male and female beings. He was set “to till and to keep”. Word for till, ‘bd, is technical term for temple service, and keep, shmr, meant to preserve the tradition. Jewish interpretations did not think this was a command about gardening (Genesis Rabbah XVI.5).

Jubilees — Adam had to wait 40 days before entering Eden; Eve — 80 days — purification (Jub. 3:8-14). Adam burned incense as he left Eden (Jub. 3:27). Noah knew Eden as the holy of holies, and the dwelling of the Lord (Jub 8:19).

Apocalypse of Moses — Adam lost his garment of glory, the righteousness with which he had been clothed (Apoc. Moses 20:1–2). St Ephrem, “God clothed Adam with glory” (Commentary on Genesis 2). Adam and Eve in Paradise –garments of glory and beauty – Adam had been clothed with glory in Eden (Book of the Cave of Treasures, I). –Genesis doesn’t say what garment was lost.

At Qumran they wanted to regain “all the glory of Adam”…The knowledge of the Most High…the wisdom of the sons of heaven.” (Community Rule IV)

Adam’s garment of glory was woven by Wisdom, and Adam was proverbially wise -Job 15:7–8 — “are you the first man that has listened in the council of God?”

–clothing of Wisdom — like clothing of high priest; symbolism of vestments (Ben Sira 6:30-31), c.f. Teaching of Silvanus CG VII.4.89, 91; also Gospel of Thomas 78.

Life of Adam and Eve is background to Genesis: — Satan was driven from from Heaven and vowed revenge, as in Qur’an (see Life of Adam and Eve 12-16).

–Satan refused to worship Adam — he claimed was greater/older than Adam — Satan expelled from Heaven for this

This is the story behind Psalm 2 and Jesus’ temptations (Luke 4:7).

–Deut. 32:43

–Heb. — all angels are to worship the Son

–Devil asks Second Adam to worship him, to reverse his ancient humiliation

–angels serve Jesus on throne in the wilderness

–all heaven and earth worship the one on the throne

–possible that Adam and Eve story is far more ancient than book of Genesis, instead of a late fabrication

Ezekiel’s visions of the chariot throne leaving the temple were Adam leaving the temple/Eden. The “form and appearance” are technical temple terms. –Forms of the living gods, forms of living spirits — Similar ideas in the Qumran Songs of Sabbath Sacrifice — “form” often translated as Rock — should be the “invisible heavenly form”.

Later teachers–sin made it impossible for Adam to know his true self “Because of sin, it was not given for man to know the d’mut on high; were it not for this sin, all the keys would be given to him and he would know how the heavens and the earth were created…” (Abot de R Nathan, A39)

–King of Tyre was the invisible form of the King of Israel — the fallen high priest figure– Charges against Ezekiel’s fallen high priest figure resemble the words the words to unfallen Adam in Genesis

Adam is the image of the “form” of God

“Be beautiful and great and fill the earth with glory” — may be related to Adam being tall, lustrous, glorious

Genesis Adam was to subdue, kbsh, the earth and have dominion, rdh. But Micah 7:18–19 suggests “binding up” our iniquities.  Adam’s work was one of Atonement — upholding the eternal covenant, binding all things together. “Have dominion” rdh, understood as in 1 Kgs 4:21–24.

–Ezekiel’s vision — Adam’s duty to “subdue” is in Ezekiel “to seal”. Ezekiel’s jewelled figure perfect in beauty perfect in beauty and full of wisdom: Adam beautiful and wise. Jewelled figure corrupted wisdom and become proud through its beauty, filling the earth with vilence, and achieved only greatness in commerce.

–Who was the snake? There was a bronze snake in temple until Hezekiah destroyed it. — Wisdom promises to open eyes and make sons of God, like Satan’s promise (Gen. 3:5)–Satan took the form of the symbol of Wisdom, his first deception. (Think Satan as serpent is similar to “devil coming as an angel of light”)

–Adam’s disobedience was his attitude towards knowledge; he intended to eat Wisdom from the tree of life (Prov. 3:18). He  chose knowledge of good and evil over “wisdom”

Before he sinned, Adam could hear the song of the seraphim singing “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Testament of Adam 1:4), as in Isaiah 6. Adam took gold, frankincense and myrrh from Eden to remind him of the garden, the temple, that he had lost, and these were buried with him (Testament of Adam 3:6). The magi bringing them as gifts to Jesus is the first sign in the New Testament of the new Adam.

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This material is based on Margaret Barker’s handout together with notes of my own taken from her presentation.

In 1979, a biblical scholar named John Eaton published a work entitled Festal Drama in Deutero-Isaiah. Eaton, following the work of Ivan Engnell and others, saw in the “Servant Songs” and other themes of chapters 40-55, 60-62 of Isaiah allusions to the themes of the Ancient Israelite New Year Festival (which I’ve so often mentioned on this blog). He argued that these passages formed a “prophetic re-modelling” of the pre-exilic temple rituals performed during the festival.  Essentially, these chapters apply the themes of the festival, which were repeated annually, to actual historical events.

In order for us to recognize these “festal” themes in the book of Isaiah, it is necessary to be familiar with the motifs that are associated with the hypothetical New Year festival. While I can’t go into them fully here, I will share a brief outline. The basic idea behind the festival is that it is a time for the celebration of the divine kingship of Yahweh, and includes a dramatic representation of Yahweh’s victory over the Chaotic Sea and/or Dragon, his ascension to his Temple and enthronement there, his judgment of the nations, and inauguration of his reign of peace as king over the whole earth. According to Eaton’s theory, the festival also included parallel rituals involving the Davidic king, which included his (mock) battle against evil nations (sometimes depicted as chaotic waters or terrible beasts), his suffering and (near) death at the hands of these enemies, his redemption/resurrection by God’s aid, his victory over all enemies, triumphal procession and enthronement.  These descriptions are based on scholars’ interpretations of the Psalms, with comparisons to what we know of the New Year/Enthronement festivals of other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. If you’ll bear with me, I’ll provide here some of the further proposed details of the festival, as proposed by Eaton:

• Pilgrimage/Procession — Israelite worshipers travel from the outlying regions (the wilderness) to Jerusalem and its temple to participate in the festival; they “ascend” up the holy way, the processional road that leads to the temple; they anticipate a time of rain and fertility after months of dry weather; this pilgrimage is ideally for all nations, who are now subordinate to Yahweh (Psalms: 84; 122 (cf. 29; 18:32; 47:10; 65:3; 76:11-13; 87; 96:8-9))
• Cleansing/Atonement — As the pilgrims anticipated a close encounter with God at the festival, there was a need for purification and forgiveness of sins. Eaton argues that there likely took place rituals akin to the post-exilic Day of Atonement, and that these purifying rituals were likely led or even performed by the Davidic king.  (Psalms: 15; 24; 51; 65 (cf. Pss. 85:2-4; 102; 103; 130; Lev. 16))
• Ritual Battle — A dramatic representation or retelling of the battle of Yahweh against the forces of Chaos (the Sea, Dragon, Leviathan, Rahab, etc.) was enacted; the rebellious gods and nations are subdued; Yahweh is triumphant and his victory is acclaimed by all. (Psalms: 29; 46; 48; 68; 74; 76; 82; 89; 93; 95; 96; 97 (cf. Pss. 2; 110))
• Victorious Procession/Ascension — Yahweh’s victory is celebrated by a glorious procession where He and his followers (his hosts) approach the temple grounds from the East (from Mt. of Olives/Kidron?) and ascend up the mount via the holy way to the temple grounds; there is much music and dancing; the procession is preceded by messengers who bring the good news; the procession is imagined as an ascent to heaven. (Psalms: 24, 68, 47 (cf. Pss. 18; 29; 65; 114; Ex. 15; Josh. 2-6; Isa. 35; 57; 62; Ezek. 8; 10; 11; 43; 2 Sam. 15-20; Zech. 14))
• Enthronement of Yahweh — After his ascension, Yahweh is enthroned in radiant glory above the heavenly ocean in his Temple on Mt. Zion; His glory and holiness shine out; His kingship is acclaimed with shouts, clapping, trumpets, strings, psalms of praise, and cries of “Yahweh has become King!” (Psalms: 9; 29; 93; 96-99)
• Yahweh’s Speech — Reminiscent of the events of the Sinai narrative, Yahweh speaks to his people from Mount Zion through a prophetic minister as their Covenant-Lord; He reveals words of promise and commandment, as well as warnings against disobedience, to his people as part of the renewal of their covenant with Him. (Psalms: 50, 81, 85, 95)
• Judgment — Yahweh’s throne is a judgment-seat, from which he arraigns, judges, and sentences rebellious gods, kings/nations, and sinners. At the festival, a judgment scene was imagined: The judgment-seat is placed, an assembly gathers, complaints of the oppressed are heard, accusations are made, and the guilty are punished. (Psalms: 9; 75; 76; 82; 96-99 (cf. Pss. 8; 10; 13; 50; 58; 94; 149))
• Creation/Re-Creation — Yahweh’s primeval deeds were relived during the festival: (as depicted in Ps. 74) the conquering and cleaving of the water-monsters, the provision of sweet-water sources, the division of day and night, creation of the sources of light, of the land, ordering of seasons; Yahweh’s words put Creation in order, his voice regulates the elements; he numbers the stars, commands the storm, and brings rain. Yahweh’s festal advent brings renewal, restoration, and rebirth. Both worshippers and the king sing a “new song” in response to this renewal of Yahweh’s salvation. (Psalms: 29; 65; 74; 93; 96; 98; 104; 147 (cf. Pss. 33; 85; 126-28; 149))
• Renewal/Repair of the City and Temple — The city of Zion and its Temple are also made new; in some sense, there is a “building up” of the walls and city and a restoration of the bars and gates as part of the rituals of atonement and festal concept of renewal; Yahweh restores/rebuilds Zion and the Temple; there was likely a rite which involved a survey of the city’s new impregnable state by a procession of worshippers around the city walls. (Psalms: 48; 51; 102; 147)
• Zion as Mother, Wife, and Queen — Zion, Yahweh’s holy city and mountain, was loved by both festal worshippers and Yahweh; Zion was mother to the people of Israel, wife to Yahweh, and Queen; She is the “Perfection of beauty” and the “Joy of the whole earth”; Yahweh’s coming during the festival as King to his dazzling bride may be an echo of the “sacred marriage” aspect of some other ANE New Year festivals (e.g., in Sumeria). (Psalms: 46; 48; 65; 84; 87; 122; 132; 147; 149 (cf. Ps. 2; 9; 50; 110; Isa. 62:4–5))

The above motifs are described by Eaton as part of the celebration of Yahweh’s kingship. He also argues, as I mentioned, that there were parallel (if not identical) rites that celebrated the enthronement of the Davidic monarch. As they are thought to be quite similar, I will only share here some of the details Eaton includes for the dramatized battle against evil that Eaton envisions for the king, especially because it applies so well to these chapters of Isaiah. Keep in mind that Eaton interprets the king to be the “servant” of the Lord and the “messiah” (anointed one), and that Isaiah is drawing on these royal ideals when describing his messianic “suffering servant.”

Drama of Davidic Kingship – Seen as an extension of the kingship of Yahweh, the office of the divinely-appointed Davidic king was also celebrated at the festival in similarly dramatic fashion, but likely in a distinct series of rites; the royal drama conceivably included the following:

1. The king faces (symbolically) rebellious princes, prepares for war, and warns them of Yahweh’s judgment (Pss. 75; 2; 20).

2. The king pleads for Yahweh to save him from the death-powers (144).

3. His enemies apparently have their hour of triumph; the king is bereft of his symbols of office and pleads for Yahweh’s help, stressing Yahweh’s fidelity to his promises (89) and righteous rule (101).

4. The king sinks deeper into the realm of the Underworld, depicting the horrors of death that envelop him; he describes the mockery of the man of Yahweh’s favor (22A).

5. He is rescued from this fate by Yahweh, who comes riding on a cherub to save him from Death (18), and is rehabilitated to be able to return to lead a festal celebration of Yahweh’s salvific power (22B); he testifies of the power of the Shepherd who proved stronger than the powers of the valley of death/Sheol (23; cf. 49:15). He had been brought to the lowest state, as a worm, no longer a man (22), but was now exalted to be head of the nations (18).

6. The king is able to conquer all his enemies by invoking the name of Yahweh (118).

(Psalms: 2; 21; 72; 101; 110; 132; 18; 20; 22; 23; 51; 75; 89; 91; 118; 121; 144 (cf. Pss. 9; 10; 40; 49; 71))¹

With this, we can have some idea of what the people of Judah had come to believe and expect that their God and his Messiah would do for them.  Of course Eaton is working with the assumption that this festal theology is pre-exilic, so that these themes would have been repeated annually at the festival and thus be well-known to the people. Furthermore, the thought is that the people understood these rituals to represent what happened in the past (the Creation, Exodus, etc.) and also what he would yet do for his people. Yahweh shows his power to save in the past, present, and future.

Isaiah 50

So how do we apply all of this to these chapters of Isaiah? Keep the above in mind as you read and see what similar themes appear.  I haven’t gone into all the details proposed for the festival, and there is imagery in the text that was probably never part of it, so there will be things that we can’t place in that context.  While I won’t be able to analyze everything,  I will try to point out a few items of interest.

There is a lot of interplay in these chapters between the Lord and Zion and also the servant figure.  Zion, as mentioned above, is a personification of the city of Jerusalem as a woman, wife of Yahweh and mother of the people, Israel.  She is, more specifically, the mother of the king/messiah (who we can speculatively identify with the servant), who represents the people as a whole.

The discussion of the mother’s divorcement in the first verses of this chapter is continuing from previous chapters. There was a feeling in Israel that the Lord had “forsaken” and “forgotten” Zion (Isa. 49:14). In effect, it appeared that the Lord had “divorced” his wife, Zion (Isa. 50:1).  While this idea can be historically applied to the Exile and other trials Israel had to endure, the ancient festival perspective was likely based on the idea that during the months of drought, Yahweh must have abandoned his people. As Yahweh was the bringer of rain and fertility, during the summer it is possible that he was thought of as being distant, being asleep, or having somehow neglected or forsaken his people (some argue that He was thought to be dead and in the Underworld). We can see this motif in many of the psalms and in Isaiah, where the Lord is called upon to “Awake!” or when speaking of his “return” from somewhere (see, e.g.,  Isa. 51:9; Pss. 7:6; 35:23; 44:23; 59:5; 90:13; 68:1; etc.).

Here in Isa. 50, the Lord explains that he has not forgotten his people, but it has only appeared so because of their transgressions.  He has always had power to save them if they would only turn to him.  Compare verses 2 and 3, and better yet, Isa. 51:9–10, with Psalm 74:11–17:

11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. 12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. 14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. 15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. 16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. 17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.

Note here the themes of the New Year festival, as described above: the primeval battle of Yahweh against the sea, dragons, and leviathan; the power over the waters; the creation of the heavens and earth and the setting of the orders and seasons. The great salvific wonders that God worked for Israel in the past are remembered. God has stayed his hand for a while and the people anxiously await the return of the divine intervention.

Verses 4-9 present a change of speaker, moving from the Lord speaking to the Servant. This section is one of Isaiah’s “Servant Songs” that are interpreted by Christians to refer to Christ.  As Margaret Barker mentions in her Isaiah commentary for Eerdmans,² unlike earlier Servant Songs, this one does not mention the Servant directly, but he is assumed to be the speaker.  Barker also notes that the suffering described here in verse 6 has been compared to the suffering of the king in the New Year festival, as outlined above. She makes specific mention of the Mesopotamian akitu festival rites in which the king was “dragged by the ears and struck on the face in front of the God Bel before being reinvested with his regalia…” She also points out that this motif is to be found in the Day of Atonement ritual of the scapegoat, where the goat for Azazel, as it was being sent forth into the wilderness, bearing the sins of the people, would be spitted upon and have its hair pulled as it passed through the crowd of worshipers (mishnah Yoma 6:4; Barnabas 7).

Isaiah 50:6 I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

Isaiah 51

Isaiah 51:3 recalls the festival motif of the coming of the Lord to bring rain and fertility to the dry lands. The festival took place in the Fall, the time of the harvest, when the rains came after months of drought. The expectation was that the desert areas would soon turn green and abundant fertility would be restored. Thus we see the promise here that “he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD”.  We can also see the eschatological expectation that when Jesus Christ returns, he will convert the world back to its paradisaical state.  See the themes of Re-Creation and Renewal above. See also v. 16 on this theme.

Verse 4-5 can be compared to the festal themes of Yahweh’s Speech and Judgment.

Verses 9-10 (see also v. 15), as I explained above, are reminiscent of the Ritual Battle of the festival in which Yahweh conquers the Waters of Chaos and its monsters.  This myth, although essentially describing events that took place before the Creation of the world (think: War in Heaven), was often historicized as the parting of the waters and victory over Egypt at the Exodus. That is likely why we get the line at the end of verse 10: “that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over”.

Verse 11 remembers the theme of the Pilgrimage in which the dispersed children of Israel return to Zion to worship and be blessed by the Lord (at the festival).

Isaiah 52

At the beginning of this chapter we again get the image of Zion, now being called to awaken and put on her beautiful garments. She has been freed from captivity and is now permitted to make preparations for the joyful celebration of the Lord’s coming. Again, this imagery personifies the city of Zion as the Bride of Yahweh, and she prepares herself for the festal celebrations, which likely included the idea of her marriage (covenant relationship) to the Lord. Verse 2 has some interesting images, and I couldn’t say exactly what is meant here, but the picture of one rising from the dust and then being asked to sit down also reminds me of the rituals of kingship. Some scholars have noted that this type of language is often used in connection with the elevation of a person to kingship — the idea that the person is abased to the level of dust (as if dead) and then exalted to a high throne.³ I’m speculating wildly here, but perhaps this is the idea that is being referred to in verse 2.  There is a certain parallel between the figure of Zion and that of the Servant, and so we see in verse 13: “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.”

The famous verse 7 in which the messenger that brings good tidings to Zion is praised for his beautiful feet can be understood in light of the festival as well.  The Victorious Procession of Yahweh that comes from the Ritual Battle and up to the city from the East would have been preceded by messengers who proclaimed the arrival of their triumphant Redeemer. It is possible that the messenger was the king/messiah himself, coming to proclaim the good news of the salvific acts of God on behalf of Zion. Why his feet are beautiful, I’m not quite sure, but the people most certainly saw beauty in the message he brings in haste to the city.  The watchmen on the towering walls of the city, upon seeing the messenger, cry out to the people of the city, announcing the arrival of their King (v. 8). This is a time of great jubilation for the redeemed city (v. 9). The Lord has redeemed Zion from the powers of the wicked nations and has shown all the world that the God of Israel remembers and saves his people (v. 10). The cry of “Yahweh has become King” or “Yahweh reigneth” rings through the city (see Psalms 93; 97; 99).

Isaiah 53

According to Barker, Isa. 52:13 to 53:12 is the last of the four “Servant Songs” in this section of Isaiah.  This song, she notes, became the greatest prophecy for Christians of the death and exaltation of Jesus.⁴ It was also seen as a messianic prophecy in early Judaism, as the Targum of Isaiah reads “my Servant the Messiah” in 52:13. In the RSV, we read that the Servant “shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.” Again, this idea is reminiscent of kingship language, and Barker reminds us that this is also similar to the description of the Lord in Isa. 6:1 and also of the Son of Man in the Gospel of John.⁵

In 52:14, we get the idea that the Servant surprises the kings of the nations because of his “marred” appearance (the NJB has “he was so inhumanly disfigured that he no longer looked like a man”). However, as Barker points out, the great Isaiah Scroll found at Qumran has a very slightly different Hebrew word in place of “marred” — mshty in place of msht – which provides a possible translation of “I have anointed him”. Barker takes the passage to mean that the Servant was anointed, and that this anointing caused a transformation of his appearance into something beyond normal humanity. She compares this imagery to the story of Enoch in 2 Enoch 22-24, where Enoch ascends to heaven and, standing before the heavenly throne, is anointed and transformed into a brilliant angelic being. While the “marred” description would seem to fit well with the idea of the “suffering servant”, the anointing of the Servant at this point fits the context of the Servant’s ascension/exaltation more perfectly.  The kings of the earth would truly be astonished at the glorious, shining appearance of the Servant after his anointing.  The “sprinkling” of the nations is a high priestly act, when the blood of the atonement was sprinkled upon the worshipers at the Day of Atonement rites, imparting to them purity and new life.⁶

The last part of 52:15 should be connected to the beginning of chapter 53.  Barker points out that the “arm” of verse 1 should likely be read as “seed” or “son”, as the words are very similar in Hebrew.  Thus, she argues, the revelation that was hidden from the kings (52:15), which astonished them so much, was a revelation of the seed/son of the Lord. Barker explains that the revelation of the Chosen One is a recurring theme in 1 Enoch. ((Ibid.)) Compare this to the revelation of the newly crowned king as the son of God in Psalm 2:7, an event which caused the kings of the nations to tremble with fear.

Starting in verse 3 we again see the “suffering” Servant motif, reminiscent of the suffering that the Davidic king symbolically was put through at the hands of the evil forces of the world.  The Messiah was expected to suffer on behalf of the nation — he bore the grief, diseases, and sins on behalf of the whole.  This suffering, which is so vividly depicted in many of the psalms (see, e.g., Pss. 18; 22; 40; 89; 118), served to heal (v. 5), justify (v. 11), and intercede (v. 12) for the people of Israel.

N.B. — In verse 5, the word translated in the KJV as “wounded” can also be rendered “pierced” and “bruised” is better translated as “crushed”.

Barker goes into a lot of interesting detail in her analysis of this chapter, but the main thrust of her conclusions is that the Servant being described here was likely originally “the royal high priest on the Day of Atonement, symbolically offering his own blood to cleanse and heal the land, bringing judgment on his enemies and rescuing his own people (cf. Deut. 32:43).⁷ The royal high priest (which in the First Temple was likely the king himself), offered himself up as a sacrifice — he allowed himself to be killed on behalf of the people, but was later resurrected, bringing new life to all the Creation. Of course the king/high priest didn’t actually die, but an animal was killed in his place, as a substitute.  This would have taken place during the rites of the New Year Festival.

An interesting aspect of Barker’s explanation is the idea that the Servant, the royal high priest, served to intercept and absorb the wrath of God that is released when the people break the covenant.  She cites as an example the story of Aaron “making atonement” to stave off the plague in Numbers 16.  The breaking of the covenant released the wrath of the Lord in the form of a plague.  Aaron stood between the dead and the living, made atonement, and the plague was stayed.  When the Servant is “made an offering for sin” (v. 10), Barker explains that he will be recognized as the royal son (the seed) in whom God is pleased, and his days will be prolonged.⁸

To understand all of this talk of the Servant in a narrative context, Barker recommends looking at 1 Enoch 46-50, which can be accessed here. Note that when you read this translation of the text, when “the righteous” is mentioned, as in 47:1, this would be better translated as “Righteous One” — it is the blood of the Righteous One that ascends to heaven. See also the relevant discussion by my PhD supervisor, Jim Davila, here.

1. Adapted from Eaton, J. H. Festal Drama in Deutero-Isaiah. London: SPCK, 1979.
2. In Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (Eerdmans Publishing, 2003), 553, accessed online here
3. See, e.g., Brüeggemann, Walter, “From Dust to Kingship.” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 84, no. 1 (1972): 1-18
4. Barker, Eerdmans Commentary, 534
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., 535, emphasis in original.
8. Ibid.

Isaiah Chapter 25

This chapter begins like many of the psalms, praising the Lord for the great salvific deeds he has performed for the redemption of the house of Israel.

Isaiah 25:1 O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

Just as, according to some theories, some of the psalms were used in a great New Year Festival that celebrated the kingship of Yahweh and his redemption of the people, Isaiah seems to foresee the elements of the festival as a future reality.  The events that were represented — perhaps acted out dramatically — in the festival, such as the coming of Yahweh to Mount Zion to save his people who were under attack, defeating enemies combined from all nations, were envisioned by Isaiah to one day be a reality.

The foreigners who were proud enough to imagine that they could destroy the Lord’s people will be destroyed.  While the people of God once rejoiced when they should have sorrowed for their sins, and were conquered by foreign armies, the time will come (after their repentance) when the Lord will give them true reason to rejoice (Isa. 25:6).

The Lord will come and appear on the scene. To do so, he will have to remove the “vail” that is covering the Earth, preventing them from seeing God clearly.  This, of course, can be taken both figuratively and literally.

Isaiah 25:7 7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

The people will finally see and recognize their Savior and their God and what he has done and will imminently do for them.

Isaiah 25:9 9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

Besides (but perhaps thematically related to) his victory over the earthly enemies of Israel, the great and wonderful accomplishment of Yahweh that Isaiah declares will cause this recognition is his victory over Death — another motif found in the psalms of the New Year Festival.

Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

This is, in my opinion, one of the most comforting verses in all of Scripture (see also Rev. 21:4). What a beautiful and hope-filled declaration!  Death will be swallowed up and God will wipe the tears from off all faces!! This truly is a God of love and mercy, who has tender feelings for the needs of his children.

As I mentioned, this was one of the principal features of the New Year Festival. Compare chapter 25 of Isaiah and what we’ve discussed with Psalm 68:

Psalm 68:1–20 (RSV)  Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before him! 2 As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before fire, let the wicked perish before God! 3 But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy! 4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds; his name is the LORD, exult before him! 5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. 6 God gives the desolate a home to dwell in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a parched land. 7 O God, when thou didst go forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness, Selah 8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, at the presence of God; yon Sinai quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

17 With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands, the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place. 18 Thou didst ascend the high mount, leading captives in thy train, and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there. 19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah 20 Our God is a God of salvation; and to GOD, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

It almost seems as if Isaiah used this psalm as a template for his vision in chapter 25!  But these themes were part of an ancient tradition that was repeated over and over again in Israel/Judah (also in the New Testament, see especially Revelation).  There is evidence that all of this was based on a visionary pattern that was given to Israel’s prophets from the most ancient times — they were shown in vision the mighty works that Yahweh would perform for the salvation of mankind, in the past, present, and future.

Another example (among many) of this imagery from the psalms is Psalm 48:

Psalm 48:1 (RSV) Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 3 Within her citadels God has shown himself a sure defense. 4 For lo, the kings assembled, they came on together. 5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded, they were in panic, they took to flight; 6 trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in travail. 7 By the east wind thou didst shatter the ships of Tarshish. 8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God, which God establishes for ever. Selah 9 We have thought on thy steadfast love, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 10 As thy name, O God, so thy praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Thy right hand is filled with victory; 11 let Mount Zion be glad! Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of thy judgments! 12 Walk about Zion, go round about her, number her towers, 13 consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels; that you may tell the next generation 14 that this is God, our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide for ever.

Following an alternative interpretation of the Hebrew, A.R. Johnson argued that the last verse should read: “Our God, who abideth for ever, Is our leader against Death.”¹

There are many other examples of this motif elsewhere in the Psalms and also in the writings of other biblical prophets — one of Yawheh’s most “wonderful things” that he has done is to save us from the grasp of Death.

Chapter 26

This chapter basically repeats, in psalmic fashion, the themes of the last chapter.  Verse 1 says that it is a song that will be sung at that day in the land of Judah.  It seems to me that this song is to be sung liturgically by a congregation in response to the previous chapter’s song by the lone singer (the prophet). This is also very reminiscent of many of the biblical psalms.  Again, this is very much the picture that was presented in the above cited psalms (68 and 48). Compare the end of Psalm 48 (Ps. 48:12) to the first verse of Isaiah 26:

Isaiah 26:1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

Some scholars suggest that the psalm depicts a procession of worshipers marching around the walls of the city and surveying its new (or restored) strength and impregnability.²  The idea is that part of the aid that the Lord gives at his coming is the rebuilding and repair of Jerusalem/Zion and its temple after the defeat of the foreign attackers.  The Holy City becomes the stronghold of God, protected by his salvific power.

The procession around the walls then reaches the gates of the city (or temple — they may be virtually the same here). Verse 2 says:

Isaiah 26:2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

Again, this is imagery that we can find in the Psalms.  For example, Psalm 24 has a similar plea for the gates to be opened so that Yahweh and his procession of followers can enter in:

Psalm 24:7–8 Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!

Who would be worthy to enter in through the gate with the Lord?

Psalm 24:3–4 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully.

The similarity to Isaiah 26 is clear. The vision is the same. Only those who speak and keep the truth will be allowed to ascend the hill and enter the gates (representing entering heaven) with the Lord.

Chapter 26 also gives us some additional insight into the victory of Yahweh over death.  In what would seem to be a rather odd transition (but not if you think liturgically), the voice of the people gives way to the voice of an individual, who states:

Isaiah 26:19 (KJV) Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

This is a great verse that we often use to show that Yahweh himself would be resurrected and that he would raise other dead souls with him.  There are a few problems, however, with this reading of the verse.  First of all, it is difficult to tell who is speaking here.  If we follow the liturgical pattern of lone singer and choral response, it would seem that Isaiah would be the one to sing these words. However, because the people are singing to the Lord, and they are called “my people” by the singer in the next verse, one could argue that it is the Lord himself that is responding (very likely through the prophet).  Another problem is the KJV translation of the verse. I couldn’t find any other translation that reads “together with my dead body” in this verse.  The usual translation is “their/your corpses shall rise.”

The problem is in the Hebrew text itself.  I would really have to do a more in-depth study to figure this out and see what others have said about it, but the Hebrew seems to say “my dead body (1st person sing.) they will arise (3rd person pl.).” There is nothing that could give the sense of “together with my dead body…”  It would seem that there is some error here in the Hebrew text.  It seems clear that most translations would prefer to avoid the idea that the Lord Yahweh is being resurrected here, as the KJV infers.  I see no problem, however, theologically, with interpreting this to be Yahweh speaking, saying that the dead of his people would arise, just as he would also be resurrected.  This may not be the mainstream interpretation of the text, but I think that it is one that fits well with the ancient concepts of the New Year Festival, where there was likely a representation of the king (playing the role of Yahweh) dying and being brought back to life. The death and resurrection of the king brought new life to the people as well.

Another interesting element of verse 19 is this talk of dew and resurrection:

Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

This section is also tough to translate.  The KJV chose to translate the Hebrew ‘orot as “herbs”. While this is a possible translation, the far more common rendering is “light(s)”.  For example, the translation the RSV gives is:

For thy dew is a dew of light, and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.

Or the NAS:

For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

Anciently, the anointing oil that was used in the temple was associated with the dew of the dawn/early morning.  As the dew gave life to the plants, so the “dew” of the anointing oil (which was supposed to have come from the Tree of Life) gave new life to the dead.  We can see this imagery in play in Psalm 110:

KJV Psalm 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

NIV Psalm 110:3 Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth.

NRS Psalm 110:3 Your people will offer themselves willingly on the day you lead your forces on the holy mountains. From the womb of the morning, like dew, your youth will come to you.

Again I give multiple translations here because this verse is notoriously difficult to translate. The context of this verse is the coronation of the Davidic king and his anointing as “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4).  I could write several posts on this one subject, but what verse 3 is apparently inferring is that the king was anointed with dew/oil and that this gave him new life.  In the context of the aforementioned New Year Festival, some scholars argue that the king had just gone through a ritual that represented his death and the anointing would then be a part of his “resurrection.”  That the oil represents light is an ancient concept — but the idea of it being a “dew of herbs” is not strange either, as the ancient anointing oil of the temple was mixed with myrrh and diverse herbs.³

Chapter 27

The lesson skips this chapter, so I won’t make much comment on it here.  I would note that this chapter, too, contains many elements from the New Year Festival, such as the defeat of the waters/Chaos monsters:

Isaiah 27:1 that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

For references to this imagery in the Psalms, see, for example Ps. 74:13–14 and Ps. 89:9–10.

The last verse of this chapter also contains images from the festival (If you think I’m talking too much about this New Year Festival, I apologize, but you’ll have to bear with me as part of my PhD dissertation involves an analysis of the theories for it).

Isaiah 27:13 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

The blowing of a trumpet (see the relevant part of my Rosh Hashanah post) and the gathering of Israel from foreign lands (pilgrimage) to Jerusalem to worship at the temple were significant features of the festival.

To be continued…

1. A.R. Johnson, Sacral Kingship in Ancient Israel, 89
2. See John Eaton, Festal-Drama in Deutero-Isaiah, 21
3. For more on the topic of the anointing oil, see Margaret Barker’s paper here.

Plain and Precious Things Restored: Why Margaret Barker Matters

Plain and Precious Things Restored: Spiritual Blindness

Plain and Precious Things Restored: Margaret Barker and Josiah’s Reform

Plain and Precious Things Restored: Margaret Barker and Wisdom

Plain and Precious Things Restored: Margaret Barker and the Queen of Heaven

Plain and Precious Things Restored: Jesus and the Temple Tradition

Margaret Barker’s Understanding of Jesus Christ

Margaret Barker on Christmas: The Original Story

The Temple, the Monarchy, and Wisdom: Lehi’s World and the Scholarship of Margaret Barker

Nephi, Wisdom, and the Deuteronomist Reform

Jacob’s Connections to First Temple Traditions

The Deuteronomist De-Christianizing of the Old Testament

A Response to Paul Owen’s Comments on Margaret Barker

The complete text of Paradigms Regained: A Survey of Margaret Barker’s Scholarship and Its Significance for Mormon Studies

—————-

For a complete set of links to Kevin Christensen’s articles on Margaret Barker as well as related papers from other LDS authors, plus links to .PDF files, please see http://www.thinlyveiled.com/kchristensen.htm.

Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are part of a genre of literature somewhat unique among biblical books, but quite common throughout the ancient world.  This kind of writing is referred to as “Wisdom literature” and is composed of wise sayings and advice and is found in the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job, and some of the Psalms.  It is quite distinct from the rest of the Bible in that no mention is made of Moses and his writings nor of many of the other traditional figures and histories.  The sayings contained in the biblical Wisdom literature is more akin to similar proverbial sayings found throughout the Ancient Near East, especially in Egypt.

The books considered in this lesson are both traditionally attributed to King Solomon, who was renowned for his great wisdom. Besides having as a source his God-given gift for wisdom, tradition also holds that Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter, and the ancient Egyptian traditions may also have been an influence on Israelite Wisdom literature.

Proverbs

The Book of Proverbs has no narrative — it is, seemingly, a quite random collection of wise sayings.  They are presented from the beginning (Chapter 1) as the “proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel.” Jewish tradition holds that Solomon was the author of over 3000 proverbs (1 Kgs 4:32), and there are other non-canonical books, such as the “Wisdom of Solomon” that have been influential to Jewish and Christian thought.

Despite the attribution to Solomon, most of the proverbs do not clearly attribute authorship or make reference to him. They are generally presented as a father’s wise counsels to his son.  In fact, a number of the proverbs are attributed in the text to other possible authors besides Solomon:  ”the wise” (chapters 22-23), Agur (chapter 30), and Lemuel (chapter 31 — I bet you didn’t realize Lemuel was so wise!!).  Some of the proverbs are said to have been collected under the direction of King Hezekiah.

The sayings are not even largely “religious”, but seek to present good advice on common life situations, including how to avoid life’s pitfalls.  These are the advice of someone who has experience in life and would that his children might steer clear of folly.

The Strange Woman and Lady Wisdom

Two recurring figures in the proverbs are the “strange woman” (an adulteress or prostitute; see, e.g., chptrs. 2, 5, 7) and the female figure of Wisdom (see chptrs. 1, 8).  While the “strange woman” is very dangerous and should be avoided at all costs, Lady Wisdom is completely praiseworthy and is to be sought out with great diligence.  One leads to death and the other to eternal life.  While these metaphors may be taken as a lesson on morality/chastity, it is apparent that early Jews and Christians saw in the opposing symbols of these two allegorical women a much broader spectrum of applications.

The Harlot leads to all evil, to death — away from the ways of Truth and Wisdom. “Running after” or “going in unto” the Prostitute is symbolic of apostasy from the truth.  This is what John had in mind in the New Testament apocalypse.  The Great Whore sitting upon many waters, committing fornication with the kings of the earth in Rev. 17 is an apostate imitation of the Great Lady who was clothed with the Sun, who was the Mother of the Messiah (Rev. 12). The Whore is dressed in scarlet robes and decked out with gold, precious stones and pearls. The name written on her forehead –Mystery, Babylon the Great…– is in imitation of that holy Name inscribed on the forehead of the High Priest. This “Strange Woman” represents the Great and Abominable Church, the Apostate Temple.²

Wisdom, on the other hand, represented all that was holy, pure, and true. She is depicted in John’s revelation as the Mother of the Son of God who was forced to flee into the wilderness. Her place is temporarily taken by the Harlot, but after the latter’s great fall, Lady Wisdom was to return in the last days in all her glory.  She is the true Church and Temple.  She is the Tree of Life (Prov. 3:18) standing by the Throne of God (see my post relevant to this topic here).  Many scholars see in Lady Wisdom a perpetuation of an ancient Hebrew belief in a Mother Goddess who was with God in the beginning and participated with him in the Creation.  Proverbs 8 is an example of the perpetuation of this belief (see also Prov. 3:19).  The idea that the Creator was both male and female makes sense in light of Gen. 1:26–27 where we are told that God said “Let us create man in our image” and Man was created both male and female.  Wisdom was the Queen of Heaven, the Heavenly Mother, and we are told that “happy is the man that findeth wisdom” (Prov. 3:13).³

A Favorite Proverb

I must say that I don’t know the proverbs as well as I would like to, despite having taught an Old Testament seminary course.  One that I have had impressed upon my memory not only because it is a Scripture Mastery verse, but also because it was a favorite of both my parents and my grandparents is Prov. 3:5–6:

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Ecclesiastes

This book is another collection of Wisdom literature attributed to King Solomon.  It is, however, a rather odd selection of thoughts that seem to deal largely with folly, despair and the inevitable nature of death.  Apparently there was a good deal of debate anciently as to whether or not it should even be included in the biblical canon — its authority as a book attributed to Solomon is likely what guaranteed its final placement among holy scripture.  Collins notes that its value as part of the canon continued to be questioned as late as the 4th century C.E. due to its “lack of coherence and its radical questioning of tradition.”⁴  While there are some good sayings and memorable lines in the book, most do not find it very inspiring as a whole.  You may notice that the Sunday School study guide contains no quotes from or references to passages in Ecclesiastes.

The Hebrew name for the book, Qoheleth, is difficult to interpret. It’s root in Hebrew is the word for “assembly”, which leads scholars to interpret the title to refer to a “gatherer” or “assembler.” The general idea is that Qoheleth was a preacher or teacher, a wise man who instructed the people in the ways of Wisdom.

Vanity of Vanities

The Hebrew word (hebel) that is often translated as “vanity” (see Eccles. 1:2) in English versions literally means “vapor.” The thought with the use of this language here is akin to Socrates’ “All we are is dust in the wind” (remember Bill and Ted?!).  The repeated theme is that nothing lasts. History repeats itself and man’s only destiny is to rot in the ground.

To Everything There Is a Seaon

As in the Book of Proverbs, one of Ecclesiastes’ most famous passages comes in chapter 3:

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep bsilence, and a time to speak;

8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

What Can We Get From All This

I really don’t know if we can consider Ecclesiastes to be “inspired” writing or not. It certainly doesn’t seem to claim such status for itself.  However, I do believe that there is something to be learned from every book of the Bible.  Even if we only take it to represent an ancient Hebrew philosophical treatise or the common-sense reasoning of the folk of the ancient world, I think there is Wisdom to be obtained in these writings.  One of the lessons that I take from Ecclesiastes is that we should seek wisdom, especially because we are usually so far from her. As the Preacher notes in 11:5:

As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.

In Conclusion

As I look back over what I have written here about the Wisdom literature in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, I don’t know that I have managed to offer much that is helpful. It has not been my intention to diminish either of these books and my few words here have certainly not done justice to the wealth of their contents.  But I believe that their true treasures can only be found in reading and pondering their sayings and finding those precious pearls of wisdom that can enrich your own life.  In a sense, the author of Ecclesiastes is correct in emphasizing the fact that history repeats itself — the wisdom of times past is so often relevant and applicable to ourselves in our own time as well.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding (Prov. 4:7).

1. Many of my thoughts for this post stem from my reading of the relevant chapters in John J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004
2. See Margaret Barker, Temple Themes in Christian Worship, p. 53
3. For a great summary of her thoughts on the subject of Wisdom, see Margaret Barker, Temple Theology: An Introduction, pp. 75-93
4. Collins, Introduction, p. 518

The Sunday School curriculum calls this lesson “Come to the House of the Lord.” This is an appropriate title for this block of scripture, as the narrative here relates how kings Hezekiah and Josiah of Judah cleansed the Temple of Jerusalem of all the alleged idolatrous paraphernalia and doctrines that were introduced to it during the reigns of previous kings.  As a result, these are celebrated (while most kings are routinely condemned) in the biblical histories as two of the great and “godly” kings, being compared to King David in righteousness (2 Kgs. 22:2; 2 Chr. 29:2; note that 2 Chr. 28:1 has a more negative opinion of David, comparing him to the wicked King Ahaz).

As these stories are presented, there is much of value that can be gleaned from them. These are tales of rulers who had the strength, courage, and faith to reject the errors of their fathers and foreign influences in order to return to the correct worship of the God of Israel. Most importantly, they recognized the importance of temple worship and the Law and turned the tide against generations of idolatry and false indoctrination.  It is no wonder, in light of how they are presented, that these kings are held up as heroes of the history of pre-exilic Judaism.

We are told that Hezekiah and his great-grandson Josiah carried out reforms that changed the religious practices of the people of Judah, especially in regards to the temple(s). The sweeping “cleansing” done by Hezekiah was repeated and apparently greatly magnified by Josiah.  Hezekiah left his mark when he “removed the high places, and brake the images (Heb. “pillars”), and cut down the groves (Heb. “asherah”), and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made” (2 Kings 18:4).  The religion of Judah was centralized — apparently all places of worship were destroyed, or at least condemned, outside of the Temple of Jerusalem.

If we take a look at what Hezekiah allegedly destroyed, we see that it was some important stuff!  The “high places” (bamot) were sanctuaries, or places of worship, where altars could be found for sacrifice.  They were generally set in high places, such as hilltops or were artificial mounds meant to represent the same idea.  There were many traditional “high places” that apparently were originally very legitimate places of worship (e.g. Bethel, Dan, Gilgal, etc.) but were, with the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah, condemned as idolatrous, pagan centers.  It is likely that each village had its own high place where the residents conducted their routine worship.  However, the reformers attempted to enforce the idea that the only place worthy of the performance of holy rites was Jerusalem.  In this centralization of worship to Jerusalem, Hezekiah and Josiah are understood to be following the instructions given in Deut. 12 which prohibits the offering of sacrifice anywhere but in the holy city of Jerusalem.  We should question the reliability of this scripture, however, as we read that sacrifices were legitimately offered outside of Jerusalem both before and after the time of Moses.  We read in the Book of Mormon in several places that Lehi and his family, who lived in Jerusalem during and just after the reign of Josiah, have no qualms about offering sacrifice at many points along their great journey (obviously outside of Jerusalem).

Ruins of the "High Place" of Dan

Apparently, Hezekiah was not terribly thorough in his enforcement of this ideal, as a number of sanctuaries outside of Jerusalem, including at Lachish, Arad, and Beersheva, were built or continued to function during his reign. In fact, some scholars argue that there is no archaeological evidence of any mass destruction of high places in the area in the 7th and 8th centuries BC (see here for a related article). William Dever, renowned biblical archaelogist, for example, believes that all of this talk of destroying the high places was made up by the authors/editors of these histories to fit their own theological/political agendas.  Whether or not Hezekiah did try to implement this facet of the reformation, we know that the high places are back up and running by the time of Josiah!

Besides the high places, we are told that Hezekiah destroyed the “idols” (in the KJV), which were actually “standing stones” or “pillars” (massebot).  Earlier in Israel’s history, there had been no problems with setting up massebot, and they were frequently set up by the Patriarchs and others as monuments to memorialize important sacred events, especially appearances of Deity (e.g. when Jacob sets up a pillar to mark the place where he had encountered God, Gen. 28:18; Gen. 32:20; etc.).  Moses himself sets up pillars (Ex. 24:4). They were associated with altars of sacrifice and delineated holy space.  We can probably compare these with the obelisks of Egypt and the stone circles of places like Stonehenge.  Hezekiah, however, decides that they are representative of idol worship and allegedly broke them all down.

The other items that the text claims that Hezekiah ordered destroyed were the “groves” or the “sacred poles” — the asherot. These objects were wooden poles of some sort that were meant to represent sacred trees. Asherah is known to have been a mother goddess venerated throughout the region.  In some way, these stylized “trees” were meant to represent her.  In the biblical narrative, these asherot are associated with the pagan worship of Baal.  They were placed standing near the altars of sacrifice in the high places.  More will be said shortly regarding these objects, but it is claimed that these too were condemned and cut down by Hezekiah. Also, we are told that Hezekiah destroyed the Nehushtan, the bronze serpent that Moses made!  This act is justified by the explanation that the people had been offering sacrifices to it for some time.  I can’t help but see this as tragic!  How do you go and destroy the bronze serpent which was made by Moses to be a savior to the people of Israel, healing them during their travels in the desert? We often take the bronze serpent to be a symbol of Jesus Christ  –  and it apparently had been given some role in the temple — until Hezekiah smashed it to smithereens.

After Hezekiah’s death, we are told that his reforms were reversed by the wickedness of kings Manasseh and Amon. It is not until the young Josiah comes to power that the standard is once against raised against the encroachment of idol worship back into Judah. Josiah reportedly conducts a much more thorough reform, but with roughly the same ideals as the earlier one.  In 2 Chronicles 34 we get the account of the massive campaign carried out to purge the kingdom of idol worship, which including destroying the same basic elements that Hezekiah had previously condemned.  Furthermore, it appears that he killed all the priests that served in these locations, burning their bones upon their various altars (2 Chron. 34:5).  In 2 Kings 23, there is an even more detailed account of the specific items he destroyed, which includes:

• burned the vessels/instruments in the temple that were made for Baal, Asherah, and the host of heaven (sons of God/angels)
• removed the priests that burned incense in the high places to Baal, the sun, moon, planets, and host of heaven (sons of God/angels)
• took the asherah pole/tree out of its place in the temple and burned it, stamped it into powder, and scattered it on the graves near Jerusalem
• broke down the houses of the “sodomites” (Heb. q’deshim, probably “male temple prostitutes”) that were near the temple, where the women wove hangings (perhaps tents/veils/garments) for Asherah
• stopped the sacrifice of children by fire to Molech
• burned the sun chariot and horses that apparently stood at the entrance to the temple (compare to the chariot and horses that took Elijah to heaven from my last post)
• apparently desecrated a number of graves, removing the bones therefrom and burning them on the altar (I am really not sure what the significance of this was, but the text says that it had been prophesied earlier)
• did all the other things mentioned above and more…

This is a very detailed list — there were specific things going on that Josiah, or perhaps his advisors, were very much against.  Although Chronicles seems to put this event as following the great purge, 2 Kings 22-23 indicates that the massive reform movement was at least partly a result of Josiah’s high priest, Hilkiah, finding “the book of the law” in the temple while they were cleansing it (2 Kgs. 22:8).  Scholars generally agree that this book was the Book of Deuteronomy.  Margaret Barker gave a great summary of Josiah’s reform and its association with the finding of this book.

King Josiah changed the religion of Israel in 623 BC. According to the Old Testament account in 2 Kings 23 he removed all manner of idolatrous items from the temple and purified his kingdom of Canaanite practices. Temple vessels made for Baal, Asherah and the host of heaven were removed, idolatrous priests were deposed, the Asherah itself was taken from the temple and burned, and much more besides. An old law book had been discovered in the temple, and this had prompted the king to bring the religion of his kingdom into line with the requirements of that book. There could be only one temple, it stated, and so all other places of sacrificial worship had to be destroyed. The law book is easily recognizable as Deuteronomy, and so King Josiah’s purge is usually known as the Deuteronomic reform of the temple.¹

As Barker notes, Josiah’s reforms are often referred to in modern scholarship as the “Deuteronomic” reforms.  Many scholars believe that this Book of the Law, identified as the Book of Deuteronomy, was either heavily revised, or even written at the time of King Josiah. I don’t think we need to dismiss the tradition that it was originally written by Moses, but I do agree that it was at least heavily edited by later parties, beginning before or during the reign of Josiah that had a strong religious agenda. The book may have been further revised subsequently during and/or after the Babylonian exile.  Thus, it appears that Josiah, in his reforms, was likely not taking Judah back to a more ancient tradition, the religion of Moses, but was essentially creating a new religious belief system, following the ideals of this “Deuteronomist” movement. It is this Deuteronomist theology that influences not only the book of Deuteronomy itself, but the whole so-called Deuteronomist history, from the book of Deuteronomy to the book of 2 Kings. Their theology influenced later writers such as the priestly author(s) of the Chronicles.

It is here that I would like to explain that I do not mean to throw out entirely the history we are given in the books of Kings and Chronicles. As the Sunday School curriculum rightly delineates, there are many great and important lessons to be learned from these histories. Whether or not they were written with a certain religious or political agenda in mind, they provide us with precious principles regarding obedience, purity, and standing up for what is right and holy. They teach about the supreme value of the temple and correct worship and doctrine. Taken as such and applied to our own lives, these are very valuable lessons indeed.  On the other hand, we can also learn, if we follow the theories of some biblical scholars, that there was likely more to ancient Israelite history and religion than what is provided to us through the filter of the Deuteronomistic and later redactors.  Through a study of the themes of this reform we can begin to understand why the Old Testament seems to contain such a different theology than the New Testament, and why it appears to differ, as well, from the picture of ancient religious beliefs as understood by the prophet Joseph Smith.

King Josiah’s reform largely involved the temple and items that were in the temple. Also, it involved a consolidation of Israelite worship to Jerusalem and its temple–other Israelite temples/sanctuaries were torn down. The historical narrative we read in the Old Testament presents this as a good and necessary reform. It was aimed at “idolatrous” practices. However, as I have alluded to, many of the features/items condemned were considered perfectly legitimate in earlier times, especially from what we know of the Patriarchal period. While the picture painted is of Josiah bringing Judah back to the most ancient and correct beliefs, what it seemed to accomplish, in reality, was banish many of Israel’s most ancient practices.  Josiah changed the Israelite religion and the practices of the First Temple.  Some Jews would later claim that it was Josiah’s reform that, instead of delaying disaster, brought the wrath of God upon them. As Barker notes:

Twenty five years after the work of Josiah, Jerusalem was attacked by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar, and eleven years after the first attack, they returned to destroy the city and the temple. Refugees fled south to Egypt, and we read in the book of Jeremiah how they would not accept the prophet’s interpretation of the disaster. He insisted that Jerusalem had fallen because of the sins of her people, but the refugees said it had fallen because of Josiah. The king is not mentioned by name, but there can be no doubt what the refugees had in mind. Until very recently, they said, they and their ancestors in Judah and Jerusalem had worshipped differently and had prospered, but when they changed their manner of worship, disaster had followed.

The refugees who fled to Egypt were not the only ones who thought that Josiah’s purge had been a disaster. By surveying the texts that still survive, we can begin to piece together what Josiah destroyed. Many of those texts imply that Josiah’s purge was a disaster.

Expounding on the above scriptural list, some of the things that Barker believes were removed include:

• The Asherah, a stylized tree, that had been placed beside the temple altar (cf. Rev 22:1-3), had represented the Queen of Heaven, the Mother Goddess, and also the Tree of Life and Wisdom–Barker believes that the Asherah was the true Menorah, and it was removed by Josiah
• Many of the holiest items of the Temple, especially the Holy of Holies–The Babylonian Talmud records that Josiah had hidden away the ark, the holy anointing oil, the jar of manna and Aaron’s rod (b.Horayoth 12a).
• The vision of God–while earlier traditions present Yahweh as appearing to mortals, the Deuteronomic account denies that any vision of God was seen when the Law was given: ‘You saw no form; only a voice was heard’ (Deut 4:12)
• The Hosts of Heaven–Deuteronomy condemns regard for the host of heaven (Deut 4:19), the angels, even though an ancient title for the Lord was the Lord of Hosts. The heavenly host of angels must have been part of the older faith.
• The Spirit Creation–Barker notes that alternative accounts of the Creation (such as the one found in the Book of Jubilees) remember that the angels/sons of God were created before anything material was made–the Deuteronomic account never mentions angels
• The sacred knowledge of the Holy of Holies–The Deuteronomists didn’t deny that such knowledge existed, but warn against mortals having access to them: ‘The secret things belong to the Lord our God’ (Deut 29:29). They emphasized that all that was necessary for mortals was to obey the Law and keep the revealed commandments.

There were many other beliefs that Josiah supposedly purged that pertained the older religion of Israel. For Barker,these were the traditions of the First Temple. These traditions are so ancient that it is hard to know what exactly they entailed and what happened to them. We must go by scarce evidence and much inference. Barker explains:

We can never know for certain what it was that Josiah purged or why he did it. No actual texts or records survive from that period, but even the stories as they have come down to us in various sources show that this was a time of major upheaval which was not forgotten. A thousand years after the events themselves, even mainstream Jewish texts remembered that the temple had been drastically changed, that large numbers of people had left the land, and that the true temple would be only be restored in the time of the Messiah.

I could go on and on about this topic and not do it justice.  There is much more that could be said about this, and I have treated it in many previous posts. Again, my desire is not to dismiss these biblical histories out of hand, nor diminish your trust in the Scriptures as a whole, but to indicate that there is likely more to these stories than we can get from a superficial reading of the received text. If Hezekiah and Josiah did change the religion of Judah, I believe it is important for us to know what the religion was like previously, what it was changed to, and what that means for our understanding of ancient Judaism, Christianity, and religious beliefs today.

If you want to know more about the reforms of the reigns of Hezekiah and Josiah, kings of Judah, check out some of the following resources.

Some of my previous posts on the topic:

• The Suppression of Ancient Truths
• The Priestly Suppression of Ancient Truths — covers the priestly reforms that occurred after the exile which were allegedly similar to Josiah’s reforms
• The Tree of Life as Nurturing Mother — this post doesn’t focus specifically on the reforms, but emphasizes the important of the Tree of Life in ancient religion, which Barker believes was represented by the asherah tree that Josiah removed from the temple

Articles by Margaret Barker (who, FYI, is not LDS) on the topic (a very small sample of a topic that she treats in most of her writings):

• What Did King Josiah Reform? – forum address given at BYU on 6 May 2003
• Joseph Smith and Pre-exilic Israelite Religion – speech given at The Worlds of Joseph Smith conference held at the Library of Congress, 6 May 2005 — besides treating the topic of the Deuteronomic reforms, she relates what these meant for the religion of Jerusalem at the time of Lehi and for Joseph Smith’s contributions

A few additional helpful articles:

• Kevin Christensen’s writings on Margaret Barker — this is a link to a page that has several links to Kevin’s great studies, but the Meridian links unfortunately don’t appear to be working
• Monotheism, Messiah, and Mormon’s Book — great article by Brant Gardner
• Antecedents of the Restoration in the Ancient Temple — great overview of Barker’s work by Frederick M. Huchel
• Lehi’s Altar and Sacrifice in the Wilderness — article by David R. Seely that specifically treats the topic of the Deuteronomic reform, centralization of the cult, and how that reflects on the practice of Lehi and family of offering sacrifice outside of Jerusalem.

1. Margaret Barker, “What Did King Josiah Reform?”, forum address given at Brigham Young University on 6 May 2003, accessed online at http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=2&chapid=36