Divine Council
- Genesis 1:26-27
- Genesis 3:22-24
- Deuteronomy 32:8 (See JSB Notes.)
- Job 1:6
- Psalm 82 (See Jewish Study Bible notes to Psalm 82 below.)
- Psalm 86:8
- Psalm 89:6-7
- 1 Kings 22:19-23
- Daniel 7:9
Also possibly Jeremiah 23: 16-18, 21-22.
The Jewish Study Bible Notes to Psalm 82:
A vision of a heavenly court scene where God condemns those who judge unfairly. The psalm plays on the word "'elohim," which means "God" as well as "divine beings." The notion that other divine beings exist is found elsewhere in the Bible (see v. 1 n.). In later biblical thought these beings serve as ministering angels to God and are never equal to God (cf. Ps. 89.5-8). An earlier view is reflected, and then rejected, in this psalm, according to which the divine beings each represent one nation, serving as that nation's protector, a remnant of the idea that the world was populated by many gods, each assigned to a different nation (cf. Deut. 4.19 and 32.8, according to LXX and the Dead Sea Scrolls). This psalm forcefully rejects the idea of other gods; God deprives them of their divinity and He alone has dominion over all nations. In content and language, the psalm resembles prophetic criticisms of the oppression of the poor, including the denial of access to the judicial system and the disadvantages faced by the poor in obtaining just verdicts. Through the scenario of the heavenly tribunal, the psalm speaks to the issue of a just society, without which the world cannot exist. It also speaks to the universality of God, the supreme judge over all nations.
