Pharos Journal of Theology ISSN 1018-9556 Volume 97 - (2016) Copyright: ©2016 - Open Access- Online @ http//: www.pharosjot.com 1 Essentialist and non-essentialist philosophical perspectives on the question “What is an ʭהיʬא? Professor Jaco Gericke North-West University (Vaal Campus) Faculty of Humanities School of Basic Sciences Theology and Philosophy Email: 21609268@nwu.ac.za Phone: 072 024 7134 Abstract In Old Testament scholarship, a number of studies have attempted to answer in their own way the question of what an ʭ יʤʬ א(a god in the generic sense) was assumed to be. This discussion is indirectly related to an older theme in OT theology, namely the “essence” of Yhwh’s divinity in particular contexts. Whereas the relevant research has thus far only involved linguistic, literary, historical, comparative and theological approaches aimed at providing answers, none has paid closer attention to what exactly is meant by a question of the form “What is X?” itself. The originality and contribution of this study lies with its exclusive descriptive and meta-theoretical philosophical concern with the multiplicity of ways in which concepts of whatness and essence can be interpreted in relation to the concept of generic ʭ יʤʬ אas common noun in the Old Testament. The aim is to provide a prolegomenon for future theory in service of a more nuanced manner of speaking. Abstrak In Ou Testamentiese navorsing het bestaan daar studies wat elke op eie wyse poog om die vraag oor wat n ʬ אʭ יʤ (n “god” in die generiese sin) is te beantwoord. Die betrokke akademiese gesprek hou indirek verband met n ouer tema in Ou Testamentiese teologie, naamlik rondom die essensie van Jhwh se goddelikheid in spesifieke kontekste. Waar die relevante navorsing tans beperk is tot linguistiese, historiese, komparatiewe en teologiese perspektiewe (wat almal poog om dit te antwoord), blyk daar skynbaar min belangstelling te wees in wat hoegenaamd bedoel word met n vraag van die vorm “Wat is X?” Die oorspronklikheid van die huidige bydrae bestaan in die eksklusief deskriptiewe en meta-teoretiese filosofiese fokus op die veelvoud van wyses waarop die konsepte van wat-heid en essensie geinterpreteer kan word in relasie tot die konsep van generiese godheid in die Ou Testament. Die doel is daarvan is om n prolegomenon vir toekomstige teorie daar te stel ter wille van n meer genuanseerde meta-taal. Keywords: Old Testament, philosophical perspectives, generic ʭ יʤʬא, questions, whatness, essence, meta-theory