Could More Books Be Added To The Bible?

In his post Why I Believe the Canon is Theoretically Open (and Am Fine With It), Michael C. Patton writes about whether or not the Canon of Scripture is open or closed. He believes it is open (theoretically), although he doesn't believe any more will be added to it. One of the reasons I liked the post is because it addressed the misuse of Revelation 22:18-19:

No matter how hard you look, you would be hard pressed to find a place that definitely “closes” the canon. Revelation 22:18-19 is often referred to as evidence:

I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

The problem with using this passage is that it is specific to the book of Revelation. Just because the book of Revelation occurs last in our canon does not mean this warning applies to the entire Bible. It is meant to communicate a general statement about those who would be tempted to add to or take away from God’s word in general, and to the book of Revelation specifically. Yet the same warning is given in the books of Deuteronomy and Proverbs:

Deuteronomy 4:2: You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.

Proverbs 30:6: Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Does this mean that once Deuteronomy or Proverbs were complete, no one was supposed to add any other books? I don’t know anyone who would make that argument.

The War Scroll

The War Scroll is part of the Dead Sea Scrolls and mostly describes the battle between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness. You can read it here. Most of it consists of mundane details of battle order but there were some interesting parts. I was initially curious to read it because of some commonalities with Ephesians:

The first attack of the Sons of Light shall be undertaken against the forces of the Sons of Darkness, the army of Belial...
- War Scroll Col 1:1

For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
- Ephesians 5:8

wherein aforetime ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience;
- Ephesians 2:2

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
- Ephesians 5:6

Also, notice the passage below echoes the Ephesians verses as well:

...You yourself made Belial for the pit, an angel of malevolence, his [dominio]n is in darkne[ss] and his counsel is to condemn and convict. All the spirits of his lot -- the angels of destruction-- walk in accord with the rule of darkness, for it is their only [des]ire...
- War Scroll Col 13:10-12

Belial is another name for Satan and his angels are described as angels of destruction. I talk about that in my post on Satan as well. In that post, I also talk about Satan's function of testing. See the passages below regarding testing:

...Throughout all our generations You have made Your mercies wondrous for the rem[nant of the people] during the dominion of Belial. With all the mysteries of his hatred they have not led us astray from Your covenant. His spirits of destruction You have driven [away from us. And when the me]n of his dominion [condemned themselves]...
- War Scroll Col 14:9-10

When [Belial] prepares himself to assist the Sons of Darkness, and the slain among the infantry begin to fall by God's mysteries and to test by these mysteries all those appointed for battle,
- War Scroll Col 16:11

Also, compare the passage below with Eph. 5:11:

...For they are a wicked congregation, all their deeds are in darkness;
- War Scroll Col 15:9

Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
- Ephesians 5:11

This battle is described as a "Day of Vengeance" like I talk about in my Ephesians post on The Day of Destruction.

...All of them shall be volunteers for battle, pure of spirit and flesh, and prepared for the day of vengeance...
- War Scroll Col 7:5

Ultimately, I don't think Paul was alluding to The War Scroll when he wrote Ephesians but they do seem to share a common vernacular.

Gehenna Was Not A Smoldering Garbage Dump

You may have heard that the Valley of Himmon (Gehenna) was a place where garbage was continually burned. Turns out there isn't much evidence for that claim. The Baker Book House Church Connection blog quotes an article in Bibliotheca Sacra

The traditional explanation that a burning rubbish heap in the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem gave rise to the idea of a fiery Gehenna of judgment is attributed to Rabbi David Kimhi’s commentary on Psalm 27:13 (ca. A.D. 1200). He maintained that in this loathsome valley fires were kept burning perpetually to consume the filth and cadavers thrown into it. However, Strack and Billerbeck state that there is neither archeological nor literary evidence in support of this claim, in either the earlier intertestamental or the later rabbinic sources.

You can read the rest here.

The Myth of the Rope around the High Priest’s Ankle

You may have heard the story of how the high priest wore a rope around his ankle, so that, if God struck him dead in the Holy of Holies, the other priests could drag him back out.  But this story doesn't seem to have much evidence to support it.  ChristianAnswers.net discusses the matter:

Dr. W.E. Nunnally, a professor of Hebrew and early Judaism, has reported:

“The rope on the high priest legend is just that: a legend. It has obscure beginnings in the Middle Ages and keeps getting repeated. It cannot be found anywhere in the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, the Pseudepigrapha, the Talmud, Mishna, or any other Jewish source. It just is not there.”

You can read the rest here.

"Abba" Does Not Mean "Daddy"

I know many of my charismatic friends will be saddened by this but it appears that "Abba" does not mean "Daddy". That's okay, you can still call God, "Daddy" if you want to. From the Gospel Coalition Blog:

In the Aramaic language of the time of Jesus, there was absolutely no other word [than Abba] available if Jesus wished to speak of or address God as father. Naturally such speaking of and addressing thereby would lose its special character, for it is then indeed the only possible form!

You can read the rest here.

Are there Satan "types" in the Old Testament?

There are many claims of types of Christ in the Old Testament, from David to Jonah. These hidden meanings are hard to prove but fun to think about and can give us a deeper understanding. In my previous post about Satan, I wrote about how the function of a "satan" is to test the faithfulness of people and to execute judgement and destruction of behalf of God. I also mentioned that it is hard to grasp the concept of a satan because there are no earthly equivalents (at least, not to my knowledge). So if we could find a "type" of satan in the Old Testament, perhaps it would give us some more insight.

The best example that I feel is a type of satan, is Potiphar in the story of Joseph.

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
- Genesis 39:1

What is translated as "captain of the guard" is actually "captain of the executioners" in the Hebrew. Now Potiphar is not described as a tester of faith but his wife does test Joseph's faith. This also ties in nicely with Joseph as a Christ type. Joseph is rejected by his brothers as Christ was rejected by the Jews. Joseph is put into prison like Christ descended into Hades. And Joseph emerges to become 2nd only to Pharaoh just like Christ emerges from Hades to become 2nd only to God the Father.

Two other possible types of satan are in Daniel and in Esther. In both cases, someone both tests and tries to execute Daniel/Esther.

To stop Haman's plan to execute the Jews, Esther would be tested by having to risk her life:

Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
- Esther 4:9-11

In The Book of Daniel royal officials both create a plan that will test Daniel's faith to God and have him executed if he continues to pray to his God.

The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” So King Darius put the decree in writing.

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

- Daniel 6:6-10

Now in both of these cases, the question arises: Who does the king represent in those stories? The natural inclination is say that it is God. But this does not make sense in that the kings make laws that contradict what God would want. I would suggest that the kings represent one of the "sons of God" (see my post on the Divine Council) that was given that nation by God to rule over and both Daniel and Esther represent the Jewish nation/exiles.

Satan - Just doing his job?

Satan, as a personal name, is rarely found in the Old Testament. Where the name "Satan" is found, it is usually "The Satan" in the Hebrew, even though it is usually translated as simply "Satan". The one time it is used as a personal name, it may be referring to God. Mike Heiser explains the details in his post, The Absence of Satan in the Old Testament. He concludes:

Basically, “the satan” in Job is an officer of the divine council (sort of like a prosecutor). His job is to “run to and fro throughout the earth” to see who is and who is not obeying Yahweh. When he finds someone who isn’t and is therefore under Yahweh’s wrath, he “accuses” that person. This is what we see in Job — and it actually has a distinct New Testament flavor. (We also see it in Zechariah 3). But the point here is that this satan is not evil; he’s doing his job.

So one of "The Satan's" characteristics is to test people's faithfulness We see this not only in Job but also a similar account in the Book of Jubilees when Mastema (who is equated with the personal name, Satan), requests a 10th of the demons to test mankind:

And the chief of the spirits, Mastêmâ, came and said: "Lord, Creator, let some of them remain before me, and let them hearken to my voice, and do all that I shall say unto them; for if some of them are not left to me, I shall not be able to execute the power of my will on the sons of men; for these are for corruption and leading astray before my judgment, for great is the wickedness of the sons of men." And He said: "Let the tenth part of them remain before him, and let nine parts descend into the place of condemnation." And one of us He commanded that we should teach Noah all their medicines; for He knew that they would not walk in uprightness, nor strive in righteousness. And we did according to all His words: all the malignant evil ones we bound in the place of condemnation, and a tenth part of them we left that they might be subject before Satan on the earth.
- The Book of Jubilees 10:8-11

The Book of Jubilees also speaks of the sacrifice of Isaac as being a test from Mestema:

And the prince Mastêmâ came and said before God, "Behold, Abraham loveth Isaac his son, and he delighteth in him above all things else; bid him offer him as a burnt-offering on the altar, and Thou wilt see if he will do this command, and Thou wilt know if he is faithful in everything wherein Thou dost try him." . And the Lord knew that Abraham was faithful in all his afflictions; for He had tried him through his country and with famine, and had tried him with the wealth of kings, and had tried him again through his wife, when she was torn (from him), and with circumcision, and had tried him through Ishmael and Hagar, his maid-servant, when he sent them away. And in everything wherein He had tried him, he was found faithful, and his soul was not impatient, and he was not slow to act; for he was faithful and a lover of the Lord. And God said to him, "Abraham, Abraham"; and he said, "Behold, (here) am I."

And He said, "Take thy beloved son whom thou lovest, (even) Isaac, and go unto the high country, and offer him on one of the mountains which I will point out unto thee." And he rose early in the morning and saddled his ass, and took his two young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood of the burnt-offering, and he went to the place on the third day, and he saw the place afar off. And he came to a well of water, and he said to his young men, "Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad shall go (yonder), and when we have worshipped we shall come again to you." And he took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took in his hand the fire and the knife, and they went both of them together to that place. And Isaac said to his father, "Father"; and he said, "Here am I, my son." And he said unto him, "Behold the fire, and the knife, and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt-offering, father?" And he said, "God will provide for himself a sheep for a burnt-offering, my son." And he drew near to the place of the mount of God.

And he built an altar, and he placed the wood on the altar, and bound Isaac his son, and placed him on the wood which was upon the altar, and stretched forth his hand to take the knife to slay Isaac his son. And I stood before him, and before the prince of the Mastêmâ, and the Lord said, "Bid him not to lay his hand on the lad, nor to do anything to him, for I have shown that he feareth the Lord." And I called to him from heaven, and said unto him: "Abraham, Abraham"; and he was terrified and said: "Behold, (here) am I." And I said unto him: "Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything to him; for now I have shown that thou fearest the Lord, and hast not withheld thy son, thy first-born son, from me." And the prince of the Mastêmâ was put to shame; and Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, a single ram caught . . . by his horns, and Abraham went and took the ram and offered it for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son. - Book of Jubilees 16:16-18:12

Again, another example of testing is the garden of Eden when the serpent tempts Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent is not necessarily being morally evil but is testing for the purposes of God.

And again, another example of Satan testing, is when he tested Jesus during his 40 days in the desert.

More Than One Satan

The term satan (not used as a personal name), is a title that can be applied to more that one being.

And I heard the fourth voice fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before the Lord of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth.
- Enoch 40:7

And a command has gone forth from the presence of the Lord concerning those who dwell on the earth that their ruin is accomplished because they have learnt all the secrets of the angels, and all the violence of the Satans, and all their powers--the most secret ones--and all the power of those who practice sorcery, and the power of witchcraft, and the power of those who make molten images for the whole earth:
- Enoch 65:6

And I saw Him, and He was in the firmament, but He had not changed Himself into their form, and all the angels of the firmament and the Satans saw Him and they worshipped.
- The Ascension of Isaiah 11:23

Another characteristic of a "satan" is that they are like executioners and bring destruction when God expresses His wrath and judgement.

For I saw all the angels of punishment abiding (there) and preparing all the instruments of Satan. And I asked the angel of peace who went with me: 'For whom are they preparing these instruments?' And he said unto me: 'They prepare these for the kings and the mighty of this earth, that they may thereby be destroyed.
- Enoch 53:3-5

And all their days they will complete and live in peace and in joy, And there will be no Satan nor any evil destroyer;
- Book of Jubilees 23:29

The concept of a "satan" is difficult because we have no real earthly equivalent. When God is referred to as a king, we can grasp that because there have been earthly kings to at least give us a general understanding of what a king is.

Is Satan Evil?

Having said all that, just because Satan is doing his job, doesn't mean he's not morally evil. The translators of the Septuagint translated the term "satan" as "devil" - meaning "slanderer", and it implies Satan(s) falsely accuses.

The Divine Council of 70 gods in the Bible

Did God preside over an assembly of gods?

Ugarit was an ancient city located near Israel. The ancient writings that were discovered there are similar to the ancient Hebrew language and culture and have been helpful for Biblical studies in terms of providing cultural and textual context. The Ugaritic ancient texts speak of a Divine Council that was led by El - the same name used for God in the Bible. This is not to imply that the Ugaritic understanding of El was the same as the Israelite understanding of El. "The Baal Cycle" is an Ugaritic text and talks about the assembly of the gods, here is one instance (read the full text here):

Then They set face
Toward the Mountain of Night,
Toward the Convocation of the Assembly.
The Gods had not even sat down,
The Deities to dine,
When Baal stood up by El.

The Bible also speaks of an assembly of gods:

God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods.
- Psalm 82:1

These "gods" are also referred to as "sons of God" and we see them assembled in Job as well:

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
- Job 1:6

How many gods were in the Divine Council? The Baal Cycle put them at seventy:

Kothar-u-Kasis goes to the Lady Asherah of the Sea, Mother of the Seventy Gods.

The Bible doesn't say directly how many gods are in the Divine Council, BUT in Genesis 10 and 11, it lists all the nations. How many nations? 70. Who were those nations given to? The gods.

When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. For the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.
- Deuteronomy 32:8-9

The Book of Ecclesiasticus echoes this:

For in the division of the nations of the whole earth he set a ruler over every people; but Israel is the Lord's portion
-Ecclesiasticus 17:17

And the Book of Jubilees:

And He sanctified it, and gathered it from amongst all the children of men; for there are many nations and many peoples, and all are His, and over all hath He placed spirits in authority to lead them astray from Him. But over Israel He did not appoint any angel or spirit, for He alone is their ruler, and He will preserve them and require them at the hand of His angels and His spirits, and at the hand of all His powers in order that He may preserve them and bless them, and that they may be His and He may be theirs from henceforth for ever.
- Book of Jubilees 35:21-32 ("Lead them astray from Him" describes the result, not the original purpose of their appointment)

I think this concept makes more sense of the passages in Daniel that talk about the Prince of Persia and the Prince of Greece:

The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,
- Daniel 10:13

Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.
- Daniel 10:20

The concept of a Divine Council is probably new to many of you and raises a lot of questions, such as: What other Scripture provides evidence? Doesn't this make the Israelite religion polytheistic? Doesn't the Bible say there is only one God? and where did the Divine Council meet?

These are all good questions and I will point you to the work of Michael Heiser. He has produced a lot of material regarding the Divine Council. Check out here and here.