Mythology Codexery

Divine Council

An assembly of deities presided over by a higher god.

A Divine Council is an assembly of multiple deities presided over by a higher-level god.[1] The concept appears in Sumerian, Akkadian, Old Babylonian, Egyptian, Canaanite, Israelite, Celtic, Greek, Roman, and Nordic pantheons.[2]

Quick Facts

Sumerian term
Ukkin
Akkadian/aramaic term
puhru

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The Lament for Ur, a Sumerian text, records one of the earliest divine councils, with An leading the Annunaki pantheon alongside Ninhursag and Enlil.[3] During the Old Babylonian period, the divine council's meetings were chaired by Samas (also written as Shamash) and Adad.[4] At Ugarit, Canaanite documents portray El and Ba'al as the presiding deities of the divine council.[5] Norse sources describe gods convening in council; the Eddic poem "Völuspá" repeatedly mentions them sitting in judgment seats, and a "thing" of the gods appears in "Baldrs draumar," "Þrymskviða," and the skaldic "Haustlöng."[6]

Psalm 82:1, in the Revised JPS Edition, states that "God stands in the divine assembly, pronouncing judgment among the divine beings."[7][8][9]

What the cited sources add

Lucifer rebelled against the plan, wanting to eliminate agency and take power for himself, leading to his expulsion from Heaven.[10] The Berean Standard Bible translates Psalm 82:1 as "God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods"[7] The New Revised Standard Version reads "God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment".[7] At that council, individuals learned they would receive agency to choose good or evil without memory of living with Heavenly Father.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Divine Council" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thompson, "Local Manifestations of YHWH within El's Divine Council: Psalm 82 in the Context of Israelite Religion", Journal of Biblical Literature, 15 June 2024, p. 245–265 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Divine Council" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sakenfeld, Katharine ed., "The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible" Volume 2, pg 145, Abingdon Press, Nashville.; Freedman, David N. ed., "The Anchor Bible Dictionary" Volume 2 pg 120, Doubleday, New York (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Divine Council" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: E. Theodore Mullen, "The divine council in Canaanite and early Hebrew literature", Scholars Press, 1 June 1980 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Divine Council" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Magic and Divination in the Ancient World", BRILL, 2002, p. 47– (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Divine Council" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mark S. Smith, "The Ugaritic Baal Cycle.", BRILL, 2009, p. 841– (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Divine Council" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: John Lindow, "Norse Mythology: A guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals and Beliefs", Oxford University Press, 2002, p. 26; Viktor Rydberg, "Teutonic Mythology", Norroena Society, 1907, p. 210–11; Samuel Hibbert, "Memoir on the Tings of Orkney and Shetland", Archaeologia Scotica: Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 1831, p. 178; Ursula Dronke, "The Poetic Edda", Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, 2001, p. 37, 117; "The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson: Tales from Norse Mythology", University of California Press, 1964 en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Psalms 82:1", bible.cc. facts only, no text reused. bible.cc
  8. "godlike beings, in JPS 1917", mechon-mamre.org. facts only, no text reused. mechon-mamre.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Divine Council" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Psalms 82:1", Sefaria; Michael S. Heiser, "Divine Council 101: Lesson 2: The elohim of Psalm 82 – gods or men?", thedivinecouncil.com; "Psalms 82:1", bible.cc; HamMilon Hechadash, Avraham Even-Shoshan, copyright 1988.; "godlike beings, in JPS 1917", mechon-mamre.org; "Psalm 82:6 KJV with Strong's H430 (elohim/elohiym)", blueletterbible.org; (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Divine Council" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Council in Heaven", www.churchofjesuschrist.org; "Plan of Salvation", www.churchofjesuschrist.org; "Moses 4", www.churchofjesuschrist.org; "Satan", www.churchofjesuschrist.org (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. "Council in Heaven", www.churchofjesuschrist.org. facts only, no text reused. churchofjesuschrist.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Divine Council (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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