Israel and Humanity - An examination of some texts establishing the doctrine of the Pentateuch

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II.

An examination of some texts establishing the doctrine.

§ 1.

THE PENTATEUCH.

The doctrine of sarim , or guardian angels of nations appears to us very clearly expressed in the passage of the last song of Moses we have already quoted by studying the meaning of the word Elion "When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of men, he fixed the boundaries of peoples according to the number of children of Israel" "

The first words of the text: "When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance" could also be translated as: "When the Most High gave the nations heritage." But whatever translation is adopted, we believe that this is still here angels, whether we want to see there, as in the other two verses of Deuteronomy previously recalled, the distribution that God has made to different peoples of the earth, whether we prefer to find the idea that the various nations are respectively in their custody. The proof that this interpretation is correct is, in our opinion, the following words: "For the part of Jehovah , is his people, Jacob is the portion of his inheritance ". So Israel is the special inheritance of the LORD, as the various peoples of the Gentiles are the legacy of the gods or angels that are distributed. The analogy with the other two texts from Deuteronomy chapters IV and XXIX is it not striking?

But the tendency of modern criticism to make this book a separate document to the date of composition requires us to look in other parts of the Bible texts in support of those we have mentioned so far .

We also read the words of Caleb imploring people not to be discouraged in the conquest of Palestine by the reports of explorers: "Only rebel not ye against the Lord and fear ye the people of this country, because they serve us food, the one who overshadows them and withdrew from the Lord is with you, do not fear them ". Among the older commentators Abrabanel is the only one who saw in these words: "one who overshadows" , the sar , the guardian angel of the Canaanite peoples. This, however, the interpretation seems the most fair and it should be noted that this god of Canaan is entirely subordinate to the supreme God of the Hebrews, since it is by Avaya that will cease to protect the people entrusted to his care. The role of these gods of the nations being thus established by the Pentateuch, it is clear that these names of God the Most High God of gods and given to the God of Israel and we made a special study means, in biblical perspective A sovereign God who in his domination of lesser gods he has servants to the government of the people. It would be neither the God of gods or superior to them, if he had the supreme direction of everything they do. It is therefore in the Hebrew conception of God a kind of amphictyony similar to that of Greeks, but with this difference in Greece, where there was polytheism, we could not leave the country, fully understand such a theory, while it is impossible for Jewish monotheism, if you do not consent to cross national borders: the LORD, Israel, can be called the God of gods because the Bible explicitly recognizes the existence of deities of the Gentiles .

The passage from Exodus on the deliverance from Egypt left no doubt about that, "I will smite all the firstborn of Egypt both man and beast, and will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt "Exodus . While this is something other than the gods of wood, stone and metal, which addressed the popular cult. The ancient rabbis saw in this verse a threat against the Egyptian idols, but because, in their opinion, the physical destruction of these images corresponded rough on the invisible plane , punishment of spiritual powers which they were representing. And this is so true that they talk about a sar , the guardian angel of Egypt, sometimes they call Raab, sometimes Uzza, and they describe us the fall, when issuance of the Hebrews.

Recall again the words of Jacob, who met Genesis tells us, by God's angels cried: "This is the camp of God (El-ohieme !). And later, after the sustained fight against the mysterious angel who acknowledges that he has fought victoriously with El ohieme and with men, we read: "Jacob called the name of the place Peniel for, he said, I saw God face to face, and my soul has been saved ". What does this strange episode in the life of the Hebrew patriarch? We see, for us, the struggle of the Israelites with the pagan gods who are, as we have said, that angels deified. Scripture tells us that the Jew thus, far from delivering its worship one particular aspect of the Deity as the heathen do, loves the Unit itself, the Centre which all ended. His conception of the true God is high at this height, he saw below him, as in the famous vision of Jacob, angels sometimes up and sometimes down, that is to say, the different religions, different notions of Divinity toward and away more or less of its monotheistic faith, but the pledge of the ultimate triumph of the latter is the same name that was given to him "You will be called Israel, winner of the angels."