5.1 The Plurality of the Divine
5.2 The Unity of the Divine
5.3 Fate/Destiny and the Divine
5.4 Ancient Israel: Perceptions of the Absolute Beyond the Relative
5.5 Fragmentation of Modes of Perception
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- "Buccellati1972Teodicea.d": duplicate bibliography "Buccellati1972Teodicea" for site "Mes-lit".
- "Cauvin2000Birth.d": duplicate bibliography "Cauvin2000Birth" for site "Mes-rel".
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- "Trinkaus1983Shanidar.d": duplicate bibliography "Trinkaus1983Shanidar" for site "Mes-rel".
5.1 The Plurality of the Divine
The background of polytheism in Israel: Smith 2001 Origins.
– [ Jonah Lynch, March 2020]
Jacobsen 1976 Treasures (see especially chapter 4) proposes a similar understanding of divinities as “attributes” in his classic Treasures of Darkness. Dumuzi is «little more than the elan vital of new life in nature» (p. 36). See also the Themes section (Person vs. Attributes) for a further discussion.
– [ Jonah Lynch, June 2020]
For the definition and features of Mesopotamian polytheism (as a plurality of divine entities), see Buccellati 1981 Wisdom.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For a discussion about ‘polytheism’ and ‘monotheism’ in the Bible and Mesopotamian religion, and their implications on the concept of ‘Trinity’, see Buccellati 2012 Trinità.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
G. Buccellati tells about the ‘disappearance’ or ‘death’ of gods in ancient Mesopotamian religious literature (see section 5.1, point 6): on this topic, see Xella 2001 Quando, dealing with ‘death’ or ‘disappearing’ of a god, sometimes provoking famine or drought. The ‘death’ or ‘disappearing’ of a god is unbelievable and unconceivable within a monotheistic thought (believing in God as an eternal entity) while in ancient polytheist systems many examples of ‘dying gods’ can be detected (e.g. Ištaran equated to Dumuzid); cf. on this topic Buccellati 1982 Descent, dealing with the epic poem Inanna’s Descent into the Underworld, for which see ETCSL 1.4.1).
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
G. Buccellati describes in section 5.1 the dynamic nature of ancient Mesopotamian polytheism (text in Buccellati 2021/Excerpt), underlining how this dynamism is well represented in the structure of pantheon, in art, myths, and hierarchy: on this topic, see Xella 2014 Dieux, describing Syro-Palestine divinities in a similar way, adding a list of gods and goddesses composing the basic structure of the local pantheon(s) (see e.g. Paragraph 3.1, on Ugarit/Ras Shamra’s pantheon, pp. 527-530: text in Xella 2014/Excerpt).
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
G. Buccellati tells about the ‘disappearance’ or ‘death’ of gods in ancient Mesopotamian religious literature (see section 5.1, point 6): on this topic, see Xella 2014 Dieux, dealing with ‘dead and resurrected gods’ (Paragraph 2, on pp. 526-527: text in Xella 2014/Excerpt).
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
«We will therefore consider deities as aspects of the absolute, so that we arrive, paradoxically, at the concept of a relativized absolute, i. e. a composite absolute that derives its unity from the dynamic interaction of its own constituent parts». This sentence could remind us of Plato’s Theory of Ideas/Forms: the ‘absolute’ can be perceived as an ‘idea’ (in Platonic sense), a ‘unity’ which all the ‘constituents parts’ (i.e., the actual manifestation of gods) derive from. On this topic cf. also Fine 2019 Plato. Specifically on Plato’s “Theory of Ideas/Forms”, see (Jacobsen 1976/Excerpt).
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
On ziggurat (mentioned in Section 5.1, point (4)), see Meyers 1997 O E A N E, Vol. 5, p. 200.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
«I do not want to propose a catalog of names and attributes here, but rather the question of the relationship between the plurality of divine beings and the absolute. We will therefore consider deities as aspects of the absolute, so that we arrive, paradoxically, at the concept of a relativized absolute, i.e. a composite absolute that derives its unity from the dynamic interaction of its own constituent parts» (Buccellati, §5.1). The plurality of Mesopotamian divine beings is also investigated in Jacobsen 1976 Treasures, especially in Chapter 4 (pp. 93-144; Jacobsen 1976/Excerpt): the author insists on the metaphor of gods as ‘rulers’, presenting individual divine figures, paired to specific issues or attributes (Jacobsen 1976/Excerpt). Nevertheless, Jacobsen diverges from Buccellati’a idea on the ‘absolute’, since he did not recognize in Mesopotamian religion a similar concept, considering Mesopotamian religion as a summa of singular gods/goddesses.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
For an anthology of mythical texts connected to religions of the ancient Near East (including Egypt, Mesopotamia and Israel) see Wyatt 2001 Space Time. For a discussion on the relationship between myths and rituals in Babylonia, see Lambert 1968 Myth Ritual.
– [ Stefania Ermidoro, October 2020]
For an example of the geographical distribution of temples in an ancient Mesopotamian city (in particular, in Babylon) see George 1992 B T T.
– [ Stefania Ermidoro, October 2020]
For an analysis of the theme of the dying god from a comparative perspective, see Frankfort 1958 Dying God.
– [ Stefania Ermidoro, October 2020]
See Hundley 2013 Examination for a nuanced exposition of Mesopotamian divine unity and plurality.
– [ Jonah Lynch, January 2021]
See Lambert 1990 Gods Superstition for a treatment of the plurality of gods in Mesopotamia.
– [ Jonah Lynch, January 2021]
5.2 The Unity of the Divine
For a discussion about ‘polytheism’ and ‘monotheism’ in the Bible and Mesopotamian religion, and their implications on the concept of ‘Trinity’, see Buccellati 2012 Trinità.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For the Akkadian terms ilum (‘god’) and ilūtum (‘divinity’) see CAD 7 = I-J, pp. 91-106.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
For the Akkadian term melammu (‘splendour’) see CAD 10 = M2, pp. 9-12.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
For an English translation of the Enūma elīš (mentioned in Section 5.2, point (5)), see Foster 2005 Before, pp. 436-486.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
For Marduk, polyad god of Babylon (mentioned in Section 5.2, point (5)), see here.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
The affirmation in §3.6, that each god exhausts an attribute, is qualified and clarified in §5.2 with the topic of syncretism. Sometimes the gods change identity or name.
– [ Jonah Lynch, October 2020]
See Lambert 1990 Gods Superstition for an interpretation of first millennium BC Mesopotamian “theology” as tending toward monotheism.
– [ Jonah Lynch, January 2021]
5.3 Fate/Destiny and the Divine
A study of fate in ancient and modern times:(De Santillana 1985 Fato).
– [ Giorgio Buccellati, July 2012]
[Concept of fate in ancient Mesopotamia of the first millennium: toward an understanding of šīmtu / Jack N. Lawson.]
– [March 2020]
Jestin e Van Dijk - v. Mander 1998 Prospettive.
– [March 2020]
Buber and Buccellati present a similar distinction between polytheism (= objective, «It» relationships) and monotheism (= «Thou»). Buber writes: «The present arises only in virtue of the fact that the Thou becomes present. The I of the primary word I-It, that is, the I faced by no Thou, but surrounded by a multitude of ‘contents,’ has no present, only the past.» (p. 12) This description of the “I-It” relationship is similar to Buccellati’s description of a polytheistic relationship with fate. Buccellati asserts, for instance, that fate or destiny is «not a subject that acts, nor the counterpart in a personal relationship. It is instead just an inert object, which exists as the presupposition upon which one depends and with which one deals.» (When 5.3). See Buber 1937 Iandthou.
– [ Jonah Lynch, April 2020]
For a discussion about structural comparison between Mesopotamian and Biblical religions, see Buccellati 1972 Beatitudini.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For a comparison about ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’ in the Bible and in Mesopotamian culture, see Buccellati 1973 Adapa.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For the concepts of ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’ in Mesopotamian religion, see Buccellati 1981 Wisdom.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For a comparison about ‘fate’ and ‘destiny’ in the Bible and in Mesopotamian culture, see Buccellati 2014 Time.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
Although an evident difficulty in defining ancient concepts with modern terms, we can be fairly sure that the ancient Akkadian term šīmtu (mentioned by G. Buccellati in this section) corresponds to our idea of ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’. On this topic, see e.g. Piccin 2018 Mortality, Paragraph 4.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
For the Akkadian term šīmtu (‘fate’, ‘destiny’) see CAD 17 = Š3, pp. 11-20.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
For the Akkadian expression ṭup šimā(t)i (‘tablet of destinies’) see CAD 19 = Ṭ, p. 135.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
For the Sumerian term ‘me’ (‘attributes of reality’) see ePSD2.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
5.4 Ancient Israel: Perceptions of the Absolute Beyond the Relative
For the perception of the ‘absolute’ in ancient Israel, see Buccellati 2014 Time.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
For the Hebrew term חֵן, ḥēn (‘grace’), see DCH 8, pp. 266-267.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
«Indeed, it is precisely the collapse of the external forms of political cohesion of that group (the destruction of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah and the exile that follows) that consolidates the sense of abandonment to that “grace” instead of leading to a replacement of the point of origin, which in the polytheistic world would be the god who has failed them» (G. Buccellati, Chapter 5, Section 4).
This is an interesting perspective: in polytheism, gods sometimes leave a city and its people (their statues moving from a temple to another or being deported by enemies conquering the city); in monotheism is man who abandons God, being sometimes exiled or deported.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
5.5 Fragmentation of Modes of Perception
For an investigation on the divine speech in ancient Mediterranean world, see Anthonioz 2019 Divine Speech.
– [ Marco De Pietri, June 2020]
«In this type of interaction, God is sometimes perceived as a trap, because the absolute being tests and tempts the human capacity to respond, leaving the freedom of true choice intact» (G. Buccellati, Chapter 5, Section 5).
This is for instance the case of Adam and Eve, or that of Abraham.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
For the specific Hebrew term בְּרִית,berît see DCH 2, pp. 264-267.
On the topic of Biblical ‘alliance’, see e.g. the lemma ‘covenant’ in Freedman 2000 Eerdmans, pp. 288ff..
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]
«In the first place, he [i.e. God] “wants”: this implies a targeted and specific objective, which is related to a precise historical and cultural context» (G. Buccellati, Chapter 5, Section 5).
He “wants”: the creation is the result of a thinking project, as shown in some Midrashic comments, where it is underlined that in the word רֵשִׁית, rēšîth (‘beginning’; see DCH 7, pp. 381-383 one could also read the word רֹאשׁ, rōš (‘head’), with the same root-consonantal pattern RŠ, explaining that God thought his creation before acting. This is a clear example of the fact that God “wants” the creation.
– [ Marco De Pietri, July 2020]