A Psychoanalytic Examination of God in Biblical Texts.

 

  • Exodus 33:20 - "You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
  • John 1:18 - "No one has ever seen God."
  • 1 Timothy 6:16 - "Whom no one has seen or can see."
  • Deuteronomy 4:12 - "You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice."
  • Judges 13:22 - "We are doomed to die! We have seen God!"

  • "Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank." (Exodus 24:9-11, NIV)   
  • This passage describes Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel seeing a manifestation of God and sharing a meal in His presence.
    The human psyche has long grappled with the dichotomy between the desire to encounter the supernatural / divine and the inherent terror of such an experience. This tension is illustrated in the biblical belief, where the concept of seeing God is both a revered privilege and a dangerous project. Through a psychoanalytic lens, one can dive into the symbolic and psychological implication of these accounts, examining how they reflect the deep-seated fears, aspirations, and inner conflicts of the human mind.

    The Ambivalence of Supernatural / Divine Encounters

    Exodus 33:20 clearly states a stark warning: "You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." This declaration perhaps taps into a primal fear of annihilation in the face of an overwhelming, omnipotent force. The divine here is perceived as so fundamentally other, so utterly beyond human comprehension, that direct contact results in death. This can be understood as a symbolic representation of the ego's fear of dissolution when confronted with the vastness of the unconscious or the divine archetype in Jungian terms. The human self, limited and fragile, dreads being overwhelmed by the encounter with the infinite.

    Yet, this absolute prohibition is immediately countered by the tale in Exodus 24:9-11, where Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel ascend to see the God of Israel. They witness something akin to a divine manifestation—"Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky"—and remarkably, they survive the experience, even sharing a communal feast in God’s presence. Here, the supernatural encounter does not result in death but in communion, suggesting a possibility of reconciliation between the human and the divine.

    The Dialectic of Terror and Communion

    This duality reflects a deeper psychological dialectic: the terror of encountering the numinous (a term from Rudolf Otto, describing the divine as both awe-inspiring and terrifying) and the simultaneous yearning for communion with it. The psyche is torn between the fear of losing its distinct identity and the desire to merge with something greater. This is similar to the ambivalence seen in Freud’s analysis of the human drive toward both life (Eros) and death (Thanatos)—the tension between the desire to survive as an individual and the longing for the ultimate reunion with the source of life, even at the cost of individual existence.

    The Illusion of Face-to-Face Encounters

    In Exodus 33:11, "The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend." This intimate story of divine communication suggests an experience of closeness and familiarity. Yet, this intimacy is complicated by the earlier assertion that one cannot see God and live, suggesting a psychological defense mechanism where the mind creates a "manageable" version of the divine to interact with, avoiding the full, overwhelming reality of the divine presence.

    This is mirrored in the story of Jacob's wrestling with God in Genesis 32:30. Jacob, after wrestling with a divine being, declares, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." The encounter is physical, intimate, and transformative, yet it leaves Jacob limping—a symbolic reminder of the cost of such an encounter. Jacob's survival indicates a triumph of the ego, yet his limp represents the permanent psychological scar left by the encounter with the divine.

    The Visionary and the Terror

    Isaiah’s vision of God in Isaiah 6:1-5 reveals another layer of this psychological tension. Isaiah's immediate response to seeing God is terror: "Woe to me!...For I am a man of unclean lips...and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." The vision is a confrontation with the holy, an experience that shatters Isaiah's self-perception and forces him to confront his own unworthiness. Yet, instead of death, he receives purification, suggesting that the encounter with the divine can lead to transformation rather than annihilation, provided one survives the initial terror.

    Gideon’s experience in Judges 6:22-23 parallels this: after realizing he has seen the angel of the LORD, Gideon exclaims, "Alas, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!" His immediate fear is that this encounter will result in his death, reflecting a deeply ingrained belief that seeing God equates to doom. However, God reassures him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die." This reassurance can be interpreted as the psyche’s attempt to soothe itself after confronting the terrifying aspects of the unconscious, a defense mechanism that allows the ego to survive the encounter.

    The Vision of Ezekiel: Symbolism and Survival

    Finally, Ezekiel’s vision in Ezekiel 1:26-28 provides a vivid depiction of a divine figure, "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD." This vision is not of God in full but of a representation—a necessary psychological distancing that allows Ezekiel to behold the divine without the threat of death. This distancing can be seen as a protective measure, a way for the psyche to engage with the numinous without being overwhelmed. It is a compromise between the yearning to see God and the fear of the consequences of such a sight.

    Conclusion: The Psychology of the Divine Encounter

    Through these myths or stories, the Bible reflects the deep psychological tension inherent in the human experience of the divine. On one hand, there is the deep-seated fear of annihilation—of losing one's self in the overwhelming presence of God. On the other hand, there is an equally powerful desire for communion with the divine, for a transformative encounter that transcends the limitations of human existence.

    This duality speaks to the ambivalence within the human psyche: the simultaneous fear of and longing for the infinite. The biblical narratives implies this tension, offering glimpses of how one might survive such an encounter—through symbolic mediation, psychological defenses, and the selective perception of the divine. Ultimately, these stories illustrate the complexity of the human relationship with the divine, a relationship marked by both terror and awe, fear and longing, death and transformation.    Instances in the Bible where individuals are described as having direct encounters with God, sometimes referred to as "face-to-face" interactions, though these are often understood as encounters with a manifestation of God rather than seeing God's full glory:

    1. Moses in the Tent of Meeting:

      • Exodus 33:11 - "The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend."
        This passage suggests a close, personal encounter, though later in the same chapter, it clarifies that Moses did not see God's face in its full glory.

    2. Jacob Wrestling with God:

      • Genesis 32:30 - "So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.'"
        Jacob wrestles with a divine being, and afterward, he believes he has seen God face to face.

    3. Isaiah's Vision of God:

      • Isaiah 6:1-5 - Isaiah has a vision of the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Isaiah says, "Woe to me!...For I am a man of unclean lips...and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
        Isaiah is terrified because he believes seeing God should lead to death, yet he is spared.

    4. Gideon's Encounter with the Angel of the Lord:

      • Judges 6:22-23 - "When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, 'Alas, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!' But the LORD said to him, 'Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.'"
        Gideon believes he has seen God and fears for his life, but God reassures him.

    5. Ezekiel’s Vision of God:

      • Ezekiel 1:26-28 - Ezekiel sees a vision of a figure on a throne resembling a man, which he identifies as "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD."
        While Ezekiel doesn’t directly claim to see God's face, the vivid description is a powerful vision of God’s presence.                        




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