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What is the Divine Council?
The “divine council” is a concept found in the Hebrew Bible, particularly in passages like Psalm 82:1, where Yahweh is depicted as presiding over a group of spiritual beings referred to as “gods” (Elohim).
God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
Psalm 82:1, King James Version
God stands among the gods and judges them.
In this picture Yahweh is not alone in the spiritual realm. He rules over a host of divine or half-divine beings. Paul Wallis reads the older layers of the Bible the same way in The Eden Conspiracy, as the memory of many elohim who governed humanity in the deep past.
The Elohim in Psalm 82
The Hebrew word Elohim appears twice in the first verse. The first refers to God, Yahweh, in the singular. The second refers to other gods, read as lesser divine beings or heavenly hosts.
Depending on the reading, these gods are angels, spirits or the spiritual rulers of the nations. See also Beni Elohim and The Hierarchy of YHWH.
Judgment in the Divine Council
In the Psalm, Yahweh calls the other Elohim to account for ruling unjustly. In the next verses they are accused of neglecting justice, failing to defend the weak and the oppressed, and fostering corruption. See also Shepherds of people.
How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
Psalm 82:2, King James Version
Yahweh charges the gods with unjust rule.
Then Yahweh declares their fate.
I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.
Psalm 82:6-7, King James Version
The gods are children of the Most High, but they will die like men.
Christian interpretation
Early Christian writers sometimes linked Psalm 82:6 with the divinity of Jesus. In John 10, Jesus quotes the verse.
Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
John 10:34-36, King James Version
If scripture calls others gods, Jesus argues, his claim to be the Son of God is no blasphemy.
