Saturday, May 2, 2020

Thomas B. Dozeman on the Decalogue and the Ontological Existence of Other Gods




20:3 First Commandment: No Other Gods. The worldview of the first commandment is henotheistic, not monotheistic. It neither presupposes nor advocates the belief that Yahweh is the only God. Rather, it presupposes just the reverse, that the world is populated with gods. The law demands monolatry, namely the exclusive worship of Yahweh by the Israelites. The basis of the command arises from the reference to the exodus in the prologue. By redeeming the Israelites from slavery, Yahweh now demands absolute allegiance from the Israelites. They are God’s private possession (19:5). As a result, the first commandment forbids the Israelites to worship other gods.

The syntax of the Hebrew has caught the attention of interpreters. The verbal phrase is indefinite and indicates possession in Hebrew, literally: “There will not be to you … other gods before my face.” The absence of an imperative verb (i.e., “you shall not”) has prompted some interpreters to conclude that v. 3 is not a command in itself, but an introduction to the subsequent law against images (vv. 4–6). But even when v. 3 is interpreted as an independent law, Zimmerli concluded that the syntax suggests a broad and general meaning. The reference to “other gods” (’ĕlōhîm ’aḥērîm) confirms the broad perspective of the law. “Other gods” is a general term for all rival deities. It is used most frequently in Deuteronomy (18 times), the Deuteronomistic History (20 times), and Jeremiah (18 times). The Targums and selective modern interpreters have preferred to translate the plural phrase “other gods” in the singular, “another god,” to take away any possible emphasis on the existence of other gods.

Deuteronomy aids in interpreting the henotheistic worldview of the law. It states that many gods have been allotted to the different nations (Deut 29:26). As a result, each god has a distinct cult (8:19), rules over a particular nation (7:4; 13:2, 7, 13), and communicates with different prophetic messengers (18:20). These gods may include the sun, moon, or even the host of heaven (17:3). The first commandment does not require the denial of such gods by the Israelites, as is evident in the rhetoric of Second Isaiah (e.g., Isa 44:6–8; cf. 43:11–13). Rather, Yahweh demands the absolute allegiance of the Israelite people in exchange for having redeemed them from slavery in Egypt. The exodus therefore is less about freedom in a modern democratic sense than it is about transferred slavery from Pharaoh to Yahweh.

The additional phrase “before my face” (NRSV “before me”) suggests that the law is focused on worship. To be “before the face of God” indicates divine presence. The divine beings, including the Satan, appear “before the face of God” in the heavenly council in the opening scenes of the book of Job (Job 1:12; 2:7). Humans appear before the face of God in worship. God states in a context of worship: “When you come to appear before me [i.e., ‘before my face’]” (Isa 1:12). Hannah (1 Sam 1:22) enters the sanctuary at Shiloh to appear before the face of Yahweh. Zechariah 8:21–22 describes a pilgrimage to the Jerusalem temple where worshipers will appear before the face of God. The law of cult centralization in Deuteronomy requires all males to journey to the temple (“the place of the name”) to appear before the face of Yahweh (Deut 16:16).

The focus on worship indicates that the first commandment is aimed at monolatry. It states that no other gods can be worshiped in Yahweh’s sanctuary. But the phrase also takes on a broader meaning in Scripture. The worldview of henotheism could extend the rule of God from the sanctuary to include the territory of divine rule. Thus when David is forced to flee outside the land of Israel into the wilderness, he describes himself as being “away from the presence of God” (1 Sam 26:20). In a completely different usage, the face of God can even indicate divine anger (Lev 20:3, 5, 6, 17). In view of the range of possible meaning, interpreters have sought to broaden the command beyond the cultic setting, translating “beside me,” “over against me,” “above me,” or even “except me,” thus excluding relations with any other Deity in any context. D. Patrick concludes: “Exodus 20:3 … forbids any state of relation that might issue in illicit actions.” (Thomas B. Dozeman, Commentary on Exodus [The Eerdmans Critical Commentary; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2009], 480-82)