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This page intentionally left blank thebodiesofgodandtheworldofancientisrael InTheBodiesofGodandtheWorldofAncientIsrael,BenjaminD.Sommerinvestigates thenotionofGod’sbodyandGod’sselfinancientIsrael,Canaan,andMesopotamia. HeuncoversalostancientNearEasternperceptionofdivinityaccordingtowhichan essentialdifferencebetweengodsandhumanswasthatgodshadmorethanonebody andfluid,unboundedselves.Thoughthedominantstrainsofbiblicalreligionrejected it,amonotheisticversionofthistheologicalintuitionisfoundinsomebiblicaltexts. LaterJewishandChristianthinkersinheritedthisancientwayofthinking;ideassuch asthesefirotinkabbalahandthetrinityinChristianityrepresentalateversionofthis theology.Thisbookchallengesthedistinctionbetweenmonotheismandpolytheism,as thisnotionofdivinefluidityisfoundinbothpolytheisticcultures(Babylonia,Assyria, Canaan) and monotheistic ones (biblical religion, Jewish mysticism, Christianity), whereas it is absent in some polytheistic cultures (classical Greece). The Bodies of GodandtheWorldofAncientIsraelhasimportantrepercussionsnotonlyforbiblical scholarshipandcomparativereligionbutalsoforJewish-Christiandialogue. Benjamin D. Sommer is Professor in the Department of Bible and Ancient Semitic Languages at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He was previously the DirectoroftheCrownFamilyCenterforJewishStudiesatNorthwesternUniversity. Dr.SommerservesastheeditorofthePsalmsvolumesoftheJewishPublicationSociety BibleCommentarySeriesandiswritingthefirstvolumeofthatfive-volumeset.His firstbook,AProphetReadsScripture:AllusioninIsaiah40–66(1998),wasawardedthe SaloWittmayerBaronPrizebytheAmericanAcademyofJewishResearch. The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel benjamin d. sommer TheJewishTheologicalSeminaryofAmerica CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521518727 © Benjamin D. Sommer 2009 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2009 ISBN-13 978-0-511-59616-2 eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 978-0-521-51872-7 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Information regarding prices, travel timetables, and other factual information given in this work are correct at the time of first printing, but Cambridge University Press does not guarantee the accuracy of such information thereafter. hbwhahytval hr`w!hrbatbhnj dØbŁ^âw°#@aAt£5 F orJennifer Onourmarriagebecominga“barmitzvah” (cid:1) ... hrybjhlwllyvmhl ynv@yawdjaawhw hrwbgwjkAldg dwrpylbrwbjylb (m(cid:2)(cid:2)[jswn,!lw[@wdAa^wtm) djadazrbattltdjytayhyaykh#wa,djabal[l@ydjytm@wnadanwgk djawmvwdja(cid:2)hdazranmyqwaahw...djlbqldjal[l@whm[ywhml (a(cid:2)(cid:2)[h(cid:2)(cid:2)lqhmwrttvrprhwz^wtm) twnwymdlkbdja^nh,twnwyzjbwrb^wlyvmh (dwbkhryv^wtm) Heisoneandthereisnoother TocomparetoHimortocombinewithHim... Withoutmerger,withoutfragmention, Greatinpowerandinmight. (FromthehymnAdonOlam) Justastheyachieveunityabovebymeansofone, So,too,Sheachievesunitybelowbymeansofthesecretofone, SothatShecorrespondswiththoseabove,onematchingone; ...Andwehavealreadyestablishedthesecret of“theLORDisoneandHisnameone.” (FromtheZohartoTerumah) TheyportrayedYouthroughcomparisonsinmanyvisions, ButinallyourimagesYouareone. (FromthehymnShirHakavod) Contents Preface pageix Acknowledgments xiii Introduction:God’sBodyandtheBible’sInterpreters 1 1 FluidityofDivineEmbodimentandSelfhood:Mesopotamia andCanaan 12 2 TheFluidityModelinAncientIsrael 38 3 TheRejectionoftheFluidityModelinAncientIsrael 58 4 God’sBodiesandSacredSpace(1):Tent,Ark,andTemple 80 5 God’sBodiesandSacredSpace(2):DifficultBeginnings 109 6 ThePerceptionofDivinityinBiblicalTradition:Implications andAfterlife 124 Appendix:MonotheismandPolytheisminAncientIsrael 145 Notes 175 ListofAbbreviations 277 Bibliography 279 ScripturalIndex 305 IndexofRabbinicCitations 316 SubjectIndex 317 vii