ABSTRACT
Milton's presentation of God and Heaven is poetically convincing if various Hebraic elements in the books describing Heaven are closely examined. Hebraic allusions convey the religious and moral justification of God in council and in war and provide the conceptual link between the various scenes in Heaven. The counterpoise of justice and mercy in the dialogue between God and the Son is expressed through verbal echoes from the dialogues of Abraham and Moses with their God. Milton's ironic use of Psalm ii and other Old Testament references enhances the liveliness and dramatic power of the council scene in Book V, and his use of Hebraic figures like the Son's chariot and the angel Abdiel expresses the poet's conception of the war between the heavenly host and the rebel angels in Book VI as a battle in which spirit overcomes force.
