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PreviewAdvancedSpecial charactersHelpHeadingLevel 2Level 3Level 4Level 5FormatInsertLatinLatin extendedIPASymbolsGreekGreek extendedCyrillicArabicArabic extendedHebrewBanglaTamilTeluguSinhalaDevanagariGujaratiThaiLaoKhmerCanadian AboriginalRunesÁáÀàÂâÄäÃãǍǎĀāĂ㥹ÅåĆćĈĉÇçČčĊċĐđĎďÉéÈèÊêËëĚěĒēĔĕĖėĘęĜĝĢģĞğĠġĤĥĦħÍíÌìÎîÏïĨĩǏǐĪīĬĭİıĮįĴĵĶķĹĺĻļĽľŁłŃńÑñŅņŇňÓóÒòÔôÖöÕõǑǒŌōŎŏǪǫŐőŔŕŖŗŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠšȘșȚțŤťÚúÙùÛûÜüŨũŮůǓǔŪūǖǘǚǜŬŭŲųŰűŴŵÝýŶŷŸÿȲȳŹźŽžŻżÆæǢǣØøŒœßÐðÞþƏəFormattingLinksHeadingsListsFilesDiscussionReferencesDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getItalic''Italic text''Italic textBold'''Bold text'''Bold textBold & italic'''''Bold & italic text'''''Bold & italic textDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getReferencePage text.<ref>[https://www.example.org/ Link text], additional text.</ref>Page text.[1]Named referencePage text.<ref name="test">[https://www.example.org/ Link text]</ref>Page text.[2]Additional use of the same referencePage text.<ref name="test" />Page text.[2]Display references<references />↑ Link text, additional text.↑ Link text====Levantine==== [[File:Zeus Yahweh.jpg|thumb|A 4th century BC [[Yehud coinage|drachm]] (quarter [[shekel]]) coin from the [[Persia]]n province of [[Yehud Medinata]], possibly representing Yahweh seated on a winged and wheeled sun-throne]] {{main|Ancient Canaanite religion|Origins of Judaism|Ancient Semitic religion|Yahweh|Second Temple Judaism|History of ancient Israel and Judah}} The ancient [[Canaanites]] were polytheists who believed in a pantheon of deities,<ref name="Day">{{cite book|last=Day|first=John|date=2002|orig-year=2000|title=Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=2xadCgAAQBAJ}} |location=Sheffield, England|publisher=Sheffield Academic Press|isbn=978-0-8264-6830-7}}</ref><ref name="CooganSmith">{{cite book|last1 = Coogan|first1 = Michael D.|last2 = Smith|first2 = Mark S.|title = Stories from Ancient Canaan|publisher = Presbyterian Publishing Corp|year = 2012|url = {{google books |plainurl=y |id=G49SJI183IkC}}|isbn = 978-90-5356-503-2|page=8|edition = 2nd}}</ref><ref name="MarkSSmith2002">{{cite book|last = Smith|first = Mark S.|year = 2002|author-link = Mark S. Smith|title = The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel|publisher = Eerdmans|url = {{google books |plainurl=y |id=1yM3AuBh4AsC|page=28}}|edition = 2nd|isbn = 978-0-8028-3972-5}}</ref> the chief of whom was the god [[El (deity)|El]], who ruled alongside his consort [[Asherah]] and their [[Sons of God|seventy sons]].<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|22–24}}<ref name="CooganSmith"/><ref name="MarkSSmith2002"/> [[Baal]] was the god of storm, rain, vegetation and fertility,<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|68–127}} while his consort [[Anat]] was the goddess of war<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|131, 137–139}} and [[Astarte]], the [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]] equivalent to [[Ishtar]], was the goddess of love.<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|146–149}} The people of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdoms of Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]] originally believed in these deities,<ref name="Day"/><ref name="MarkSSmith2002"/><ref>{{cite book|last = Albertz|first = Rainer|title = A History of Israelite Religion, Volume I: From the Beginnings to the End of the Monarchy|publisher = Westminster John Knox|year = 1994|url = {{google books |plainurl=y |id=yvZUWbTftSgC|page=89}}|page=61|isbn = 978-0-664-22719-7}}</ref> alongside their own [[national god]] Yahweh.<ref>{{cite book|last = Miller|first = Patrick D|author-link = Patrick D. Miller|title = A History of Ancient Israel and Judah|publisher = Westminster John Knox Press|year = 1986|url = {{google books |plainurl=y |id=uDijjc_D5P0C|page=110}}|isbn = 978-0-664-21262-9|page=110}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last = Grabbe|first = Lester L. |title = An Introduction to Second Temple Judaism|publisher = A&C Black|year = 2010|url = {{google books |plainurl=y |id=i89-9fdNUcAC}}|isbn = 978-0-567-55248-8|page=184}}</ref> El later became [[syncretism|syncretized]] with [[Yahweh]], who took over El's role as the head of the pantheon,<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|13–17}} with Asherah as his divine consort<ref name="Niehr"/>{{rp|45}}<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|146}} and the "sons of El" as his offspring.<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|22–24}} During the later years of the [[Kingdom of Judah]], a [[Monolatry|monolatristic]] faction rose to power insisting that only Yahweh was fit to be worshipped by the people of Judah.<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|229–233}} Monolatry became enforced during the reforms of [[Josiah|King Josiah]] in 621 BCE.<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|229}} Finally, during the national crisis of the [[Babylonian captivity]], some [[Ioudaios|Judahites]] began to teach that deities aside from Yahweh were not just unfit to be worshipped, but did not exist.<ref>{{cite book|last = Betz|first = Arnold Gottfried|chapter = Monotheism|editor1-last = Freedman|editor1-first = David Noel|editor2-last = Myer|editor2-first = Allen C.|title = Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible|publisher = Eerdmans|year = 2000|chapter-url = {{google books |plainurl=y |id=qRtUqxkB7wkC|page=917=bible%20monotheism%20Betz}}|isbn = 978-90-5356-503-2|page=917}}</ref><ref name="Owen"/>{{rp|4}} The "sons of El" were demoted from deities to [[Angels in Judaism|angels]].<ref name="Day"/>{{rp|22}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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