Exploring the Origins of Jehovah
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The name Yahweh appears to not even be Hebrew name at all - A. S. Holub (The Gospel Truth)
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Son of the Goddess
Yahweh (whose first pictorial likeness was of a god with serpent legs), is herown son turned father - Baring & Cashford (The Myth of the Goddess)
Israelites Baffled
Analysis of the Old Testament confirms that the Patriarchs did not know God by the name or characteristics that were later revealed to Moses – Prof. Robert Feather - (The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran)
Yahweh as Creator
We do not know whether Yahweh was conceived of as a creator god from the beginning or not - John Day (Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan)
El Shaddai
Several of the El epithets referred to in Genesis in connection with patriarchal religion do indeed derive from the worship of the Canaanite god El (El-Shaddai, El-Olam, El-Bethel, and possibly El-Elyon).
Eventually, of course, the name El simply became a general word for 'God' in the Old Testament, and so it is found many times - Day
Features belonging to deities such as El, Asherah, and Baal were absorbed into the Yahwistic religion of Israel - Mark Smith
Israelites & Canaanites
The study of Canaanite deities in connection with Yahweh was inspired largely by the discovery of numerous ancient texts in the Levant, especially the many Ugaritic tablets discovered since 1929 at Ras Shamra on the coast of Syria. The Ugaritic texts, dating to the second half of the second millennium B.C., have provided extensive information about the religion of the Canaanites, the neighbors of Israel whom legal and prophetic texts in the Bible roundly condemn - Mark Smith
Thanks to the Ugaritic texts, scholars finally have a native Canaanite source to help reconstruct the relationship between Canaanite and Israelite religion - ibid
Despite the long regnant model that the “Canaanites” and Israelites were people of fundamentally different culture, archaeological data now cast doubt on this view. The material culture of the region exhibits numerous common points between the Israelites and “Canaanites” in the Iron I period (ca. 1200-1000) - ibid
The record would suggest that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with, and derived from, “Canaanite” culture - ibid
Canaanite Origin of EL
The Ugaritic mythological texts largely feature the deities El, the aged and kindly patriarch of the pantheon; his consort and queen mother of the divine family, Asherah; the young storm-god and divine warrior, Baal; his sister, Anat, likewise a martial deity, and finally, the solar deity - Smith
...indications are given that various occurrences of the name El in the patriarchal narratives are a reflection of Canaanite El religion - Day
...there is evidence that the dwelling place of the supreme Canaanite god El was located at the source of the river Euphrates - Day
The Patronym Israel
In favour of a pre-monarchic El religion among the Hebrews one may first of all note the very name Israel, meaning probably 'El will rule' - Smith
Rarity of Yahwistic Names
...theophoric personal names including the name 'el are very common, whereas explicitly Yahwistic personal names are very rare (apart from Joshua only five from the Judges period). art from Joshua only five from the Judges period) - John Day (Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan)
Conflation
Israelite monolatry developed through conflict and compromise between the cults of Yahweh and other deities - Smith
Israelite literature incorporated incorporated some of the characteristics of other deities into the divine personage of Yahweh...Numerous features of early Israelite cult were later rejected as “Canaanite” and non-Yahwistic - ibid
Baal, the symbol of the asherah, and solar imagery are seen as subject to modification to the cult of Yahweh; varying degrees of convergence or assimilation to the cult of Yahweh can be discerned - ibid
El and Yahweh were originally separate deities who became equated - Day
...there are occasions on which the Old Testament has appropriated El language when it speaks of Yahweh as creator - Day
In Ezekiel 28, as elsewhere in the Old Testament, El is equated with Yahweh himself - Day
In my opinion it is probable that it was from the god El that the notion of Yahweh's wisdom was appropriated. Plausibility is added to this view by the fact that wisdom and old age were traditionally associated, and, as noted already, it was from the god El that the notion of Yahweh as an aged deity with many years was derived - Day
Garden of Eden
El traditions lie behind the notion of the garden of Eden - Day
...it would appear that El traditions could lie behind the garden of Eden story. This conclusion conclusion is further borne out by the Genesis 2-3 narrative, which, as will be seen below, places the garden of Eden/garden of God precisely where Canaanite myth located El's dwelling - Day
The thesis I shall defend, therefore, is that the garden of Eden—or garden of God, as it is sometimes called—derives from the dwelling place of El - Day
God of Mountains
The most likely interpretation of the divine name El Shaddai is 'El, the mountain one', with reference to El's dwelling place on a mountain - Day
El in the Ugaritic texts dwells on a mountain at the source of the rivers. There is a reference to the waters in the first oracle, but no mountain; it is the second oracle that refers to the mountain of God (Ezek. 28.14, 16) - Day
...there is a reference to the watery nature of the divine dwelling in Ezek 28.2 - Day
High places and practices pertaining to the dead, originally part of ancient Israel’s heritage, were criticized as non-Yahwistic - Smith
Origin of the Angels
Just as an earthly king is supported by a body of courtiers, so Yahweh has a heavenly court. Originally, these were gods, but as monotheism became absolute, so these were demoted to the status of angels - Day
Shaddayyin
References to the Shaddayyin allude to the company of Shaddai, the gods of Shaddai, or assembly of Shaddai, who gather on Shaddai's mountain; "the Mountain Ones" - Mtsar
God of Destruction
...but it is widely accepted that this is a later misunderstanding, possibly arising through association with Hebrew Sdd 'to destroy.' (Here for more...)
El & Asherah
Israelite religion apparently included worship of Yahweh, El, Asherah, and Baal - Mark Smith
With the change in perspective concerning Israel’s “Canaanite” background, long-held notions about Israelite religion are slowly eroding. Baal and Asherah were part of Israel’s “Canaanite” heritage, and the process of the emergence of Israelite monolatry was an issue of Israel’s breaking with its own “Canaanite” past and not simply one of avoiding “Canaanite” neighbors - ibid
...that an epithet resembling 'el-Sadday, namely, bel fade 'lord of the mountain' is employed of the Amorite deity called Amurru; judging from such facts as that this deity is also called Ilu-Amurru and has a liaison with Asratum, the counterpart of Athirat (Asherah), El's consort - ibid
Anat
...the martial imagery associated with the goddess Anat was assimilated to Yahweh, although the goddess herself makes no appearance in Israelite texts; in this case, convergence of imagery is indicated - Smith
Israel's Uniqueness
It was Israel’s monolatry that led to the monotheism just before and during the Exile (587-539), when Israel explicitly denied the power of all other deities. Whatever influence other deities manifested in ancient, monolatrous Israel, scholars often considered them syncretistic, peripheral, ephemeral, or part of Israel’s “popular religion” and not its “official religion.” Israel was essentially monolatrous despite the threat other deities presented - Smith
Goddess Worship & Child Sacrifice
...Ugaritic ritual texts indicate this goddess was venerated at ancient Ugarit. Similarly, although Tannit was the most popular goddess in the Punic west - Smith
Many scholars have considered the references to the asherah in these inscriptions as evidence of Asherah as an Israelite goddess. The excavations at Carthage have transformed scholarly understanding of child sacrifice in Phoenician and Israelite religion. The recently discovered iconography from Pozo Moro in Spain perhaps provides provides depictions of the Punic cult of child sacrifice - ibid
Yahweh (whose first pictorial likeness was of a god with serpent legs), is herown son turned father - Baring & Cashford (The Myth of the Goddess)
Israelites Baffled
Analysis of the Old Testament confirms that the Patriarchs did not know God by the name or characteristics that were later revealed to Moses – Prof. Robert Feather - (The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran)
Yahweh as Creator
We do not know whether Yahweh was conceived of as a creator god from the beginning or not - John Day (Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan)
- Note: The name Jehovah is derived from Yahweh, the letter "J" not being invented until much later in history. Yahweh can also be rendered Yah, Yahveh, Yahve, Yaweh, Yehew, Yahu, Yahoo, etc. As I show elsewhere, the name originally derives from Aryan tree worship, the first letter coming from the Irish "I" (Iodh) signifying the phallic god and sacred yew tree. The Grecian rendition was probably Jove, a variant of Rome's chief deity Jupiter. Another antetype might have been the Egyptian Io, better known as Horus the Younger (the Alexandrian Harpocrates) - Mtsar
El Shaddai
Several of the El epithets referred to in Genesis in connection with patriarchal religion do indeed derive from the worship of the Canaanite god El (El-Shaddai, El-Olam, El-Bethel, and possibly El-Elyon).
- Note: Who in turn derives from the Egyptian Set or Seth, a pre-Israelite god known outside Egypt as El Shaddai. The name can also be rendered Sad, Sada, Sadi, etc. He was an astronomical deity, which is why stars are said to "set" on the horizon at nightfall. The name can also be rendered Sutekh and Sith. This god was transmogrified into the Roman Saturn. He was later absurdly confused with the ringed planet of that name. Originally, Set was the lord of the southern hemisphere and southern polar region. He later appears as the Islamic Allah. The ancients had no problem conflating Set and Horus. Many images depicts the two deities as a singularity. (Here for more...)
Eventually, of course, the name El simply became a general word for 'God' in the Old Testament, and so it is found many times - Day
Features belonging to deities such as El, Asherah, and Baal were absorbed into the Yahwistic religion of Israel - Mark Smith
Israelites & Canaanites
The study of Canaanite deities in connection with Yahweh was inspired largely by the discovery of numerous ancient texts in the Levant, especially the many Ugaritic tablets discovered since 1929 at Ras Shamra on the coast of Syria. The Ugaritic texts, dating to the second half of the second millennium B.C., have provided extensive information about the religion of the Canaanites, the neighbors of Israel whom legal and prophetic texts in the Bible roundly condemn - Mark Smith
Thanks to the Ugaritic texts, scholars finally have a native Canaanite source to help reconstruct the relationship between Canaanite and Israelite religion - ibid
Despite the long regnant model that the “Canaanites” and Israelites were people of fundamentally different culture, archaeological data now cast doubt on this view. The material culture of the region exhibits numerous common points between the Israelites and “Canaanites” in the Iron I period (ca. 1200-1000) - ibid
The record would suggest that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with, and derived from, “Canaanite” culture - ibid
Canaanite Origin of EL
The Ugaritic mythological texts largely feature the deities El, the aged and kindly patriarch of the pantheon; his consort and queen mother of the divine family, Asherah; the young storm-god and divine warrior, Baal; his sister, Anat, likewise a martial deity, and finally, the solar deity - Smith
...indications are given that various occurrences of the name El in the patriarchal narratives are a reflection of Canaanite El religion - Day
...there is evidence that the dwelling place of the supreme Canaanite god El was located at the source of the river Euphrates - Day
The Patronym Israel
In favour of a pre-monarchic El religion among the Hebrews one may first of all note the very name Israel, meaning probably 'El will rule' - Smith
- Scholars still reinforce this by citing the Mernenptah Stele which allegedly features the earliest reference to Israel and Israelites. Recent research devastates this contention, showing that the brief reference was at least based on a misinterpretation, at worst a deliberate forgery. (Here for more...)
Rarity of Yahwistic Names
...theophoric personal names including the name 'el are very common, whereas explicitly Yahwistic personal names are very rare (apart from Joshua only five from the Judges period). art from Joshua only five from the Judges period) - John Day (Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan)
Conflation
Israelite monolatry developed through conflict and compromise between the cults of Yahweh and other deities - Smith
Israelite literature incorporated incorporated some of the characteristics of other deities into the divine personage of Yahweh...Numerous features of early Israelite cult were later rejected as “Canaanite” and non-Yahwistic - ibid
Baal, the symbol of the asherah, and solar imagery are seen as subject to modification to the cult of Yahweh; varying degrees of convergence or assimilation to the cult of Yahweh can be discerned - ibid
El and Yahweh were originally separate deities who became equated - Day
...there are occasions on which the Old Testament has appropriated El language when it speaks of Yahweh as creator - Day
In Ezekiel 28, as elsewhere in the Old Testament, El is equated with Yahweh himself - Day
- Npte: El was frequently depicted as an aged deity. This was adopted and transposed to descriptions of Yahweh. He became the wise old God, the "Ancient of Days" - Mtsar
- Note: This conflation had its precedents. The Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians and Egyptians habitually embellished the character of their chief national gods (Marduk, Assur, Mithras, Amon Ra, etc) with the traits of other minor deities.
In my opinion it is probable that it was from the god El that the notion of Yahweh's wisdom was appropriated. Plausibility is added to this view by the fact that wisdom and old age were traditionally associated, and, as noted already, it was from the god El that the notion of Yahweh as an aged deity with many years was derived - Day
Garden of Eden
El traditions lie behind the notion of the garden of Eden - Day
...it would appear that El traditions could lie behind the garden of Eden story. This conclusion conclusion is further borne out by the Genesis 2-3 narrative, which, as will be seen below, places the garden of Eden/garden of God precisely where Canaanite myth located El's dwelling - Day
The thesis I shall defend, therefore, is that the garden of Eden—or garden of God, as it is sometimes called—derives from the dwelling place of El - Day
- Note: Author Gary Greenberg might disagree. Like Gerald Massey, Albert Churchward and other scholars, for Greenberg, most Judeo-Christian motifs derive straight from Egypt, including the Garden of Eden. (Here for more...)
God of Mountains
The most likely interpretation of the divine name El Shaddai is 'El, the mountain one', with reference to El's dwelling place on a mountain - Day
El in the Ugaritic texts dwells on a mountain at the source of the rivers. There is a reference to the waters in the first oracle, but no mountain; it is the second oracle that refers to the mountain of God (Ezek. 28.14, 16) - Day
...there is a reference to the watery nature of the divine dwelling in Ezek 28.2 - Day
High places and practices pertaining to the dead, originally part of ancient Israel’s heritage, were criticized as non-Yahwistic - Smith
- Note: The motif of the "high place" resumes in the New Testament, where we find the Mount of Olives, Skull Hill or Golgotha, and Sermon on the Mount, etc - Mtsar
Origin of the Angels
Just as an earthly king is supported by a body of courtiers, so Yahweh has a heavenly court. Originally, these were gods, but as monotheism became absolute, so these were demoted to the status of angels - Day
Shaddayyin
References to the Shaddayyin allude to the company of Shaddai, the gods of Shaddai, or assembly of Shaddai, who gather on Shaddai's mountain; "the Mountain Ones" - Mtsar
- Note: May explain the symbol of the capstone and pyramid on the US one-dollar note, and motto above the eagle - E Plubus Unum, "from the many, one," a direct reference to Set or El Shaddai.
God of Destruction
...but it is widely accepted that this is a later misunderstanding, possibly arising through association with Hebrew Sdd 'to destroy.' (Here for more...)
El & Asherah
Israelite religion apparently included worship of Yahweh, El, Asherah, and Baal - Mark Smith
With the change in perspective concerning Israel’s “Canaanite” background, long-held notions about Israelite religion are slowly eroding. Baal and Asherah were part of Israel’s “Canaanite” heritage, and the process of the emergence of Israelite monolatry was an issue of Israel’s breaking with its own “Canaanite” past and not simply one of avoiding “Canaanite” neighbors - ibid
...that an epithet resembling 'el-Sadday, namely, bel fade 'lord of the mountain' is employed of the Amorite deity called Amurru; judging from such facts as that this deity is also called Ilu-Amurru and has a liaison with Asratum, the counterpart of Athirat (Asherah), El's consort - ibid
Anat
...the martial imagery associated with the goddess Anat was assimilated to Yahweh, although the goddess herself makes no appearance in Israelite texts; in this case, convergence of imagery is indicated - Smith
Israel's Uniqueness
It was Israel’s monolatry that led to the monotheism just before and during the Exile (587-539), when Israel explicitly denied the power of all other deities. Whatever influence other deities manifested in ancient, monolatrous Israel, scholars often considered them syncretistic, peripheral, ephemeral, or part of Israel’s “popular religion” and not its “official religion.” Israel was essentially monolatrous despite the threat other deities presented - Smith
Goddess Worship & Child Sacrifice
...Ugaritic ritual texts indicate this goddess was venerated at ancient Ugarit. Similarly, although Tannit was the most popular goddess in the Punic west - Smith
Many scholars have considered the references to the asherah in these inscriptions as evidence of Asherah as an Israelite goddess. The excavations at Carthage have transformed scholarly understanding of child sacrifice in Phoenician and Israelite religion. The recently discovered iconography from Pozo Moro in Spain perhaps provides provides depictions of the Punic cult of child sacrifice - ibid
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El as the great bull god. The animal represented El's strength - El the "Mighty One". The motif was probably Canaanite. Recent discoveries and research reveals that the Israelites were closely linked with the Canaanites, the two groups may originally have been one and the same. Although Yahweh was based on El, the Old Testament scribes decided not to incorporate aspects of Canaanite imagery into his personality. Yahweh was depicted a god of mountains, deserts, fire, volcanoes, violence, war and so on, but not as a bull god, the exception being the Golden Calf scene at Mt. Sinai. See Exodus 32:4, and also 1 Kings 12.26-30. Traditionally, biblical scholars accepted the bull theomorph as deriving solely from Egypt. It is now thought to be Canaanite. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that the words bull, Bel and Ba'al are so similar. (See images of Baal Adad as bull god.) In any case images of bulls were supposedly featured on the walls of the original Temple of Solomon. Although the Old Testament writers denied it, the symbolism of the bull deity was incorporated into that of Yahweh, who was largely based on El.
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The goddess Anat. Egyptians and Canaanites worshiped her as a war goddess. Her traits were fused by the Israelites into their Yahweh, a composite deity. Related goddesses include Neith, Tanit, Ishtar, Athene, Minerva. In the form or Minerva or Pallas Athene, she is the original "Spear Shaker" (Shakespeare).
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Yahweh & Asherah
we may clearly speak of a close relationship not only between Yahweh and the Asherah cult object but between Yahweh and the goddess Asherah - John Day (Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan)
Asherah was the consort of El and that the Old Testament equates Yahweh and El - ibid
Yahweh's appropriation of El's consort, Asherah, fits naturally into this schema, and like the bull symbolism, this was something which the Old Testament rejected - ibid
Egyptian Influence
The grouping of gods into a ‘trinity’ was not evident in other religions, such as those in Syria. Thus when Syrian goddesses were adopted into Egyptian theology, they were combined as a ‘trinity’ of Kadesh, Astarte and Anath - Robert Feather (The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran)
Egyptian Gods
Analysis of the Old Testament confirms that the Patriarchs did not know God by the name or characteristics that were later revealed to Moses - Robert Feather
Genesis 14:18
Abram and Melchizedek’s phraseology is, in fact, typical of that used in Egypt for the Supreme Deity - Robert Feather
Judaism & Atonism
I believe that Akhenaten’s legacy of monotheism had a much more profound influence on the Hebrews than has previously been admitted or realized. It is significant to note that the main fundamental tenets of Judaism are identical with those of Akhenatenism - Robert Feather
The Pentateuch makes no mention of any kind of separate world or afterlife and has no terminology for such a state. The idea of a ‘life to come’ was a much later concept, introduced by prophets such as Isaiah, Daniel and Ezekiel - ibid
Many of Akhenaten’s teachings and ideas can be identified in the Old Testament and in Jewish beliefs and practices and, to a lesser extent, in Christian, Muslim and other world religions - ibid
we may clearly speak of a close relationship not only between Yahweh and the Asherah cult object but between Yahweh and the goddess Asherah - John Day (Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan)
Asherah was the consort of El and that the Old Testament equates Yahweh and El - ibid
Yahweh's appropriation of El's consort, Asherah, fits naturally into this schema, and like the bull symbolism, this was something which the Old Testament rejected - ibid
Egyptian Influence
The grouping of gods into a ‘trinity’ was not evident in other religions, such as those in Syria. Thus when Syrian goddesses were adopted into Egyptian theology, they were combined as a ‘trinity’ of Kadesh, Astarte and Anath - Robert Feather (The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran)
Egyptian Gods
Analysis of the Old Testament confirms that the Patriarchs did not know God by the name or characteristics that were later revealed to Moses - Robert Feather
Genesis 14:18
Abram and Melchizedek’s phraseology is, in fact, typical of that used in Egypt for the Supreme Deity - Robert Feather
Judaism & Atonism
I believe that Akhenaten’s legacy of monotheism had a much more profound influence on the Hebrews than has previously been admitted or realized. It is significant to note that the main fundamental tenets of Judaism are identical with those of Akhenatenism - Robert Feather
The Pentateuch makes no mention of any kind of separate world or afterlife and has no terminology for such a state. The idea of a ‘life to come’ was a much later concept, introduced by prophets such as Isaiah, Daniel and Ezekiel - ibid
Many of Akhenaten’s teachings and ideas can be identified in the Old Testament and in Jewish beliefs and practices and, to a lesser extent, in Christian, Muslim and other world religions - ibid