Traces of Negative Theology in the Hebrew Bible

Abstract

Despite its general ease in making affirmative statements about God, the Hebrew Bible also contains texts and traditions that can be regarded as containing traces of negative theology. Most important in this regard are the prohibition of images, the statement “I am who I am” (Ex 3:13), the narration about Moses only being allowed to see YHWH from behind (Ex 33), the story of Elijah at Mount Horeb and God’s unconventional theophany (1 Kgs 19), the tradition of YHWH’s incomparability, reflections on the human incapacity to discern God, and the juxtaposition of different metaphors about God. None of these texts and traditions deny the possibility of affirmative statements about God. However, they point to the inadequacy of affirmative statements about God and/or the incapacity of humans to fully understand God – traces of negative theology.