iv. It belongs less to the sphere of redemptive history than to the conception of the majesty of J" the King (Is C), when God is represented as surrounded by a court in heaven, by multitudes of ministers that do His pleasure, and armies that execute His commands. He has a 'council' (nto Ps 89', cf. the four and twenty elders, Kev 4*) ; a 'congregation' (nyi Ps 82', Snij Ps 89*) surrounds Him, ' hosts ' who are His ministers (Is 6', 1 K 22", Ps 103*'' " 148^). These superhuman beings are called ' sons of Elohim ' (Job 1« 2', cf. Dn 3-^), or 'sons of Elim,' Ps 29'- " 89°, but possibly simply 'Elohim,' Ps 8» 97", and 'Elim,' Ex 15". The rendering ' sons of God ' is possible, and Ps 82* ' sons of the Most High,' if said of angels, would be in favour of it ; but, on the other hand, the word Elim (D'S.x) seems nowhere an honorary plur. applicable to a single being, but always denotes strict plurality. The probability, tlieretore, is that the right rendering is not 'sons of God,' but 'sons of the Elohim,' 'sons of the Elim,' that is, mem- bers of the class of beings called Elohim and Elim, just as ' sons of the prophets ' means members of the prophetic order or guilds (cf. si7}g. Dn 3^). The names Elohim and El are prehistoric, and their etymology is quite unknown ; they are also the names for ' God,' and these beings around God's throne are no doubt conceived of in con- trast with men as sliaring in an inferior way some- thing of divine majesty. They are also called 'Holy Ones' (cc-ip), though the term 'holy,' originally at least, did not describe moral cliar- acter, hut merely expressed close relation to God. Cf. Dt 33», Zee 1>, Ps 89', Job 6', and often. The OT a-ssumes the existence of these beings, and the belief goes back beyond the historic period. In- teresting attempts have been made to exjilain the origin of the idea. It has been su^jjested that these beings, subordinate to J" and His servants, are the gods of the nations now degraded and reduced to a secondary place by the increasing prevalence of the monotheistic conception in Israel (Kosters, ThT, 1876). There is little or nothing in OT to support this theory. Israel probably speculated little on the goils of the nations, except of those, such as Egypt and Baby- lon, with whom they came into contact ; and though J" be greater than all gods (Ex 18"), He nowhere regards them as His ministers, but manifests the strongest hostility to them, e.rj. those of Egypt Ex 12", Is 19', Ezk 30'>, of Babylon Is 21» 46i- », and generally Zeph 2". The monotheism of Israel did not subordinate the gods to J" as His ministers, but rather denied their existence, and described them as vanities (nonentities), Ps 96*- •, Jer 10*- ". The fact that J" is compared or contrasted with the sons of Elohim in heaven, Ps 8'.»""', and also with the Elohim or gods of the nations, Ps 80' 96*- • 97', is certainly remarkable, but scarcely sufficient to establish the identity of the two ; and if in later times the idea finds expression that <!od had subjected the nations to the rule of angels, while the rule of Israel was reserved for Himself (Dt 32»» in Sept., Sir 17", Dn 10"" 12', cf. Dt 4"' 29*'. la 24"), this is hardly an old idea
that the angels were the gods of the nations re appearin" in an inverted form, but a new idea suggested to Israel by its own religious superiority to the nations, and perhaps its way of explaining heathenism. Another view goes back to what was presumably the oldest phase of Shemitie religion for an explanation. Men, conscious of being under the influence of a multitude of externaJ forces, peopled the world with spirits, whose place ol abode they thought to be great stones, umbrage- ous trees, fountains, and the like. Gratlually these varied spirits came to be regarded as posses.-.- ing a certain unity of will and action, and by a further concentration they became the servants ol one supreme will, and formed the host of heaven. Such speculations regarding possible processes ot thought among the family out of which Israel s^irang, in periods which precede the dawn of history, are not without interest ; they lie, how- ever, outside OT, which, as has been said, assumes the existence of J"'s heavenly retinue. The God of Israel is above all things a living God, who influences the aflairs of the world and men, and rules them. If He uses agents, they are supplied by the 'ministers' that surround Him. This is true (though denied by Kosters) even in the oldest period of the literature, Gn 28 and 32, Jos 5'^ and Is 6, where one of the seraphim ministers purifica- tion and forgiveness to the prophet ; and t he same appears in tlie scene depicted in 1 K 22"*. The idea is even more common in the later literature : Ps 103™' ". J "s ho.sts are also iiiiiiisters who do His pleasure, Ps 14S-. In Job 1' 2' it is the sons of the Elohim who present themselves to report upon the condition of the earth and men ; in 33-^ the inter-