This is a guest series by Dr. Drew Grumbles. See Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here.
As we continue to examine whether other gods exist, we move towards investigating the texts that affirm the existence of only one God. The Old Testament contains a vast number of these affirmations, while the New Testament reaffirms monotheism but has relatively fewer relevant texts. The faith of Christians in the NT, though set amidst the idolatry of Greece and Rome, finds its origins in the Hebrew Scriptures. The question for the early Christians is not whether to worship two gods (YHWH and Jesus), but whether Jesus of Nazareth is, indeed, that one God, YHWH, incarnate. In this sense, the fathers of the Old Testament wage the battle for monotheism amidst a polytheistic culture. For this reason, readers should expend much effort towards understanding OT monotheism. As we study but a few of these texts, we will interact with various interpretations that attempt to undermine monotheistic beliefs.[1]
Affirmations of One God
Deuteronomy 4:35, 39
Claims of monotheism begin early in Deuteronomy.[2] Daniel Block says Deut 4:32–40 is “unequivocally monotheistic” and provides a lens for interpreting other mentions of the gods in Deuteronomy (e.g., Deut 10:17).[3] According to Block, “[YHWH’s] repudiation of the existence of any other gods [in] Deut 4:35, 39. . .” becomes at least part of the basis upon which idolatry is completely forbidden in the final book of the Pentateuch.[4]
Part of Deut 4:35 states, “. . . to know that YHWH, he is God [elohim], there is no other besides him.”[5] The definite article is placed in front of elohim, so the text could indicate that YHWH is “the God.” Even so, the “other gods” view has no issue with such a claim, as they understand “he is the God” rhetorically to mean “all the other gods are inconsequential compared to God.” Thus, we can grant, for the sake of argument, the “weaker” argument that the phrase simply means “YHWH, he is God.”
More crucially, the reader must consider Moses’ statement that “there is no other besides him.” One question pertains to what the phrase “besides” means. The first commandment (Exod 20:3) uses a different term (עַל) that means upon/before. English translations obscure the difference when they translate Exod 20:3 with “besides.” While Exod 20:3 could hypothetically imply the existence of other gods, לבד in Deut 4:35 does not leave that option open. The term is akin to “except for.” Deuteronomy 4:35 clearly claims, therefore, that no other elohim exists except for YHWH. Gods (elohim) do not exist. When we explore the texts in Isaiah, we will address how the “other gods” view interprets this rhetorical claim. But the most natural conclusion we should draw from this verse is that, as McConville says, “. . . it says categorically that there are no other gods (not simply that they shall not worship other gods).”[6]
Deuteronomy 4:39 provides another crucial text, saying, “And know this day and take it to your heart that YHWH, he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath. There is no other.”[7] This verse reads very similarly to v. 35, but shows one difference from its predecessor, the dropping of the last word “besides him” (מִלְבַדּֽו).[8] Thus, this verse gives even more clarity. “There is no other”—what? No other being alongside God? No, the previous referent is God (elohim). The text is clear—there is no other elohim. In fact, while אֵין often translates as the “to be” verb (“there is not”), it is not a verb but the particle to describe non-existence. Thus, one could rightfully understand the claims of v. 35 and v. 39 to say, “no other exists” or “others do not exist.”
Critics may respond that, in context, Deuteronomy 4 speaks of other gods. Deuteronomy 4:7 assumes other nations have gods they call upon; v. 28 that Israel will serve foreign gods; v. 33 that other nations do not hear their gods; and v. 34 that no other god could accomplish the exodus. However, we can interpret this as phenomenological language. The phenomenon of treating them as gods exists, and so the truth of God must confront this problem. This need not mean that these beings are “gods” ontologically. Instead, these verses must be considered in light of the clear affirmations of Deut 4:35, 39. Craigie explains regarding v. 35, “[T]he faith of Israel was monotheistic; that is to say, it was a faith in which the existence of one God was affirmed and the reality of all other gods was denied. This did not mean, of course, that the Israelites were unaware that there were believed, by others, to be many gods . . . .”[9] The awareness of their neighbors brings out the language of other gods, yet Moses states they do not actually exist.
Deuteronomy 10:17
Deuteronomy 10:17 states, “For YHWH your God [elohim], he is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the God [El], great, might, and awesome . . . .”[10] Further discussion of the phrase “God of gods” will come in a later article, for such terminology supplies a main staple in the argument of those who propound the existence of other gods. However, we can assert (without arguing for now) that “God of gods” is a rhetorical statement that does not imply the existence of other gods.[11] With that in mind, we consider the claim that God is the El. While some understand this verse to mean, “the great, mighty, and awesome God [El],” attaching the article to the noun makes it more likely that Moses intends to refer to YHWH as the El. In doing so, then, the writer affirms that YHWH is the only God. Additionally, Moses communicates that YHWH replaces El. Canaanites held that El was the head of the pantheon of gods, placed above the powerful gods Baal and Mot. By calling YHWH the El, Moses directly creates a polemic against Canaanite mythology.[12] In the words of Deut 7:21, “YHWH your God [elohim] in your midst is God [El], great and awesome.”
Deuteronomy 32
Throughout the magnificent poem of Deuteronomy 32, Moses uses different words for Israel’s deity—YHWH, elohim, eloah, and el. As typical in poetry, these terms should be seen as interchangeable in reference to YHWH. The text also refers to other “gods.”[13] First, Deut 32:12 states that no foreign god (el) led Israel out of the wilderness. Deuteronomy 32:37 also looks to the day when YHWH will triumphantly say, “Where are their gods (elohim)?” Again we can easily understand these verses phenomenologically.[14] As Block says, “Although critical scholars tend to interpret texts like this as tacit admissions of the existence of such divinities, neither psalmist nor prophet would have countenanced such an idea.”[15]The other verses that mention foreign gods we discuss below, as they directly address YHWH’s exclusivity.
First, we consider Deut 32:39, which states in part, “See, now, that I, I am he, and there is no other god with me.”[16] Here, God makes a similar claim as in Deuteronomy 4.[17] As Calvin puts it, he “overthrow[s] all fictitious deities.”[18] Why does the Lord say, “I am he”? To what is he referring? Most likely to the claim of v. 37, when he asked, “Where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge?” YHWH is saying that he is the true rock and the true God. One difference from Deut 4:35, 39 lies in the preposition used, “with” rather than “besides.”[19] Still, we should take this simply as a synonym for “besides” or “except.” YHWH is not merely saying that the other gods have left him alone, but instead that nothing else can be considered under the same label of elohim. In this sense, no god is “with” YHWH.
Next, we back up to Deut 32:17, which states, “They sacrificed to demons, not God (eloah), gods (elohim) they did not know, new ones who had come recently, whom your fathers did not know.”[20] Though terms are used interchangeably and YHWH is called elohim even in this song, this verse, for its purposes, distinguishes between eloah and elohim. Unlike eloah (God), the elohim here are demons. Some may claim that this verse demonstrates that the demons are gods.[21] In contrast, the text shows that the “gods” are actually demons.[22] When people think they are worshiping gods, they are, in fact, worshiping demons (cf. 1 Cor 10:20). Calvin writes, “Whatever names the world may invent for its gods, they are so many masks, under which the devil hides himself for the deception of the simple.”[23] This idea is clarified in v. 21, which says, “They caused me jealousy by ‘no god’ [el], caused me anger by their idols.”[24] The people worshipped idols, which the writer states here are “no god.” They do not exist as gods. Yet we connect v. 21 back to v. 17. How did people worship idols? They sacrificed to them, and in sacrificing to idols (v. 21), they were actually sacrificing to demons (v. 17), which are “not eloah” (v. 17) and “no el” (v. 21). Though these two particular verses do not outright deny that other gods exist as Deut 32:39 does, they do connect these so-called elohim to idols, which are then connected to demons, and they deny that these demons and idols are eloah or el.
Like Block, Matthew Lynch, a less conservative scholar who does not see a unified picture of monotheism in the Hebrew Bible, argues that Deuteronomy 4 and 32 present a view of YHWH as the exclusive deity, not merely a unique one.[25] Lynch concludes from this that later-dated Scriptures contradict the clear monotheism of these Deuteronomic texts. Among various stripes of interpreters, the view that Deuteronomy affirms other gods’ existence rests on shaky ground.
Next, we see how later writers take and develop this seminal theology from the Pentateuch, looking at some texts in 2 Kings and Jeremiah.
[1] All translations of biblical texts are my own.
[2] Proponents of “other gods” point to Deut 4:19, saying it teaches YHWH’s allotment of deities to the nations (cf. Deut 32:8–9 LXX). However, the verse only states that YHWH allotted the heavenly host (stars) to the nations, not that he allotted deities. To interpret this allotment as gods reads into the text. The result was that the nations worshiped the astral bodies, but the text does not say this was YHWH’s purpose. After all, Israel was one of the peoples “under heaven,” yet the “other gods” view does not claim YHWH allotted other deities for Israel’s worship. Instead, the astral bodies were allotted to all peoples, including Israel. Moreover, in Deut 4:16–18, YHWH uses Genesis creation language (days five and six) to warn against worshiping creation. He merely continues in v. 19 with creation language referring to the heavens made on the fourth day. God did not allot astral bodies to the nations for worship any more than he allotted them certain birds and fish for making graven images! See Daniel Block, The Gospel According to Moses (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2012), 225.
[3] Block, The Gospel According to Moses, 213. Elsewhere Block has examined the role of the deities in their respective nations. See Daniel Block, The Gods of the Nations: A Study in Ancient Near Eastern National Theology, 2nd edition (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2013).
[4] Block, The Gospel According to Moses, 220.
[5] לָדַעַת כִּי יְהוָה הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים אֵין עוֹד מִלְבַדּֽוֹ
[6] J. G. McConville, Deuteronomy (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2002), 113. John Calvin, Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses, trans. Charles Bingham, Vol. I (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2009), 352, agrees, commenting on this verse, “Therefore the essence of the one God overthrows and annihilates all the other deities which we foolishly invent for ourselves.”
[7] וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּוֹם וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ אֶל־לְבָבֶךָ כִּי יְהוָה הוּא הָֽאֱלֹהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל־הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת אֵין עֽוֹד
[8] In the LXX, both v. 35 and v. 39 end in the same phrase, “except for him” (ἔτι πλὴν αὐτοῦ).
[9] Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy, NICOT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976), 143.
[10] כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם הוּא אֱלֹהֵי הָֽאֱלֹהִים וַאֲדֹנֵי הָאֲדֹנִים הָאֵל הַגָּדֹל הַגִּבֹּר וְהַנּוֹרָא
[11] Block, The Gospel According to Moses, 214–215.
[12] See the discussion by Block, The Gospel According to Moses, 215–217.
[13] Two verses contain relevant textual variants. Deuteronomy 32:8 speaks of the Most High dividing the nations by the “sons of Israel” (MT) or the “sons of God” (DSS)/”angels” (LXX). Similarly Deut 32:43 MT does not contain the line found in LXX, “and bow down to him all sons of God.” The writer of Hebrews possibly quotes Deut 32:43 LXX in Heb 1:6, but this verse is discussed in a later essay addressing Hebrews 1:6. Since the “sons of God” appear elsewhere in Scripture, the term will be explored in a future article when discussing texts like Job 1:6 and Psalm 82.
[14] Deuteronomy 33:27, when written with different vowel points, could say, “He subdues the ancient gods.” Even if so, here is an excellent example of polemical theology or phenomenology. YHWH riding on the clouds harkens to ancient Canaanite myths of Baal, the storm god. Are we to literally think that YHWH rides on the clouds? No, we understand the polemical nature of the text. Likewise, exploiting ancient mythology need not mean the “ancient gods” literally exist. See Block, The Gospel According to Moses, 209–210.
[15] Block, The Gospel According to Moses, 212.
[16] רְאוּ עַתָּה כִּי אֲנִי אֲנִי הוּא וְאֵין אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי
[17] See also the similarities to the pronouncements of Isaiah 41:4; 43:10, 13; 48:12.
[18] John Calvin, Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses, trans. Charles Bingham, Vol. IV (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2009), 370.
[19] The LXX uses πλὴν, the same word used in Deut 4:35, 39 meaning “except.”
[20] יִזְבְּחוּ לַשֵּׁדִים לֹא אֱלֹהַ אֱלֹהִים לֹא יְדָעוּם חֲדָשִׁים מִקָּרֹב בָּאוּ לֹא שְׂעָרוּם אֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם
[21] Moffitt cites this verse under the heading, “These gods are demons in disguise.” https://www.jonmoffitt.com/post/the-many-faces-of-monotheism
[22] McConville, Deuteronomy, 456, writes, “Other gods are now exposed, in succession, as ‘demons’ and no gods at all . . .”
[23] Calvin, Commentaries on the Four Last Books of Moses, Vol. IV, 350.
[24]הֵם קִנְאוּנִי בְלֹא־אֵל כִּעֲסוּנִי בְּהַבְלֵיהֶם
[25] Matthew J. Lynch, “Monotheism in Ancient Israel,” Pages 340–348 in Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts, eds. Jonathan S. Greer, John W. Hilber, and John H. Walton (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2018), 341. The majority view among critical scholars holds that Deut 4:32–40 is a late text from the exilic period. The text’s clear monotheism becomes the basis for such a position, as these scholars insist that earlier Israelite theology must be more henotheistic. See Moshe Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1–11, AB 5 (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1991), 228–230.