The Joseph story expresses the major theme of the entire patriarchal history. Through the ups and downs, successes and failures, God has directed the course of events so that the promises will be fulfilled. He overcomes all obstacles, whether it is the power of kings, the threats from neighboring peoples, the curse of childlessness, the occasional lapses of an Abraham or the human craftiness of a Jacob. For the Yahwist and Elohist, as well as for the later Priestly editors, this God was the one God of Israel, Yahweh. Where the Yahwist has announced in Genesis 4:26 that people called God by his proper name "Yahweh" from the beginning, both the Elohist and Priestly writers reserve the revelation of that sacred name until Moses' meeting with God on Mount Sinai at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14. Before that point in the Bible, they always call God by the general word "Elohim" which means simply "God". Lawrence Boadt in his book entitled Reading of the Old Testament claims that in this they are probably closer to the historical reality that is J's use of the name so early. Exodus 3 clearly implies that Moses was the one who first brought about the use of the name "Yahweh" for Israel’s God. (Boadt, L., (1984) Reading the Old Testament, Paulist Press, New York)
Some of the earlier names used by different tribes and leaders can still be discovered in the older parts of the Genesis traditions. Thus Abraham addresses God as El-Elyon, "God most high," Lester has pointed this out to us in class and it can be found in Genesis 14:19-20, while Jacob prays to God under the name "The fear of his father Isaac" in Genesis 31:53. Lester also brought up in class God as El Shaddai, "God the Almighty" and we find this in Genesis 35:11 where God is actually identifying himself as El Shaddai. This again occurs in Genesis 49:25 in the blessing of Joseph. Interestingly enough a name I had never heard before appears in the verse just before in Genesis 49:24 "Mighty One of Jacob."
Like the different writers of E, J, P, and D in the narratives we are studying, the different patriarchal traditions know of different ancient names for the deity, but by far the most common designation is the term "God of your father(s)." This comes up often Genesis 26:24, 31:53, 46:1-3, and 49:25. This phrase is striking, especially since it is the term by which God makes himself known to Moses at first in the burning bush (Exodus 3:6): "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
So maybe as we move forward we as students can finally settle on a name that will not be confused and changed in the ever changing narratives whether it was penned by E, J, P, or D or at what point in the timeline which becomes a great point of at least for me a source of great confusion.
God Bless,
Deacon Jim
(Boadt, L., (1984) Reading the Old Testament, Paulist Press, New York)
3 comments:
Thanks for this overview of the names the biblical writers use for God and which sources they correspond to. Very helpful!
This weekend I had a brief but interesting conversation with an orthodox Jew. I asked about JEDP and the Documentary Hypothesis. He said he believes it is all bunk and that the different names for God are not the product of different authors but from the different ways God relates to his people. I didn't want to debate him and didn't have time to get into an in-depth conversation but he was the first person I have met to hold that particular conviction.
Thanks for the overview--I think it can be difficult trying to keep track of the changes and who says what.
I personally think that it is positive that God can be described in many different ways--but do you think the authors were trying to do the same and portray the many sides of God OR were they trying to show that their personal view/perception of God was better than the others?
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