A mystical reading of Deuteronomy 4:24. From the Masoretic text’s “consuming fire” to the Targum’s “fire consuming fire”

Abstract

Used in the Book of Deuteronomy (Dt 4:24; Dt 9:3), the expression “consuming fire” (אֵשׁ אֹכְלָה) is a metaphor that describes the greatness and the overwhelming vitality of God. Jewish tradition opts for a mystical reading of the expression in the case of Dt 4:24, as is reflected in the Talmud (TBSoth 14a,3; TBKet 111b,6), in Midrash (ARN 43,12; NmR 22,1; LvR 25,3; SifDt 49; CtR 1,10.4; CtR 14,3.13; CtR 11,1.6; DtR 1,12; PesR 11,27), and also in the Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament (He 12:29). In the Palestinian Targum’s rendering of Dt 4:24, meanwhile, “consuming fire” is translated as “fire consuming fire”, to emphasize the mystical reading. In addition to the Targum, the same expression can be found in works of Midrash (Pesikta Rabbati, Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, Midrash Tanhuma, Midrash Lekach Tov, and Yalkut Shimoni) and in the Talmud and the Tosafot, as well as in mystical texts (Hekhalot Zutarti, Ma’aseh Merkabah, and Shi’ur Qomah).