The God of Life – or: God as Life?

It is only once that Psalm 104 uses the Hebrew word »life« ( חיים ) as an abstract term (v. 31); and yet, life is without doubt its quintessential topic. First of all, 'life' in Psalm 104 is presented as 'vitality' that is linked to divine agency in the world and that leads to the emergence of plants, animals, and humans. In this respect, Psalm 104 shows its roots in the world of ancient Near Eastern mythology. However, there is another way in which the topic unfolds. Especially the inner frame of Psalm 104 (v. 2–4; 28–30) focuses on what one may call the 'formative principle of life.' In a manner otherwise unknown in the psalter, light, wind, fire, and water are highlighted as the elements that permeate the cosmos and that, at the same time, are closely linked to divine presence in the word. This perspective culminates in the presentation of God's רוח as that which creates the world of living beings. This does not mean, as has often been claimed, that God's 'spirit' (or 'breath') enlivens material bodies. Rather, it means that the divine רוח gives shape and presence to everything that lives. It is not altogether clear if this perspective emerged from the innerbiblical discourse about God's רוח , or if it could also be the result of an encounter with the kind of natural philosophy that developed in Presocratic and then classical Greek schools of thought.