Q&A: Who Is Like You Among the Gods, O Lord
Who Is Like You Among the Gods, O Lord
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Regarding the verse in Exodus chapter 15:
“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, doing wonders?”
Do you think a polytheistic conception is reflected here, in the sense that there are many gods and the Lord is the greatest among them? I saw that the commentators sensed the difficulty here and explained it in ways that uproot the plain meaning, for example:
- “Who is like You among the gods” = among the mute
- “Who is like You among the gods” = among the mighty ones = among the strong
- Onkelos translated it this way: “There is none besides You; You alone are God, O Lord; there is no god but You, mighty in holiness, awesome in praises, performing wonders.”
The first commandment too — “You shall have no other gods before Me” — seems to fit the polytheistic conception that apparently is reflected here. And also what is written: “You shall not bow down to them nor serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.” If no other gods exist, of whom is He jealous here? And also the verse: “For all the peoples will each walk in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”
Answer
There is no necessity for that at all. There is none like You among all those beings that people regard as gods (though in truth they are nothing). Clearly, on the practical level there is polytheism, since different people regard different beings as their gods. Only on the level of reality are there not many gods.
I’ll repeat again that I do not engage in biblical interpretation, because nothing can be inferred from it. This is yet another example of that.
Discussion on Answer
“Jealous” here does not mean jealousy in the sense it has in our Hebrew. It is not jealousy of someone, but jealousy for someone, like a man who is jealous regarding his wife. He is a jealous God for His honor and His status, in the face of other imaginary beings that people put in His place.
And what about what I added above, that the Lord is a jealous God (of whom is He jealous?)