God and the Greater Light: Reassessing the Relationship between God and the Sun in the Hebrew Bible
Matías Alejandro Flores Flores
Докладчик
магистрант 2 курса
Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет
Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет
Ключевые слова, аннотация
The paper challenges the «storm god» paradigm by demonstrating solar symbolism's centrality for Yahweh. Analyzing biblical texts and Judean seals, it argues solar imagery expressed Yahweh's cosmic kingship, distinguishing orthodox use of the sun as created symbol from heterodox «Solarized Yahwism» and connects seraphim as throne guardians to Genesis.
Тезисы
Key words: Yahweh; solar symbolism; Hebrew Bible; seraphim; divine kingship
This paper challenges the dominant «storm god» paradigm in biblical scholarship by demonstrating the theological centrality of solar symbolism for Yahweh throughout the Hebrew Bible. While storm imagery (clouds, lightning, Chaoskampf) appears in theophanies, it represents only one facet of a more complex portrait. Analyzing mountain epiphany hymns (Deuteronomy 33, Judges 5, Habakkuk 3), Psalms (19 LXX, 84, 104), and prophetic literature (Isaiah 60, Malachi 4:2), the study reveals persistent luminous imagery portraying Yahweh as source of light, cosmic king, and divine judge. Archaeological evidence from 8th-century BCE Judean royal seals — including those of King Hezekiah and his official Ashna—depicts Yahweh as a winged sun disk, sometimes surrounded by serpents. This presents a historical paradox: how could reformer kings use Egyptian solar iconography? The resolution distinguishes orthodox use of the sun as created symbol of divine glory from heterodox «Solarized Yahwism» (worshipping the phenomenon itself). Josiah's reforms (2 Kings 23) represent this «Reverse-Akhenaten» movement: rejecting sun-worship while retaining solar symbolism. The paper further connects solar imagery to the seraphim (Śĕrāpîm) of Isaiah 6—fiery, winged serpentine throne guardians analogous to the Egyptian uraeus. Ashna's seal parallels Isaiah's vision, suggesting shared conceptual world in eighth-century Jerusalem. This understanding illuminates Genesis 3: the serpent (nāḥāš) emerges as a corrupted divine guardian of the same class, leading humanity in rebellion rather than protection. The synthesis presents Yahweh as Enthroned Solar King: glory symbolized by the sun, sovereignty transcending creation, attended by serpentine guardians whose corruption frames the human drama. Cumulative evidence from text and archaeology supports a significant tradition conceiving Yahweh with primary solar characteristics, demonstrating his universal kingship was not a late development but present throughout Israel's history.
This paper challenges the dominant «storm god» paradigm in biblical scholarship by demonstrating the theological centrality of solar symbolism for Yahweh throughout the Hebrew Bible. While storm imagery (clouds, lightning, Chaoskampf) appears in theophanies, it represents only one facet of a more complex portrait. Analyzing mountain epiphany hymns (Deuteronomy 33, Judges 5, Habakkuk 3), Psalms (19 LXX, 84, 104), and prophetic literature (Isaiah 60, Malachi 4:2), the study reveals persistent luminous imagery portraying Yahweh as source of light, cosmic king, and divine judge. Archaeological evidence from 8th-century BCE Judean royal seals — including those of King Hezekiah and his official Ashna—depicts Yahweh as a winged sun disk, sometimes surrounded by serpents. This presents a historical paradox: how could reformer kings use Egyptian solar iconography? The resolution distinguishes orthodox use of the sun as created symbol of divine glory from heterodox «Solarized Yahwism» (worshipping the phenomenon itself). Josiah's reforms (2 Kings 23) represent this «Reverse-Akhenaten» movement: rejecting sun-worship while retaining solar symbolism. The paper further connects solar imagery to the seraphim (Śĕrāpîm) of Isaiah 6—fiery, winged serpentine throne guardians analogous to the Egyptian uraeus. Ashna's seal parallels Isaiah's vision, suggesting shared conceptual world in eighth-century Jerusalem. This understanding illuminates Genesis 3: the serpent (nāḥāš) emerges as a corrupted divine guardian of the same class, leading humanity in rebellion rather than protection. The synthesis presents Yahweh as Enthroned Solar King: glory symbolized by the sun, sovereignty transcending creation, attended by serpentine guardians whose corruption frames the human drama. Cumulative evidence from text and archaeology supports a significant tradition conceiving Yahweh with primary solar characteristics, demonstrating his universal kingship was not a late development but present throughout Israel's history.