Epigraphic discoveries, such as the mention of “YHWH and his Asherah” in
the sites of Kuntillet Ajrud and Khirbet el Qom (dated to the ninth and eighth
centuries BC), challenged the idea of a monotheistic religion in Israel in the
monarchic period.22 A comparison of archaeological remains from the whole
Southern Levant confirmed that the religion of ancient Israel did not substantially
differ from that of its neighbors (Edom, Moab, Ammon, the Phoenicians,
and the Philistines) until the end of the monarchic period.
This new book is very well written on very detailed archaeological research.
YHWH and the Origins of Ancient Israel - Insights from the Archaeological Record
2023, Cambridge University Press
The Divine Council of Yahweh makes his monotheism problematic!!
The divine council is mentioned in the Book ofby 130 BCE the Romans accused the Jews of ....a cult of Jupiter/Yahweh/Dionysus
Job (Job 1:6–12). Proverbs, another late opus, includes explicit references to a
female divine being, an Asherah-like goddess personifying Wisdom and present
beside YHWH at the early time of creation (Prov 8:22–31). Malachi, the
last prophetic book, includes an oracle far from any “mature” form of monotheism:
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And
the lord (hāʾa ̄dȏn) whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; And the messenger
of the covenant (ûmal ʾak̄ habe˘rît) in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says
YHWH Sebaoth” (Mal 3:1).49 This verse does not only introduce the figure of
the divine emissary of YHWH, it even claims that this secondary divine being
is worshipped by the Israelites, and it even considers the Jerusalem temple as
his dominion. Finally, Daniel, one of the latest books, is also the source where
divine beings others than YHWH have the highest importance in the Bible.
The multiplicity of divine beings, a so-called primitive character, extends
to postbiblical compositions.
But the Romans did not expel the Jews for propagating theIf Yahweh is Dionysus that makes Jesus the equivalent of Apollo/Pythagoras! Especially fitting due to the metallurgy origins of Pythagoreanism and Yahwism.
cult of YHWH, as expected. Rather, they charged them with “infecting”
the Roman customs with the cult of Jupiter-Sabazius, a Thracian version of
Dionysus.77 The appellation mixing Jupiter with Sabazius confirms that the
subversive god promoted by the Jews was not a minor Thracian deity, but a
god acknowledged for his highest status, as YHWH was in Israel.
This identification of YHWH with Sabazius is so incompatible with the
current classification of Judaism as monotheistic that it was interpreted as a
scribal error.78 Alternatively, scholars suggested that Sabazius here designates
not the Thracian Dionysus, but rather YHWH’s attribute Sebaoth.79 However,
these explanations ignore the existence of a Thracian sect identifying YHWH
with Dionysus, and mixing Jews and Pagans.80 They also ignore the parallel
between YHWH and Dionysus stressed by Plutarch,81 a priest of Apollo well
initiated in mystery cults, and well informed about the Jewish religion.82 This
is why the claim of homology between YHWH and Dionysus should be considered
reliable. Many parallels between the two deities confirm it.8
The metallurgical background of ancient Yahwism is a fittingVery fascinating.
example of how reexamining past assumptions can produce fresh and
previously ignored dimensions within old debates.87 Suggesting that the god
of Israel was formerly the esoteric deity of the Canaanite guild of metallurgists
challenges our current representations of the ancient Yahwism.
Julius Lewy, for example, assumed that "[t]he Kenites and related tribes worshipped Yahu or YHWH but they did not know the origin of that worship and so they attributed it to their ancestor Cain, the first smith or hammerer. The Israelites who roamed the deserts, lying between Egypt and Edom, learned the name of this fire-and-storm-god and adapted their
worship to their own socio-economic conditions and religio-cultural traditions."91
Postulating that the Qenites ignored the origin of YHWH is surprising,
however. The metalworkers were known in antiquity and in traditional societies
for the conservatism of their traditions and beliefs.92 Furthermore, being
highly specialized artisans, we expect their main deity to be closely related to
their craft. Finally, the taboo on agriculture among the Qenites (identifiable
in Gen 4:11–14 and in Jer 35:8–10) renders unlikely the “transformation” of
a storm-god into their patron deity.
The first part (Chapters 1–4) explores the historical context of
the emergence of Israel, identified here as a part of a global movement
of emancipation from the authority of foreign powers in the Southern
Levant. This section also shows how the renewal of the copper industry
from the Arabah fueled this movement and contributed to its success. This
contextualization may explain why YHWH became so famous: This god
formerly sponsored the production of copper in the Southern Levant, a
reality exposed in the second part (Chapters 5–6). This singularity of the
former figure of YHWH will help us, in the third part (Chapters 7–9), to
reinterpret the nature of the early theology of Israel, and to clarify what
distinguished it from all the other South Levantine nations participating in
this movement of emancipation.
This completely mirrors the development of Islam as the teaching of metallurgy by the Jews to the Arabs...
Asherah, the Divine Mediator
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