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Israel’s Lord: YHWH as "Two Powers" in Second Temple Literature addresses the nature of Jewish monotheism in Second Temple literature, advancing an argument that much of the literature reflects the existence of two powers in heaven that are both rightly understood as YHWH. To this end, Wilhite and Winn review various figures such God’s Word, God’s Wisdom, the Angel of the Lord, the Son of Man, and others that bear features closely associate with the God of Israel. Using criteria related to these features they argue that most, though not all, of these figures are rightly identified as the figure who appeared in Israel’s scriptures and was called YHWH. Such a "two powers" paradigm is relevant for understanding early Christian commitments regarding Jesus. The debate about Jesus’ divinity depends in large part on what options were available for the earliest Christians when considering his titles and status. The authors contend that with such a "two powers" paradigm available to the earliest Christians, it should inform any reading of New Testament texts and their varying depictions of Jesus as "Lord."
List of contents
Chapter 1: Re-assessing Monotheism in Light of a Two Powers Paradigm
Chapter 2: God's Word in Second Temple Literature
Chapter 3: God's Word's as a Second Power in Heaven
Chapter 4: God's Wisdom
Chapter 5: The Angel of the Lord
Chapter 6: Other Abstract Figures
Chapter 7: The Son of Man
Chapter 8: Melchizedek and Enoch
Chapter 9: Exalted Humans
Chapter 10: Conclusions and Looking Forward
About the author
David Wilhite is professor of historical theology at Baylor University’s Truett Seminary.Adam Winn is professor and chair for the Department of Biblical and Religious Studies at Samford University.
Summary
Israel’s Lord reviews Second Temple Jewish literature, finding that many texts describe a concept known as "two powers" in heaven. The two powers concept provides a helpful paradigm for reading New Testament texts and their varying depictions of Jesus as the "Lord" of Israel.
