Two Powers Reference in 1 Kings? · Inspiring Philosophy Academy

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Two Powers Reference in 1 Kings?

I haven't done a whole deep dive into this text that I stumbled upon when reading my Bible this morning, but it seems to mirror this "two powers in heaven" idea that we see during the 2nd Temple period, or at least it seems to be something similar. Please let me know if anyone knows about this reference, or if anyone else has commented on it before:

In 1 Kings 19:9-14, Elijah is in the wilderness, after running away from Queen Jezebel, after she ordered the death of Elijah. Elijah makes his way to a cave after the angel of Yahweh gives him food and water.

The text then says:

"Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”

(1 Ki 19:9–10, NRSVue)

Notice here how, when Elijah is describing the situation, very explicitly to "the word of the Lord", Elijah says "...for the Israelites have forsaken YOUR covenant, thrown down YOUR altars, and killed YOUR prophets with the sword."

So, we can see here that one "subject" asks Elijah a question, and Elijah responds to that subject, attributing the covenant, altars, and prophets to that same subject.

The text, however, doesn't stop there:

Then (very importantly) the word of the Lord tells Elijah to "...go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." We could derive a similar 2 Powers motif from this part alone, but I think there is even stronger support if we continue.

Then Elijah hears and sees a great wind, an earthquake, and a great fire, but the text says that the Lord was not in any of them.

The Lord was, however, in the "...sound of sheer silence." Now, interestingly, the exchange between Elijah and the LORD is the exact same exchange that we see between the word of the LORD and Elijah:

What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword."

(1 Ki 19:13–14, NRSVue)

Now I believe that we can come to either of two propositions here:

1. The subject "the word of the LORD" is the same subject as "the LORD."

If this is the case, then we have to make a very important observation:

When Elijah gives the same answer to the same subject, for the second time, there seems to be no recognition of the repetitive answer, in any form or fashion. In other places, like John 21:15-17, where the subject "Jesus" asks a question three times, Peter gets frustrated and acknowledges the repeated question from the same subject. However, in 1 Kings, Elijah seems not to have this same frustration (even though it is due to him through his sufferings).

Like, imagine your best friend coming to you, and asking you, "Why are you so sad?" and you tell them, "Man, my dog just died." Then later that day, they invite you to their house, then once again ask you, "Why are you so sad?" Typically, people would be confused and frustrated at the repetitive nature of the question, given the situation. Maybe you could write this off as a type of reverence for God, but I don't think that is likely.

Given this proposition, you would also have to ask a very important question:

Why does the text give the same subject two different names (clarifier -->) in the same context, to the same person, on the same day?

This just seems like a useless addition to the text if the author doesn't have some other purpose to it.

The only other proposition that I could think of is the inverse of the previous:

2. The subject "the word of the LORD" is a distinct subject from "the LORD."

I want to use this proposition as a premise and make the following argument for why I think this passage implies a 2 Powers Motif:

P1: If a subject attributes properties, actions, or prerogatives that are uniquely proper to a particular deity, then, from the perspective of that subject, the recipient of those attributions is identified with that deity.

P2: In 1 Kings 19:9-14, the subject "the word of the LORD" is a distinct subject from "the LORD."

P3: In both interactions, Elijah directly attributes the covenants, altars, and prophets uniquely associated with Yahweh to each of the two subjects.

C: Therefore, from Elijah's perspective, both "the word of the LORD" and "the LORD" are identified as Yahweh despite being two distinct subjects.

I think this is something that would support the 2 powers in heaven perspective that we see widely held in 2nd Temple Judaism, supported by scholars like Michael Heiser and Alan Segal. Though Elijah's time would predate the 2nd Temple Period, we could derive a conclusion that posits that, from the author's perspective, he acknowledged the divine identity of Yahweh in two distinct subjects.

I haven't looked into the commentary on this, nor do I know if any scholarship mentions this; this is just something I came across in my Bible this morning. Please feel free to be critical and leave your honest thoughts!

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