Dear Listers,
A student in my daughter's sixth grade class recently asked whether the idol worshippers really believed that the stone or wooden idols actually were gods, as Psalms seems to imply. She seemed to think that obviously these graven images represented gods or goddesses (like the Ramban's understanding of the Golden Calf as a representative for Hashem). What are the traditional approaches on this matter? What do the academic biblical scholars say? How is this taught in school?
Thanks in advance,
Meshulam
Meshulam Gotlieb, MA
Academic Translator and English-Language Editor
Member of the Israel Translators Association
www.MGtransed.com
