Introduction

          In this paper I will examine the concepts of personal extension and corporate personality, and see how they influenced the Jewish ideological systems views about man and God.  In the first part of the paper I will examine the concept of personal extension by briefly looking at the biblical view of man.  I will then concentrate on how the idea of personal extension relates to the spoken word and to names.  Next I will touch on the concept of headship (i.e. leadership), and finally I will look at the individual and his relationship with God as it is mediated through the community.  In the second part of the paper the concept of corporate personality will be examined:  first in relation to the People of Israel, and finally by looking at how the idea of the one and the many affects the Jewish view of God.  Both of these elements highlight the fact that Judaism is not a religion based on individualism, but is instead a communal religion in which the individual finds fulfillment in and through the community.

1.  The Concept of Personal Extension

[A]  The Biblical View of Man

          In order to understand the Jewish idea of corporate personality as it is found in the Hebrew Bible it is necessary to briefly look at the biblical view of personality in general.  The Bible does not support the modern dualistic view of human nature [cf. Eichrodt, 2:148]; instead it holds that man is a single living entity, the soul or self (nefesh), is not seen as something distinct from the body, it is seen as the integral animating principle of the body.  The ". . . body is not an object which we possess . . . it is not simply the natural basis and instrument to which we are assigned . . . [instead] It is the living form of that self, the necessary expression of our individual existence, in which the meaning of our life must find its realization" [Eichrodt, 2:149].  So any idea that would look upon physical existence as a prison, in which the soul (nefesh) is trapped and from which it needs to be freed,  is completely foreign to the Hebrew Bible's view of man.  The human person, who is created in the image and likeness of God, is both a physical and spiritual being, a single living entity.

[B]  Personal Extension through Word and Name

          The idea of corporate personality is connected with the view expressed above, except that it recognizes that the personality of man can extend beyond his physical nature, thus when he speaks, his words are an extension of himself and are not empty, they contain his vital force.  This can be seen in the biblical pericope in which Isaac is tricked into giving Esau's blessing to Jacob, once this is done ". . . he is unable to retract his words and nullify their effect in favour of the rightful recipient; once uttered they act creatively in quasi-material fashion" [Johnson, 3]; later he is unable to give Esau the same blessing and must instead give him a blessing of lesser importance.  Aubrey R. Johnson is careful in his book, The One and the Many in the Israelite Conception of God, to point out that not all words uttered have the same power and effect, the relation of the words spoken to the extension of the personality of the speaker, is often dependent upon the circumstances in which they are recited and upon the intention of the one pronouncing them.

          The power of words is also connected to the power of knowing someone's name.  By knowing and pronouncing someone's name, one gains a certain power over them.  A person's name is an extension of their personal being, in a sense it participates in the reality of the individual whose name it is.  That is the reason for the Jewish reticence in pronouncing the divine name, the tetragrammaton.  By saying the divine name (YHWH), a man is calling upon the Lord and invoking his personal presence, and if this is done improperly it is an abuse, a sacrilege.  The individual doing it would be taking the Lord's name in vain, and would thus be in violation of the second commandment.

[C]  Personal Extension through Family Headship and Personal Objects

          The extension of personality can also be seen when looking at the head of a clan or family in relation to other persons and even objects within that group.  An example of this occurs in the pericope in the book of Genesis where Joseph sends his steward after his brothers in order to test their character.  When the steward caught up with them he accused them of theft and they responded by saying to the steward, "'Why does my lord speak such words as these?  Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing!'" [Genesis, 44:7].  The steward is not their lord, but Joseph's brothers talk to the steward as if he were Joseph, because the steward is an extension of Joseph's personality.  They then told the steward that if the missing cup was found in anyone's bag, "'. . . whomever of your servants it be found with let him die, and we also will be my lord's slaves'" [Genesis, 44:9]  The silver cup was found in Benjamin's sack, where Joseph had the steward put it, and then the steward said, "'Let it be as you say:  he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and the rest of you shall be blameless'" [Genesis, 44:10].  In the statement the steward speaks and acts in the person of Joseph.  This is but one example, another occurs in the book of Judges, where Jephthah's messengers are seen as extensions of his personality [Judges 11:12-13].  In reference to this particular pericope Aubrey R. Johnson states that, the messengers ". . . as 'extensions' of their master's personality are treated as actually being and not merely representing their lord" [Johnson, 6].

          The extension of personality can also be attributed to objects belonging to an individual.  A case in point is found in the pericope in which Elisha gives his staff to Gehazi and instructs him to speak with no one and go directly to the child of the Shunammite in order to heal him by laying the staff on the face of the boy [cf. 2 Kings 4:29-30].  The boy ultimately does not recover, so Elisha eventually goes to the boy and heals him.  Another example of an object as an extension of a person occurs in the pericope where Elisha is commissioned as Elijah's successor.  When Elijah is taken up to heaven in the chariot of fire, Elisha removes his own clothes and takes up Elijah's mantle, thus gaining a share in the personal power of Elijah [cf. 2 Kings 2:12-14].

[D]  Personal Extension through the Covenantal Community

          The final element within the concept of personal extension can be seen as an assimilation of the individual into the community.  God makes his covenant with the People of Israel, the individual person enters the covenant by entering into this community.  As Ludwig Koehler points out, "The covenant is a relationship with the people and not with individuals. . . . The individual stands within the covenant, which Jahweh has made, but he stands within the covenant not because he is an individual personality in his own right, for that means nothing in the Old Testament, but because he is a member of the people" [Koehler, 65].  This is a radical idea in American religious culture with its heavy Protestant influence, but the modern form of individualism is unknown in the Hebrew Scriptures.  

          Israel in the proper sense of the term comes into being in a particular fashion in and through its worship of the Lord, where it ". . . is described as qahal and edah, 'assembly' and 'congregation'" [Eichrodt, 1:40].  Both of these terms are most often connected with the cultic worship of God, and Eichrodt also states that the term Israel has ". . . a predominantly sacral-religious and not political connotation" [Eichrodt, 1:40].  This is true because it was God who chose the People of Israel, and it was he who made them a priestly people.  Louis Bouyer in his book Liturgical Piety [cf. Bouyer, 23-29] states that the first Great Qahal on Mount Sinai was the foundational event for the People of Israel where the Word of God was given and accepted, and sacrifice was offered in order to seal the covenant.  The second Great Qahal is described in 2 Kings 23, that was ". . . when King Josiah attempted to make a new beginning, as it were, of the history of the people, by dedicating it once more to the Yahweh" [Bouyer, 25].  The third Great Qahal described in Nehemiah was another renewal of the Sinai event in that it repeated the structure of the First Great Qahal except that sacrifice was not offered as it had been at the other two assemblies; instead, the people made a solemn vow ". . . to carry out the proper sacrifices when the rebuilding of the city and the Sanctuary had been accomplished" [Bouyer, 26].

2.  The Concept of Corporate Personality

[A]  Corporate Personality and the People of Israel

          The concept of corporate personality concerns the unity of the People of Israel.  In the biblical text there are times when Israel is spoken of in the plural, which indicates the idea of community, but which then shifts to the singular thus indicating that the People of Israel are seen in some sense as an individual person.  It is best explained by looking at a specific text which illustrates this idea.  In the Book of Numbers, Moses sends messengers to the King of Edom, and the message itself opens with the phrase, "'Thus says your brother Israel . . .'" [Numbers, 20:14], it then recounts the sufferings of the People of Israel during their time in Egypt.  This opening text speaks of Israel in the plural, as a community of individuals.  The message continues "'. . . You know all the adversity that has befallen us; how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers . . .'" [Numbers 20:14b-15].  The King of Edom responds by saying, "'You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you'" [Numbers, 20:18].  Now comes the portion of the text that supports the concept of corporate personality, after constantly referring to Israel in the plural the text now shifts, and speaks of Israel in the singular.  In response to the Kings threat the messengers respond by saying, ". . . the People of Israel said to him, 'We will go up by the highway' and if we drink of your water, I and my cattle, then I will pay for it, let me only pass through it on foot, nothing more'" [Numbers, 20:19].  As Aubrey R. Johnson points out concerning this verse ". . . the oscillation in thought between the conception of the social unit as an association of individuals (with the resultant use of plural forms) and as a corporate personality (with the consequent use of the singular) is unmistakable" [Johnson, 12].  He also goes on to explain that this oscillation between the plural and the singular occurs in other parts of the biblical text, the Book of Psalms in particular.

[B]  Corporate Personality and God

          This concept can also be applied to God as He is revealed in the Hebrew Bible; in fact the idea actually helps to clarify certain obscure texts.  When looking at the creation of man in the opening chapter of the Book of Genesis the Lord speaks using plural forms.  God says, "'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . . .   So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them'" [Genesis, 1:26a-27].  The shifts between the plural and the singular are striking in this passage.  But it is not alone, shifts of this type occur in other areas of the biblical text as well.  The pericope concerning the destruction of the Tower of Babel is another illustration of the use of the plural in reference to God.  In that text God says, "'Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech'" [Genesis, 11:7].  The oscillation between the one and the many can also be seen in the call of Isaiah, where God says, "'Whom shall I send and who will go for us'" [Isaiah, 6:8].  All of these texts can be explained using the concept of personal extension, for in these texts God is speaking to his heavenly court which can be seen as an extension of his own personality.

          The concept of corporate personality can be seen in the Book of Exodus when Moses appears before the burning bush.  In that text God sends his messenger, as the text itself says, ". . . the angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and [Moses] looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet not consumed" [Exodus, 3:2].  It is the angel of the Lord who appears in the burning bush and yet later in the text it says, "When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, 'Moses, Moses!'" [Exodus 3:4].  What was initially described as the angel of the Lord, is now said to be God, and this makes sense if you apply the concept of corporate personality to the angelic beings of the heavenly court.  This concept helps to explain what often appears to be a residual element of polytheism, it thus does not have to have anything to do with polytheism, but instead can be seen as a Semitic cultural idea, which intimately connects the messenger to the one who sends him.

Conclusion

          These two concepts are fundamental for the understanding of the nature of man and God as they are presented in the Hebrew Bible.  By using these concepts one is able to clarify textual problems and at the same time he is able to shed a new light on the relation of the individual to the community in Judaism.  It also helps to reveal the tension which appears to exist in the Jewish scriptures as it relates to the concepts of monotheism and polytheism, the one and the many, in reference to God.  The Hebrew Bible's use of the plural form when speaking about God need not negate the monotheistic position of Judaism, because the many angelic beings as messengers of God can be seen as participating in His personality.  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited:

Louis Bouyer.  Liturgical Piety.  (Notre Dame, Ind:  University of Notre Dame Press, 1955).

Walther Eichrodt.  Theology of the Old Testament.  (Philadelphia:  The Westminster Press, 1961).

Aubrey R. Johnson.  The One and the Many in the Israelite Conception of God.  (Cardiff:  University of Wales Press, 1961).

Ludwig Koehler.  Old Testament Theology.  (London:  Lutterworth Press, 1957).

L. S. Thornton.  The Common Life in the Body of Christ.  (Westminster:  Dacre Press, 1946),

Biblical Translation:

The Bible:  Revised Standard Version.  (New York:  American Bible Society, 1971). 

God and the People of Israel and the Concepts of Personal Extension and Corporate Personality

by Steven Todd Kaster

San Francisco State University

Jewish Studies 300:  Introduction to Jewish Studies

Professor Fred Astren

3 December 1999

Copyright © 1999-2025 Steven Todd Kaster