Changes

[[File:lighterstill.jpg]]

[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Yahweh.jpg|right|frame]]

The usual form, among [[scholars]], of the [[personal]] name of [[God]] in the [[Old Testament]], representing the most likely vocalization of the ‘[[sacred]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/tetragrammaton’ '''''YHWH''''']

'''Yahweh''' (הוהי) is the proper [[name]] of the [[God]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Israel ancient Israel]. He is also called El, [[literally]] "God," and Elohim, also meaning "God," although the latter was [[originally]] a plural noun meaning "gods, [[pantheon]]." By a remarkable [[act]] of theological reduction, the [[complex]] [[divine]] [[hierarchy]] of prior [[polytheistic]] religion was [[transformed]] into the [[authority]] of a sole high god. However, Yahweh was not the only god in Israelite [[religion]]. Like a king in his [[court]], Yahweh was served by lesser [[deities]], variously called "the [[Sons of God]]," "the [[Host of Heaven]]," and similar titles. This host (the word also means "army") sometimes fought battles of holy [[war]] (cf. the battle of Jericho, where Joshua meets the divine "captain of Yahweh's army"; ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Joshua#Chapter__.5 Joshua. 5:13–15]) and were also [[represented]] as [[stars]] ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Judges#Chapter_.5 Judges. 5:20]): "the stars fought from heaven;" (also [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Job#Chapter_.38 Job. 38:7]). These lesser [[deities]] attend Yahweh in [[heaven]], as in the prophet Micaiah's vision: "I saw Yahweh seated on his throne with all the Host of Heaven standing beside him, to his right and left" ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=First_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_22 1 Kings. 22:19]). At times they are also equated with the gods of other nations: "He [[established]] the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the Sons of God" ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Deutoronomy#Chapter_.32 Deuteronomy. 32:8] with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qumran Qumran] and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint Septuagint]; similarly, ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Deutoronomy#Chapter_.4 Deuteronomy. 4:19]). A third category of [[divine]] [[beings]] (after Yahweh and the [[Sons of God]]) consisted of [[messenger]] gods, called [[angels]]. The angels carry Yahweh's [[messages]] to [[earth]], as illustrated by Jacob's dream vision of the angels ascending and descending the celestial staircase that links heaven and earth ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_genesis#Chapter_.28 Genesis. 28:12]). In late biblical books, the [[Sons of God]] and the [[angels]] merge into a single category and proliferate: In Daniel's [[vision]] of the heavenly [[court]], "thousands upon thousands serve him" ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Daniel#Chapter_7 Daniel. 7:10]).

''Jehovah'' is its [[English]] and common European representation, since the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_century 16th c]., of the [[Hebrew]] [[divine]] name Yhwh. This [[word]] (the ‘sacred tetragrammaton’) having come to be considered by the Jews too [[sacred]] for [[utterance]], was pointed in the [[Old Testament]] by the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretes Masoretes] with the vowels ' (= {a), {o}, {a}, of {a}d{o}n{a}i, as a direction to the [[reader]] to substitute ADONAI  for the ‘ineffable name’; which is actually done by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome Jerome] in the Vulgate [[translation]] of Exodus vi. 3, and hence by Wyclif. Students of [[Hebrew]] at the Revival of Letters took these vowels as those of the word Yhwh (IHUH, JHVH) itself, which was accordingly transliterated in [[Latin]] spelling as IeHoVa(H), i.e. Iehoua(h. It is now held that the [[original]] name was IaHUe(H), i.e. Jahve(h, or with the [[English]] values of the letters, Yahwe(h, and one or other of these forms is now generally used by [[writers]] upon the [[religion]] of the [[Hebrews]]. The [[word]] has generally been [[understood]] to be a derivative of the verb h{a}w{a}h  to be, to exist, as if ‘he that is’, ‘the self-existent’, or ‘the one ever coming into [[manifestation]]’; this [[origin]] is now disputed, but no conjectured derivation which has been substituted has found general [[acceptance]].

The tripartite [[hierarchy]] of the [[divine]] world—Yahweh, the [[Sons of God]] or Heavenly Host, and the [[angels]]—derives from the earlier [[structure]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion Canaanite religion]. According to the [[texts]] from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugarit Ugarit] (c. 1200 BCE) and other Canaanite sources, the high god of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion#Pantheon Canaanite pantheon] was El, whose [[wife]], the [[mother]] of the gods, was [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah]. The other gods of the [[pantheon]] are collectively called the Children of El and are subservient to El's [[authority]], although some—particularly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal Baal], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anat Anat], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astarte Astarte], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resheph Resheph]—are prominent deities. A third category consists of servants and [[messenger]] gods. This [[hierarchy]] is structurally equivalent to that of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelite_period Israelite religion], with some striking [[differences]]. On the level of high god, El seems to have merged with Yahweh, who absorbs El's name and has many of his [[attributes]]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelite_period Israelite religion] becomes the name of a sacred pole or tree in local Yahwistic [[shrines]], although there are hints in some [[texts]] that she was [[worshiped]] as a goddess in some times and places. The second tier of deities, the Children of El (bn ʾil), have the same title in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelite_period Israelite religion] (Sons of God; bene ʾel or bene haʾelohim), but in Israelite religion have been demoted into relatively powerless [[beings]]. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resheph Resheph], for example, rather than an independent god of [[war]] and [[disease]], seems to become a [[personification]] of disease, accompanying Yahweh's awesome march into battle (Hb. 3:5). Yahweh replaces or [[absorbs]] the [[functions]] of all of the active gods of the [[pantheon]], hence like El, he is the beneficent [[patriarch]] and [[judge]]; like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal Baal], he is the [[divine]] [[warrior]]; and like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] and her daughters, he dispenses "blessings of breast and womb" ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_genesis#Chapter_.49 Genesis. 49:25]). Israelite religion, like Israel's language and culture, is a child of the Canaanite or West Semitic world.

'''Yahweh''' (הוהי) is the proper [[name]] of the [[God]] of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Israel ancient Israel]. He is also called El, [[literally]] "God," and Elohim, also meaning "God," although the latter was [[originally]] a plural noun meaning "gods, [[pantheon]]." By a remarkable [[act]] of theological reduction, the [[complex]] [[divine]] [[hierarchy]] of prior [[polytheistic]] religion was [[transformed]] into the [[authority]] of a sole high god. However, Yahweh was not the only god in Israelite [[religion]]. Like a king in his [[court]], Yahweh was served by lesser [[deities]], variously called "the [[Sons of God]]," "the [[Host of Heaven]]," and similar titles. This host (the word also means "army") sometimes fought battles of holy [[war]] (cf. the battle of Jericho, where Joshua meets the divine "captain of Yahweh's army"; ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Joshua#Chapter__.5 Joshua. 5:13–15]) and were also [[represented]] as [[stars]] ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Judges#Chapter_.5 Judges. 5:20]): "the stars fought from heaven;" (also [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Job#Chapter_.38 Job. 38:7]). These lesser [[deities]] attend Yahweh in [[heaven]], as in the prophet Micaiah's vision: "I saw Yahweh seated on his throne with all the Host of Heaven standing beside him, to his right and left" ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=First_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_22 1 Kings. 22:19]). At times they are also equated with the gods of other nations: "He [[established]] the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the Sons of God" ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Deutoronomy#Chapter_.32 Deuteronomy. 32:8] with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qumran Qumran] and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint Septuagint]; similarly, ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Deutoronomy#Chapter_.4 Deuteronomy. 4:19]). A third category of [[divine]] [[beings]] (after Yahweh and the [[Sons of God]]) consisted of [[messenger]] gods, called [[angels]]. The angels carry Yahweh's [[messages]] to [[earth]], as illustrated by Jacob's dream vision of the angels ascending and descending the celestial staircase that links heaven and earth ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_genesis#Chapter_.28 Genesis. 28:12]). In late biblical books, the [[Sons of God]] and the [[angels]] merge into a single category and proliferate: In Daniel's [[vision]] of the heavenly [[court]], "thousands upon thousands serve him" ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Daniel#Chapter_7 Daniel. 7:10]).

One of the distinctive features of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelite_period Israelite religion] is the [[absence]] of a [[wife]] or consort for Yahweh. Yahweh is a [[male]] god, but he is not depicted as a [[sexual]] [[being]]. It is possible, although far from certain, that some local [[traditions]] may have rectified this situation. Several inscriptions from the eighth century invoke [[blessings]] "by Yahweh and his asherah." The [[grammar]] of these invocations most likely indicates that "his asherah" refers to a sacred pole or tree rather than a goddess, because a proper name cannot have a possessive suffix, and sacred poles or trees called asherahs are mentioned in the [[Bible]] as features of local [[shrines]]. However, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] is El's wife in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion Canaanite religion], and she might be Yahweh's wife in these local [[cults]], perhaps represented by the [[sacred]] pole or tree. In several instances in the [[Bible]], the name [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] clearly refers to a goddess: According to the Book of Kings, King Asa's mother made a statue of Asherah, which King Asa destroyed ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=First_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_15 1 Kings. 15:13]); 400 prophets of Asherah were supported by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jezebel Queen Jezebel] ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=First_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_18 1 Kings. 18:19]); lacking in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint Septuagint], the [[Greek]] [[translation]] of the [[Hebrew Bible|Hebrew scriptures]]); and a statue of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] was placed in the [[Jerusalem]] Temple by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasseh King Manasseh] and later destroyed by King Josiah ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_.21 2 Kings. 21:7]; [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_.23 23:6]). Whether these [[statements]] are historically accurate or whether in some cases they are false accusations against "wicked" royalty (like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jezebel Jezebel] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasseh Manasseh]), they nonetheless clearly attest that [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] could be understood as the name of a goddess. The [[symbolism]] of the sacred pole or tree called the asherah or asherim (the plural form is [[masculine]] in [[gender]]) remains suggestive but obscure. It may be a depersonalization of Asherah into a religious [[symbol]] of Yahweh [[worship]], perhaps representing an [[attribute]] of Yahweh's [[divinity]] such as [[fertility]] or [[abundance]] (in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy metonymy] of the tree); it may signify that the goddess Asherah was worshiped alongside Yahweh; or perhaps more likely, the sacred pole or tree was subject to differing [[interpretations]], with a floating symbolic register.

The tripartite [[hierarchy]] of the [[divine]] world—Yahweh, the [[Sons of God]] or Heavenly Host, and the [[angels]]—derives from the earlier [[structure]] of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion Canaanite religion]. According to the [[texts]] from [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugarit Ugarit] (c. 1200 BCE) and other Canaanite sources, the high god of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion#Pantheon Canaanite pantheon] was El, whose [[wife]], the [[mother]] of the gods, was [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah]. The other gods of the [[pantheon]] are collectively called the Children of El and are subservient to El's [[authority]], although some—particularly [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal Baal], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anat Anat], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astarte Astarte], and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resheph Resheph]—are prominent deities. A third category consists of servants and [[messenger]] gods. This [[hierarchy]] is structurally equivalent to that of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelite_period Israelite religion], with some striking [[differences]]. On the level of high god, El seems to have merged with Yahweh, who absorbs El's name and has many of his [[attributes]]. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelite_period Israelite religion] becomes the name of a sacred pole or tree in local Yahwistic [[shrines]], although there are hints in some [[texts]] that she was [[worshiped]] as a goddess in some times and places. The second tier of deities, the Children of El (bn ʾil), have the same title in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelite_period Israelite religion] (Sons of God; bene ʾel or bene haʾelohim), but in Israelite religion have been demoted into relatively powerless [[beings]]. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resheph Resheph], for example, rather than an independent god of [[war]] and [[disease]], seems to become a [[personification]] of disease, accompanying Yahweh's awesome march into battle (Hb. 3:5). Yahweh replaces or [[absorbs]] the [[functions]] of all of the active gods of the [[pantheon]], hence like El, he is the beneficent [[patriarch]] and [[judge]]; like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal Baal], he is the [[divine]] [[warrior]]; and like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] and her daughters, he dispenses "blessings of breast and womb" ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_genesis#Chapter_.49 Genesis. 49:25]). Israelite religion, like Israel's language and culture, is a child of the Canaanite or West Semitic world.

Early biblical [[texts]] seem to acknowledge that gods of other nations exist ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Deutoronomy#Chapter_.32 Deuteronomy. 32:8]). The nations each have their own god, but Yahweh is [[Israel]]'s god. This seems to be the earliest sense of the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods beside me" ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Exodus#Chapter_.20 Exodus. 20:3]). Yahweh is [[Israel]]'s high god, who delivered his people from [[slavery]] and oppression, and therefore he is entitled to Israel's [[worship]] and [[loyalty]]. Moreover, Yahweh is superior to the other gods, as proclaimed in the early hymn, the Song of the Sea: "Who is like you among the gods, O Yahweh? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, awesome in praise, working wonders?" ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Exodus#Chapter_.15 Exodus. 15:11]). Other national gods exist, but Yahweh is [[Israel]]'s god and he is the greatest god. The [[worship]] of Yahweh functions as a unifying [[agent]] of Israelite [[culture]] and [[religion]]. This type of [[worship]] is sometimes called [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monolotry monolotry] (the [[worship]] of one god without denying the [[existence]] of others) or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism henotheism] ([[belief]] in one god without denying the [[existence]] of others). A more thoroughgoing [[monotheism]], which denies the [[existence]] of other gods, is a product of the [[prophetic]] and Deuteronomistic [[critique]] during the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/800_BC eighth] through the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/600_BC sixth centuries BCE].

One of the distinctive features of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelite_period Israelite religion] is the [[absence]] of a [[wife]] or consort for Yahweh. Yahweh is a [[male]] god, but he is not depicted as a [[sexual]] [[being]]. It is possible, although far from certain, that some local [[traditions]] may have rectified this situation. Several inscriptions from the eighth century invoke [[blessings]] "by Yahweh and his asherah." The [[grammar]] of these invocations most likely indicates that "his asherah" refers to a sacred pole or tree rather than a goddess, because a proper name cannot have a possessive suffix, and sacred poles or trees called asherahs are mentioned in the [[Bible]] as features of local [[shrines]]. However, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] is El's wife in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion Canaanite religion], and she might be Yahweh's wife in these local [[cults]], perhaps represented by the [[sacred]] pole or tree. In several instances in the [[Bible]], the name [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] clearly refers to a goddess: According to the Book of Kings, King Asa's mother made a statue of Asherah, which King Asa destroyed ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=First_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_15 1 Kings. 15:13]); 400 prophets of Asherah were supported by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jezebel Queen Jezebel] ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=First_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_18 1 Kings. 18:19]); lacking in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint Septuagint], the [[Greek]] [[translation]] of the [[Hebrew Bible|Hebrew scriptures]]); and a statue of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] was placed in the [[Jerusalem]] Temple by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasseh King Manasseh] and later destroyed by King Josiah ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_.21 2 Kings. 21:7]; [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Book_of_Kings#Chapter_.23 23:6]). Whether these [[statements]] are historically accurate or whether in some cases they are false accusations against "wicked" royalty (like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jezebel Jezebel] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manasseh Manasseh]), they nonetheless clearly attest that [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah Asherah] could be understood as the name of a goddess. The [[symbolism]] of the sacred pole or tree called the asherah or asherim (the plural form is [[masculine]] in [[gender]]) remains suggestive but obscure. It may be a depersonalization of Asherah into a religious [[symbol]] of Yahweh [[worship]], perhaps representing an [[attribute]] of Yahweh's [[divinity]] such as [[fertility]] or [[abundance]] (in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy metonymy] of the tree); it may signify that the goddess Asherah was worshiped alongside Yahweh; or perhaps more likely, the sacred pole or tree was subject to differing [[interpretations]], with a floating symbolic register.

In addition to the major categories of [[divine]] [[beings]], the human dead are also referred to as gods. When [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Saul King Saul] has a sorceress summon the ghost of the [[prophet]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel Samuel], she calls the [[ghost]] an Elohim ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=First_Book_of_Samuel#Chapter_28 1 Samuel. 28:13]). Elsewhere the shades of the dead are called gods ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Isaiah#Chapter_.8 Isaiah. 8:19]) and "holy ones" ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Psalms#Psalm_16 Psalms. 16:3]). Although [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divination divination] by consulting the shades of the dead is prohibited in [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Deutoronomy#Chapter_.18 Deuteronomy 18:11], it may have been a fairly common local [[practice]]. Statues called teraphim were also used for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divination divination] ([http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Ezekiel#Chapter_21 Ezekiel. 21:26]; Zechariah. 10:2) and are once referred to as gods (Gn. 31:30). These were probably statues of dead ancestors who bestowed blessings on their descendants and could be invoked for divination. These practices indicate that the dead were not connected to the world of the gods as full-fledged deities, but as shadowy intermediaries between the world of the living and the divine realm. The world of the dead was the subterranean Sheol, not in heaven where Yahweh and his divine entourage dwelled, but somehow their shadowy existence was in some respects divine and included godlike foresight into the future.

Early biblical [[texts]] seem to acknowledge that gods of other nations exist ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Deutoronomy#Chapter_.32 Deuteronomy. 32:8]). The nations each have their own god, but Yahweh is [[Israel]]'s god. This seems to be the earliest sense of the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods beside me" ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Exodus#Chapter_.20 Exodus. 20:3]). Yahweh is [[Israel]]'s high god, who delivered his people from [[slavery]] and oppression, and therefore he is entitled to Israel's [[worship]] and [[loyalty]]. Moreover, Yahweh is superior to the other gods, as proclaimed in the early hymn, the Song of the Sea: "Who is like you among the gods, O Yahweh? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, awesome in praise, working wonders?" ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Exodus#Chapter_.15 Exodus. 15:11]). Other national gods exist, but Yahweh is [[Israel]]'s god and he is the greatest god. The [[worship]] of Yahweh functions as a unifying [[agent]] of Israelite [[culture]] and [[religion]]. This type of [[worship]] is sometimes called [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monolotry monolotry] (the [[worship]] of one god without denying the [[existence]] of others) or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism henotheism] ([[belief]] in one god without denying the [[existence]] of others). A more thoroughgoing [[monotheism]], which denies the [[existence]] of other gods, is a product of the [[prophetic]] and Deuteronomistic [[critique]] during the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/800_BC eighth] through the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/600_BC sixth centuries BCE].

On a different level the human king functioned as a quasidivine intermediary between the divine and human realms. The king is at times referred to as the son of God (Ps. 2:7; 2 Sm. 7:14) and the firstborn of God (Ps. 89:28), and in one text the king seems to be addressed as Elohim (Ps. 45:7). The language of divine kinship in these texts indicates that God adopts the reigning king as his earthly son, which corresponds to the king's role as God's chosen representative or intermediary on earth. As portrayed in the royal psalms, the king is the earthly guarantor of cosmic order, defeating the enemies—both human and cosmic—and establishing harmony and peace. The king partakes of the divine through the sacral office of kingship, which ideally ensures "abundant authority and peace without end" (Is. 9:6). In the Second Temple period (536 BCE–70 CE), in the absence of a reigning king, the concept of the king as a quasidivine intermediary stimulated the expectation of a royal messiah, the future Davidic king, hedged with divinity, who will defeat chaos once and for all.

 

On a [[different]] level the [[human]] [[king]] functioned as a quasidivine intermediary between the [[divine]] and [[human]] realms. The king is at times referred to as the son of God ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Psalms#Psalm_2 Psalms. 2:7]; [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Book_of_Samuel#Chapter_.7 2 Samuel. 7:14]) and the firstborn of God ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Psalms#Psalm_89 Psalms. 89:28]), and in one text the king seems to be addressed as Elohim ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Psalms#Psalm_45 Psalms. 45:7]). The [[language]] of [[divine]] kinship in these [[texts]] indicates that [[God]] [[adopts]] the reigning [[king]] as his earthly son, which [[corresponds]] to the king's role as God's chosen [[representative]] or intermediary on [[earth]]. As portrayed in the royal psalms, the [[king]] is the earthly guarantor of [[cosmic]] order, defeating the enemies—both [[human]] and [[cosmic]]—and establishing [[harmony]] and [[peace]]. The king partakes of the [[divine]] through the sacral office of kingship, which ideally ensures "[[abundant]] [[authority]] and [[peace]] without end" ([https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Isaiah#Chapter_.9 Isaiah. 9:6]). In the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple Second Temple period] (536 BCE–70 CE), in the [[absence]] of a reigning [[king]], the concept of the king as a quasidivine intermediary stimulated the [[expectation]] of a royal [[messiah]], the [[future]] Davidic king, hedged with [[divinity]], who will defeat [[chaos]] once and for all.