Nature of God
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Libby Schleider
December 16, 2009
Intro to the Old Testament
Topic B: The Nature of Revelation
DIVINE REVELATION IN THE HEBREW BIBLE
After forty years of endlessly wandering the desert land, Moses heard YHWH’s voice commanding his people to continue their journey to the promised land of their ancestors. Thus a new covenant was made: a covenant between a new generation and YHWH, a covenant between Israel and the god of Israel. Divine revelation in the book of Deuteronomy is established primarily on celestial and verbal communication between YHWH and Moses. YHWH speaks to Moses revealing truths unknown to man; in turn, Moses records those truths, eventually becoming the book of Deuteronomy. Its audience: Israel.
Divine revelation as a verbal, textual affair between YHWH and Moses is clearly present in the Pentateuch culminating with Deuteronomy. In Exodus Moses ascends Mount Sinai to speak with the god of Israel. Through Leviticus and Numbers their divine communication remains verbal and textual: YHWH speaks, Moses writes.
In the final verses of Deuteronomy, as Moses dies and Joshua becomes his successor, YHWH continues the same style of communication. Joshua’s writings from YHWH spoken truths become the sixth book in the Bible. This pattern continues with Samuel, Isaiah, Elijah and Elisha. It would appear that the Hebrew Bible relies on divine revelation in the form of a verbal and textual agreement; however, there are many different modes of revelation and many different ways by which the god of Israel reveals himself.
The Hebraic Bible characterizes YHWH as the all-knowing, omnipotent, omnipresent, benevolent god of Israel. He is incomprehensible, an infinite being, while man is a finite being with finite knowledge making it impossible to understand perfectly the god of Israel. When YHWH manifests himself in the Old Testament it is in a way that the human mind can grasp. He reveals only part of himself in a visible form....
December 16, 2009
Intro to the Old Testament
Topic B: The Nature of Revelation
DIVINE REVELATION IN THE HEBREW BIBLE
After forty years of endlessly wandering the desert land, Moses heard YHWH’s voice commanding his people to continue their journey to the promised land of their ancestors. Thus a new covenant was made: a covenant between a new generation and YHWH, a covenant between Israel and the god of Israel. Divine revelation in the book of Deuteronomy is established primarily on celestial and verbal communication between YHWH and Moses. YHWH speaks to Moses revealing truths unknown to man; in turn, Moses records those truths, eventually becoming the book of Deuteronomy. Its audience: Israel.
Divine revelation as a verbal, textual affair between YHWH and Moses is clearly present in the Pentateuch culminating with Deuteronomy. In Exodus Moses ascends Mount Sinai to speak with the god of Israel. Through Leviticus and Numbers their divine communication remains verbal and textual: YHWH speaks, Moses writes.
In the final verses of Deuteronomy, as Moses dies and Joshua becomes his successor, YHWH continues the same style of communication. Joshua’s writings from YHWH spoken truths become the sixth book in the Bible. This pattern continues with Samuel, Isaiah, Elijah and Elisha. It would appear that the Hebrew Bible relies on divine revelation in the form of a verbal and textual agreement; however, there are many different modes of revelation and many different ways by which the god of Israel reveals himself.
The Hebraic Bible characterizes YHWH as the all-knowing, omnipotent, omnipresent, benevolent god of Israel. He is incomprehensible, an infinite being, while man is a finite being with finite knowledge making it impossible to understand perfectly the god of Israel. When YHWH manifests himself in the Old Testament it is in a way that the human mind can grasp. He reveals only part of himself in a visible form....