The Divine Council: An Introduction and Overview

Divine Council

Divine Council is a term used by Hebrew Bible scholars for the heavenly host, the assembly of divine beings who administer the affairs of the cosmos under Yahweh, the God of Israel. All ancient Mediterranean cultures had some conception of a divine council, including Israel. However, Israelite religion’s divine council was distinct. The structure of the Israelite divine council has implications for understanding God and the unseen world in biblical theology.

The Council of the Gods / God. Most Bible translations show that Israel believed in an assembly of heavenly host under the authority of Yahweh. Modern translations do not show clearly that this assembly is similar to pantheons of ancient Near Eastern cultures. A close reading of the Hebrew text and comparisons with other ancient non-biblical texts from Canaan demonstrate this similarity (Mullen, Handy, “Host”; Cross “Epic”; Smith “Early”; Smith, “Origin”; Korpel, Rift in the Clouds).

Divine Council Intro

Divine Council and Cosmic Geography

How Dr Heiser approaches the Bible

The Bible Project's overview

Important Source Links

While this post gives a good introduction on the topic, if you want to read further, including the academic work of Dr Heiser, as well as his other work, or his curriculum vitae, explore the links below.

Important Source Links

While this post gives a good introduction on the topic, if you want to read further, including the academic work of Dr Heiser, as well as his other work, or his curriculum vitae, explore the links below.

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Jay Dyer

  • Jay Dyer is an author, comedian and TV presenter known for his deep analysis of Hollywood, geopolitics, and culture. His graduate work focused on psychological warfare and film and he is the author of two books, Esoteric Hollywood 1 & 2 and the co-creator and co-host of the television show Hollywood Decoded. He has been featured on numerous popular shows and podcasts and in debates with some of the world’s top debaters.

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