Paul Evans, «Divine Intermediaries in 1 Chronicles 21. An Overlooked Aspect of the Chronicler’s Theology», Vol. 85 (2004) 545-558
This paper challenges current scholarly opinion in regard to
the Chronicler’s belief in divine intermediaries. In 1 Chronicles 21, unlike in
the Chronicler’s Vorlage, the angel is clearly distinguished from Yahweh
himself, communicates Yahweh’s word to Gad, and flies. The Chronicler’s
replacement of Yahweh with N+# also reflects this
belief. Persian Dualism may have been influential but there is no
evidence that the Chronicler felt the need to remove all aspects of evil from
originating in God. Although not representing a complete doctrine of Satan, as
developed in later Jewish writings, 1 Chronicles 21 is an important stage its
development.
Divine Intermediaries in 1 Chronicles 21 551
earliest reference of an angel being in the air in the Bible. It seems the
angel is described either as hovering or — in a manner similar to later
angelology — flying. Not only is this different than the angel portrayed
in his Vorlage, it is distinct from earlier angel narratives. In previous OT
books, angels are usually described as human in form, and until 1
Chronicles 21 they are never described as defying gravity. In fact, such
an angelic portrayal is otherwise only found in the book of Daniel which
undeniably contains the most developed angelology found in the OT (24).
Another distinctive feature of Ch’s angel is his role as mediator.
In 2 Sam 24,18 we read simply that “Gad came to David that day and
said to him, ‘Go and erect an altar to Yahweh’†but in 1 Chr 21,18 we
learn that “the angel of Yahweh commanded Gad to say to David that
David should go up and rear an altar to Yahwehâ€. This is contrary to 2
Sam 24,19 which tells us that “David went up in accord with Gad’s
word just as Yahweh had commanded†[emphasis mine] contra 1 Chr
21,19 which says “So David went up at Gad’s word, which he had
spoken in the name of Yahweh†[emphasis mine]. The former
explicitly states that Yahweh himself commanded Gad. Rather than
having Yahweh himself speak to Gad, Ch has the angel become the
medium through which God’s word is revealed to Gad. This is a
characteristic of later angelology which portrays angels acting as
mediators between God and humans (25).
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the ephah between the earth and the heavensâ€. A nearly identical phrase is found
in 2 Sam 18,9 where Absalom is left hanging “between heaven and earth†(it
simply reverses “earth and heaven’“ when his hair was caught in a tree. In the
Targum this verse has been expanded slightly to clearly indicate the meaning. It
reads “David… saw the angel of the Lord standing, suspended in mid-air, between
earth and heaven†(The Targum of Chronicles [eds. CATHCART et al.], 117).
Although, of course, the Targum is much later and is an interpretation this
expansion may simply attempting to bring across the meaning of the Hebrew
clearly as there may have been some ambiguity with describing the angel
“standing†while at the same time being between “earth and heavenâ€. For a
different connotation for the phrase “heaven and earth†see S.A. WIGGINS
“Between Heaven and Earth: Absalom’s Dilemmaâ€, Journal of Northwest Semitic
Languages 23/1 (1997) 73-81. Wiggins argues that the phrase “earth and heavenâ€
connotes an element of “divine initiative†but that in Absalom’s case connotes
“reversed divine initiative†analogous to Athtar in the Ugaritic Baal Cycle (74).
(24) As Williamson points out (1 and 2 Chronicles, 147); cf. Dan 8,16; 10,4-
21; 12,6-13.
(25) Williamson suggests that Ch may have been influenced by a “general
refinement†during the postexilic period regarding the mediation of Yahweh’s
word (Ibid., 148). G. von Rad also notes a post-exilic tendency to portray
revelations as involving mediators (Geschichtsbild, 9).