Twilight of the Gods: Polytheism in the Hebrew Bible, The

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Dec 2006 by Austel, Hermann

The Twilight of the Gods: Polytheism in the Hebrew Bible. By David Penchansky. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2005, xii 108 pp., $19.95.

"This book represents a subversive reading. It challenges twenty-five centuries of tradition that has read the entire Bible with a monotheistic lens" (p. 91). So begins the conclusion of this book. Penchansky attempts to show that belief in the existence of gods besides Yahweh was always part and parcel of Hebrew religion in the earlier stages of OT history. He asserts that this claim is justified by the evidence from the biblical text itself and states that the writers of Scripture recognized the existence of a divine pantheon of whom Yahweh was generally (though not always) supreme. He refers to this ancient belief as a broader monotheism, a type of henotheism.

The book is divided into two parts. The first is entitled "The Gods of Ancient Israel," and the second bears the name "The Goddesses of Ancient Israel." The first chapter has the title "The Wrath of Chemosh: When Yahweh Lost a War." Here Penchansky presents the view, based on his understanding of 2 Kgs 3:27, that the words "Great wrath came down on Israel" refer to the wrath of Chemosh (pp. 9-11), though Chemosh is not mentioned in the text.

In chapter 4, "The Dissolution of the Divine Council," the author points to several passages that in his view indicate that Yahweh, who was at one point merely a member of the divine council, was later placed in the position of prominence. His support for this view rests primarily on Psalm 82. He states, "Psalm 82 argues for monotheism by saying that Yahweh is the only god left, the best of the lot. It is a chronological monotheism (emphasis his) that says that there is only one god now, although it has not always been so. Yahweh defeated the other gods in a divine law court, and now is the only god left standing. Therefore, other gods must have existed in the past" (p. 38). He states further that "El convenes a meeting of the gods. Yahweh is not the director and chairman of the board, but instead attends the meeting as a member" (p. 36). In this statement he visualizes the Ugaritic pantheon. However, it is Elohim who stands in the midst of the assembly, not the Canaanite El. In addition, there is no mention of Yahweh in the Psalm. Without going into the differing interpretations of who the "gods" are, it is clear that Penchansky's point finds no support in the text.

Chapter 5, "Anti-Idol Polemic: An Attack on the Gods of Israel," is the last chapter on the gods of Israel. Here Penchansky refers to the attacks by the prophets on the idol gods, most notably the attack of "second Isaiah," whom the author accuses of misunderstanding the nature of the worship of idols in his satirical attacks (e.g. Isaiah 44; see p. 43).

In part 2, chapter 6, Penchansky views the personified "wisdom" (hokmah) of the book of Proverbs as Yahweh's daughter (based on Prov 8:22-31). In chapter 7 he includes "Lady Zion" as one of Yahweh's daughters. He states that the "Lady Zion" theology is a development from a Jebusite "Lady Zion" myth.

The book has value in drawing together the views of those who seek to find polytheism in various forms as part of Israel's historic past. There is an eight-page bibliography of authors who have written on this subject, largely those who support Penchansky's views in one way or another.

Hermann Austel

Northwest Baptist Seminary, Tacoma, WA