And Yahweh appeared

Thesis



This thesis examines the use of the motifs of "seeing God" and of "God's appearing" in Old Testament narratives. The frequency, distribution, and form of such references are presented in Chapter One which examines the semantic field of words for "see" in the Old Testament with special reference to "seeing with reference to God." An examination of works on Old Testament theophany suggests that these motifs have not been fully appreciated. They are generally considered only as they might be related to earlier forms of texts, e. g. cultic etiology; or divine appearing is equated with divine speaking. The significance they have for the narratives in which they are found is thus ignored. In Chapter Two the ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of these motifs are considered. An examination of the see vocabularies of extant Ugaritic and Akkadian literature reveals that, although rare, the motif of "seeing God" is found. However, the motif of God's appearing is not found.

The significance of these motifs for Old Testament narratives is then examined in Chapters Three to Five which are devoted to: 1) the Patriarchal Traditions of Genesis; 2) the Moses, Sinai, and Wilderness Traditions of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; and 3) the Historical Writing of the Old Testament. Where possible attention is given to the use of these motifs at two levels: the level of the story as inherited material; and the level of the larger narratives in which the stories are found. Previous scholarly work on these texts is also discussed where relevant. Each chapter concludes with a summary of the variety of usages to which the motifs were put. Chapter Six presents a summary and conclusion and suggests areas where further research may prove fruitful.

Authors: Staton, C; Staton Jr., Cecil P.

• Alternative title: a study of the motifs of seeing God and of God's appearing in Old Testament narratives
• Publication date: 1988
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Subjects: Theophanies in the Bible