Symbolic Binary of Light and Dark

We see several parallels between “The Hymn to the Aten” and Psalm 104 including natural imagery and extended nature metaphor, attributing life to God and physical blazon of his characteristics. There is direct connection between the physical realm we inhabit here on earth that spiritual beings like YHWH and Aten intervene in according to these texts. The two spiritual entities are explained as solar beings bathed in light who control day and night. In the hymn, Aten’s body is like “rays embrace the lands as far as everything you have made” (W.K.S 1:2). YHWH is described as being “wrapped in light like a cloak stretching out heavens like a tent cloth” (Alter 104:2) The concept of God controlling the cosmos, day and night imagery is something I find very interesting as a focal point of similarity between the two.

Light and darkness have many connotations beyond their standard dictionary definitions. Light in Plato’s writings symbolically represented truth or the illuminating effects of truth while darkness was confusion and seclusion. In modern American literature, light symbolized purity and death while darkness stood for fecundity and life. If I were to effectively describe the relationship between Psalm 104 and “The Hymn to the Aten” it would be the general framework of a binary system of symbols of light and dark. These types of binary systems have been used in our understanding of the world throughout history and work particularly well in these songs to praise, acknowledge the good works of and admire and fear god like figures YHWH and Aten.

By recognizing the balance of forces in YHWH and Aten’s power (i.e. Light and darkness) the speakers attribute the order of the universe to the god figures power. They nourish the earth and all living things there and allow life to take its course. This is a good example of the Geertz definition of religion in action. By creating this binary symbolic system, these psalms make sense of life with an air of factuality by linking observable knowledge about the earth with spiritual explanation for the delicate balance of life giving forces.