Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Donald:

On Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 5:05 PM, Donald Vance <donaldrvance AT me.com> wrote:

> No, there is NOT every expectation that Melchizedek worshipped the same God
> as Abram. Why would he?


Why not?


> Where would he have heard of YHWH?


Abram was not the first worshipper of YHWH, according to Genesis. And
evidently, he was not the only one at his time either.


> Why did Abram need to clarify it?


Context! Who was his audience for that clarification?


> What evidence is there that anyone in Canaan worshipped YHWH without
> interacting with Abraham or one of his descendants? The text says El Elyon,
> a Canaanite deity.


Read the context. This is the same sort of thing that missionaries deal
with, using the generic term “god” but then clarify that it is not one of
their gods by adding an explanation. An example is the Chinese 上帝 the most
high god, and how he is the true God. In this case, the explanation is: “the
one who possesses heavens and earth” in contrast to the Canaanite gods which
were considered local only.


> Melchizedek lives in a Canaanite city.


So? Does that automatically make him a worshipper of Canaanite deities?


> There is no indication that he worships YHWH.


Yes there is, from Abram’s actions and acceptance of his priesthood.


> Abraham teaches the group that YHWH is El Elyon.
>

What group? The text mentions Sodom’s king only.

>
>  Jethro is not depicted as worshipping YHWH (Ex 18:11 makes no sense if he
> is already worshipping YHWH);


Yes it does. The case hinges on the meaning of עתה (TH: it does not only
mean “at this time” or “starting from this time forward”, rather it has a
broader meaning that does not rule out prior conditions. Examples include
Genesis 11:6, 22:12 (God knew that before, but gave the test to strengthen
Abraham’s faith), 24:49, 26:29, 45:8, etc.


> Caleb certainly interacted and associated with the descendants of Abraham!
>

Did he join Israel because of a shared faith, or was he a convert? The text
doesn’t say.

>
>
> Donald R. Vance, Ph.D.
> Professor of Biblical Languages and Literature
> Oral Roberts University
> dvance AT oru.edu
> donaldrvance AT mac.com
>
> Whether we agree with the text or not is immaterial. What counts is whether
or not we understand the text correctly within its linguistic, literary and
cultural contexts. We should also recognize where the text is silent and not
try to “fill in the blanks”.

Melchizedek mentioned not merely “most high God” but “most high God
possessor of heavens and earth” in a historical context as recounted in
Genesis where YHWH had been known for prior centuries. “Possessor of heavens
and earth” indicates a universal God and distinguishes him from the
localized Canaanite most high gods. Abram’s acceptance of Melchizedek’s
priesthood indicates that he, and he would know better than we millennia
later, considered that “most high God possessor of heavens and earth” was
just a different way of referring to YHWH. All these clues taken together
gives us every expectation that Melchizedek worshipped the same God as
Abram.

Karl W. Randolph.