The Great Angel: A Study of Israel's Second God [Paperback]

Margaret Barker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1992

What did "Son of God," "Messiah," and "Lord," mean to the first Christians when they used these words to describe their beliefs about Jesus? In this book Margaret Barker explores the possibility that, in the expectations and traditions of first-century Palestine, these titles belonged together, and that the first Christians fit Jesus' identity into an existing pattern of belief. She claims that pre-Christian Judaism was not monotheistic and that the roots of Christian Trinitarian theology lie in a pre-Christian Palestinian belief about angels--a belief derived from the ancient religion of Israel, in which there was a "High God" and several "Sons of God." Yahweh was a son of God, manifested on earth in human form as an angel or in the Davidic King. Jesus was a manifestation of Yahweh, and was acknowledged as Son of God, Messiah, and Lord. Barker relies on canonical and deutero-canonical works and literature from Qumran and rabbinic sources to present her thoughtful investigation.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Margaret Baker is a Methodist preacher and biblical scholar. A former president of the Society for Old Testament Study, in July 2008 she was awarded a Doctor of Divinity Lambeth degree by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press (September 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0664253954
• ISBN-13: 978-0664253950
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #639,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Angel, April 24, 2003

By 

Rob Sloat - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Angel: A Study of Israel's Second God (Paperback)

I found this book from a footnote of another book I was reading. Since then I've bought all her books. The Great Angel is perhaps her best written work and best argued. Her hypothesis is that Elohim refers to the Most High God and that Jehovah (Yahweh) was one of his sons. There were 70 Sons that ruled the 70 nations and Jehovah was the God of Israel. After Jerusalem fell in 600 BC, the Jews had problems reconciling their God of Israel as being superior to the other Gods while being held captive in Babylon. Over the centuries, one brand of Judaism had confusion between the Most High and Jehovah and eventually Jehovah was elevated to the position of the Most High in their minds and superior to all others. The Angel of Yahweh is seen as a second God that would eventually lead to threatening a form of monotheism that was growing more and more exclusively strict. Another brand of Judism (Enochic Judaism)in contrast tried to preserve the ancient beliefs of the Davidic Temple Cult. It was this brand from which Essenes and Christians sprang. By the second Century CE the other Jews would put a label on this heresy as the TWO POWERS in Heaven. Sound far fetched? Not after you read her documentation and reasoning. It's a very convincing argument especially when you read the works of Philo and others. I would have given this a higher rating but some arguments she assumes the audience understands without building them. ...

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book, July 13, 2005

By 

Bobby Boylan - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great Angel: A Study of Israel's Second God (Paperback)

This is an excellent book by a talented scholar. Margaret Barker provides an insightful look of Israel's Second God in this impressive, small book.

One of my favourite sections is her discussion of Deut. 6:4 (the "Shema") and 1 Corinthians 8, where she argues Paul, and contemporaries, understood the Shema as a verse supporting the unity of Yahweh (henotheism), as opposed to the Trinitarian eisegetical interpretation by mainstream Christians or the ultra-strict monotheistic interpretaion in modern Judaism. As a student of theology in Ireland, and an active Latter-day Saint, I have a great appreciation for this book.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Think Again, February 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Angel: A Study of Israel's Second God (Paperback)

This is wonderful book with lots of groundbreaking ideas that every Christian should read to understand the New Testament. Barker posits (based on extensive textual and historical evidence) that Israelite theology placed two powers in heaven, Elohim and his representative Jehovah (Yahweh). She shows that the first christians could accept christ as God because he was Jehovah, and Elohim was his father. While it may challenge some preconceived ideas, this book sheds lots of bright non-secular light on the Bible.