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The consuming nature of fire is a core feature of biblical fire imagery. By categorising destruction as a ‘negative’ aspect of fire, the modern reader makes a value judgement regarding the meaning of the text. Once liberated from a binary framework, engagement with the multivalence of fire imagery can lead to more nuanced perspectives on apparently simple categories. The multivalence of fire imagery provides a way to contextualise the

consuming character of fire according to a wider set of associations which go beyond categories of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’.

Fire is not only an image of judgement in the Bible. Like any other part of the created order (established in the creation narratives of Genesis 1-2), fire can be considered ‘one of the gifts of creation’ freely available to human beings. Across the history of biblical 217 culture, fire was brought into the very heart of the community by virtue of being at the very heart of the household. For ancient Israel and first century Palestine, fire was a vital tool 218 for human survival. Food production, cottage industry, heating, and domestic lighting were all reliant on the presence of fire in the home. The domesticity of fire points towards its 219 familiarity within social context and daily life. There are a number of biblical references to the daily practices of cooking, especially baking (Exodus 6:23; Isaiah 44:15-19; also 1 Samuel 28:24).

Biblical fire imagery does not divorce the destructive aspects of fire from its more domestic aspects. In Leviticus 13:51-55, for instance, destruction by fire is the prescribed method of disposal for contaminated clothing. The process of cleansing by fire transfers into the spiritual domain, since fire is used to purify people and objects ritually as well as physically (see, for example, the purificatory sacrifices detailed in Leviticus 12 and 14). Fire itself is not good or bad, positive or negative: it is a means of survival, a tool of industry, and a weapon of warfare (see, for example, Judges 18:27). The biblical texts do not reveal a cultural fear of fire in the general sense, but rather an awareness of its power as a force of nature. Fire is counted alongside dramatic (and potentially destructive) environmental conditions as whirlwinds, earthquakes, thunder and tempests (see Isaiah 29:6).

Due to the power and uncontrollability of these phenomena, human beings are presented as being powerless before them. By contrast, God commands authority over the behaviour, 220 appearance, and destructiveness of fire. In Daniel 3, for example, Shadrach, Meshach, and

Ryken et al., Biblical Imagery, s.v. “fire.”

217

Isserlin, Israelites, 124-125.

218

Ferdinand E. Deist, The Material Culture of the Bible: An Introduction (London/New York: Sheffield

219

Academic Press, 2002), 196.

Deist, Material Culture, 122.

Abednego are thrown into a ‘furnace of blazing fire’ only to be saved by divine intervention (Daniel 3:23-27). This divine rescue does not require the flames to be extinguished, or for the men to be spirited away. In this narrative, the God of Israel overcomes fire directly, even in the face of all its destructiveness.

God’s mastery over fire is conveyed through the motif of fire from heaven. God sends fire as a means of judgement, a token of approval, and a sign of divine presence. For contemporary readers, the image of fire from heaven may call to mind the plague of fire and hail on Egypt in Exodus 9 or the burning sulphur which falls in judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. The toxicity of the sulphur, as well as the consuming flames, render this judgement particularly final. A similar idea is reflected in the apocalyptic texts 221 of the New Testament. In the book of Revelation, fire and sulphur signal the final defeat of God’s enemies (Revelation 20). Like salted soil, land infused with sulphur cannot sustain life. Jude 1:7 and 2 Peter 2:6 draw on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah ‘a symbol of total and irrevocable judgment’ on those who have turned away from God. 222

Through its consuming power, fire from heaven demarcates and enforces the limitations of the divine-human relationship. The accounts of Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10) and the rebellion of Korah (Numbers 16) demonstrate the cost of flouting divinely-established boundaries. Nadab and Abihu offer ‘unholy’ or ‘strange’ fire by burning their incense ‘such as the Lord had not commanded them’ (Leviticus 10:1). Their decision to make this 223 unsolicited offering by fire is mirrored in the type of punishment: ‘the brothers lifted up their “alien” fire towards God and God poured out his fire back on them.’ A similar event takes 224 place in Numbers 16, in which the household of Korah offers incense illegitimately as part of a rebellious act. The two hundred and fifty men who burned the incense are ‘consumed’ by

Ryken et al., Biblical Imagery, s.v. “brimstone.”

221

Ibid., s.v. “Sodom and Gomorrah.” See also Deuteronomy 29:23; Jeremiah 49:18.

222

For a discussion on the nature of Nadab and Abihu’s offence, see John C. H. Laughlin, “The

223

‘Strange Fire’ of Nadab and Abihu,” Journal of Biblical Literature 95, no. 4 (1976): 559-565, accessed 19

October 2014, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3265571.

Raz Kletter and Irit Ziffer, “Incense-Burning Rituals: From Philistine Fire Pans at Yavneh to the

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Improper Fire of Korah,” Israel Exploration Journal 60, no. 2 (2010): 180, accessed 19 October 2014,

fire which ‘came out from the Lord’ (Numbers 16:35). The consuming fire cleanses the people of profanity as the offenders are forever removed from the camp. 225

Fire of divine origin is not solely an instrument of judgement and destruction, however. In Genesis 15, divine fire manifests to forge a new covenantal relationship between God and Abram. Exodus 3:1-6 describes God’s appearance in fire to Moses, manifesting in a burning bush which is consumed neither by the fire nor by God’s divine presence. As the Hebrews flee Egypt in Exodus 13:17-22, God leads them through the wilderness with a pillar of fire and cloud. Thus, heavenly fire offers the illumination by which the otherwise defenceless, directionless nomadic nation may travel (as Nehemiah 9:12 observes). There is no sense of destruction or consuming in this flame, though this fire may foreshadow later and more threatening encounters with the Lord at Sinai and elsewhere. When God appears in fire 226 atop the holy mountain, the otherworldly blaze shrouds the divinity from human sight (Exodus 19:18; Deuteronomy 5:22).

Fire sent from heaven may therefore be a sign of divine presence. For Aaron, Elijah, David, and Solomon, fire is sent by the Lord to kindle the burnt-offering on the altar. In such cases, fire is taken as a good omen: an answer from the Lord (1 Kings 18:36-39; 1 Chronicles 21:26) or confirmation of dedication rites (Leviticus 9:24; 2 Chronicles 7:1). In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah does not die a natural death, but is taken up into heaven by a whirlwind that is accompanied by ‘a chariot of fire and horses of fire’ sent by God to retrieve him.

Spontaneous fire from heaven may be impressive enough; but its divine origin is underscored when flames appear in conditions in which fire cannot otherwise thrive. When God calls Gideon to lead the people of Israel, Gideon requests ‘a sign’ that the Lord is present with him. The angel of the Lord causes fire to spring from a rock to consume Gideon’s food offering (Judges 6:21). The Lord sends fire to consume the offering on Elijah’s water-soaked altar in 1 Kings 18, while the altars to Baal remain dry and unkindled. Fire is not only an expression of divine power, but attests to ‘God’s reality and approval.’ Later, in 227

William Dyrness, Themes in Old Testament Theology (Downers Grove: IVP, 1979), 52.

225

James K. Bruckner, Exodus, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids: Baker,

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2008), 126.

Ryken et al., Biblical Imagery, s.v. “fire.”

2 Kings 1:9-16, Elijah uses the invocation of fire to demonstrate his identity as ‘a man of God’ in opposition to King Ahaziah’s forces, one hundred of whom are subsequently consumed by the fire which Elijah calls down. The presence, power, and endorsement of God is signified through fire in these narratives. Hence, the ability of a prophet to invoke heavenly fire both confirms their prophetic office and demonstrates the power of the living God.