The Divine Council
in Pre-Exilic Israel
There are
two vivid divine council scenes in the Old Testament: Isaiah 6 and 1 Kings
22:19-23. From these passages and others, which assume the heavenly assembly
background, a picture of the divine council can be sketched. Essentially,
Yahweh is seen as the head of the council with absolute authority. The council
members are the holy ones, the sons of gods, the heavenly host, and their functions
include praising Yahweh, fighting for Yahweh, and serving Yahweh in various
capacities. As it is recorded in the Scriptures the purpose of the council is
to administrate affairs on the earth.
The Name of the Council
Early
Hebrew literature uses four terms to describe the divine council. The first
term is עדת, which designates the council of God in Ps 82:1, “God takes His stand
in His own congregation.” The second is מועד, which designates the “mount of Assembly”
as in Isa 14:13, “ . . . I will sit on the mount of assembly . . .” The third
term is קהל, which designates “in the council” in Ps 89:7, “A god greatly feared
in the council of the holy ones.” A fourth term is בסור, which designates “in
the council” in Jer 23:18, “But who has stood in the council of the Lord.”
The Members of the Council
The members
of the council are called בני האלהים (“sons of God”) such as found in Job 1:6, “Now
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
Lord.” The setting here is the divine or heavenly council. Here, the adversary
or accuser along with other spirit beings assemble before God, comprising along
with Yahweh the divine council. The members of the heavenly council are
sometimes pictured as starts as in Judges 5:20, “The stars fought from heaven
from their courses, they fought against Sisera.” It can be difficult to
determine if a figure is being used or if a more literal referent is intended,
but Job 38:7 helps to clarify this, “When the morning stars sang together and
all the sons of God shouted for joy?” Here “stars” is clearly parallel with “sons
of God.”
The Head of the Council
Yahweh is
seen as the head of the council. One of the ways this is reflected is by the
compound name יהוה צבאות (“Lord of hosts”). This title reflects Yahweh as the
supreme general in command of the heavenly armies who make up the divine
council. As Cross notes, צבאותdesignates both heavenly and earthly armies. As
early as Exodus 15:3 Yahweh is described as a warrior who overcame pharaoh.
Psalm 24:8, 10 describes Yahweh as the mighty warrior among His armies.
Deuteronomy
33:2-3 presents a vivid picture of Yahweh the warrior with His heavenly council
and His army:
And he came
from the midst of ten thousand holy ones;
At His right hand there was flashing lightning for them.
Indeed, He loves the people;
All Your holy ones are in Your hand,
And they followed in Your steps;
everyone receives of Your words.
Thus Yahweh
is rarely shown as fighting single-handedly. He fights by commanding His holy
ones, the members of the heavenly council. The fact that the קדשׁים, (“holy ones”)
are members of the divine council and equivalent to the “sons of the mighty” is
proved in Ps 89:5-8:
The heavens
will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord,
A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?
O Lord God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
It should
be kept in mind that the members of the council are clearly considered to be
inferior to Yahweh. In passages where the heavenly council provides the
background Yahweh is often pictured as supreme above the rest of the council.
Psalm 89:6-8a for instance, reads:
For who in
the skies is comparable to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord,
A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones,
And awesome above all those who are around Him?
O Lord God of hosts,
Who is like You, O mighty Lord?
Exodus
15:11 declares the same idea. In this hymn of victory praise Yahweh is extolled
for fighting victoriously for His people. The point of v. 11 is that Yahweh is incomparable
among the gods (באלם). Yahweh is incomparable in His holiness, His praiseworthy
deeds, and his extraordinary accomplishments.
The Function of the Members of the Council
As we have seen
above, one function of the subordinate members of the council is to fight for
Yahweh. Another function of the council is to praise Yahweh. A third function of
members of the council is to be messengers of Yahweh. Against the background of
the Syro-Palestinian pantheon this function of the members of the heavenly
assembly is the most basic. The messenger does not have the authority to alter
the message in any way but only to deliver it. The members of the council were
also to have jurisdiction over the nations according to Deut 32:8-9.
The Judiciary Function of the Council
One of the dominant
ways to view the divine council is as a legal court. Psalm 82 clearly presents
the legal function of the divine council. Yahweh asserts His rule over the
council and calls the members into account (v. 1). The specific nature of
Yahweh’s chare is the failure of the members to dispense justice (v. 2). The
psalm implies that one of the primary responsibilities of the council is to see
that justice is done. Job 1-2 and Zech 3:1-7 both portray a similar judicial
role for the divine council. This psalm is unique and provides a point of
contact with the myth of the fall of Satan, which developed in the pseudepigraphical
literature . . . (Robert Charles Branden, Satanic Conflict and the Plot of
Matthew [Studies in Biblical Literature 89; New York: Peter Lang, 2006], 13-16)