Notes - Berean Patriot

The cumulative effect of the plagues on the Egyptian view of cosmic order and the king’s role in maintaining it is a major issue in the plagues. From Dynasty 4 onward [MH: the Old Kingdom era, the pyramid age], the pharaoh bore the title “Son of Re.” As such, he was the god of the Egyptian state and was responsible to maintain the cosmic order (Ma’at) on earth that had been established by Re at creation (Frankfort 1978: 51–56). Because of the bond that existed between the created order and the king as the incarnate “Son of Re,” [MH: of course he’s also the incarnate Horus] he was responsible for the fertility of the land as well as for the proper function of the Nile, and because of the strong bond between the sun god, Re, and the king, he was the one who illuminated the two lands, i.e., Egypt [MH: Upper and Lower Egypt] (Frankfort 1978: 56–59). The vitality of the land was ensured by a number of annual festivals and related rituals over which the king presided.

The nine plagues certainly showed that a cosmic struggle was in progress, and they challenged the king’s ability to maintain that cosmic order. If the king failed to execute his duties properly, the land would suffer, i.e., it would be in a state of chaos (isft), which is how Egyptian literature describes the 1st and 2nd Intermediate periods. When a strong king appeared and regained control of the land, ma’at was reestablished.

The plagues of Exodus 7–10 would have been understood by pharaoh and the Egyptians as a direct assault on the king, who was responsible for the proper function of the Nile, the crops, and the sun. This could be why the unnamed pharaoh of the exodus is so angered by the “signs and wonders.” They were beyond the limits of his control. Perhaps his continued obstinacy was due to his hoping he could somehow reestablish himself as the Lord of Ma’at.

After the famous “Let my people go” command and the staff turning into a snake, Pharaoh won’t capitulate, and Michael Heiser’s commentary picks up there, speaking of the first plague

Pharaoh’s resistance to what Moses is doing turns out to be like the last straw. And then God says, “Okay, I’m going to take over from here.” And the confrontation (when God enters the picture, as it were— when it’s an undeniable act of God) therefore shifts to not Moses versus Pharaoh or Moses versus Pharaoh’s magicians. Now it’s God versus Pharaoh, who is the living Horus in Egyptian thinking. Pharaoh was considered the incarnation of a deity. In Egyptian theology, the pharaoh was thought to be the living incarnation of Horus, the son of Ra. And as soon as the pharaoh dies, his son (the next in line) becomes the new Horus. (This was the thinking.)

…

So the evidence is very clear that the Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was the incarnation of Horus (the deity) and they would refer to the pharaoh as the “great god.” So when God says, “Okay, I’ll take over from here,” and starts pounding Pharaoh and pounding the nation, that speaks volumes. And Pharaoh’s heart is going to harden. He’s not surrendering the title any time soon. He knows what’s at stake in terms of his own reputation. Pharaoh is supposed to be the regulator of the divine order. And the divine order says that the Nile floods at the same time every year and gives the land life—life-giving soil—on either side of the Nile, the black land… That’s what Egypt called itself: the black land, the “kemet”—the black land where things grow. This is miles of arable land out there in the middle of the desert. The gods keep Egypt alive. This is why Egypt is great— because of the Nile. And God says, “Pardon me. I’m going to turn that to blood for a while. We’ll see how that goes.” So it’s a shift in the confrontation and how it would have been read and parsed by Egyptians in light of their own theology

Source: Naked Bible podcast Episode XXX (Exodus 4:1-?)

The contest stops being “Moses versus Pharaoh”, and it becomes “God Almighty versus the Egyptian gods”, with each side having a representative. (Moses and Pharaoh respectively.)

This is the point.

God Almighty wants to prove that the “gods” of Egypt — demons/fallen angels — are vastly inferior to Him.

But it’s more than that.

We’ll get to the verses about this later, but the whole point of the exodus was to get the gods of Egypt to release their legitimate claim on Israel, so that Israel could belong to God alone.

Obviously more happened there, but for the purposes of this article, that’s where we’ll focus. There’s an obvious element of foreshadowing to the cross as well. The Exodus recounts Israel leaving Egypt after God used the Egyptian gods own area of power against them. Likewise, the cross was Jesus defeating Satan and his minions using Satan’s own power (death) against him.

That’s why God didn’t just deliever a military victory as He has done so many times in the Old Testament. He didn’t want or need a military victory; He wanted a — pardon the expression — but He wanted a legal victory. He wanted the gods of Egypt to release the Israelites from their legitimate authority over them…

…but I’m getting ahead of myself.

For now, we’ll look briefly at each of the plagues using scholarly quotes on what the gods of Egypt were like, and how their defeat by God Almighty would’ve been humiliating.

Contents show

The Ten Plagues as Iconoclastic Spiritual Warfare

For normal people who don’t use words like “iconoclastic” in everyday conversation, here’s the definition:

Of or pertaining to iconoclasm, or to the opinions and practices of the Iconoclasts; given to breaking images, or to exposing errors of belief or false pretensions: as, iconoclastic enthusiasm.

adjective Of or pertaining to the iconoclasts, or to image breaking.

adjective Characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions; of or pertaining to iconoclasm.

adjective destructive of images used in religious worship; said of religions, such as Islam, in which the representation of living things is prohibited

Source. (maybe find a better source?)

Iconoclasm is breaking religious images in a literal sense, and breaking someones mental image of their religion in a metaphorical sense. That’s what God did at the Exodus.

God Almighty, through the ten plagues, utterly smashed and completely obliterated the illusion that the gods of Egypt were more powerful than He Himself was.

God Almighty thus “executed judgments” “against all the gods of Egypt” to prove that.

So, we’ll not go through each of the plagues. A not first, all the quotes below come from the podcast notes of this series here. It was nice to find everything in a single source, except the 10th plague, which he didn’t cover to my satisfaction, so we’ll look at some additional data on that

List of gods each plague humiliated: https://www.bethanybiblechurch.com/2017/02/exodus-7b-8a-crf-the-gods-of-the-plagues/

The First plague: The Nile Turns to Blood

Quote Currid:

> [The Nile’s] inundation was deified and personified as the Egyptian god Hapi. In fact, as early as the Pyramid Texts the Egyptians called the Nile River by the divine name Hapi (hʾpi).

In Egyptian theology, all life comes from the Nile. So it’s bad news if the Nile is polluted. And Hapi, the personified deity figure—the deification of the inundation of the Nile… And when the Nile floods, you realize what happens. The Nile overflows its banks, and that deposits rich soil on either side of the Nile. That’s why things can grow. And this isn’t just a few yards. This is miles of soil. This is how Egyptian people eat. They can’t grow their crops in sand and in the desert. They depend on the regular annual inundation of the Nile to survive. They refer to the inundation as the deity Hapi. Well, Hapi is either not doing the job or Hapi is weak. He or she (it’s a hybrid figure) is weak compared to the God of Israel. The God of Israel has mastered Hapi. It’s the God of the Hebrews that Pharaoh will not recognize who actually controls the Nile. It’s a theological lesson, and a pretty frightening one, and one that would make the Egyptians angry—especially Pharaoh. It would probably frighten most of the populace, but Pharaoh knows what everyone else in the room is thinking—what everyone else in the country is thinking. “You’re the son of Re. You are the maintainer of ma’at. Do something about it.” And he can’t. He just can’t. It’s a public humiliation. It’s a public display, not only of Pharaoh (perceived as a deity incarnate), not only of Pharaoh’s fecklessness, but also Hapi’s.

…

But you’re also going to have individual plagues belittle (make small and show to be weak) specific Egyptian deities.

The “god” who was supposed to protect the Nile and make it flood, couldn’t. Pharaoh, who was supposed to be an incarnate god couldn’t do anything either. Remember that the Nile is the source of all life in Egypt. Without the Nile, the Egpytian empire immediately ceases to exist and they all die. God opened with a bang, demonstrating that He has the power of life, not their “puny god” (allusion intended).

This a beatdown…

…and it only gets worse.

The Second plague: Frogs

So Currid has a comment here on the second plague. He says:

> The second plague (Exod. 8:1–6) also appears to be a contest between deities. The Egyptians regarded the frog as a symbol of divine power and a representation of fertility. One of the main goddesses of Egypt was Hekhet, who was depicted as a human female with a frog’s head. She was the spouse [MH: and this is important] of the creator-god Khnum. He fashioned human bodies on his potter’s wheel, and then Hekhet blew the breath of life into them and assisted as midwife at their births

So the plague of frogs, very naturally, is going to hearken back to that imagery. She is the one who breathes the breath of life into the new humans that Khnum creates on his potter’s wheel. So Currid adds here:

Hekhet also had the responsibility to control the multiplication of frogs in ancient Egypt by protecting the frogs from frog-eating crocodiles.

…

Very obviously, Hekhet is not in control here. It’s Yahweh who is multiplying the frogs. So it’s a pretty direct attack on Hekhet, and against Ma’at generally.

But Yahweh overwhelmed Hekhet and caused her to be impotent in her task. She could not repel or resist Yahweh’s overpowering regeneration of frogs. It was the Hebrew God who really bestowed fertility; he rapidly produced frogs so that they would be a curse upon Egypt. The theme is the sovereignty of God over fertility, over Egypt, over her deities, and over all things.

So if you’re an Egyptian and you see this happen, you’re going to be thinking theological thoughts, and they’re not going to be comforting. Hekhet is essentially getting taken out to the woodshed. She is not in control. Yahweh is overtly cast as superior because he’s dominating her in her realm. This is how a lot of these plagues are going to work.

Let me repeat that last line so it isn’t missed:

Yahweh is overtly cast as superior because he’s dominating her in her realm. This is how a lot of these plagues are going to work.

That’s the whole point. God Almighty is indeed almighty, and the whole known world will know it when He’s done. He needs to reminded the gods (and their representative Pharaoh) who’s really in charge so they will release God’s people from their authority and control.

Next, God sweeps the leg.

The Third and Fourth Plagues: gnats and flies

Note: the word translated “gnats” could mean fleas, lice, or even mosquitos, since it generally refers to very small biting/stinging insects. So yes, it could’ve been the plague of mosquitoes.

That’s the stuff of nightmares.

And one examples is Herodotus in Book II, Section 37, when Herodotus is commenting on Egypt’s priests (not specifically on the plagues, but Herodotus is going to get into that). He makes an observation about the priests that takes us into this territory of the third and fourth plagues. He writes:

[Egypt’s] priests shave the whole body every other day, that no lice or aught else that is foul may infest them in their service of their gods.

Now the point here that Herodotus is alluding to is that these priests would shave their bodies to avoid their bodies being home to lice or gnats or anything else that would render them unclean and disqualify them from temple service of their gods. Now obviously, that is impossible during these two plagues. The plagues robbed… If you’re a priest, and your home is infested with gnats and flies or whatever these flying insects were, you’re not going to be able to be completely rid of them, which means you are ceremonially (ritually) unclean, which means you cannot serve your god.

…

They actually say to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” So it’s worse than just being rendered ritually impure so that you can’t maintain the Egyptian cult, the worship of the gods, and all the stuff the Egyptians thought they had to do to maintain Ma’at on earth and keep the gods happy and all that stuff. It’s not just that bad. It’s that they are supposed to have power to perform miracles, granted to them by the gods, of course. And in this demonstration, they fail. They are beat. They can’t do it. So Yahweh is just demonstrated—point blank—as being superior. So the God of the Hebrews is defeating Pharaoh. He is de-creating and reversing Ma’at. He’s showing who is really in control of order on earth, and really in heaven as well, because that’s the realm of the gods. And these priests… at every point, and specific Egyptian deities too… The plagues are an assault on the whole Egyptian theology, their religious worldview, and their religious system.

They believed that the priests needed to perform their functions to get favors from the gods. So God making it so teh priests couldn’t fulfill thier duties, so this was God cutting off the false gods power at the knees. No priests = nothing from the gods. But as Heiser alludes to, this strikes against specific Egyptian gods too.

Got Questions says this:

The third plague, gnats, was a judgment on Set, the god of the desert. Unlike the previous plagues, the magicians were unable to duplicate this one and declared to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:19).

The fourth plague, flies, was a judgment on Uatchit, the fly god. In this plague, God clearly distinguished between the Israelites and the Egyptians, as no swarms of flies bothered the areas where the Israelites lived (Exodus 8:21–24).

This bears a quick look at the iconoclastic elements of both.

The gnats

Set, the god of the desert, actually lost control of the earth — supposedly his domain — to God Almighty. Thus, the domain of one of the Egyptian gods began attacking the Egyptian people. That’s pretty obvious proof that Set wasn’t in charge of the earth. As pointed out above, the Egyptian magicians couldn’t replicate this miracle. They failed, and thus God Almighty made it clear that they couldn’t hope to maintain “ma’at” (the proper order of creation). Only Yahweh could do that.

The flies

The source I found isn’t as scholarly as I prefer, but has good summaries of things I found elsewhere:

Uatchit, the Fly God, symbolizes protection, vigilance, and resilience in ancient Egyptian culture.

…

Uatchit, an ancient Egyptian deity, was venerated for protection, especially in Lower Egypt where flies were prevalent, as indicated by archaeological findings like amulets and pyramid texts.

Source.

This is especially interesting in light of Psalm 78:45

Psalm 78:45

He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.

We aren’t talking “pirahnas of the air” or anything, but flies do indeed bite. The flies that represented their god of protection started attacking them. Let that sink in for a moment. God couldn’t be more clear here: Uatchit doesn’t have power and he couldn’t protect the Egyptians because God Almighty was making his own creatures (flies) attack the people that Uatchit was supposed to protect.

And consider what this would be like as an Egyptian living in this time. This slave God is humiliating every “god” that you’ve always believed it. It would be world-view shattering to witness.

The utterly humiliating beatdown continues.

The Fifth Plague: death of livestock

Currid notes:

Plague five was the pestilence on the domesticated animals [MH: just generally, and he’s going to loop in something really important here] of Egypt (Exod. 9:1–7). Bull cults, of course, are known to have flourished throughout the land [MH: of Egypt] in antiquity. Ancient Egyptians viewed the bull as a fertility figure, the great inseminator imbued with the potency and vitality of life. Apis was the most important of the Egyptian sacred bulls. Other bull cults included Buchis (sacred bull of Hermonthis) and Mneuis (Heliopolis). In addition, bulls were understood as embodiments of the great Egyptian gods Ptah and Re. Numerous important female deities were pictured as livestock animals: Isis, queen of the gods, bore cow’s horns on her head; Hathor was given a bovine head for her task of protecting the king. The livestock animals provided necessities to the people—in the form of food, milk, clothing, transportation—and they were destroyed in the fifth plague. The biblical author is again demonstrating that Yahweh was sovereign over and in control of all things. The Egyptian gods were imposters

Here with the livestock there is going to be an assortment of Egyptian deities that are going to be one-upped—that are going to be defeated, that are going to be under the thumb, that are going to be diminished and belittled by the Hebrew God. It’s an unmistakable thing to an Egyptian witness to these sorts of events.

Consider for a moment how many Egyptian gods associated with cattle are mentioned above, and that’s not all of them either. God Almighty have move from humiliating single “gods” to humiliating large swaths of them in a single plague.

Again, that would be devistating to the Egypitans’ trust in their gods.

The Sixth Plague: boils

Quote exodus 9:10 = magicians couldn’t stand.

Michael Heiser quoting Currid

Instead, the malady may have been directed against the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, the lion-headed deity of plagues. She was responsible for epidemics in ancient Egypt, but ironically she also had the power to heal those who were visited by pestilence. The priests of Sekhmet, one of the oldest medical fraternities in antiquity, included both doctors and veterinary surgeons. Other gods regarded as divine physicians and healers included the Theban god Amon-Re, whom a text from Dynasty 19 describes as “he who dissolves evils and dispels ailments; a physician who heals the eye without having remedies, opening the eyes and driving away the squint … Amon. Rescuing whom he desires … he makes a lifetime long or shortens it.”

But this is also another swipe at the priests:

Michael Heiser quoting Rendsburg:

While not lice, the boils [MH: he’s talking about the plague of boils now] constitute a different skin affliction, which also would have rendered the Egyptian priests unable to serve the gods. To my mind, it is not a coincidence that the contest between the ḥartumim [MH: the magicians], on one hand, and Moses and Aaron, on the other, ends with the third plague of lice, and that the ḥartumim appear only once (in a cameo appearance as it were), during the telling of the sixth plague of boils. The attack on the lector-priests by extension represents an assault on the heart of Egyptian religion, for without priestly service in the temples, the cults are inoperative, the deities are ineffective, and all of Egypt descends into turmoil.

So now, the Egyptians are starting to despair that they or land can be healed because their gods of healing have been humiliated, and the priests can’t perform the rites to call on them anyway.

The Seventh Plague: Fiery hail

Currid writes:

The catastrophe of the hail was a mockery of the Egyptian heavenly deities…

“Don’t they have power to stop the hail?” If they were really gods, if they were really powerful… When I say “if they’re really gods,” yes, they’re spirit beings that exist and we have spiritual warfare in this and all that sort of stuff. What I mean is, if they were really powerful, if they really had authority to overrule what the God of the Hebrews is doing, wouldn’t they do it? Of course the point is, they don’t. They don’t have that ability. So Egyptian heavenly deities, like Nut, who is the female representative of the sky… She is in other texts and pictures the personification of the vault—the dome over the earth, the vault of heaven. Shu is the deity that supports the heavens, holds up the sky. Tefnut, the goddess of the moisture in the atmosphere… these are all heavenly deities. They are deities that are supposed to reign in the regions from which the hail comes. And they’re not doing anything. They can’t touch this, is the point. So if you’re an Egyptian, you’re wondering, “Hey, why doesn’t one of these gods that we worship do something? And the only conclusion you can draw (because the Egyptians aren’t all of a sudden going to turn into atheists or modern rationalists here) is that “the God of the Hebrews is superior, and that means we’re in heap-big trouble.”

The Eighth Plague: locusts

Currid writes here in regard to this:

Locusts were a particularly nasty problem in ancient Egypt. On account of that danger, the ancient Egyptians worshiped the god Senehem, who was the divine protector against ravages from pests. An identification problem exists because Senehem appears to have been a minor deity in dynastic Egypt. Why Yahweh would have concerned himself to mock a subordinate deity is a problem. Perhaps protecting against grasshopper attack was a function not merely of one god, but of the gods in general. A hint of that possibility appears in the Tanis Stele from the reign of Taharqa (Dynasty 25), which speaks of “a fine field, which the gods (plural) protected against grasshoppers.”

So here, God takes a scattershot approach and yes, hits a minor deity, but more importantly, He shows that they all are weak and impotent. But it’s about to get even worse. God Almighty is about to deliver His most devastating blow yet.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

Currid writes:

The ancient Egyptians regarded Amon-Re, the personification of the sun, as their chief deity. They believed that Amon-Re in his rising in the east symbolized new life and resurrection—in fact, they considered him to be the creator-god… Just hold that point in your head. Every day, when the sun rose, to an Egyptian, it’s Amon-Re rising from the realm of the dead. It’s a resurrective image. So you have Amon-Re rising, and he gives new life to the land. The sun is going to be out, which means the plants are going to grow. Animals are going to eat. We’re going to eat. You have to have the sun, very obviously. So they believed that Amon-Re in his rising in the east symbolized new life and resurrection… But when Amon-Re sank in the west [MH: when the sun set], he represented something different and antithetical; he symbolized death and the underworld. When Yahweh so willed (Exod. 10:21–29), the sun was darkened, and Amon-Re was hidden and unable to shine upon his worshipers. [MH: He’s unable to rise, in effect.] During the ninth plague Amon-Re did not rise again and did not give life; his realm was death, judgment, and hopelessness.

This is a big deal. I think of all the plagues… Obviously the Egyptians were going to get freaked out by all of this stuff, and they can tell that it’s an assault against their religion, against their gods, against their Pharaoh, who is supposed to be a god (Horus incarnate, Re incarnate), but I think this one would have been the most frightening, because it’s like, “Well, did he just kill Amon-Re?” Because they can’t see the sun. The sun is darkened, and so there’s something wrong here. Amon-Re—their “creator god,” the highest, the chief deity in Egypt—is now subject to Yahweh. If you’re an Egyptian, this is unmistakable imagery. You can’t fail to notice (obviously) what’s going on around you. You can’t fail to comprehend what it means. It means that the God of the Hebrews is in complete, absolute, dominant control over the gods you worship. And you’re just hoping that Pharaoh will let these people go so that Ma’at can be restored. Because if it isn’t restored, you’re going to die. The whole land is going to die. It’s the end of Egypt.

To draw an analogy, this would be like someone showing you concrete proof that God the Father was dead. Obviously that’s impossible, but it might give you a sense of what the Egyptians were going through. This was mindset/perspective shattering. It’s almost impossible to overstate how devastating this would’ve been to the Egyptians.

But the last and worst is still to come…

The Tenth Plague: Death of the firstborn

Right up front, this one will take a lot longer because there’s a lot more going on. However, it’s all important context for how Jesus saved us from the dominion of Satan. God seemingly likes to make history rhyme, and often foreshadows future events with past events. So it is with the exodus and the cross.

So please bear with me while I lay out the case.

**Humiliating yet another Egyptian “god” (demon)**

Context for starters: have you ever wondered why the Egyptians hated shepherds?

Genesis 46:33-34

33 So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Two more pieces of evidence will make it clear, one from scripture and one from history. Scripture first:

Exodus 8:25-27

25 Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.” 26 But Moses said, “It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to the LORD our God what is an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice what is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us? 27 “We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He commands us.”

Any guesses what was an abomination for the Hebrews to sacrifice in front of the Egyptians? Likely so (my readers tend to be sharp), but history makes it even more clear. In the south of Egypt, there’s an Island called “Elephantine Island.” There was a group of Jews living there and they had a temple to God there. (Don’t ask why; it would take too long to explain and isn’t relevant to the topic at hand.)

History records this event happening, and notice the name of the Egyptian god mentioned.

In 410 b.c.e., the temple of the Elephantine Jews was destroyed by the priests of the adjoining temple of Khnum (Cowley 1923: 30) after it was looted for gold and silver. The most common explanation for the act of destruction is that the priests of Khnum were angered by the sacrifice by the Jews of animals sacred to Khnum, particularly the sacrifice of sheep during Passover (Cowley 1923: 21). Three years after the destruction, the Elephantine Jews applied to the Persian governor of Yehud for permission to rebuild the temple. Permission was given, but on condition that animal sacrifices would no longer be made there (Porten 1968: 292). It is not known how much longer after this the Jewish temple stood, but the account of the community in the papyri ends in 399 b.c.e.

Source.

Now, 410 BC is about a thousand years after the Exodus, but it gives us some very good insight anyway. Who was Khnum? Well, this might explain a lot:

Khnum, ancient Egyptian god of fertility, associated with water and with procreation. Khnum was worshipped from the 1st dynasty (c. 2925–2775 BCE) into the early centuries CE. He was represented as a ram with horizontal twisting horns or as a man with a ram’s head. Khnum was believed to have created humankind from clay like a potter; this scene, with him using a potter’s wheel, was depicted in later times. The god’s first main cult centre was Herwer, near Al-Ashmūnayn in Middle Egypt. From the New Kingdom (1539–1075 BCE) on, however, he was the god of the island of Elephantine, near present-day Aswān, and was known as the lord of the surrounding First Cataract of the Nile River.

Source.

For those who don’t know, a ram is an adult male sheep. It’s what a male lamb grows into.

Make sense now?

The Egyptians considered sheep in general — including rams and lambs — as extremely sacred. The sacrifice of a lamb at Passover on Elephantine Island caused the priests of Khnum to go ballistic. Again, remember that Moses said: “If we sacrifice what is an abomination to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not then stone us?” Sacrificing a sheep of any kind, including a lamb or ram, was an abomination to the Egyptians because of their veneration of Khnum, the ram god. That’s why they would’ve stoned the Hebrews if they had sacrificed a sheep/lamb/ram in Egypt.

But there’s more.

There’s a reason that Khnum held such a special place in the mind of the Egyptians, even though he wasn’t the king of the gods like Ra. In some ways, Khnum was even more important than the king fo the Egyptian gods. We’ll look at part of a quote we saw earlier, then another one to get more context.

One of the main goddesses of Egypt was Hekhet, who was depicted as a human female with a frog’s head. She was the spouse of the creator-god Khnum. He fashioned human bodies on his potter’s wheel, and then Hekhet blew the breath of life into them and assisted as midwife at their births

Ra brought life as the sun god, but Khnum directly created all human life.

That’s a big deal.

Khnum was originally a water god who was thought to rule over all water, including the rivers and lakes of the underworld. He was associated with the source of the Nile, and ensured that the inundation deposited enough precious black silt onto the river banks to make them fertile. The silt also formed the clay, the raw material required to make pottery. As a result he was closely associated with the art of pottery. According to one creation myth, Khnum moulded everything on his potters wheel, including both the people and the other gods.

In Iunyt (Esna, in the 3rd Nome of Upper Egypt) it was proposed that Khnum also created the “First Egg” from which the sun was born (as Nefertum, Atum or Ra).

As well as creating the body and the “ka” (spirit) of each newborn child, he could bless the child.

Source.

That Khnum created all human life wasn’t in dispute for the Egyptians. But don’t miss the last part of the first paragraph; according to at least one understanding of the origin of the Egyptian gods, Khnum created the Egyptian gods too.

It’s not overstating it to say that Khnum was the Egyptian god of life.

In Egyptian thinking, Khnum gave life to literally everything, even the other Egyptian gods.

Khnum was a big deal…

…and Yahweh’s answer was the plague of death.

There’s an implicit threat in the final plague: “I killed all the firstborn in one night, so I could kill every last Egyptian just as quickly and there’s literally nothing that you or your puny gods could do about it.” That’s the message. The message was that Yahweh — not the Egyptian gods, but Yahweh alone — has the power over their lives.

But God wasn’t done.

He made it worse.

Right before He proved that Khnum was utterly powerless, Yahweh did something to utterly sacrilegious and abominable concerning Khnum that not a single Egyptian would’ve even considered doing it. Remember, they left on the Passover, and on Passover they sacrificed a lamb…

…and Khnum was the ram-god.

Likely because Khnum the ram-god was the god of life, it was an abomination to kill (or at least sacrifice) sheep in Egypt. You just didn’t do that and God knew it. That’s why Moses told Pharaoh that the Hebrews couldn’t sacrifice in Egypt, and presumably sacrifice a lamb/sheep/ram, because the Egyptians would stone them. Thus, Yahweh’s command to sacrifice a lamb on the day He humiliated the ram-god Khnum had a clear purpose.

The second word:

Luke 23:39-43

One of the criminals hanging there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” But answering, the other was rebuking him, saying: “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? “And we are indeed suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Only used two other times:

Paul mentions it in connection to a vision in 2 Corinthians 12:4

In Revelation 2:7, which reads:

Revelation 2:7

7 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat from the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’

The “paradise of God” has the tree of life, so let’s see what revelation has to say about the location of the Tree of Life.

Revelation 22:1-5

Then he showed me a river of the water of life in the middle of its street, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and the Lamb. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever.

This happens on the New Earth, which is described in the previous chapter.

Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Notice:

Worst experience of the robber’s life –> Jesus didn’t end the pain, He provided hope for the future
Life can suck sometimes
The New Earth:
- Live in the presence of God Himself
- No more death
- No more pain,
- No crying or mourning
- No sickness or disease
It’ll be paradise –> Like Eden

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Armor of God later since there’s more detail in a few verses

So hard to introduce, but…

We know there is hierarchy among demons –> Luke 11:14-15 = keep that in mind
- “a ruler” vs “the ruler”
Daniel 10 –> the whole chapter.
- Can we agree that the messenger was an angel?
- Can we agree that the ones stopping the angel weren’t mortal, but likely demons?
- Verse 13:
  - prince of the kingdom of Persia
  - the kings of Persia
  - Michael, one of the chief princes
    - Also verse 21 “Michael your prince”
    - Jude 1:9 = Michael the Archangel
      - Archangel = “arch” + “angel” Arch = first/leader/ruler/chief
- Verse 20
  - the prince of Persia
  - prince of Greece
- Daniel 10 = “kings and princes” = demonic hierarchy.
- Notice the “kings” of Persia!

Demonic “kings” = rulers?

Ezekiel 28:11-17
- Demon or human?
- v12 = king of Tyre, seal of perfection, perfect in beauty
- v13 = You were in Eden, the garden of God
- v14 = “You were the anointed cherub, You were on the holy mountain of God
  - Cherub = angel plural = cherubim
- v15 (all)
- v16 = Therefore I have cast you [out] as profane From the mountain of God
- v17 = pride caused the fall?
- So, human king or demonic king?
2 Kings 1:1-4 – “the god of Ekron”

Satan’s authority over the world:

Satan is the “god of this world”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “god of this world”
1 John 5:19 “lies in the power of the evil one”
John 12:13 “Ruler of this world will be cast out”
John 14:29-30 “ruler of the world is coming”
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “captive by him to do his will”
Galatians 4:1-9 The BIG one.
- v9 – how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?
- v8 – you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.
- v3 – were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
Luke 4:5-6
- “all the kingdoms of the world … it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish”
- He’s not stupid enough to lie to Jesus.
  - “handed over” = paradidómi
    - The Greek verb “paradidómi” primarily means to deliver or hand over something or someone to another. It can imply a positive action, such as entrusting something valuable to someone, or a negative action, such as betrayal. In the New Testament, it is often used in the context of delivering someone to authorities or betraying someone, as seen in the accounts of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest.
  - Thus, “all the kingdoms of the world” have been handed over to Satan!
- Mike drop…. But God is still sovereign.

Don’t get freaked out:

Colossians 1:13-14
- “domain” = dominion
Acts 26:12-18 (Paul before Agrippa)
- My translation of verses 17-18:
- 17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I Myself am sending you, 18 to open their eyes, for them to turn from darkness to light, and from the dominion of Satan to the dominion of God, for them to receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among the men *made holy by faith, the faith in Me.
The Lord’s prayer = deliver us from “evil” or “the evil one”? Same Greek construction in both, so it’s a matter of interpretation.
- Masculine words = almost certainly “the evil one”, since neuter usually means an object.

How or when was Satan given authority?

Three options:

Option #1 By mankind at the garden/ fall
- Dominion given to man: Genesis 1:27-28
- 2 Peter 2:17-20 “by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.”
  - v20 = reference to Jesus’s parable of the strong man about spiritual warfare.
  - Luke 11:14-23
    - We the house (teaser: could be nations as well?), demons are the “strong man”/unclean spirit, Jesus is the “stronger man”.
- Thus, since we have dominion over the Earth, and Satan has dominion of unbelievers, he has dominion over the world because he has dominion over unbelievers.
Option #2: Sin is his “invention”, and he has rights over whoever uses it
- Not great evidence for this one, but I thought I’d mention it.
Option #3: given dominion by God
- Context = “sons of God” phrase
  - Job 1:6
    - monogenas = only unique
    - we are “sons of God”, but not like Jesus
  - Job 38:4-7
    - Notice: at the creation of the Earth = not man/mankind
    - “sons of God” = other angelic beings
    - “morning stars” = angelic beings because they’re singing
      - Stars = angelic/demonic beings (usually demonic)
        
        Rev 9:1
        
        rev 12:3-4 and 7-9
  - Gen 6:1-4
    - “sons of God” = angelic/demonic beings who were giants.
- Context for following
  - “elohim” = Hebrew word we translate “God” and/or “Gods”
  - 1 Samuel 28:3-20 (8-14) – read in ESV
    - Different theories (really Samuel vs a demon) Either way = a “god” who’s not God.
    - It was really Samuel = 1 Sam 15:35
  - Elohim means any “spiritual being”, with the implication of power (not “merely” a ghost)
    - This includes angel or demonic beings.
- Psalm 82:1-8 — Read in KJV
  - v1 “congregation of the mighty” = “congregation of God” NASB = “his own congregation”
    - “congregation” = more than one!
      - The “divine council” theory = like a king’s court
      - Job 15:7-8 in ESV
      - Jeremiah 23:16-22 – v18 and v22 = council of the Lord
      - Daniel 7:9-10
        
        v9 = thrones, plural
        
        v10 = Court (council? As in a “king’s court”?)
      - divine council = 1 Kings 22:2-23 <– Start here – recap the divine council — Read Psalm 82 first
    - “He judges among the gods” = small “g” gods.
  - v 6 “gods” and “sons of the Most High” = “sons of God”
  - v7 “die like men”, “fall like one of the princes”
    - Princes = princes of Persia and Greece?
  - v8 “for thou shalt inherit all nations.” Not has them now, will inherit them in the future.
- Sons of God = spiritual beings that God created, both good and bad.
  - Especially the members of his divine council: Psalm 82:6
  - It was the “sons of God” that fathered children in Gen 6:1-4
    - Jude 1:6-7 = “strange flesh” = literally “another kind of flesh”
    - Sodom and Gomorrah = mortals lusting after the angels — Gen 6:1-4 = angels (sons of God) lusting after mortals.
  - Sons of God = repeating the context because it’s important + important context for this next bit
The “table of nations”
- Deut 32:7-9 — read in ESV
  - v7 “The days of old” “elders will tell you” = it is known.
    - NKJV/KJV = “ask your father, and he will show you” = it’s written down!
  - v8 “When He separated the sons of man”
    - “when” so the following happened in the “days of old”
    - When did God do that? Babel.
      - Gen 11:1-9 Especially 9
      - Gen 10:32
        
        (Babel = Gen 11 = explanation of how/why they were split up after the genealogy in Gen 10. Ancient Hebrews group topically, not necessarily chronologically; important genealogies first, short story of explanation afterwards)
  - v8 number of the sons of ____
    - Masoretic = Sons of Israel (10th century)
    - Dead Sea Scrolls = “Sons of God” <– Oldest and makes the most sense because it explains the other two variants
    - Some LXX = Sons of God
    - Some LXX = Angels of God (interpretive)
    - Separated how?
      - “according to the number of the sons of God” =
        
        Deut 4:19-20
        
        host of heaven =the “sons of God”?
        
        The nations were allotted to this “host of heaven”, like Deut 32. (with context of Job 38:4-7 and Rev 9:1 and Rev 12)
        
        host of heaven = “sons of God” / angelic beings?
  - v9 contrast, Jacob is God’s.
    - The people’s boundaries are contrasted with God’s people
- Table of Nations in Genesis 10:
  - Notice verses 5, 20, and 31-32 = Separated by lands, languages, and families… separated by God?
    - Notice = no Israel.
  - Read all of Gen 10
  - The “sons of God” (demonic beings) were given dominion over the nations of man by God Himself because man abandoned God. They were overcome by sin and tempted away, and “by what a man is overcome, to that he is enslaved”…
  - …so God waited.

The overall sub-textual arc of the Bible

The first prophecy about Jesus in Gen 3:15 is about defeating Satan (a “son of God”)
- This spiritual warfare motif is all over scripture, though veiled to our modern western eyes.
The three rebellions
- The fall = man and Satan
- Gen 6/the Nephelim = the “sons of God” (another spiritual rebellion)
- Gen 11/babel = man again
  - God said “fill the earth”, but they gathered in one place to try to ascend to heaven.
At Babel, God had enough of his rebellious “sons” (spiritual and physical)
- He divided them up, matching the rebellious spiritual sons with rebellious earthly families/tribes.
  - A judgement of “free will” = “I’ll let you do what you want” = sons of God wanted worship + sons of man wanted to serve other gods = perfect (-ly terrible) match.
God’s solution, because He had no people. (all turned away, like Romans 3)
God waited until Abraham, to Isaac, Jacob, and until eventually Israel became a large “sub-nation” in Egypt
- Israel was under the authority of the gods (small “g”) of Egypt!
- Moses’s constant refrain: “Let my people go”
  - God could’ve won a military victory and conquered, but He choose to apply pressure until the “gods of Egypt” “let them go”. (Because they had legitimate authority given to them by man and God Himself)
- Judgement against the gods of Egypt
  - Exodus 12:11-13, Passover instructions “and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments”
  - Numbers 33:1-4 (just v4, “brought judgement on the gods” but context…)
  - Not against the people, against the Gods
- The result: Exodus 12:29-32
  - v31 = “go, worship the LORD”
  - The “gods of Egypt” cried “uncle”. They would lose the whole of Egypt if they didn’t, so they let them go.
  - Thus, God “redeemed” (bought back) Israel from the Egyptian gods/demons. (small “g”)
- This is how Israel became God’s people
  - All other nations remained under the dominion of Satan and his demons; other “sons of God”.
The rest of the Old Testament is God and His people versus the demonic “gods” and their people.
- The people of Israel didn’t wrestle against flesh and blood…
- …and we don’t today.
Our modern enemy: the gods (small “g”) of the other nations that are fighting against

Bonus: Making the Conquest of Canaan make sense: holy war

Context first
- Gen 6:1-4 – v4 “and also afterward”
  - when = whenever
    - Are there any left? …we’ll get to that in a bit. 🙂
  - Nephilim means “giant”
  - KJV translates it as “giants”
    - Derived from the Hebrew root word that means “to fall”
- Num 13:30-33
  - v33 = Anakim = Nephilim
  - Anak = means “to be tall”
  - Goliath = six fingers and toes…. important later
- Deut 2:9-11
  - v10 Rephaim = tall as Anakim
  - Thus: Anakim = Rephaim = Nephilim
    - All sons of demons!!!
- Deut 3:8-11
  - Og – last of the Rephaim… but not Anakim (One family line down…)
- Amos 2:9-10
  - Amorites = tall as cedars = giants
  - Cannibals?
    - “blood from their mouth” and “detestable things from their teeth”
    - Numbers 13:32 = “is a land that ~~devours~~ eats its inhabitants”
    - Context from non-biblical sources:
      - The real historical battle of Troy, relatively soon after Conquest of the holy land
        
        The Odessey = returning home = fleet attacked by flesh-eating giants. He escaped to the Cyclops, also a flesh-eating giant.
        
        Myths based on likely facts!
      - Jack and the beanstalk = giants wants to eat man — lives halfway between heaven and earth
      - Native American legends of red-headed giants who had six fingers and toes and ate people (Here, and here)
      - Flesh-eating giants all over our mythology, all over the world… Nephilim?
- Greek and Norse Mythology based on real “gods” and the Nephilim?
  - Poseidon = “god” (fallen angel) who could control the winds and thus the sea.
    - Job 1:18 = Satan (with God’s permission) could control the wind…
  - Hercules was a demi-god… A Nephelim?
  - Their mythology is likely based on our real, true history! (twisted and distorted, but…)
The Conquest
- rules of engagement: Deut 20:10-18
  - Capture everything… except those nations
    - Mentioned as a group all over.
    - Amorites were nephilim, and they saw giants all over… maybe the rest were giants as well? –>
- Joshua 11:21-23
  - Target = Anakim = giants = sons of demons
  - Some merely “driven out” of Israel (verses later)
    - Joshua 15:13-14 = Caleb “drove out” the sons of Anak, not killed them, and we already mentioned the Odyssey.
  - Some “devoted to destruction” =
    - The Hebrew verb “charam” primarily means to ban or devote something to destruction. It is often used in the context of dedicating something to God, which frequently involves its complete destruction. This term is used in the context of warfare, where certain cities or peoples are devoted to destruction as an act of divine judgment. It can also refer to the act of setting something apart as sacred or forbidden.
  - Giants driven into Gaza, Ashdod, and Gath… who else was from Gath that was a giant?
    - David’s first public act was to slay a Nephilim! (symbolic much?)
- Why the destruction of Caananite peoples, and why were they all giants?
  - All giants? = Num 13:30-33
    - Likely exaggeration = Gibeonites and others + rules of engagement
- Guess: The sons of demons knew the land was promised to Israel, so they moved in to prevent that.
  - God wanted them wiped out… maybe because they were the sons of demons?
- David finished it in the holy land:
  - 1 Chronicles 20:4-8
  - What about elsewhere? I have no idea. Khandahar giant

Your choice: short version or long version; long version = talk about Leviticus a bit, finish next week.

Longer version // Overview of sacrifices

Burnt offering
- Genesis 8:18-22 — predates the law
- Usage: The term “olah” refers to a specific type of sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible, known as the burnt offering. This offering was entirely consumed by fire on the altar, symbolizing complete dedication and surrender to God. The olah was a voluntary act of worship, atonement, and devotion, often associated with seeking favor or expressing gratitude to God.
  - Hide not burned –> given to priest –> burning hair stinks
  - It symbolizes devotion
The Grain offering –
- Lev 6:14-15
- Usage: The term “azkarah” refers to a portion of a grain offering that is burned on the altar as a memorial to God. It is a symbolic act of remembrance, signifying the worshiper’s dedication and acknowledgment of God’s provision and sovereignty. The azkarah is a fragrant offering, representing the worshiper’s prayers and devotion ascending to God.
  - It’s a memorial offering signifying remembrance.
The “peace” offering
- Context: Psalm 50:12-14
- Leviticus 3:9-11
  - It what you off when you’re already at peace, not an offering to get peace.
  - Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Israelite worship, the peace offering was one of the key sacrifices outlined in the Levitical law. It was distinct from other offerings like the burnt offering or sin offering. The peace offering was unique in that it was shared among the offerer, the priests, and God. A portion of the sacrifice was burned on the altar, a portion was given to the priests, and the remaining part was consumed by the offerer and their family in a communal meal. This practice emphasized the communal and relational aspects of worship, highlighting the importance of fellowship with God and others.
  - Communion connection
  - It’s the “fellowship offering”
The Guilt offering. – Lev 5:17-19
- Offered only when man is guilty of moral sin.
- This is not the “sin offering” Guilt offering when you sin, the “sin offering” for other things as well. We’ll compare later.
  - Only for non-defiant/rebellious sins — Numbers 15:27-31
The “sin offering”
- Lev 4:1-2 and then lists of what to do when certain people sins; priests, leaders, ect.
- Hebrew: “khatta’t” = the normal Hebrew word for sin, but…
  - - Offered after childbirth = not a sin (Other things too) — Leviticus 12:6-8
  - Numbers 8:7 = purifying. Other verses too, but time…
  - Thayer’s definition #5 = purifying/purification
  - Michael Heiser — who has a PhD in Semitic Languages — makes a very strong case that “purification offering” is better, and he actually prefers “decontamination offering”.
- Sin offering purifies
  - Lev 6:24-29
  - Exodus 29:35-37 — Sin offering makes stuff holy
- Why the sin offering purifies:
  - Lev 17:11 Blood via life… what do we get in Jesus? Eternal life via His life being shared with us.
- Jesus is our sin offering: Romans 8:3 NIV, CSB, and HCSB
  - Greek construction that the LXX used.
  - 10 total verses:
    1. Romans 8:3
    2. 2 Corinthians 5:21
    3. Hebrews 5:1
    4. Hebrews 5:3
    5. Hebrews 10:6
    6. Hebrews 10:8
    7. Hebrews 13:11
    8. 1 Peter 3:18
    9. 1 John 2:2
    10. 1 John 4:10
- Jesus’s blood cleanses us from sin… What the purification offering foreshadowed.
  - It cleanses from sin = 1 John 1:6-7

Context

Why does God offer us Eternal life? We have a “life deficit” — Romans 8:10 (not KJV or NKJV)
- We need life from the source of life to replace what we lost.
Sinful man can’t see God and live: Ex 33:18-23
- Thus, we can’t share God’s life and live… we needed an interface; we needed a mediator
- Hebrews 2:14-17 — had to be made like us in everything to be a high priest… to cleanse us of our sins (the priest’s job)
- …but Jesus wasn’t dead even though we are: Romans 8:10-11
- That’s (part of) why Jesus needed to die, so that God’s life wouldn’t kill us!
  - He was raised so that He would have physical life to share with us.
  - The life of God Almighty courses through our veins!
- This cleansing defeated Satan….

How Jesus freed us from Satan:

Recap
- Adam had dominion of the earth = when he sinned = Satan dominion over man = and thus the earth
- Genesis 6, the Sons of God rebelled
- The tower of babel man rebelled again
  - God assigned the families of man to rebellious sons of God because they wanted each other
- Thus, Satan and his demons have legitimate authority over the world.
Sin = debt
- Matt 6 Lords prayer = opheiléma
  - Usage: The term “opheiléma” primarily refers to a debt or an obligation, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. In the New Testament, it is often used to describe moral or spiritual debts, such as sins or trespasses, that one owes to God or others. It conveys the idea of a duty or responsibility that must be fulfilled or forgiven.
  - Better translation = “debt or sin”
- Parallel in Luke 11:1-4
  - sin = debt
- Luke 13:1-5 — Read in KJV or NKJV
  - sinners = opheiletés
    - In the Greco-Roman world, debt was a common aspect of economic life, and being a debtor could lead to severe consequences, including slavery or imprisonment. The concept of debt also had significant moral and religious implications, as it was often used to describe one’s obligations to God and others. In Jewish thought, the idea of debt was closely linked to sin and forgiveness, as seen in the Lord’s Prayer where debts are equated with sins (Matthew 6:12).
Context:
- Blood Purifies — covered above
- It’s like when we become Christians, through the Spirit, we have God’s life coursing through our veins! Like wolverine, healing everything
The document nailed to the cross Col 2:13-15 — Read in NASB
- v14 “record of debt” = cheirographon
  - The term “cheirographon” refers to a handwritten document, particularly a legal or financial document such as a certificate of debt or a bond. In the context of the New Testament, it is used metaphorically to describe the record of debt or the legal demands that stand against humanity due to sin.
  - In the ancient Greco-Roman world, a “cheirographon” was a common legal instrument. It was a handwritten document that acknowledged a debt or obligation, often signed by the debtor. This document served as a binding agreement that could be used in legal proceedings to enforce repayment. The concept of a written record of debt was well understood in both Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures, making it a powerful metaphor for the spiritual debt incurred by sin.
- “canceled” = “blotted out” = cleansing (by the blood of His cross)
  - blotting out = smearing ink to erase the extant writing (they didn’t have erasers) — ancient “white out”
- v14 and v15 = same sentence = continuing thought.
- Disarmed the rulers = removed their primary weapon against us, holding us enslaved to them: sin
  - They didn’t realize this would happen: 1 Corinthians 2:6-7
  - Satan had the power of death (Heb 2:14), so he probably thought that subjecting Jesus to death would mean Jesus — God Himself — was under his power. Surprise!
  - Instead, the cross allowed Jesus’s blood to “blot out” the record of sins that indebted us to Satan = we’re free because our sins were cleansed/purged by Jesus’s blood.
    - Possible that the enemy thought Jesus was like the Nephilim and didn’t understand that it was God Himself, but but likely. (Some of the early church fathers taught this, but not all; fishing analogy)