Just as the
deuteronomic tradition rejects multiplicity of divine embodiment, it also
rejects fluidity of divine identity. The deuteronomic view of divine selfhood
comes to the fore in the famous proclamation known from the Shema prayer,
“Yhwh our God—Yhwh is one!” or “Yhwh our God is one Yhwh” (Deuteronomy 6:4).
Why does this verse use the tetragrammaton, a personal name, rather than
stating what we might have expected—that there is one God? The answer lies in
part in the tendency of ancient Near Eastern deities (including Yhwh, in light
of the Kuntillet Arjud inscriptions) to fragment into semi-independent
geographic manifestations. Yhwh, we are told, is simply Yhwh. There is no Yhwh
or Samaria parallel to the Yhwh of Teman in the way that Isthar of Arbela and
Ishtar of Nineveh were separate though parallel beings. Further, even the shem
is not multiple (contra Exodus 20.24), for the Book of Deuteronomy mandates
that only one temple will exist, in the one place the one God chooses. Thus the
shem will not be found in temples throughout the land. So strongly does
Deuteronomy’s attitude toward the singularity of the name again exemplifies
that the rabbis call a סייג or fence: To protect the unity of God’s self, even
the sign pointing to God is not allowed to multiply. In short, the famous line
of the Shema prayer in Deuteronomy 6:4 does not so much address God’s number as
it explores God’s nature: Yhwh’s self is not fluid.
The pattern
we noticed in previous chapters, then, continues to be valid: God’s body
parallels God’s self. In the deuteronomic tradition, God has a nonfragmentable
self, and therefore God has only one body, located exclusively in heaven.
Although God is able to perceive what happens throughout the world and can
effect His will anywhere, He is located only in one place, and emanations of
His presence do not take up residence in pillars, trees, statues, or even
temples. The smallest concession is made only to the Jerusalem temple, where
the shem is allowed to dwell. Even that concession, however, is no concession
at all, for God’s name is not visible. A name is a verbal signifier, not a
physical one. (Benjamin D. Sommer, The Bodies of God and the World of
Ancient Israel [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009], 67)
