Thursday, November 24, 2016

Kevin L. Barney on Genesis 21:33


And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the lord, the everlasting God. (Gen 21:33)

Commenting on this passage, LDS scholar, Kevin L. Barney wrote:


A more literal rendering might be "And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh El Olam." Note the combination of the divine names "Yahweh" and "El," together with Olam "Eternal [lit. (of) Eternity]," an epithet of El. The final form of the text as it has been preserved has no direct mention of Asherah, but it seems likely that this planting of a sacred tree by the patriarch Abraham was an act to venerate her. (How to Worship Our Mother in Heaven [Without Getting Excommunicated], pp. 127-128)