{"id":6562,"date":"2023-05-26T13:13:03","date_gmt":"2023-05-26T20:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/blog\/archives\/"},"modified":"2023-06-06T12:01:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-06T19:01:01","slug":"the-problem-with-almighty-in-the-new-testament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/blog\/archives\/the-problem-with-almighty-in-the-new-testament","title":{"rendered":"The “Almighty” Problem in Scripture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In my book The Death of Omnipotence and Birth of Amipotence<\/a><\/em>, I explain how omnipotence and almighty are not rightly associated with scripture. In this essay, I lay out the problem with English translations of the New Testament that call God “almighty.”<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Almighty Is Rare<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlmighty\u201d appears ten times as a translation of Pantokrator<\/em> in English versions of the New Testament. Nine of those instances occur in the Book of Revelation. We find one in Paul\u2019s letter to the Church in Corinth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me restate that Pantokrator <\/em>appears just ten times in the New Testament. This scarcity is remarkable, given that many Christians think God is omnipotent, and major creeds describe God as \u201calmighty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Testament contains about 138,000 Greek words, depending on differences among early manuscripts. This means Pantokrator<\/em> occurs 0.00726% of the time. That qualifies as rare! To put it another way, New Testament writers rarely refer to God as Pantokrator<\/em>, a word often translated \u201calmighty\u201d in English and mistranslated from Hebrew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pantokrator <\/em>in the Septuagint<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pantokrator <\/em>is a word found in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures. As I’ve shown elsewhere,<\/a> it is a mistranslation of the Hebrew words Shaddai, <\/em>which means “breast” or “mountains,” and Sabaoth<\/em>, which means “hosts” or “armies.” These words do not mean omnipotent, almighty, sovereign, or all-powerful. In their translating work, in other words, Septuagint writers mangled the meaning of the Hebrew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prefix panto means \u201call;\u201d the root krater<\/em> or krateo<\/em> has various meanings, including \u201chold,\u201d \u201cseize,\u201d or \u201cattain.\u201d For instance, God holds (krateo<\/em>) the stars in divine hands, according to John\u2019s Revelation in the New Testament (1:16). Pantokrator<\/em> might best be translated \u201call-holding\u201d or \u201call-sustaining.\u201d[1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her explanation of how Pantokrator<\/em> emerged, biblical scholar Judith Krawelitzki says, \u201cThere is strong evidence that the [verb of] Pantokrator<\/em> has been created and established by the translators of the Septuagint.\u201d She continues, \u201cIt seems [translators] coined a new word to avoid conceptualizing Yahweh\u2019s power with an already known word utilized to express the power of other deities, especially Zeus\u2019s power in Greek philosophy.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Septuagint translators, says Krawelitzki, did not want to portray Israel\u2019s God as omnipotent. \u201cIt cannot be accidental that even in the Septuagint Psalter God\u2019s power is not conceptualized by the notion of omnipotence,\u201d she says. \u201cThe reluctance to name God \u2018the Almighty\u2019 seems to be rooted in the texts themselves, which prescind from any kind of theoretical reflection about the extent of God\u2019s power.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An all-holding God is not all-controlling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul’s Sole Use of Pantokrator<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Outside Revelation, the only reference to Pantokrator<\/em> occurs in Paul\u2019s second letter to the church in Corinth. Paul writes, \u201cAs God has said: \u2018I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.\u2019 Therefore, \u2018Come out from them and be separate,\u2019 says the Lord. \u2018Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.\u2019 And \u2018I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty [pantokrator<\/em>]\u2019\u201d (2 Cor. 6:16b-18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this passage, Paul is quoting Septuagint translations of 2 Samuel 7:8, 14.[4]<\/a> These verses draw from the Hebrew, Yahweh Sabaoth<\/em>. We earlier saw that this phrase is rightly translated as \u201cLord of hosts\u201d or something similar, not \u201cthe Lord Almighty.\u201d[5]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only time the Apostle Paul\u2014who wrote more New Testament books than anyone\u2014refers to Pantokrator<\/em> is when he cites the Septuagint.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pantokrator <\/em>in Revelation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Revelation, Pantokrator<\/em> occurs nine times. English Bibles often render the word \u201calmighty,\u201d as in the phrase \u201cthe Lord Almighty.\u201d In most instances, Pantokrator<\/em> is a phrase of worship, with little context to discern what it means (see 1:8, 4:8, 11:17. 15:3, 16:7. 19:6, 21:22).[7] In these cases, Pantokrator serves a liturgical function without identifying the precise connotation of the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John twice uses Pantokrator<\/em> to compare God to creaturely kings and emperors (16:14, 19:15). His point seems to be that God is or will be more powerful than earthly leaders. In these cases, notes Eugene Boring, \u201c\u2018almighty\u2019 is bound to the title \u2018Lord\u2019 (kurios<\/em>), a title which properly belongs only to God but has been usurped by the emperors and used of Domitian and the other Caesars in the emperor cult.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Alexander the Great and other Hellenistic and Roman rulers claim to exert universal power, only God\u2019s influence is truly universal.[9]<\/a> John\u2019s point is not that God controls, can do absolutely anything, or has all power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His point is that only a universal leader\u2014God\u2014exercises universal influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krateo <\/em>and Dunamis<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We earlier saw that Pantokrator <\/em>is a compound word, with the prefix meaning \u201call.\u201d In the New Testament, the verb form of the word\u2014which refers to active power\u2014is translated as \u201chold,\u201d \u201cseize,\u201d \u201ccling,\u201d \u201cattain,\u201d or something similar. In other words, the verb form of krat<\/em> does not mean controlling, doing absolutely anything, or having all power.[10]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dunamis<\/em> is the Greek word in the New Testament translated as \u201cpower.\u201d It occurs ten times as often as Pantokrator <\/em>and means \u201cability,\u201d \u201cstrength,\u201d or \u201cinfluence.\u201d Biblical writers use dunamis<\/em> to refer to the power expressed by God, Jesus, and creatures. The verb form of the word\u2014dunamai<\/em>\u2014\u00adoccurs about 20 times more than Pantokrator<\/em> in the New Testament. It also refers to the ability to do something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neither the verb nor the noun forms of dunamis<\/em> have a prefix meaning \u201call\u201d in the New Testament. If terms like pantodunamis<\/em> or pandunamai<\/em> were present in the Bible, we would have scriptural words that straightforwardly mean \u201call-powerful,\u201d \u201calmighty,\u201d or \u201comnipotent.\u201d Such words are not present in scripture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No New Testament passages record Jesus calling God \u201calmighty.\u201d Nor does he call God \u201comnipotent.\u201d Jesus doesn\u2019t use Pantokrator<\/em> or some version of dunamis<\/em> to describe God as all-powerful. He says God is greater than himself (John 14:28), and he praises God in various ways. The word Jesus uses most often for God is \u201cFather\u201d or abba<\/em>, a term of loving endearment, not overriding control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While New Testament writers describe God as having immense power, they do not use words that mean \u201comnipotent,\u201d \u201calmighty,\u201d or \u201call-powerful.\u201d They do not use words that mean God has all power, is able to do absolutely anything, or controls. If we think Jesus knows God best, his not calling God omnipotent should influence how think about divine power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Omnipotence isn\u2019t in the New Testament, and “almighty” rests on a mistranslation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Notes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a>. Ian Robert Richardson notes that \u201cwhen considering God\u2019s power as providentially sustaining the universe, kratein was followed by the accusative case because that was used to express \u2018holding\u2019 rather than \u2018reigning.\u2019\u201d See Richardson, \u201cMeister Eckhart\u2019s Parisian Question of \u2018Whether the omnipotence of God should be considered as potentia ordinata or potentia absoluta?\u2019\u201d Doctoral Dissertation (King\u2019s College London, 2002), 17. The 2nd-century bishop Theophilus, for instance, says God \u201cis called Pantokrator because He Himself holds (kratei) and embraces (emperiechei) all things (ta panta).\u201d Ad Autolycum 1, 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a>. Judith Krawelitzki, “God the Almighty? Observations in the Psalms,\u201d Vetus Testamentum, 442-43. Krawelitzki says that \u201caccording to the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae, less than 1% of the approximately 1400 references for [verb form of] pantokrator can be found in pagan literature\u201d (cf. G. Kruse, \u201cPantokrateo\u201d PW 18,3 (1949), 829-830). Although the adjective form of pantokrator is found only in 2 Mac. 3:22, it can be found often in Greek literature (cf. O. Montevecchi, \u201cPantokrator,\u201d in Studi in onore di Aristide Calderini e Roberto Paribeni II [Milano, 1957], 402). On the use of pantokrator in Greek philosophy, see H. Hommel, \u201cPantokrator,\u201d Sebasmata (T\u00fcbingen, 1983), 142-143; R. Feldmeier, Nicht \u00dcbermacht noch Impotenz. Zum biblischen Ursprung des Allmachtsbekenntnisses, eds., Der Allm\u00e4chtige. Ann\u00e4herungen an ein umstrittenes Gottespr\u00e4dikat (G\u00f6ttingen, 1997), 25, 30-31; M. Bachmann, G\u00f6ttliche Aumacht und theologische Vorsicht Zu Rezeption, Funktion und Konnotation des biblisch-fr\u00fchchristlichen Gottesepithetons pantokrator (SBS 188; Stuttgart, 2002), 147-160.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a>. Krawelitzki, \u201cGod the Almighty,\u201d 443.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a>. A minority of scholars believe Paul is quoting Jeremiah 31:35 here. Yahweh Sabaoth is also used in Jeremiah, so my point stands in either case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/sup><\/a>. The New International Version is unique among translations when it uses \u201calmighty\u201d to render two New Testament words. In Romans 9:29 (Paul is citing Isaiah 1:9) and James 5:4, the NIV translates \u201chosts\u201d in Greek as \u201calmighty.\u201d These are additional mistranslations of Sabaoth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/sup><\/a>. In his analysis of Paul\u2019s reference to Pantokrator, Wilhelm Michaelis says \u201cit has only a loose connection with the dogmatic concept of the divine omnipotence, which is usually linked with the omnicausality of God\u201d (Michaelis, \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03ba\u03c1\u03ac\u03c4\u03c9\u03c1, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 914-15). Paul seems to switch back and forth between the Hebrew and Septuagint when citing Old Testament texts. He seems to be citing 2 Sam 7:14 here, and this passage does not include the words \u201csays the Lord Almighty.\u201d None of the Old Testament texts Paul quotes say, \u201cLord Almighty.\u201d But it also possible Paul has 2 Sam 7:8 when he writes, \u201csays the Lord Almighty,\u201d where Nathan says, \u201cthus says Yahweh Sabaoth.\u201d I thank Bill Yarchin for alerting me to this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/sup><\/a>. Michaelis notes Pantokrator is a title found in early Jewish prayers and its liturgical use influenced the writer of Revelation (Ibid.).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/sup><\/a>. M Eugene Boring, \u201cThe Theology of Revelation: \u2018The Lord God the Almighty Reigns,\u2019\u201d Interpretation, 259.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/sup><\/a>. See also \u201cAlmighty,\u201d The New Interpreter\u2019s Dictionary of the Bible, A-C, Vol. 1 (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 2006), 105.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/sup><\/a>. For instance, see verb forms of krateo in Matthew 9:25; 12:11; 18:28; 21:46; 22:6; 26:4; 26:48; 26:50; 26:55; 26:57; 28:9; Mark 1:31; 3:21; 5:41; 6:17; 7:3; 7:4; 7:8; 9:10; 9:27; 12:12; 14:1; 14:44; 14:46; 14:49; 14:5; Luke 8:54; Acts 2:24; 3:11; Colossians 2:19; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; Hebrews 4:14; 6:18; Revelation 2:1; 2:13; 2:14; 2:15; 2:25; 3:11; 7:1; 20:2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my book The Death of Omnipotence and Birth of Amipotence, I explain how omnipotence and almighty are not rightly associated with scripture. In this essay, I lay out the problem with English translations of the New Testament that call God “almighty.” Almighty Is Rare \u201cAlmighty\u201d appears ten times as a translation of Pantokrator in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8],"tags":[7094,7174,7175,7176,7195],"yst_prominent_words":[1779,2038,2041,2046,3371,4377,5388,5396],"class_list":["post-6562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-open_and_relational_theology","category-postmodern_philosophy_theology_and_culture","tag-almighty","tag-pantokrater","tag-septuagint","tag-pantokrator","tag-dunamis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6562\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6562"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasjayoord.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}