Ancient Semitic Inscriptions How Can They Assist English Bible Study?

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1 Ancient Semitic Inscriptions How Can They Assist English Bible Study? NOTE: This document is adapted from Dr. Heiser s longer blog post on the Logos Bible Software blog. One of the challenges we face at Logos when we create research tools for studying ancient texts in their original script is how such data can be made useful in the Libronix platform for users who do not read the ancient languages. Our aim is not merely to produce tools for scholars, but tools that can help everyone inform their Bible study. The new databases for Aramaic inscriptions and the Hebrew and Canaanite inscriptions are a good case in point. In this blog post, I'd like to focus on how these inscriptions can assist your Bible study even if you can't read the ancient languages. Veteran Libronix users will recognize immediately that since these inscriptions come with fresh English translations and can be displayed as an interlinear, they are accessible to the English reader. But what may not be apparent is why the English reader might want to include them in searches or Bible study. It's easy to see how commentaries or reference books that deal with Bible backgrounds would be helpful, but users often balk at the thought of utilizing ancient non-biblical texts for enlightening biblical content. I think the example that follows illustrate the value of including these kinds of texts in Bible study. The Witness in the Clouds

2 One of the Phoenician inscriptions in the new Libronix database of Hebrew and Canaanite inscriptions comes from a location known as Arslan Tash. The inscription is found on an amulet and reads in part: Arslan Tash Asshur has made with us and eternal covenant. He made (it) 11 with us, and (with) all the sons of the gods, 12 and the chiefs of the council of all the holy ones 13 with a covenant of heaven and earth 14 forever, by an oath of Baal, 15 [l]ord of earth, by a covenant 16 of Ḥawron, whose mouth is pure, 17 and his seven concubines, and 18 the eight wives of Baal-Qudsh. In this inscription, the high god Asshur is said to have made a covenant with the people among whom the author lived. Asshur makes this covenant, and then the covenant is said to be ratified or "guaranteed" by other gods: Baal, Ḥawron, and Ḥawron's seven concubines and eight wives, who were all (presumably) considered divine beings. This kind of inscription content is easy to cross-reference in the Bible, especially the Old Testament. It might be instructive, for example, to compare covenant language between the Bible and sources outside the Bible for parallels and significant differences. This kind of thing is referenced many times in study Bible notes. In this instance, it might strike us as odd that a god would make a covenant with his people and then have that covenant promise backed up by

3 other gods, since in the Bible God swear oaths by himself since, according to Hebrews 6:13-20, there is none greater. But are there exceptions? If you were attempting a thorough Bible study of all the covenants in the Bible between God and people, you'd come across a surprising covenant circumstance in Psalm 89, where the idea of God swearing only by himself in a covenant relationship is in fact not the case. Psalm 89, which is a reiteration of the Davidic covenant given in 2 Samuel 7, has God making the covenant with David and his dynasty and then appealing to a witness in the clouds as a guarantee of that covenant. Believe it or not, the covenant of the Arslan Tash inscription helps us to know what's going on here. Psalm 89:35-37 [Hebrew text, 89:36-38] reads: 35 "Once I have sworn by my Holy One; I will not lie to David. 36 "His descendants shall be forever And his throne as the sun before me. 37 "It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the clouds will be faithful." The keys to understanding this small section of Psalm 89 are the two underlined portions. English translations disagree on this passage for very technical reasons I'll skip here (readers can click here for more detail). This is my own literal rendering, though the NASB comes closest to what I have. Notice how the passage has certain parallel elements, which I've marked by letters: A I have sworn by my Holy One; B I will not lie to David. C "His descendants shall be forever

4 C his throne (shall be) as the sun before me. C "It [his throne] shall be established forever like the moon, A And a witness in the clouds will be faithful." Translations disagree most often on the underlined portions. Many have "by my holiness" for the first underline, but that makes little sense in light of the literary parallelism. It seems that Yahweh has sworn by a person (a witness) in the second underlining, which calls for a person being "sworn by" in the first underlining. All that is needed to arrive at "my Holy One" is to change the vowel marks in the Hebrew at this point to conform it to "Holy One" found elsewhere in the Old Testament. Most translations also have "an enduring witness" or "a faithful witness" for the second underlined portion, but there are grammatical problems with that translation. What we have here is Yahweh swearing a covenantal oath to David and guaranteeing that oath by some witness in the clouds. This is actually similar to what we read in Arslan Tash. The head of the Phoenician pantheon at Arslan Tash, Asshur, makes a covenant in the presence of his heavenly council (the "council of the holy ones"), and then calls on other gods to confirm that the covenant will be carried out. Israel's faith was monotheistic, but these elements are all present in Psalm 89. Yahweh swears an oath to David, and Yahweh's own heavenly host ("divine council of the holy ones"; Psalm 89:5-8 ) witnesses the oath. But there's a problem Israel's faith has no place for other gods to hold Yahweh accountable to his oath. Nevertheless, the language is there. How can Yahweh swear by another and yet not be held accountable to a separate god other than himself? The passage seems to require an equal to Yahweh who will uphold the covenant, but how does that work? The idea of one god binding another god's oath was familiar in the ancient Near East-Arslan Tash is but one example. But how can this work in Israel? Who is this witness in the heavens who will be faithful to make sure the covenant of David's eternal dynasty comes to pass and never fails?

5 The New Testament answers these questions by filling the witness slot with Jesus. Revelation 1:4-5 is telling: 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. Jesus, of course, as the son of David, fulfilled the Davidic covenant of Psalm 89. And since the New Testament presents Jesus as true deity incarnate and equal in nature with the God of the Old Testament, Jesus fulfills the role of witnessguarantor eternally. We know this if we've read the New Testament, but sometimes more ancient material canonical and even outside the canon can contextualize a point more clearly.