What is the Divine Council?

Psalm 82:1

    God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.

“The term divine council is used by Hebrew and Semitics scholars to refer to the heavenly host, the pantheon of divine beings who administer the affairs of the cosmos. All ancient Mediterranean cultures had some conception of a divine council. The divine council of Israelite religion, known primarily through the psalms, was distinct in important ways.”


Michael S. Heiser, “Divine Council,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings (ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns; Downers Grove, IL; Nottingham, England: IVP Academic; Inter-Varsity Press, 2008), 112.

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Dr. Heiser is the best selling author of The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, which focuses on the divine council worldview of the biblical writers.