Unit 6: Essay Theme C — The Relationship Between Man and G-d
How do humans relate to the divine? What does G-d (or the gods) expect of humans? What do humans seek from the divine — protection, immortality, justice, meaning? These questions were central to every ancient civilization we have studied, but each culture answered them very differently.
The five primary source texts for this essay each represent a distinct relationship between humans and the divine:
- Book of Numbers, Chapter 35 (Hebrew Bible): a personal G-d who is deeply involved in human moral and legal life, who cares about justice among humans, and whose covenant shapes every aspect of life
- Code of Hammurabi (Babylonian): a king who administers divine justice on earth; the gods care about order; law is divinely sanctioned
- Memphite Theology (Egyptian): the universe was created through divine reason and speech; the gods are the source of cosmic order and rationality
- Epic of Gilgamesh (Mesopotamian): the gods are all-powerful but often capricious; humans are their servants; immortality belongs to the gods alone
- Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (Greek): many gods with human-like emotions, taking sides in human affairs; fate (moira) is above even the gods; humans seek glory (kleos) as a substitute for immortality
As you write your essay, compare and contrast how these different cultures understand: the nature of G-d/gods, what the divine expects of humans, and what humans can expect from the divine.
Numbers 35 establishes a system of cities of refuge (arei miklat) in ancient Israel. These were cities where someone who accidentally killed another person could flee to escape blood vengeance while awaiting a fair trial. Intentional murder and accidental killing are treated very differently under this law.
Key Themes in Numbers 35:
1. G-d cares about justice among humans:
The law distinguishes carefully between murder (intentional killing) and manslaughter (accidental killing). This distinction reveals a G-d who cares not just about ritual observance but about ethical behavior and the quality of justice in human society.
2. Divine sanctity of human life:
G-d commands that human life has sacred value — killing is not just a social offense between families (requiring blood vengeance) but an offense against G-d, who created humanity. "Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of G-d has G-d made mankind" (Genesis 9:6, background).
3. The land itself is sacred:
Numbers 35 warns that bloodshed "defiles" or "pollutes" the land — the sacred land of Israel becomes spiritually contaminated by unpunished killing. This shows that the covenant relationship involves not just people but the land G-d promised.
4. The covenant demands an ethical society:
The laws in Numbers are not merely practical regulations — they are expressions of what it means to live as G-d's covenant people. Justice among humans reflects and honors the divine relationship.
Contrast with other ancient legal systems:
Unlike Hammurabi's Code, which differentiates punishments by social class (different treatment for free men vs. slaves), Numbers 35 treats the accidental killing of any human life as requiring the same protective legal process. Human life has equal divine value regardless of social status.
Hammurabi (1792–1750 BCE) was the king of Babylon who compiled one of history's most famous law codes. The code is preserved on a stele (stone pillar) showing Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash, the sun-god — the god of justice.
Key Themes in the Code of Hammurabi:
1. Divine authorization for law:
The prologue of the code states that Hammurabi was chosen by the gods to rule and to bring justice to the land. Law is not merely human invention — it is divinely sanctioned. The king is G-d's agent on earth, responsible for implementing divine justice.
2. Lex talionis — proportional punishment:
The Code is famous for "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (lex talionis = law of retaliation). This principle represents proportional punishment — the punishment should match the offense, no more and no less. This was actually progressive for its time, replacing unlimited blood vengeance with measured, proportional responses.
3. Social stratification in punishment:
Unlike the biblical principle of equal divine value, Hammurabi's Code explicitly differentiates punishments based on social class:
- Free man (awilu): receives one punishment
- Freed person (mushkenu): receives a different (often lesser) punishment
- Slave (wardum): receives yet another punishment
Injury to a slave is often punished with a fine to the owner, not the slave. This reveals a society where legal rights depend on social status.
4. Divine order through royal law:
The gods care about order and justice, but they work through the king as their earthly representative. The king's job is to implement the divine will for a just and ordered society.
The Memphite Theology is one of the most philosophically sophisticated religious texts of the ancient world. It comes from Memphis, Egypt (c. 700 BCE, though likely much older) and describes how the god Ptah created the universe.
Ptah's Creation Through Thought and Word:
Ptah did not create the world through physical labor or conflict (as in many other ancient creation myths). Instead:
1. Ptah conceived of all things in his heart (mind/thought)
2. Ptah then spoke them into existence through his tongue (word/speech)
Creation = divine thought + divine speech. The universe exists because Ptah first imagined it and then named it.
Philosophical Significance:
This creation theology is remarkably close to the Greek philosophical concept of Logos (λόγος) — the rational principle or divine reason that orders the universe. The connection is striking:
- Memphite Theology: the universe is created by divine mind (heart) and divine word (tongue)
- Greek philosophy: the Logos is the rational principle underlying all of reality
- Gospel of John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with G-d, and the Word was G-d"
Key implication: If the universe was created through divine thought and word, then the universe is fundamentally rational and ordered. Reality is not random — it reflects the mind of G-d. This has enormous implications for how humans can understand G-d: through reason, through studying the order of creation.
For essay purposes:
Memphite Theology presents the most philosophical and abstract conception of G-d in the assigned texts. The divine is not capricious or emotional (like Homer's gods) but is pure rational intelligence from which all order flows.
The Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100 BCE from Mesopotamia) is one of the oldest surviving works of literature. It tells the story of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, who is 2/3 god and 1/3 human — a hero of extraordinary power who nonetheless cannot escape mortality.
The Story:
- Gilgamesh is a powerful but tyrannical king; the gods create Enkidu (a wild man) to humble him
- Gilgamesh and Enkidu become the closest of friends and companions
- They go on heroic adventures together, killing monsters
- Enkidu dies — possibly as punishment from the gods for killing the Bull of Heaven
- Gilgamesh is devastated by grief and terrified of his own mortality
- He goes on a quest for immortality, eventually finding Utnapishtim (a human who was granted eternal life by the gods)
- Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh about a plant of immortality at the bottom of the sea
- Gilgamesh retrieves it — but a serpent steals it while he sleeps
- Gilgamesh returns to Uruk empty-handed and accepts his mortality
Key Themes:
1. The gods created humans to serve them — to do the gods' labor so the gods could rest. Human purpose is service to the divine.
2. Immortality belongs to the gods alone — humans cannot and should not possess it. The serpent stealing the plant may even be seen as divinely ordained.
3. The proper human response to mortality is to find meaning in what you have: friendship, fame, good work, the city you build. This is the message Siduri (the divine barmaid) gives Gilgamesh.
4. The Flood Narrative: Utnapishtim's story parallels the biblical flood (Noah's ark). Key difference: in Gilgamesh, the flood is caused by the gods' capricious desire for quiet; in the Bible, it is a moral judgment against human wickedness. This reveals a fundamentally different conception of divine character.
Homer's epics present a distinctive vision of the relationship between humans and the divine. The Greek gods are radically different from the G-d of the Hebrew Bible or the Ptah of Memphite Theology.
The Nature of Homer's Gods:
- The gods are immortal and powerful but deeply human in their emotions: they experience jealousy, anger, desire, favoritism, and vanity
- Different gods take different sides in human conflicts (Zeus, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Poseidon all play roles in the Iliad and Odyssey)
- The gods directly intervene in human affairs — disguising themselves, protecting favorites, manipulating events
- There is no unified divine plan — different gods pursue different, often conflicting agendas
Fate (Moira) — Above Even the Gods:
In Homer, there is a concept of fate (moira) that is above even the gods — what is fated will happen. The gods can influence events and protect favorites, but they cannot ultimately override what is fated. Even Zeus cannot save those whose time has come.
Kleos — Human Glory as Substitute for Immortality:
Greek heroes seek kleos (glory/fame) — to be remembered after death through stories and songs. Since the gods alone are immortal, the best a human can do is to be remembered. Achilles in the Iliad chooses a short, glorious life (remembered forever) over a long, obscure life (forgotten).
The Transactional Relationship:
In Homer, the relationship between humans and gods is largely transactional: sacrifice, prayer, and loyalty earn divine protection. The gods help those who honor them and harm those who don't. This is very different from the covenant relationship in the Hebrew Bible, where G-d has a personal, moral relationship with a specific people.
The Odyssey and Divine Help:
In the Odyssey, Odysseus earns Athena's protection through his cunning and piety. Athena is his patron goddess, and she helps him throughout his journey home. But even Athena cannot simply return Odysseus home — he must earn his return through cleverness and perseverance.