Psa 82 offers a second piece
of evidence for treating Yahweh as one of the children of El in Deut 32:8–9. As
several scholars have noted, Psa 82 presupposes the same mythic background as
Deut 32:8–9.66 Both texts discuss the distribution of the nations to various
deities as well as the relationship between these deities and Elyon, whose real
identity is disclosed obliquely in the construct phrases ‘the children of El’ (*bənê
ʾēl) and ‘the council of El’ (ʿădat ʾēl). Therefore, if Psa 82
depicts Yahweh as one of the children of Elyon, then Deut 32:8–9 most likely
does so as well.
In Psa 82, Yahweh stands in
‘the council of El’ (ʿădat ʾēl) and accuses ‘the gods’ (ʾĕlōhîm)
of perverting justice, before pronouncing judgement on them in verses 6–7: “I
thought that you were gods and children of Elyon, all of you. Nevertheless you
ought to die like a mortal and like one of the princes you should fall” (ʾănî-ʾāmartî
ʾĕlōhîm ʾattem û-bənê ʿelyôn kulləkem ʾākēn kə-ʾādām təmûtûn û-kə-ʾaḥad
haś-śārîm tippōlû). In the final verse, the Psalmist cries out “rise up, Yahweh,
and judge the earth for you will inherit all the nations!” (qûmâ ʾĕlōhîm
šāpəṭâ hā-ʾāreṣ kî-ʾattâ tinḥal bə-kol-hag-gôyīm). As it stands, verse 8
presents Yahweh’s inheritance of the nations as a future event, predicated on
the death of the children of Elyon. Identifying Yahweh and Elyon unnecessarily
complicates this metaphor. If Yahweh is one of the children of Elyon, then
verse 8 simply suggests that Yahweh will inherit his siblings’ property in much
the same way that Num 27:9 allows for a man’s brother to inherit his property.
If, by contrast, Yahweh is Elyon, then verse 8 implies that Yahweh made inter
vivos gifts from his inheritance to his sons, who will now predecease him. The
convoluted nature of the second scenario leads me to favor the first option.
Based on this conclusion as well as the valence of the phrase ḥebel naḥălâ,
I argue that Deut 32:8–9 depicts Yahweh as one of the children of El. He has
not yet displaced Elyon at the top of the divine hierarchy and remains in a
subordinate role, roughly equal in social status to the other children of El. (Aren
M. Wilson-Wright, “Yahweh’s Kin: A Comparative Linguistics and Mythological Analysis
of ‘The Children of God’ in the Hebrew Bible,” in Where Is the Way to the
Dwelling of Light? Studies in Genesis, Job and Linguistics in Honor of Ellen
van Wolde, ed. Pierre Van Hecke and Hanneke van Lon [Leiden: E. J. Brill,
2023], 57-58)
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