196 TRANSLATION, NOTES, AND COMMENTSserved to describe the life of the gods. From later Babylonian texts we know
that these religious ideas outlived the democracy from which they came, con-
tinuing in Sumerian and Babylonian religion long after autocratic kingship
had emerged in the early third millennium. On Mari prophets of the early sec-
ond millennium who stood in secret councils of earthly-not heavenly-
kings, see Malamat 1991 b. There is no parallel, as far as we know, to the bibli-
cal idea of prophets' carrying messages from the divine assembly to people on
earth (Polley 1980: 149; Mullen 1980: 218). But that Yahweh has a council of
heavenly beings is attested throughout Scripture (Deut 32:8 ["sons of God" in
LXX and 4QDeut]; 33:2; Ps 89:6-9[Eng 89:5-8]; Sir 24:2), where such beings
assist in Creation and are present when judgment is meted out in Eden and at
Babel (Gen 1:26; 3:22; and 11:7 ["Let us make ... ";"like one of us"; "Let us go
down ... "]).They are also heard singing Yahweh's praises (Pss 29: l; 148:2; Job
38:7; Dan 7:9-22; Luke 2:13; Rev 4:1-11) and seen performing various acts of
service (Isa 6: 1-8), e.g., that of a prosecuting attorney ("the satan") and enticer
(1 Kgs 22:19-22; Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). These beings also suffer judgment them-
selves on account of moral lapses (Ps 82: 1-8, which may have a Canaanite
background and may presuppose a polytheistic world view). Psalm 82 and
other biblical texts "point to the tendency in Israel to borrow the ancient Near
Eastern myth of the assembly of the gods, to place Yahweh as head of the pan-
theon, and then to reduce the status of the 'gods' to spiritual beings which sur-
round Yahweh's throne" (Polley 1980: 147). Yet these beings render homage to
Yahweh, carry out his decrees, and in no way rival his power. Polley (p. 148)
says they "enhance his glory by providing a court befitting his majesty." The di-
vine council is also background to the call of Second Isaiah in Isa 40: 1-11
(Cross 1953; Muilenburg 1956a: 422-23).
then let him see and let him hear his word! Hebrew weyere> weyisma' >et-
debaro. The omission of "and let him hear" in the LXX is no reason to delete
(pace Holladay; McKane). The term is present in Aq, Symm, Theod, T, and
Vg. The LXX is perhaps avoiding a repetition, since the same verb occurs
again at the end of the verse. Both verbs are jussives. The present colon then
does not extend the first question but, rather, is an intervening exhortation be-
tween questions. The same sort of discourse is seen in vv 26-28, where two
jussives in v 28, yesapper balom ... yedabber debarf ("let him tell the dream
... let him speak my word"), intervene between a pair of rhetorical questions.
In the present verse, the LXX translates its single verb kai eide ( = wayyar>,
"and has seen"), which most commentators and modern Versions adopt. But
the Masoretic pointing should be retained, posing as it does a particularly vig-
orous challenge to the opposition. "Seeing" Yahweh's word relates to the
prophet's visionary experience. In 2: 31 the people are told to "perceive" (re>u)
Yahweh's word.
who has hearkened to my word and heard? The Kt "my word," which the
LXX omits, is probably original (Cornill; Peake). Yahweh is speaker and con-
tinues to be the speaking voice in vv 21-22 (see Rhetoric and Composition).
The final "and heard" is this time an ordinary imperfect, meaning "really