JUST/CLAS/RELG 3022 and PHIL 3729: Searching for God: Week 1: Intro

Read:

1. Homer’s Iliad 9:497-501 (quoted in Plato’s Republic, 364-d, 364-e and see also 365-e)
   • Citation: Homer. The Iliad, trans A.T. Murray, in two vols. (Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd.1924.) 
2. Odyssey, 1:234, 8:266-366 (and see Heraclitus the exegete’s Problem 69 below explaining this)
   • Citation: Homer. The Odyssey, trans A.T. Murray, in two vols. (Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919.)
3. Hesiod, Theogony 450-506 (Note what Plotinus does with this myth when we get to that unit)
   • Citation: Hesiod. Theogony. tans Hugh G. Evelyn-White. (Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.)
4. Hesiod, Works and Days 248-51 (“For the immortals are close to us, they mingle with men”)
   • Citation: Hesiod. Works and Days. tans Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914

Read:

Introduction to The Baal Cycle pp. 81-86, then skim the Baal Cycle (pp. 87-164). Pay special attention to the following:

• in KTU 1.2.IV.7-10 of the Baal Cycle, Baal is called “Cloudrider” and told to smash his enemies to seize his kingship;
• in 2.IV.27, we are told “Baal drags and dismembers Yamm. Destroys Judge River”;
• Gods can murder other gods and die (4.II.24-26 [Anat and Baal are accused by Athirat of possiby plotting to murder some of the other god]; 5.VI.8-10 and 23, 6.I.6 [Baal is killed by Mot]) and be buried in the earth (6.I.15-18);
• Gods can cut themselves and be cut (5.VI.17-22; 6.I.2-5);
• Gods need homes (Baal’s need for a home like the other gods is the theme of much of the Baal Cycle, and is stated explicitly in a number of passages including 4.IV.50-57, V.27-29);
• Gods get hungry and thirsty and eat and drink (4.IV.33-38; 5.I.24-25); gods can smile and laugh (4.IV.27-28) and cry (6.I.9);
• Gods get sexually aroused (4.IV.38-40);
• Gods can have sex and impregnate (5.V.17-22);
• Gods have body parts like skin, cheeks, chin, arms, chest, back (5.VI.17-22; 6.I.2-5), and even genitals (4.IV.38).
• Baal as storm king who brings rain, clouds, and lightning (4.V.6-9; 5.V.6-8, 10 V 6-9, 10 VII 25-31),  
• Gods can be made king and sit on thrones (4.VII.42 and 49, 4.VIII.12-14);
• Gods can stand and sit (5.VI.11-14) and prostrate themselves (6.I.38);
• Gods can be located in specific places and move from place to place (e.g., 5.I.6-11, 5.II.13-15; 5.VI.11-14; 6.I.32-36);
• Gods can be afraid (5.II.6-7).

Discussion question:

Is the Cyrus Cylinder's notion of the gods similar to or different from the above conception? Give some examples of how it is similar or different.

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Sefaria Texts

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• Traits similar to Baal: 
  • Jehovah as storm king: Nahum 1:3, Psalm 135:7,
  •  Jehovah as powerful conqueror of Yam (Sea) and Neharim (Rivers): Habakkuk 3:3-15 (esp. v. 8), Psalm 74:12-17, (cf. Nahum 1:4). 
• God as the Warrior God: 1 Samuel 4:1-11, 7:10, 17:45-47, 2 Kings 18:31-35, Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 44:1–9, Psalm 135:8.
• God rules heaven and earth, moves mountains, the earth quakes before Him: Nahum 1:5, Psalm 114, Job 9:5–10,
• God is mighty (and His people derive their might from him): Psalm 68:34–36,
• Jehovah as supreme god over all the other gods: Psalm 95:3–5, Psalm 97:7–9, Psalm 135:5
• That each nation has its own god (and that each is to be faithful to the other—the god to protect his people and the people to worship their god): 1 Kings 11:1-10 and 33, 2 Kings 18:31-35, Ezekiel 16, Zephaniah 2:8.
• The gods of the other peoples are mere idols, but Jehovah is the true god: Psalm 96:5
• God as judge: Psalm 75:8, Psalm 82:8,
• God as jealous and angry: Anger: Deuteronomy 9:7-8 (note that Targum puts the anger as occurring before God rather than it angering God himself), 1 Kings 15:30, Nahum 1:2 and 1:6, Psalm 106:23. Cf. how Rabbinic literature will temper this.
• God is not necessarily all knowing: 1Kings 11:31-39 (esp. v. 38)
• God can change his mind and regret his prior actions (וינחם ה' e.g. in Gen. 6:6-7, Exod. 32:12-14, 1 Sam 15:11 and 15:35 (but cf. 15:29 below), 2 Sam 24:16, Jeremiah 18:8-10, 26:3, 13, and 19, 42:10, Jonah 3:9-10, Psalm 106:45, and 1 Chronicles 21:15 (cf. Exod. 13:17); see Philo and Targum below on these verses). At the same time, see those biblical verses claiming that God does not change his mind and regret his prior actions: Num. 23:19, 1 Sam 15:29, Jeremiah 4:28 
• God is a god who acts and can control animals to do his bidding: 1 Kings 13 (esp. vv. 24 and 28)
• The Creator God: Gen. 1
• God in the Garden of Eden: Gen. 2-3
• Descriptions of God: Exodus 3 (the burning bush), Exodus 33:18-23 (God’s back), 1 Kings 19:11-13 (in the still small wind), Ezekiel 1, Isaiah 6:1-8
• That God has eyes and ears and sees and hears and eats and drinks (or lack thereof in the absence of a temple): 2 Kings 19:16, Zechariah 4:10 and 7:3-6.
• God is in heaven: Psalm 102:20,
• Miscellaneous powers of God: Joel 4:2, 12 and 16-17, Amos 4:7 and 13,
• God has not changed (from his former attitude towards Israel): Malachi 3:4-7.

Citation: Kugel, James L. The Great Shift : Encountering God in Biblical Times. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. Print.  To Read: If you are able to get a copy of the book to read, look at the Foreword and Part 1.

Since there isn't an online version of the book itself you can read some good summaries and critiques of the books to gain information.

Other Readings

1. What did the ancient Israelites see as some of the main functions of their God? Look particularly at 1 Samuel 4:1-11, 7:10, and 17:45-47, 1 Kings 11:1-10, and 2 Kings 18:31-35. What is the role of God(s) in these verses?
2. In 2 Kings 18:31-35, what is the Assyrian messenger's assumption of the role the Israelites will imagine for their god, and is that consistent with or different from the Israelite notion in general?