III. The whole Bible acquired a
direction from its “earthquake theophany”
Eric R. Force
Many
readers may be puzzled at my title, so: Theophany is defined as God’s appearance to humans. His appearance in conjunction with
earthquakes is not my conclusion, but I explore and extend the concept; biblical
scholars, archaeologists, and geophysicists have documented almost all the
parts of this relationship in their technical journals.
I’m
considering this subject in a tectonic context. The “Holy Land” is astride the junction between two big
tectonic plates moving nearly-horizontally past each other (e.g. Yeats et al.
1997). Seismic activity has been
high all through its history (Ben Menahem 1991). If tectonic activity plays a part in religious developments,
it should be evident here.
This is
the third of my posts on the tectonic environments of the evolution of
religions. (on Tectonic
Environments of Ancient Cultures,
at https://tectonic-culture.blogspot.com/ )
The Bible is by
far the most detailed narrative with which to track the influence of tectonism on
any such evolution of a religion.
Other approaches— archaeological (e.g. Stewart and Piccardi 2017) or
statistical/probabilistic (Bentzen in press, and my post of 12/24/18) -- need to
be fleshed out with examples that reveal detail, motivation, and dynamics.
From the
point of view of response to earthquakes, the Bible including the New Testament
shows a continuum that gathers strength through time. For chronologic order I’ll divide the discussion into books
that cover creation through Moses and Israel’s kings to ca. 587 B.C., i.e. the
Torah and “Deuteronomistic” books, and the prophetic tradition, which continues
into the New Testament.
The Torah and “Deuteronomistic” books
Earthquakes
accompany several important turning points in early Jewish religious history,
indeed God begins his habit of appearing in earthquakes in some of these
events, the others being merely miraculous. Some of the events are described in text fragments of great
antiquity, for example:
In Exodus
19:18ff, Moses
encounters Jehovah on Sinai, which seems to be a volcanic eruption as noted by
Cross (1997), but shaking is also recorded as sometimes happens with
eruptions. This passage is part of
the ancient J-document component of the Torah (R. E. Friedman 1987, p. 251). This would appear to be an example of
“earthquake theophany” as discussed below.
In
Numbers 16:30ff, Moses predicts an opening of the earth in a hostile test of
his connection with God, and is successful. God does not appear but causes the
miracle to support Moses. That is,
the text is not theophanic but it does begin a related prophetic tradition. R. E. Friedman (1987, pp.
193-196, 253) shows that this too is an ancient J document, in this case
overprinted by a later priestly addition. The earth is not described as
shaking, but the “clave asunder”(KJV) and its immediate closure would appear to
require active tectonism and are accepted as an earthquake by Friedman.
The Torah
as it currently appears is a composite of different documents derived from
different regions and with different biases. Final assembly was quite late, but some of the constituent
documents including the two earthquakes described above are as ancient as 800
B.C. or before. Some of these may
have originated as oral traditions.
The first
few following books—through II Kings—called Deuteronomistic,
were completed after the fall of Judah in 587 B.C. but present a chronology of
events in the formation of the state of Israel relative to its religious
practices, focusing on the era of King David, ca. 1000 B.C. Some traditional
components of this literature are thought to have originated in that era. For
example, Psalm 18 (and its repetition in II Samuel 22) is thought to be of great
antiquity, and David’s pleas to God for help do produce an earthquake in verse
7. The Song of Deborah in Judges
5, also thought to be of great antiquity (e.g. Coogan 2011, p. 214), mentions
earthquakes as God emerges in battle for Israel. In I Samuel 14:15, King Saul prevails over his enemies with
an earthquake provided by God (verse 23).
These examples range from theophany to simple miracles but certainly get
the attention of his God-fearing people.
Psalms 29:8,
46:3, and 68:8 also feature earthquakes but more in the spirit of God’s
wondrous power, and some of these psalms are thought to be later. We get a
glimpse of the recording of oral tradition in Proverbs 25:1 where oral proverbs
nominally originating with Solomon were copied down by Hezekiah (715-687 B.C.).
An interesting window
into one mindset that produced these books is provided by I Kings 19:11, where
an earthquake and storm occurred “as the Lord passed by.” However, “the Lord was not in the
earthquake”, building up to “a
still small voice” addressing Elijah (all KJV). The intentional anticlimax is puzzling.
Archaeoseismologists
have discovered evidence of some earthquakes from this period that are not
attributed as such in the Bible.
The best case in my opinion can be made for earthquakes in conjunction
with the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-16).
There is buried evidence of earthquake in a time frame that would
include Joshua (Kenyon and Tushingham 1953, Kenyon 1979). The method of construction of Jericho’s
walls made earthquake reconstruction easier but resulted in repeated damage. Jericho
is of course located right on the active faults forming the boundary between
Arabian and African tectonic plates.
The prophetic tradition
Religious
fascinaton with earthquakes kicked into a higher gear with the onset of the
main prophetic tradition. This tradition
begins with one particular earthquake of about 760-750 B.C. (Dever 1992, Ogden
1992, D. N. Freedman and Welch 1994, Austin et al. 2010). Its apparent prediction by the prophet
Amos set the pattern for subsequent prophets for almost a millennium (indeed
recognizable in present-day preaching).
The book
of Amos begins “ . . . two years before the earthquake” (Amos 1:1, KJV) with
his prophesy of that earthquake—or at least taken to be of that earthquake once
it occurred. An extremely severe
earthquake did occur; the archaeological record of this earthquake has been
documented over quite a large area of Israel, southern Lebanon, and SW Syria
(Dever 1992, Austin et al. 2010).
Amos basically says that God will both cause and appear in the
earthquake, and subsequent prophets accepted that, making this earthquake theophanic
(D. N. Freedman and Welch 1994).
Some
readers will find it remarkable (as it once was to me) that the seemingly
obscure book of Amos, inserted among other “minor prophets” toward the end of
the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible), is quite ancient, from the Middle Iron Age (Iron
IIb). Actually there is a huge
literature on Amos; he is not obscure to Biblical scholars. Amos is the oldest of the prophetic-tradition
books; indeed, Amos is probably among the older extensive works of literature
in paleo-Hebrew), based on references to rulers, neighboring states, writing
style, and the archaeological evidence (e.g. Anderson and D.N. Freedman 1989, D. N. Freedman and
Welch 1994). We have seen that
Biblical books that treat pre-Amos events include many components that were
composed before Amos, but which were compiled into the composite Biblical books
as we read them after Amos’ time (e.g. R. E. Friedman 1987).
Subsequent
prophets (Isaiah 5:25, Zechariah 14:5) mention the impact of that particular
earthquake. But most interesting
is the tradition of earthquake prediction--and threats--that followed through
the entire prophetic tradition of the Old Testament, so that Amos’s earthquake
became a foundation of Judaic religious patterns. Eight (out of 14) of these prophets (Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Joel, Nahum, Haggai, and Zechariah, see attribution in table 1)
threatened earthquakes (the “earthquake theophany” of Austin et al. 2010) for
manipulation of the laity and to underscore their predictions relative to
matters of faith, politics, and future deliverance. These range in age from Amos to about 400 B.C. (Coogan 2011). So this prophetic tradition in the Old
Testament spans about 350 years after Amos.
Of course this strategy would not work
unless earthquakes were occurring.
We have insufficient records of earthquakes in this period to link
prophets with individual events, but the average interval between earthquakes
in this region is on the order of 60 years (Ben Menahem 1991, Ambraseys 2009),
based in part on seismically disturbed layers in Dead Sea sediments (Migowski
et al. 2004). So there is reason
to suppose that earthquakes were kept in people’s minds.
Earthquakes are
destructive, and a theophany based largely on earthquakes would have God’s
appearances dreaded. The prophets
generally mentioned earthquakes in the context of retribution for the people’s
failings. Earthquake prediction
must have been a “trump card” in the prophet’s options, though probably few had
the good fortune of Amos to see their predictions vindicated within two years
(e.g. D. N. Freedman and Welch 1994). Which of the people’s transgressions were
to be punished by earthquake seem to evolve through the prophetic literature. It
includes polytheism in the pre-Exilic period, toward failing to rebuild the
Temple after it, for example. Throughout,
it is an essential ingredient in the relentless monotheism we associate with
the Old Testament.
Of special interest to geologists is Zechariah 14, which
seems to describe particular fault transport directions for a predicted event
in this region (“ . . . and half of the mountain shall remove to the north, and
half of it toward the south” in KJV), directions that fit the relative motion
of the African and Arabian plates along the Jordan Valley, as noted by Yeats et
al. (1997).
The prophetic
tradition continues into the New Testament with sayings of Jesus quoted in
three gospels—Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, and Luke 21:11—invoking earthquakes in a
pre-end-times context. Earthquakes
occurred at the end of Jesus’ life (Matthew 27:51-54) convincing a centurion of
Jesus’ divinity, and at his resurrection (Matthew 28:2-4) with the appearance
of an angel, a sort of semi-theophany.
Being only three days later in the same place, the Easter quake would
appear to be an aftershock.
However, neither is attested historically or archaeologically.
In Acts 16:26ff, Paul
and Silas were liberated from prison by an earthquake that converted their
jailer, and which is quoted by some Christians as a miracle to this day. And of course the book of Revelations
(6:12-17, 8:5, 11:13-19, 16:17-21) is “over the top” with earthquake
predictions having a threatening edge.
Its use of Armageddon, by the way, may hark back to an earthquake of the
10th century BC at Megiddo (Cline 2011). The prophetic drumbeat for
over 800 years gave Judeo-Christian culture much of its character, and that
character was molded by threat of earthquakes.
Table 1.—Books of the Old Testament
listed as in King James Version, with era being described, and type of mention
of earthquakes. Causation: T
theophanic, S semi-theophanic, M miraculous, N not theophanic
|
Books
|
Era described (century B.C.
|
Earthquakes mentioned
|
Earthquake causation
|
|
Genesis
|
?
|
|
|
|
Exodus
|
11?
|
19:18 (incl volc), 20:18, (only volc)
|
T
|
|
Leviticus
|
11?
|
|
|
|
Numbers
|
11?
|
16:30-34
|
M
|
|
Deuteronomy 1
|
10?
|
5:23 (volc only)
|
|
|
Deuteronomy 2
|
10?
|
4:11 (volc only)
|
|
|
Deuteronomy 3
|
7?
|
|
|
|
Joshua
|
10?
|
|
|
|
Judges
|
10?
|
5:4 (incl. volc, similar to Ex19:18)
|
S-T
|
|
Ruth
|
?
|
|
|
|
1 Samuel
|
10?
|
14:15
|
M
|
|
2 Samuel
|
10?
|
22:8 (same as Psalm 18)
|
|
|
1 Kings
|
9?
|
19:11
|
N
|
|
2 Kings
|
9?
|
|
|
|
1 Chronicles
|
0
|
|
|
|
2 Chronicles
|
0
|
|
|
|
Ezra
|
?
|
|
|
|
Nehemiah
|
?
|
|
|
|
Esther
|
?
|
|
|
|
Job
|
?
|
|
|
|
Psalms 1
|
1-6?
|
18:7, 68:8
|
M
|
|
Psalms 2
|
?
|
104:32, 144:5
|
|
|
Proverbs
|
10?
|
|
|
|
Ecclesiastes
|
?
|
|
|
|
Song of Solomon
|
?
|
|
|
|
Isaiah 1
|
8
|
13:13, 24:18-20, 29:6
|
|
|
Isaiah 2
|
6
|
|
|
|
Isaiah 3
|
5
|
|
|
|
Jeremiah
|
7
|
4:24
|
|
|
Lamentations
|
?
|
|
|
|
Ezekiel
|
6
|
38:19-20
|
|
|
Daniel
|
?
|
|
|
|
Hosea
|
7?
|
|
|
|
Joel
|
?
|
2:10
|
|
|
Amos
|
8
|
1:1, 9:1-5
|
T
|
|
Obadiah
|
6
|
|
|
|
Jonah
|
?
|
|
|
|
Micah 1
|
7?
|
|
|
|
Micah 2
|
7?
|
|
|
|
Nahum
|
7?
|
1:5
|
|
|
Habakkuk
|
7?
|
|
|
|
Zephaniah
|
7?
|
|
|
|
Haggai
|
6
|
2:21
|
|
|
Zechariah 1
|
6
|
|
|
|
Zechariah 2
|
5
|
14:4-5
|
|
|
Malachi
|
5
|
|
|
CONCLUSION
Earthquakes accompany
God’s appearance to men quite a few times in the Bible, and God causes
earthquakes in merely miraculous contexts in a great many more. The theophanic link with earthquakes
begins with Moses and extends into the New Testament. The link is particularly heavy-handed in the prophetic
tradition beginning with the book of Amos, known to correspond with an
earthquake of ca. 760-750 B.C. The prophetic literature after Amos used the
threat of earthquake for at least 400 years with no abatement. The New Testament continues this
tradition for several hundred more years, thus giving all Judeo-Christian thought
patterns one of God-fearing. Earthquakes
were a significant tool in the creation of this pattern.
For
the purpose of my series of weblog posts, it seems safe to say that tectonic activity
did indeed channel the course of religion in this example, which supplies
desired detail, motivation, and dynamics.
A key takeaway in my opinion is that tectonic activity can be traced as
it became an essential part of the fabric of Judaic religion, and we can still see
prominent traces of tectonism in its descendant Christianity, making the Bible
a legitimate example of direct relation between tectonism and religion. There are parallels in some respects,
though inevitably less well-documented, in other ancient cultures (e.g. Stewart
and Piccardi 2017). A collection
of anecdotes and glimpses of such links between tectonic and religious activity
elsewhere is planned for a future post.
Acknowledgement
I’ve been aided so far by comments from
two anonymous authorities and by Matt Winter. I’m seeking additional comments for future revisions (ejforce@aol.com).
References
Ambraseys, N., 2009, Earthquakes in the
Mediterranean and Middle East: a multidisciplinary study of seismicity up to
1900: Cambridge Press
Austin, S. A., Franz, G W. and Frost, E.
G., 2000, Amos’s earthquake: an extraordinary Middle East seismic event of 750
B.C.: International Geology Review
v. 42(7), p. 657-671.
Ben Menahem, A., 1991, Four thousand
years of seismicity along the Dead Sea Rift: Journal of Geophysical Research v. 96, p. 195-216.
Bentzen, J. S., in press, , Acts of
God? Religiousity and natural
disasters across subnational world districts: The Economic Journal (http://web.econ.ku.dk/bentzen/BentzenReligiosityDisasters.pdf
Cline, E. H., 2011, “Whole
lotta shakin’ goin’ on” -- the possible destruction by earthquake of stratum
VIA at Megiddo, in the Fires Signals of Lachish, Finkelstein and Naamen, eds.:
Eisenbrauns.
Coogan, M. D., 2011, The
Old Testament: a historical and literary introduction to the Hebrew scriptures: Oxford
Cross, F. M., 1997,
Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays on the History of the Religion of
Israel: Cambridge, Harvard Press
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Freedman, D. N., and Welch, A., 1994,
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edited by M. D. Coogan, J. C. Exum, and L. E. Stager: Louisville, Westminster John Knox
Friedman, R. E., 1987, Who Wrote the
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853-870.
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radiocarbon dating of lacustrine sediments: Earth and Planetary Science
Letters, v. 222, p. 301-314.
Neev, D., and Emery, K. O., 1995, The destruction
of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jericho—geological, climatological, and archaeological
background: Oxford
Nur, A., 2008, Apocalypse—earthquakes,
archaeology, and the “wrath of God”:
Princeton.
Ogden, K., 1992, The earthquake motif in
the book of Amos, in Goldene apfel in silbernen schalen, edited by Schunck, K.,
and Augustin, M.: Peter Land,
Frankfurt
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Seismic faults and sacred sanctuaries in Aegean antiquity: Proceedings of the Geologists
Association v. 128, p 711-721.
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earthquakes: Oxford, New York.
