Trusting YHWH. Lorne E. Weaver. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Lorne E. Weaver
Издательство: Ingram
Серия:
Жанр произведения: Религия: прочее
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781498290449
Скачать книгу
of meaning are still present in the text as we have it–the cultic and spiritual or figurative.” 100.

      Hallowed Names

      Throughout this book we will be treating Psalms 90, 91 and 92 as a specific literary unit in the Psalms. There is much evidence to support its supposition. We focus first on Psalm 91 where only here in the Psalter, the poet employs four different names for God, each of which is intended to emphasize the total sovereignty and power and incomparability of the Hebrew God.

      In Psalm 78:56, it is the continued sin of the people that is met by divine anger, but it is anger tempered with compassion. For they tested the Most High God, and were in utter rebellion. They did not observe the divine decrees, but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors. Again it is used in its plural form אלהים (Elohim, gods) in Psalm 57:3. I cry to God Most High, to God (אלהים) who fulfills [his] purpose for me. God will send from heaven and save me; God will put to shame those who trample me under foot. God will send forth [his] constant love and faithfulness (LW). God as the exalted ruler of the universe vindicates the innocent and confronts the faithless.

      In Psalm 113, we read how the personal, intimate יהוה is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like יהוה our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? אלהי ( Elohay, my God), which only occurs in three other places in the book of Psalms, is the singular, feminine form of אלהים , the plural (Elohim, gods). Both אלהים (Elohim) and אלהי (Elohay) are derivations of the broader prefix אל (El) the chief god in the Canaanite pantheon.

      With the conjunctive יהוה עליון, YHWH and Elyon are also used in apposition in several other psalms.

      I will give thanks to יהוה with my whole heart; . . .I will sing praises to your name, O עליון (Ps 9:2); For יהוה thundered in the heavens, and עליון (elyon) raised [his] voice (18:13); For the king trusts in יהוה and through the constant love of עליון (elyon) he shall not be moved (21:7, NRSV). This close association between the two names is found throughout the Hebrew Bible and is particularly noteworthy in the Psalms. Elyon (עליון) connects Psalm 92 to Psalm 91. It is good to give thanks to יהוה and to sing praises to your name, O עליון (elyon). cf. 92:1, 4, 5, 8, 9, and 15. Psalm 92 is a thanksgiving hymn for the just order. It speaks to the deliverance by יהוה of Israel out of the hands of her enemies and oppressors. It is a resounding hymn which builds on the majestic confidence and trust of Psalm 91.

      In Psalm 91:4 a distinctly unique metaphor for refuge is employed. יהוה will cover you with [his] pinions, and under [his] wings you will find refuge. The Hebrew noun סֹחֵרָה (sokherah), which occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible, refers to a surrounding enclosure, a rampart, or an enveloping and rounded shield. This metaphor is intended to evoke the powerful image of יהוה encompassing the poet with complete protection against all assaults. Included in this imagery is the understanding of the life of faith and trust as one that is embattled, requiring the unfailing assistance and continuously abiding protection of the presence of יהוה throughout one’s life. Assurance of the presence of יהוה is appealed to by the poets over and over again and is a constant theme in the life of faith for the ancient people of God.

      The origin of the sacred name, יהוה, goes something like this. In its classical form the traditional Kenite hypothesis postulates the view that the Israelites became acquainted with the worship of יהוה through Moses. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law in one account was, according to an old tradition, a Midianite priest (Ex 2:16; 3:1; 18:1) who worshiped יהוה (e.g. Ex 18:10–12). In two other accounts Hobab is referred to also as Moses’ father-in-law (in Judg 1:16; 4:11; Num 10:29) and belonged to the Kenites (Judg 1:16; 4:11) a branch of the Midianites. By way of Hobab and Moses, then, the Kenites were the mediators of the cult of יהוה.

      Dependency on the historical role of Moses, moreover, is problematic. It seems more prudent not to put too much weight on the figure of Moses—to say nothing of the discrepancy that is found in scripture regarding the actual identities of Jethro and Hobab who are each cited as Moses’s father-in-law (perhaps Moses had two fathers-in-law?). It is only in a much later tradition that Moses came to be regarded as the legendary ancestor of the Levitical priests and a symbol of the “יהוה alone movement.” That יהוה is known as the God of deliverance and grace is attested in the Exodus 18 strata; Moses said to Hobab . . . We are setting out for the place of which יהוה said, ‘I will give it to you’; come with us, and we will treat you well; for יהוה has promised good to Israel. (cf. Num.10:29).