Overview of the First Israelite Temple Drama

The Feast of Tabernacles

Overview of the Ancient Temple Drama

The ancient temple drama was an experience that helped groups of Israelites to experience what it was like for prophets to be called of God to do his work. The presentation of the prophet before the heavenly council was something that has an extensive background throughout the Ancient Near East. The ancient temple drama was a kind of generic version of the sode experience that Israelite prophets experienced anciently.^[1]See Jeremiah 23.18, “For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath seen and heard his word? Who hath considered his word and heard it?” In the Tanakh, God and the exalted beings of his … Continue reading This drama, also called the Festival of Yahweh, was held in the autumn at Jerusalem,^[2]J. H. Eaton, Festal Drama in Deutero-Isaiah, Camelot Press, 1979, p.4. and was called by the king of Israel.^[3]1 Kings 8.1-6.The festal drama was an invitation not just to Israel, but also all nations, as all were considered under the sovereign power and authority of Yahweh.^[4]From the early days, the festival expressed the subordination of all heavenly beings to Yahweh (Psalm 29) and expected this acknowledged by all nations. The pilgrimage to Zion was therefore imagined … Continue reading The events celebrated were the sojourning of the children of Israel in the wilderness (Lev. 23:43) and the gathering-in of all the fruits of the year (Ex. 23:16). This ancient Israelite temple drama taught each individual participant that the significance of the premortal covenants each had made before he came to this earth was as relevant to one’s present earthly responsibilities—and to one’s ultimate salvation—as the covenants God made with the prophets at when these prophets communed with God in the Divine Council. In other words, individuals participating in the ancient temple drama were to see their making of covenants as relevant to their salvation and their sphere of influence as the covenants made by the prophets and kings in the drama itself. Also integral in this festival was the importance of understanding the idea that the king and queen were representatives of God on earth, that there was a need for religious and political order, and that through covenant all of Israel could be tied to God and live in peace, living in a state referred to as “prospering in the land.”^[5]See: Deuteronomy 28.1-14, 29.9, Joshua 1.7-8, 2 Nephi 1.21, 4.4, Jarom 1.9, Omni 1.6, Mosiah 1.7, 2.22, 2.31, 3.9, 10.5, Alma 36.1, 30, 37.13, 38.1, 48.25, 62.51, Helaman 3.20, Ether 10.16. This … Continue reading

In the sode experience the prophet reviews his assignments for his earth-life.^[6]See Isaiah 6. In this sode experience we read the following: I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.  And he said, Go, and … Continue reading From there it seems very much like the story of the hero in the cosmic myth.^[7]See: Mike Day, The Cosmic Myth, 9.22.2018. See also: Mircea Eliade, The Myth of the Eternal Return, Princeton University Press; 2ND edition, 1974. There, the hero understands why and what the assignment is, and the difficulties that will be encountered in seeking to accomplish it. He is promised that he will be able to succeed and that will return home triumphant. As that is the same story told in the ancient temple drama, one might describe the drama as another version of the prophetic visionary experience. The writers of the psalms understood this relationship and therefore presented much of the prophetic call narratives, battles with chaos, victory, and enthronement of the hero throughout the psalms.

In some of the psalms, the Temple of Solomon was the place where one went to find the connection with heaven, linking the heavenly drama that was portrayed to both the kings of their time to their heavenly king and their personal battle with the enemy. Psalm 111 clearly shows that the congregation was regarded as representing the members of the Council, thus making the entire assembly vicarious participants in this heavenly drama. It begins, “Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly [The Hebrew word used here is sode.] of the upright, and in the congregation” (v. 1).

Because the Feast of Tabernacles ritual followed essentially the same pattern of the revelatory experiences of Israel’s prophets, and expressed essentially the same information that these prophets learned, this drama might also be comprehended as a representation of the eternal biographies of the participants in the drama; that is Yahweh, El Elyon (the Most High God), the Divine Council, the king and queen, and all of the congregation. It might be understood as representing the promises given in a sode experience, for the participants were symbolically returned to the Council and shown the events and circumstances that preceded all of creation, renewed the covenants they received in connection with their own assignments, and were promised that they would have the power to succeed and return triumphantly to the throne of Jehovah upon their heavenly ascent. To say that the psalms contained a sode experience may not be technically accurate in every sense,^[8]Psalm 25:14 is one place in the psalms where the sode is the central subject of the psalm. This entire psalm is about the meek. It defines the meek as those who keep their eternal … Continue reading but to say that the psalms taught a sode experience is correct. The drama of the psalms was a nonspecific version of a sacred prophetic call to join Yahweh in his fight against the forces of chaos, an experience that was administered by human beings, rather than by God.^[9]J. H. Eaton writes, “The bulk of the Psalms of the Individual (are) Royal Psalms.” Festal Drama, p. 5. The entire festival drama was a way to teach Israel who they were, their relationship to their heavenly and earthly king, and to point them back to the heavens from which they came.

The drama lasted eight days and was divided into three major segments, like three acts of a play with multiple scenes.^[10]The pilgrimage of the Feast of Tabernacles was one of three stated times in Israel’s calendar when Yahweh’s people were commanded to appear before him at the temple. (Lev. 23.34-44). Its purpose … Continue reading The three acts were the premortal experience, this world, and promises of the world to come. The drama of the festival is obvious through a close examination of the psalms. The story of Yahweh’s ark and David is portrayed (Ps. 132). Danger is portrayed, where our heroes experience an outbreak of the forces of chaos (Ps. 2), with the king crying out for God’s help (Ps. 69.1-4, 13-18; 77.1-3). The wicked forces are put down (Ps. 2; 74.12-17; 89.10-12; 110). Speech is launched from different quarters: a group speaks (Ps. 132.6-7; 118.22-29), the king addresses the rebels (Ps. 2.10-12), God addresses his king (Ps. 110; 2.7; 132.11); a priest speaks blessings and prayers over the king (Ps. 21; 72). One point of the festival drama that is important is that God has chosen his king and appointed him to represent him on earth, allowing him to be tested through the trials of the enemies of God, after which the hero king will be raised up as a “son of God.” This entire drama focused on the redemptive power of the God Yahweh, and his ability to literally make all of Israel kings and queens.^[11]See Exodus 19.5-6, Revelation 1.5-6, and D&C 76.50-60.

The cosmic myth enacted during the ritual of the Feast of Tabernacles temple drama taught a story that explained the origin and purpose of life. In the first act, it told of the events of the Premortal Council in Heaven, and reiterated the assignments and covenants made among the gods in that premortal Council, including the extended story of some of the heroes who participated there.^[12]One thing that differentiates the Book of Abraham’s account of the Creation from the biblical account in Genesis is that the Book of Abraham mentions plural “Gods” as the agents carrying out … Continue readingThere are a number of psalms that deal with battles in which Jehovah intercedes to assure victory. However, since the psalms are no longer in their original order,^[13]In studying these psalms it must be remembered that they have a history. The possibility that they no longer lie before us in their original form must be taken into account. See: Alexander Francis … Continue reading it is impossible to know which of those psalms dealt with the war in heaven,^[14]For a discussion of the Israelite understanding of the war in heaven, see Mullen, The Assembly of the Gods: The Divine Council in Canaanite and Early Hebrew Literature (Harvard Semitic Monographs … Continue reading and which dealt with earthly battles.^[15]Psalms 24:8, “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” The drama also depicted the creation of the earth^[16]Stephen Ricks, “Liturgy and Cosmogony: The Ritual Use of Creation Accounts in the Near East,” as found in Temples of the Ancient World, ed. Donald Parry, 118-25. by members of that Council^[17]David Bokovoy has written on the subject of the Divine Council. He wrote, “This is recognized by virtually all biblical scholars today. Now one of those whose work I connect with on many … Continue readingunder the authority of Jehovah.

Pre-Earth Life Psalms

Psalms Involving Councils of Gods Psalm 82 can be read as a set of instructions that the members of the Council received from their Father in Heaven before they came to this world.

82^[18]This idea of Psalm 82 applying to the pre-earth council can be complicated to say the least. For more on this, see: Daniel C. Peterson, Ye are Gods: Psalm 82 and John 10 as witnesses to the Divine … Continue reading

Creation Psalms

8.1-9

33.1-9

104.1-35

148.1-6

Gate Liturgy

15

24.1-7

Psalms dealing with the Battle against Chaos

17.12-13 – The lion comes to take prey

18.2-3 – The Lord is my rock, fortress, deliverer

29 – God “brake the arrows and bow” and is “terrible to the kings of the earth”

35.1-9 – The Lord will deliver his people

46.2-7 – Yahweh defeats the enemies

54.1-7

59

65.7-8

74.12-17 – Breaking apart the leviathan^[19]Similar festivals took place in the Ancient Near East where the gods of various peoples defeated the symbols of chaos for that particular culture. For example, in Babylon the warlike procession of … Continue reading

76.1-6 – Yahweh defeats his enemies

89.10-12 – Rahab is broken into pieces, Hermon shall rejoice in thy name^[20]Rahab is the chaos dragon, or at least this is one of her names. See: Bernard Batto, Slaying the Dragon: Mythmaking in the Biblical Tradition, p. 73-101. See also John Day, God’s Conflict with … Continue reading

91.13 – You will tread upon the lion and the cobra

93

104.1-9

The second act began with the story of Adam, the first king and priest, and of Eve his priestess-queen.^[21]As Queen, the battle with chaos could have been dramatically played out in a series of motifs that are contained in the Old Testament accounts of heroic women. One such account is the sacrifice of … Continue readingAfter they left the Garden, the reigning human king acted in the roles of great leaders and kings in Israel’s history: Abraham, Moses, and David, reiterating the covenants Jehovah had made with those prophets. The king, then, in his role of himself as a young prince, was anointed to become king.^[22]Examples in the Old Testament of princes being anointed to become kings are: Saul who was anointed by Samuel to become king (1 Samuel 10:1), who later anointed Saul as king of Israel (1 Samuel … Continue reading

The temple drama then presented the idea that all its participants would have the inevitable confrontation with chaos. This could be portrayed as the “valley of the shadow of death.” Symbolically, during a frightful war, the city and its temple were destroyed, and the hero-king would be (ritually) killed as part of the drama. The battle against chaos and the sea would be ritually played out in the drama, as both the king and queen would face certain death in the sight of these horrible opponents, only to be delivered by the Heavenly King, Yahweh. This could be a representation of the Savior’s battle with death and hell, as he laid down his life, only to be resurrected – thus ensuring victory for all mankind. All of this was played out ritually over the course of the ancient Israelite temple performance.

In the drama, Jehovah rescues the king and queen from the mighty forces of chaos and the sea. The king, queen, and participants would symbolically return to the world of the living, where they perform a grand procession around the city and temple^[23]One author writes: “On the seventh day of Sukkot, the procession would circle the altar seven times. At the conclusion, the participants would cry out: ‘Thine O Altar is the beauty! Thine O Altar … Continue reading—measuring it and redefining it as sacred space. In so doing, the participants symbolically create the New Jerusalem and with it a new holy temple, thus becoming new themselves, a new people with a new name, the name of covenant sons and daughters of their god.^[24]See Mosiah 5.8. As King Benjamin declared, “There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into … Continue reading Symbolically, Zion is born on this day. After entering the city and its Temple, the king was enthroned and then (while sitting on the throne of Jehovah in the Holy of Holies), he took his rightful, foreordained place as God’s authorized earthly representative. Symbolically, this was the time when all of creation would be renewed^[25]The Greek heading of Psalm 29 has a heading that is not contained in the Hebrew text: “for the end of Tabernacles” See: Margaret Barker, King of the Jews, Temple Theology in John’s Gospel. She … Continue reading and the people would all be under covenant to obey the god and the king.

The enthronement of the king, with the king and queen sitting upon the throne of God in the Holy of Holies would have been seen as a necessary part of the coronation because, symbolically, the king and queen were acting in the roles of Adam and Eve who had reclaimed their original royal status. A.J. Wensinck wrote:

In the Old Testament the Holy Rock [upon which the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s temple was built] is not mentioned; but Jerusalem as the place of the Divine Throne occurs 1 Chron. 29, 23: “And Solomon set himself upon the throne of Yahweh as a king, instead of David, his father.” Here the royal throne is called the throne of Yahweh… this expression springs from the idea that the king is the Khalifa of God; how closely God and the king are connected, appears in the idea that the royal throne is also the divine throne or an image of it. As God in his heavenly sanctuary sits upon his throne, so the king sits in the earthly sanctuary upon his throne. The centre of the earth and the pole of heaven, both are intimately connected with the throne. We find this already in the legends about Adam. In the centre of the earth Adam is inaugurated by God as a king and a priest and set upon a throne. All this is meant typically of course; here the analogy is proclaimed between heaven and earth, godhead and kingship, navel and throne.^[26]A. J. Wensinck, The Ideas of the Western Semites concerning the Navel of the Earth (Amsterdam: Johannes Muller, 1916), 54-55.

The pronouncement of the divine kingship of Yahweh is the focus of the entire fall festival. As the participants covenant to obey him and keep his commands, they acknowledge his right to rule over their lives. As one author noted:

In the festal hour the divine work of salvation is re-experienced. Yahweh overpowers chaos, takes his kingship, makes right order, sends forth life, and enters into intimate communion with his liberated people. The triumphant proclamation ‘Yahweh has become king’ or ‘Yahweh is now king’ expresses the heart of this exciting experience.^[27]Eaton, Festal Drama, p. 12. For more on the declaration of Yahweh as king, see: Psalm 93.1; 96.10; 97.1; 99.1.

Psalms of Anticipation of the Coming of Yahweh from the east

24.7 – Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!

68.25-26 – The singers went before, the players on instruments after… among them were the maidens playing timbrels.

121.1-2 – I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

130.6

Processional/Ascent Psalms^[28]The procession of Yahweh into Zion conveyed the symbol that Yahweh ruled the earth as he ruled the cosmos. Just as the procession placed the king and queen on their thrones over Israel in God’s … Continue reading

68 – “The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan”^[29]Michael Heiser unpacks the theology behind Bashan better than any other scholar I have read. Heiser writes, “We know that Bashan carries a lot of theological baggage. It was the Old Testament … Continue reading

120-134 are sometimes called Songs of Ascent^[30]Any one of 15 psalms in the series Ps 120 to 134 sung by Hebrew pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem or possibly while ascending Mount Zion or the steps of the Temple. See Webster’s Dictionary. … Continue reading

Instructions/Covenant language

50 – “He shall call… from above… that he may judge his people”

81.8-16 “There shall be no strange god in thee”

Enthronement Psalms

2 – “You are my son, today I have begotten you!”

7.7 – The congregation surrounds the king

9.11 – The Lord “dwelleth” in Zion (the Lord is enthroned in Zion)

17.2-15 – The king sits under the “shadow of thy wings,” referring to the cherubim

29.1-11 – The Power of Yahweh as king “sitting upon the flood”

36.1-12 – All mankind become sacral kings/queens, under “the shadow of thy wings”^[31]This psalm may have been the one the Savior referred to when he lamented, “how often would I have gathered thy children together … and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37). See also: Luke 13:32-35; 3 … Continue reading

40.1-2 – Yahweh establishes the king’s feet upon a rock^[32]See and compare Isaiah 49.13 with 1 Nephi 21.13 and see how the Brass Plates had a variation that is important to the discussion regarding Sacral Kingship. This distinction matters. Isaiah 49.13 … Continue reading

47 – God reigns over the nations, God sits on his holy throne!

61.1-5 – under the cover of the wings

63.3-7 – Under the “shadow” of the wings

68.24-29 – God the king is in his sanctuary, the damsels play instruments^[33]It is noteworthy here [Psalm 68.25] that women are specifically mentioned here having a role in the temple drama of the first Israelite temple. Along with the queen, women played a role in this … Continue reading

72.1-19 – Duties/Covenant of the King

93.1-5 – The Lord is clothed with majesty, his throne is established

95 – For the Lord is the great God and the great King above all gods!

96.1-13 – Yahweh as king

97 – A fire goes before him, and he burns up his enemies round about

98 – His right hand and his holy arm have gained him the victory!

99.1-9 – The king’s strength loveth justice… worship at his footstool… he is holy

110 – Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool

132.7-8 – “Establishing the king’s feet”^[34]This idea of kingship being represented by the “establishment” of one’s feet, is represented in a prophecy of Isaiah about the time of the restoration of the gospel. The verse was on the brass … Continue reading

145.1-21 – The King will make Yahweh’s name known unto the world

The next day, the last day of the festival, the king provided a great feast^[35]Special “festival psalms” (Psalms 120-134) were sung at the water pouring rite on the ‘great day of the festival’ i.e., the eighth day of the celebration. See: Mowinckel, The Psalms in … Continue reading that represented the beginning of a new age that would extend into the eternities. The conclusion of the second act and full representation of the third act were told by the same story (just as they are the same in the 23rd Psalm’s “I shall dwell in the house of the house of the Lord forever.”)—the ultimate salvation of Israel—for God had kept all his promises and instituted a time of eternal peace.

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