Publisher's Synopsis
Descriptions of God as radiant and shining are widely found in the Hebrew Bible. This is clearly demonstrated by such passages as Ps. 104:2, describing God as 'wearing light like a garment, ' and Hab. 3:3-4, which describes God's arrival in imagery reminiscent of sunrise, stating 'there shall be brightness like light.' ... The present study will examine Biblical depictions of divine and human radiance within an ancient Near Eastern context. It aims to clarify the meaning attached to radiance in the Hebrew Bible, and to answer related questions. These include: Who is chosen to be portrayed as radiant? How do these descriptions reflect underlying conceptions of those so portrayed? What do the different terms for radiance signify? In what periods and types of literature do we find such descriptions? What rhetorical function does the use of such descriptions serve? ... The comparative discussion focusses on the relationship between the Biblical material and a group of terms found in Sumerian and Akkadian literature, which are thought to designate radiant phenomena of various types. The best-known of these terms are the Akkadian designations puluhtu and melammu, used to refer to the radiance of kings, heroes, and gods. In recent decades, scholars have devoted considerable attention to these terms, illustrating parallels to them in Biblical depictions of radiance. The phenomenon of royal and divine radiance is a very widespread motif in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology, royal inscriptions, and art
