The Israeli Concept of Mastery, Essay Example

Levenson believes that the idea of Mastery captures the essence of biblical creation.  This is the idea that the Biblical God, or YHWH, has mastery over all of creation.  Within the context of the Bible, it can be debated how absolute the mastery of God over the world actually is.  Within this sense, it becomes evident that there is a dynamic relationship between the omnipotence of God’s rule over the primordial world and his need to constantly reestablish his rule of it over those who contest his legitimacy to be absolute ruler.

This idea of mastery is what differentiates the Israeli concept of god from that of the pagans.  While YHWH is above and beyond the universe, and so has mastery over all things, the pagan gods were subject to the universe of which they were apart, arising from it, not the other way around.  In this sense, the legimacy of God is created by his absolute being, as not being subservient to the world of which he is a part.  Instead, God necessarily must have the maximum amount of absolute control over the primordial world while still being able to establish his rule and power over those who question him.

In the Enuma Elish Marduk is born into the world at a certain point in time, and so is described as being “not primordial”.  While Apsu and Tiamat, on the other hand, are considered “primordial”, there from the start, they are never able to transcend, or rise above or out of, the world in which they exist.  This leads Kaufmann to consider this a perfect example of the difference between paganism and Judaic religions.

The first piece of evidence that Kaufmann gives in order to link the Enuma Elish with Genesis 1 is the creation of the Earth, specifically the fact that he isn’t said to have created the waters themselves.  The second piece of evidence he discusses is the creation of humanity when God says “Let us make God in Our image, after Our likeness”.  Here, the author questions the origin of those that God is speaking to, and whether the idea of God’s “mastery” apply to them or not.

Kaufmann writes that there is evidence of the mastery of God within Psalm 82.  While the verses seem to imply that YHWH is assumed to have mastery within the society, there is no evidence of this mastery being primordial.  In the end, God is asked to rise and take his place as ruler of the world.  Like Marduk, God has yet to claim all that is his.  In this sense, his mastery has yet to be fulfilled.  This is what the author believes that it teaches us about the mastery of God.

Kaufmann compares the creation myths of the Canaanite and Mesopotamian religions to passages from Psalm 74.  Within this passage of the bible, God is described as defeating the sea, which is similar to the myth of Baal within the Canaanite religion.  In both cases, the gods must win their mastery over the seas through conquest, which means their rule could not be considered primordial.  Kaufmann goes on to indicate that the Gods Marduk and YHWH become the “exclusive” rulers of the cosmos.  While Baal eventually wins his throne his rule isn’t considered “exclusive”, as he is still in contest with other deities.

A problem with God’s creative powers is highlighted by Kaufmann in Psalm 74 in relation to the flood of Noah.  In this case God’s creation is always something to be desired, but is not necessarily absolute.  In the context of this story, God is only able to recreate the world after destroying it, or subjecting it to chaos.  This calls the absolute nature of his create power into question.  If it were absolute, it would not have been necessary for God to first destroy the world with a flood before recreating it.  Kaufmann notes that this makes the thought that the world will not be plunged into chaos once more contingent on the promise that God will not allow it to happen.  Peace of mind is solely found on the basis of trust in God’s word.  If God were to go back on this word, it would mean that the world was subjected to destruction once more.

It significant that the waters in Psalm 104 and Job 38 are only described as being set in “bounds” because it challenges the idea that God was able to overcome the sea, but rather seems to indicate that he was only able to control, or maintain, its boundaries, and if he were to end this control then the sea would rise up of its own accord.  This furthers the idea that God is not absolute ruler over the primordial world.

On page 19 Kaufmann describes the “dual-determination” of the Psalmists.  In this sense, they attempted to describe God’s rule as being both absolute and determined by his mastery of the world at one and the same time.  While they wished to see the absolutism of God’s rule, they also wished to establish his legitimacy by making him “like the hero of old” who conqueres the

In the end Kaufmann makes the argument that the “religious vision” that comes out of this examination indicates a sense of balance between faith and realism.  While on the one hand, the faithful wish to believe that the mastery of God was cemented in the primordial world, on the other, within the context of a realist approach,  it becomes evident that God’s reign must be maintained and is in constant threat of being overuled.