How Tall Is the God of the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple?: Computing Yahweh’s Stature

The article assumes that there is a correspondence between the size of a temple and its divine resident. How tall was the god of the tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple? The article sets an experiment by computing Yahweh’s perceived stature through three routes. First, it estimates Yahweh’s size by comp...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Granerød, Gard 1975- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2025
In: Scandinavian journal of the Old Testament
Year: 2025, Volume: 39, Issue: 1, Pages: 21-44
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Ark of the Covenant / Tabernacle / Temple / Temple (Jerusalem)
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B cherub thrones
B the Megiddo ivory plaque
B the ‘Ain Dara temple
B Solomon’s Temple
B footstool
B Yahweh’s body
B the ark of the covenant
B the tabernacle
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:The article assumes that there is a correspondence between the size of a temple and its divine resident. How tall was the god of the tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple? The article sets an experiment by computing Yahweh’s perceived stature through three routes. First, it estimates Yahweh’s size by comparing the architectural layouts of Solomon’s Temple and the ‘Ain Dara temple. Second, Yahweh’s height is calculated by comparing the cherub thrones of Solomon’s Temple and the Megiddo ivory plaque. Third, the article estimates Yahweh’s stature by comparing the ark of the covenant (understood as part of the cherub throne-and-footstool configuration) and the Megiddo ivory plaque’s footstool depiction. The imagined stature was between three and three-quarter metres and seven metres tall.
ISSN:1502-7244
Contains:Enthalten in: Scandinavian journal of the Old Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09018328.2024.2427796