Why Michael? Or Clark Kent Revisited
- Michael Jay Tucker's explosive-cargo
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Okay, last time I was talking about Michael The Archangel. I noted that while he is a major figure in all the Abrahamic religions -- Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc. -- he was a surprisingly late entry in the game. According to scholars, he only appeared sometime between the years 200 to 100 BC.
But, I said, I *personally* think he’s older than that. Waaay Older. And now I’m going to explain why.
First, as I said before, I’m no Biblical scholar, and you ought to take everything I’m about to say with a grain of salt. But I *do* know how stories work.
And a major story, told time and time and time again, in every culture, is that of the Defender. There seems to be a deep human need for a character, in fiction and reality, who is a superhuman protector. We just seem to need someone who will, well, beat the crap out of our enemies.
But, more, the Defender has a second function. If he, or she, is merciless toward our foe, then they are gentle and kind, even tender, to us.
About the picture: This is the painting “Saint Michael Vanquishing the Devil.” It is believed to be by the 15th century Valencian painter Gonzalo Pérez. It is currently at the Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art (Modern One) and can be seen at https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/5268
I found this image on Wikipedia and am informed that it is considered to be in the public domain. See here for more: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Michael_Vanquishing_the_Devil.jpg
The Defender appears in every culture. No exceptions. There is not a single mythology, folkloric tradition, or body of literature that doesn’t include one or many such. The Ancient Greeks had Hercules. Classical China boasted Guan Yu and Nezha. India offers us Hanuman (a monkey king, btw) and Arjuna. The Yoruba people of Sub-Saharan Africa have Babalú Ayé and Oshun. Here in the West, we have Superman, as well as a host of other Caped Crusaders.
Oh, and as an aside, such characters appear particularly when a society is in stress. It was no accident that Clark Kent took off his glasses and became the man of steel in the midst of the Depression.
And, I’m certain, the peoples of Ancient Israel, and their neighbors all around them in the land of Canaan, were no different. I’m sure that they had their share of heroes, defenders, protectors, and Clark Kents.
Who better to play that role in Ancient Israel than...Michael?
But if that’s the case? Where is he? How come he’s not mentioned in the earlier books of the Bible? Why doesn’t he lend a hand while Moses is trying to get out of Egypt? Where is he when David is going toe to toe with Goliath?
Well...to explain Michael’s absence, I think we need to go all the way back to the origins of Israel and its religion.
That’s going to be hard...because we really don’t know a lot about where Israel came from. We have what the Bible tells us, but that’s only one text and, let’s face facts, it’s been edited, re-written, and re-re-written so many times that we’re not sure what’s real and what isn’t.
As for scholars, I’m told that they’re pretty sure that the country and culture we call Ancient Israel appeared at the end of the Bronze Age, or, about the year 1200 BC. There was at that time a wide-spread societal collapse. Almost all the great civilizations of the time -- Egypt, Mycenaean Greece, the Hittite Empire -- vanished or withdrew deep within their borders.
Why? No one knows. I’ve heard various explanations. Barbarian invasions. Environmental change. New forms of military technology which rendered the then dominant form of warfare, the Chariot, obsolete. Who knows?
But, after it was all done, civilization slowly came back with the start of the Iron Age. Out of the chaos and confusion, new states and civilizations appeared.
One of these, in Canaan, was Israel...and its people already worshipped a God named Yahweh.
Albeit, not quite the Yahweh we know.
And they gave him glory, laud, and honor...
In ways that might seem very strange to us.
More to come.
Copyright©2026 Michael Jay Tucker
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