Let’s talk about the term EL for a sec.
There’s a lot of misunderstanding surrounding this word.
You know what word I’m talking about, right?
I’m referring to EL from the word ELOHIM.
ELOHIM is just the plural form of EL.
So one “god” versus “gods.”
Just as TALMID means one “student,” and TALMIDIM means “students” (plural).
Whenever you add IM to a Hebrew noun, you make it plural.
Alright, enough of this Hebrew lesson.
Let’s dive into the meat of today’s topic.
So EL was the common Middle Eastern title for the chief god who stood at the top of each nation’s hierarchy of gods.
Every country in the Middle East paid homage to the EL (chief deity) of their land, though the way each nation viewed its EL differed from culture to culture.
This concept was NOT just restricted to Israel.
Ya feeling me here?
So in David’s day, when the term HA’ELYON was used, the mental picture in everyone’s mind, including the king himself, was that YAHWEH was the highest god who reigned supreme over all other ELs.
He was like the Supreme Judge presiding over a courtroom filled with lesser ELs.
Or to use the more common Biblical analogy, He was like the King of Kings, seated at the head of the divine council.
Now, the main point I wanna drive home here is that HA’ELYON was a uniquely Hebrew idea.
The common belief of the day was that every nation had its own EL or head honcho deity.
But the idea that there was one God who stood above all the other gods in existence…
Including above the chief ELOHIM of every other nation on the planet, was Israel’s unique invention…theologically speaking, that is.
So what’s the takeaway here?
Simple.
We must not think that King David and the general populace of Israel held to this clear-cut belief in only one God as modern Christianity asserts today.
As I said yesterday, pure monotheism did not exist at this time.
King David, his court, and the people of Israel absolutely believed other gods existed among the Gentile nations.
It’s just that their God reigned supreme over them.
This idea of superiority may have contributed to the anti-Semitism of that era, and probably does today as well.
But hey, it’s true.
The God of Israel had already demonstrated His capabilities when He went to battle against the pantheon of gods in Egypt, targeting Pharaoh himself (who was also considered a deity).
So the bottom line here is that David absolutely believed the Lord was the best and highest of all gods.
He felt YHWH was perfect and had no peers.
But at the same time, he accepted the existence of other gods.
He didn’t think they were figments of men’s imaginations.
In fact, this belief didn’t end with David.
When his son Solomon took the throne, Solomon didn’t just acknowledge the gods of the other nations…
He paid homage to them in the most tangible way possible by allowing his many wives and concubines to erect idols to them.
That’s right!
Shocking, isn’t it?
Idols such as Asherah and altars dedicated to scores of pagan gods were set up right alongside Israel’s holy places that should’ve been dedicated to worship of YHWH alone.
So this was the theological reality of what we were dealing with here.
And it’s best you get hip to it, if you really wanna understand the mindset of the people at this time.
Done.
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