Yahweh (/ˈjɑːhweɪ/, or often /ˈjɑːweɪ/ in English; Hebrew: יהוה), was the national god of the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The name may have originated as an epithet of the god El, head of the Bronze Age Canaanite pantheon (El who is present, who makes himself manifest),[1]:94–95 and appears to have been unique to Israel and Judah,[2]:184 although Yahweh may have been worshiped south of the Dead Sea at least three centuries before the emergence of Israel (the Kenite hypothesis). The earliest reference to a deity called Yahweh appears in Egyptian texts of the 13th century BC that place him among the Shasu-Bedu of southern Transjordan.[3] In the oldest biblical literature (12th–11th centuries BC), Yahweh is a typical ancient Near Eastern divine warrior who leads the heavenly army against Israels enemies; he and Israel are bound by a covenant under which Yahweh will protect Israel and, in turn, Israel will not worship other gods.[4]:158–159 At a later period, Yahweh functioned as the dynastic cult (the god of the royal house)[5]:69–70 with the royal courts promoting him as the supreme god over all others in the pantheon (notably Baal, El, and Asherah (who is thought by some scholars to have been his consort)).[6][7]:917 Over time, Yahwism became increasingly intolerant of rivals, and the royal court and temple promoted Yahweh as the god of the entire cosmos, possessing all the positive qualities previously attributed to the other gods and goddesses.[5]:69–70 [7]:917 With the work of Second Isaiah (the theoretical author of the second part of the Book of Isaiah) towards the end of the Babylonian exile (6th century BC), the very existence of foreign gods was denied, and Yahweh was proclaimed as the creator of the cosmos and the true god of all the world.[7]:917 By early post-biblical times, the name of Yahweh had ceased to be pronounced. In modern Judaism, it is replaced with the word Adonai, meaning Lord, and is understood to be Gods proper name and to denote his mercy.[8] Many Christian Bibles follow the Jewish custom and replace it with the LORD. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 02:58:10 +0000
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