Yahweh

{{Short description|Ancient Levantine deity}}
{{About|the ancient Levantine deity|the modern Judeo-Christian conception of Yahweh|God in Judaism|and|God in Christianity|and|God in Abrahamic religions|the name "YHWH" and its vocalization|Tetragrammaton|other uses}}
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[[File:Zeus Yahweh.jpg|thumb|alt=A coin showing a bearded figure seating on a winged wheel, holding a bird on his outstretched hand|A 4th-century BCE silver coin from the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persia]]n province of [[Yehud Medinata]], possibly representing Yahweh enthroned on a [[winged wheel]]{{sfn|Trotter|2002|p=153}}{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2021|pp=411–412, 742}}]]
{{Middle Eastern deities}}
'''Yahweh'''{{efn|name="name"|1={{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|ɑː|hw|eɪ}}, or often {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|ɑː|w|eɪ}} in English;  ‬𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]]; [[Tetragrammaton#Yahweh|reconstructed]] in {{lang-he|{{Script/Hebrew|*יַהְוֶה}}|label=block script}} *''Yahwe'', {{IPA-he|jahˈwe|}}}} was an ancient [[Levant]]ine deity, and [[national god]] of the [[Israelites|Israelite]] kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]].{{sfn|Miller|Hayes|1986|p=110}} Though no consensus exists regarding the deity's origins,{{sfn|Fleming|2020|p=3}} scholars generally contend that Yahweh is associated with [[Mount Seir|Seir]], [[Edom]], [[Desert of Paran|Paran]] and [[Teman (Edom)|Teman]],{{sfn|Smith|2017|p=42}} and later with [[Canaan]]. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early [[Iron Age]], and likely to the Late [[Bronze Age]], if not somewhat earlier.{{sfn|Miller|2000|p=1}}

In the oldest [[biblical]] literature, he possesses attributes typically ascribed to [[Weather god|weather]] and [[List of war deities|war deities]], fructifying the land and leading the [[Heavenly host#Tanakh|heavenly army]] against Israel's enemies.{{sfn|Hackett|2001|pp=158–59}} The early [[Israelites]] were polytheistic and worshipped Yahweh alongside a variety of [[Ancient Canaanite religion|Canaanite gods and goddesses]], including [[El (deity)|El]], [[Asherah]] and [[Baal]].{{sfn|Smith|2002|page=7}} In later centuries, [[El (deity)|El]] and Yahweh became conflated and El-linked epithets such as [[El Shaddai]] came to be applied to Yahweh alone,{{sfn|Smith|2002|pages=8, 33–34}} and other gods and goddesses such as [[Baal]] and [[Asherah]] were absorbed into [[Yahwism|Yahwist religion]].{{sfn|Smith|2002|pages=8, 135}}

Towards the end of the [[Babylonian captivity]], the existence of other gods was denied, and Yahweh was proclaimed the [[creator deity]] and [[Monotheism|sole divinity]] to be worshipped.{{sfn|Betz|2000|p=917}} During the [[Second Temple period]], speaking the name of Yahweh in public became regarded as [[taboo]],{{sfn|Leech|2002|pp=59–60}} and [[Jews]] instead began to substitute other words, primarily ''adonai'' ({{Script/Hebrew|אֲדֹנָי‬}}, "my Lords"). In Roman times, following the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|Siege of Jerusalem]] and destruction of its Temple, in {{CE|70|link=n}}, the original pronunciation of the god's name was forgotten entirely.{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}}

Yahweh is also invoked in [[Papyrus Amherst 63]], and in Jewish or Jewish-influenced Greco-Egyptian magical texts from the 1st to 5th century CE.{{sfn|Smith|Cohen|1996b|pp=242–256}}

==Name==
The god's name was written in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|paleo-Hebrew]] as ''𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄'' ({{Script/Hebrew|יהוה}} in [[Hebrew alphabet|block script]]), [[transliteration|transliterated]] as [[YHWH]]; modern scholarship has reached consensus to [[transcription (linguistics)|transcribe]] this as "Yahweh".{{sfn|Alter|2018|p=unpaginated|ps=, "The strong consensus of biblical scholarship is that the original pronunciation of the name YHWH ... was Yahweh."}} The shortened forms "'''Yeho'''-", "'''Yahu'''-" and "'''Yo'''-" appear in [[Theophory in the Bible#Yah theophory|personal names]] and in phrases such as "[[Hallelujah|Hallelu<u>jah</u>]]!"{{sfn|Preuss|2008|p=823}} The sacrality of the name, as well as the [[Ten Commandments|Commandment]] against "[[Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain|taking the name 'in vain']]", led to increasingly strict prohibitions on speaking or writing the term. Rabbinic sources suggest that, by the [[Second Temple Judaism|Second Temple period]], the name of God was pronounced only once a year, by the high priest, on the [[Yom Kippur|Day of Atonement]].<ref>The Cambridge History of Judaism: The Late Roman-Rabbinic Period, p. 779. William David Davies, Louis Finkelstein, Steven T. Katz – 2006 "(BT Kidd 7ia). The historical picture described above is probably wrong because the Divine Names were a priestly ... Name was one of the climaxes of the Sacred Service: it was entrusted exclusively to the High Priest once a year on the…"</ref> After the destruction of Jerusalem in [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|70 CE]], the original pronunciation of the name was forgotten entirely.{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}}

==History==
===Periods===
[[Philip King (historian)|Philip King]] and [[Lawrence Stager]] place the history of Yahweh into the following periods:
* Late Bronze: 1550–1200&nbsp;BCE
* Iron Age I: 1200–1000&nbsp;BCE
* Iron Age II: 1000–586&nbsp;BCE
* Neo-Babylonian: 586–539&nbsp;BCE
* Persian: 539–332&nbsp;BCE{{sfn|King|Stager|2001|p=xxiii}}
Other academic terms often used include First Temple period, from the construction of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] in 957&nbsp;BCE to its destruction in 586&nbsp;BCE, exilic for the period of the Exile from 586–539&nbsp;BCE (identical with Neo-Babylonian above), post-Exilic for later periods and [[Second Temple period]] from the reconstruction of the Temple in 515&nbsp;BCE until its destruction in 70&nbsp;CE.

===Late Bronze Age origins (1550–1200&nbsp;BCE)===
[[File:Storm god-AO 11188-IMG 7668.JPG|thumb|alt=A bronze statue of a standing male figure, his right hand raised and his left hand extended, wearing a crested helmet|Late Bronze Age statuette of a storm god from [[Tartus#Phoenician Antaradus|Phoenician Antaradus]]]]

There is almost no agreement on Yahweh's origins.{{sfn|Fleming|2020|p=3}} His name is not attested other than among the Israelites, and there is no consensus on its etymology, with ''ehyeh ašer ehyeh'' ("[[I Am that I Am]]"), the explanation presented in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 3:14,<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|3:14|HE}}</ref> appearing to be a late theological [[Gloss (annotation)|gloss]] invented at a time when the original meaning had been forgotten,{{sfn|Parke-Taylor|1975|p=51}} although some scholars dispute this.{{sfn|Lewis|2020|page=214}}{{sfn|Miller II|2021|p=18}} Lewis connects the name to [[Amorite language|Amorite]] ''yahwi-'' (''ia-wi''), found in personal names, meaning "brings to life/causes to exist" (e.g. ''yahwi-dagan'' = "[[Dagon]] causes to exist"), commonly denoted as the semantic equivalent of the [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''ibašši-''DN;{{sfn|Lewis|2020|pp=211, 215}} though [[Frank Moore Cross]] emphasizes that the Amorite verbal form is of interest only in attempting to reconstruct the verbal root of the name "Yahweh", and that attempts to take ''yahwi-'' as a divine epithet should be "vigorously" argued against.{{sfn|Cross|1973|pp=61-63}} 

One scholarly theory is that he originated in a shortened form of ''ˀel ḏū yahwī ṣabaˀôt'', "El who creates the hosts",{{sfn|Miller|2000|p=2}}{{sfn|Kitz|2019|pp=39–62}} which Cross considers to be one of the cultic names of El.{{sfn|Cross|1973|p=71}} However, this phrase is nowhere attested either inside or outside the Bible, and the two gods are in any case quite dissimilar, with El being elderly and paternal and lacking Yahweh's association with the storm and battles.{{sfn|Day|2002|pp=13–14}}

Even if the above issues are resolved, Yahweh is generally agreed to have a non-causative etymology because otherwise, YHWH would be translated as YHYH.{{sfn|Lewis|2020|p=222}} It also begs the question on why the Israelites would want to shorten the epithet. One possible reason includes the co-existence of religious modernism and conservatism being the norm in all religions.{{sfn|Lewis|2020|p=222}}

The oldest plausible occurrence of his name is in the [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] [[demonym]] ''[[wikt:tꜣ-šꜣsw-yhwꜣ|tꜣ šꜣsw Yhwꜣ]]'', "The Land of the [[Shasu]] ''YHWA''," ([[Egyptian language|Egyptian]]: {{Script/Egyp|𓇌𓉔𓍯𓄿}} ''Yhwꜣ'') in an inscription from the time of [[Amenhotep III]] (1390–1352 BCE),{{sfn|Shalomi Hen|2021}}{{sfn|Anderson|2015|p=100}} the [[Shasu]] being nomads from [[Midian]] and [[Edom]] in northern Arabia.{{sfn|Grabbe|2007|p=151}} Although it is still uncertain whether a relationship exists between the toponym ''yhwꜣ'' and theonym ''YHWH'',<ref>{{harvnb|Shalomi Hen|2021}}: "Unfortunately, albeit the interesting analogies, the learned discussions, and the broad perspective, the evidence is too scanty to allow any conclusions concerning the exact meaning of the term YHWA/YHA/YH as it appears in Ancient Egyptian records."</ref> the dominant view is that Yahweh was a "divine warrior from the southern region associated with [[Mount Seir|Seir]], [[Edom]], [[Desert of Paran|Paran]] and [[Teman (Edom)|Teman]]".{{sfn|Smith|2017|p=42}} There is considerable although not universal support for this view,{{sfn|Grabbe|2007|p=153}} but it raises the question of how Yahweh made his way to the north.{{sfn|Van der Toorn|1999|p=912}} An answer many scholars consider plausible is the [[Kenite hypothesis]], which holds that traders brought Yahweh to Israel along the [[Caravan (travellers)|caravan]] routes between [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] and [[Canaan]].{{sfn|Van der Toorn|1999|pp=912–13}} This ties together various points of data, such as the absence of Yahweh from Canaan, his links with [[Edom]] and [[Midian]] in the biblical stories, and the [[Kenite]] or Midianite ties of [[Moses]],{{sfn|Van der Toorn|1999|page=912}} but its major weaknesses are that the majority of Israelites were firmly rooted in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], while the historical role of Moses is problematic.{{sfn|Van der Toorn|1995|pp=247–248}} It follows that if the Kenite hypothesis is to be maintained, then it must be assumed that the Israelites encountered Yahweh (and the Midianites/Kenites) inside Israel and through their association with the earliest political leaders of Israel.{{sfn|Van der Toorn|1995|p=248}}

Christian Frevel argues that [[Omrides]] introduced YHWH to the Kingdom of Judah, via [[Ahab]]'s expansions in southern Canaan. Originally, YHWH was the patron god of Judean ''state'' and was foreign to commoners. In the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]], there was a plurality of Yahwist cults, which were discredited by the pro-Judean Hebrew Bible. Frevel believes the Kenite hypothesis is too speculative and that Teman could refer to any southern region, including Judah. Verses that talk about YHWH "rising from Teman" also denote his presence rather than his origins. <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Frevel |first=Christian |date=2021 |title=When and from Where did YHWH Emerge? Some Reflections on Early Yahwism in Israel and Judah |url=https://er.ceres.rub.de/index.php/ER/article/view/8776 |journal=Entangled Religions |volume=12 |issue=2 |via=RUB}}</ref> 

===Early Iron Age (1200–1000&nbsp;BCE)===
[[File:Bull site statuette.png|thumb|alt=A bronze bull|Early Iron Age bull figurine from [[Bull Site]] at Dhahrat et-Tawileh (modern [[West Bank]], ancient [[Mount Ephraim|Ephraim]]), representing El, Baal or Yahweh{{sfn|Smith|2002|p=83}}{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2021|p=395}}]]
In the Early Iron Age, the modern consensus is that there was no distinction in language or [[material culture]] between Canaanites and Israelites. Scholars accordingly define Israelite culture as a subset of Canaanite culture.{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=7, 19–31}} In this view, the Israelite religion consisted of Canaanite gods such as El, the ruler of the [[Pantheon (religion)|pantheon]],{{sfn|Golden|2009|p=182}} [[Asherah]], his consort, and [[Baal]].{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=19–31}} Yahweh is described as one of the sons of El in Deuteronomy 32:8–9,<ref>{{bibleverse||Deuteronomy|32:8–9|NET}}</ref> but this was removed by a later emendation to the text.{{sfn|Anderson|2015|p=77}}

In the earliest Biblical literature, Yahweh has characteristics of a storm god typical of ancient Near Eastern myths, marching out from [[Edom]] or the [[Sinai desert]] with the heavenly host of stars and planets that make up his army to do battle with the enemies of his people Israel:{{sfn|Hackett|2001|pp=158–160}}

{{poemquote|Yahweh, when you went out of Seir,
    when you marched out of the field of Edom,
the earth trembled, the sky also dropped.
    Yes, the clouds dropped water.
The mountains quaked at Yahweh's presence,
    even Sinai at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
...
From the sky the stars fought.
    From their courses, they fought against [[Sisera]]. 

([[Book of Judges]] 5:4–5, 20, ''WEB'' [[World English Bible]], the [[Song of Deborah]].)}}

From the perspective of the [[Kenite hypothesis]], it has also been suggested that the Edomite deity [[Qōs]] might have been one and the same as Yahweh, rather than a separate deity, with its name a title of the latter.{{sfn|Anderson|2015|p=101}} Aside from their common territorial origins, various common characteristics between the [[Yahwism|Yahwist cult]] and the Edomite cult of Qōs hint at a shared connection.<ref name="Manyanya">{{Cite book |last=Manyanya |first=Lévi Ngangura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kiR_xkWUFS4C&pg=PA258 |title=La fraternité de Jacob et d'Esaü (Gn 25–36): quel frère aîné pour Jacob? |date=2009 |publisher=Labor et Fides |isbn=978-2-8309-1253-1 |page=257 |language=fr}}</ref> [[Doeg the Edomite]], for example, is depicted as having no problem in worshiping Yahweh and is shown to be at home in Jewish sanctuaries.<ref name="Manyanya" />

Unlike the chief god of the [[Ammon]]ites ([[Milcom]]) and the [[Moabites]] ([[Chemosh]]), the [[Tanakh]] refrains from explicitly naming the Edomite Qōs.<ref>E. A. Knauf. (1999). Qos [in] Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter Willem van der Horst [eds.], [https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&pg=PA677 ''Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible''], pp. 674–677. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing: "This clan or family must have been of Edomite or Idumaean origin." (p. 677).</ref><ref>Elie Assis, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_jQLEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 ''Identity in Conflict: The Struggle between Esau and Jacob, Edom and Israel''], [[Penn State Press]], 2016 {{isbn|978-1-575-06418-5}} p.10: At 1 Kgs 1–8 there is exceptionally no mention of any Edomite gods:'King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of the Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women. ... For Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom the aboimination of the Ammonites. ... Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who offered incense and sacrificed to their gods.'</ref> Some scholars have explained this notable omission by assuming that the level of similarity between Yahweh and Qōs would have made rejection of the latter difficult.{{sfn|Dicou|1994|p=177}} Other scholars hold that Yahweh and Qōs were different deities from their origins, and suggest that the tensions between Judeans and Edomites during the Second Temple period may lie behind the omission of Qōs in the Bible.{{sfn|Tebes|2023}}

[[Israel Knohl]] argues that there is no evidence of any anthropomorphic figurines or cultic statues in Israel during this period, suggesting monotheistic practice.{{sfn|Knohl|2017|pp=171–172}} 

===Late Iron Age (1000–586&nbsp;BCE)===
[[File:Ajrud.jpg|thumb|alt=A reconstructed two-handled jar, with many missing fragments.  In the centre, two bull-headed figures look towards us.  There are other figures and the scene is hard to make out.|Painting on a [[Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions|jar found at Kuntillet Ajrud]], under the inscription "Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah" (c.&nbsp;800&nbsp;BCE)]]
The late Iron Age saw the emergence of [[nation state]]s associated with specific [[national god]]s:{{sfn|Schniedewind|2013|p=93}} Chemosh was the god of the Moabites, Milcom the god of the Ammonites, Qōs the god of the Edomites, and Yahweh the god of the Israelites.{{sfn|Hackett|2001|p=156}}{{sfn|Davies|2010|p=112}} In each kingdom the king was also the head of the national religion and thus the [[viceroy]] on Earth of the national god.{{sfn|Miller|2000|p=90}}

Yahweh filled the role of national god in the [[kingdom of Israel (Samaria)]], which emerged in the 10th century BCE; and also in [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], which may have emerged a century later{{sfn|Geller|2012|p=unpaginated}} (no "God of Judah" is mentioned anywhere in the Bible).{{sfn|Hackett|2001|p=156}}{{sfn|Davies|2010|p=112}} In an inscription discovered in [[Ein Gedi]] and dated around 700 BCE, Yahweh appears described as the lord of "the nations", while in other contemporary texts discovered in [[Khirbet Beit Lei]] (near Lachish) he is mentioned as the ruler of Jerusalem and probably also of Judah.{{sfn|Hess|2020|p=247}} During the reign of [[Ahab]] (c. 871–852&nbsp;BCE), and particularly following his marriage to [[Jezebel]], Baal may have briefly replaced Yahweh as the national god of Israel (but not Judah).{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=71–72}}{{sfn|Campbell|2001|pp=221–222}}

In the 9th century BCE, there are indications of rejection of Baal worship associated with the prophets [[Elijah]] and [[Elisha]]. The Yahweh-religion thus began to separate itself from its Canaanite heritage; this process continued over the period from 800 to 500&nbsp;BCE with legal and prophetic condemnations of the [[asherim]], [[sun worship]] and worship on the [[high place]]s, along with practices pertaining to the dead and other aspects of the old religion.{{sfn|Smith|2002|page=9}} Features of Baal, El, and Asherah were absorbed into Yahweh, and epithets such as [[El Shaddai]] came to be applied to Yahweh alone.{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=8, 33–34, 135}} 

In this atmosphere a struggle emerged between those who believed that Yahweh alone should be worshipped, and those who worshipped him within a larger group of gods;{{sfn|Sperling|2017|p=254}} the Yahweh-alone party, the party of the [[prophet]]s and [[Deuteronomist]]s, ultimately triumphed, and their victory lies behind the biblical narrative of an Israel vacillating between periods of "following other gods" and periods of [[fidelity]] to Yahweh.{{sfn|Sperling|2017|p=254}}

===Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods (586–332&nbsp;BCE)===
{{main|Second Temple Judaism}}

[[File:Jerus-n4i.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=A model building, with a large cubic structure to the rear and an open courtyard in front, surrounded by crenelated and turreted walls|The [[Second Temple]], as [[Herod's temple|rebuilt]] by [[Herod the great|Herod]] c.&nbsp;20–10&nbsp;BCE (modern model, 1:50 scale)]]
In 587/6&nbsp;BCE [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|Jerusalem fell]] to the [[Neo-Babylonian]]s, [[Solomon's Temple]] was destroyed, and the leadership of the community were deported.{{sfn|Grabbe|2010|p=2}} The next 50 years, the [[Babylonian exile]], were of pivotal importance to the history of Israelite religion. As the traditional [[sacrifice]]s to Yahweh (see below) could not be performed outside Israel, other practices including [[Biblical Sabbath|sabbath]] observance and [[Brit milah|circumcision]] gained new significance.{{sfn|Cogan|2001|p=271}} In the writing of [[second Isaiah]], Yahweh was no longer seen as exclusive to Israel, but as extending his promise to all who would keep the sabbath and observe his covenant.{{sfn|Cogan|2001|p=274}} In 539&nbsp;BCE [[Fall of Babylon|Babylon in turn fell]] to the Persian conqueror [[Cyrus the Great]], the exiles were given permission to return (although only a minority did so), and by about 500&nbsp;BCE the [[Second Temple]] was built.{{sfn|Grabbe|2010|pp=2–3}}

Towards the end of the Second Temple period, speaking the name of Yahweh in public became regarded as [[taboo]].{{sfn|Leech|2002|pp=59–60}} When reading from the scriptures, Jews began to substitute the divine name with the word ''[[adonai]]'' (אֲדֹנָי‬), meaning "[[Lord#Religion|my Lords]]".{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}} The [[High Priest of Israel]] was permitted to speak the name once in the Temple during the [[Yom Kippur|Day of Atonement]], but at no other time and in no other place.{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}} During the [[Hellenistic period]], the scriptures were translated into Greek by the Jews of the [[History of the Jews in Egypt|Egyptian diaspora]].{{sfn|Coogan|Brettler|Newsom|2007|p=xxvi}} Greek translations of the Hebrew scriptures render both the [[tetragrammaton]] and ''adonai'' as ''[[kyrios]]'' (κύριος), meaning "Lord".{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}}

The period of Persian rule saw the development of expectation in a future human king who would rule [[Ritual purification|purified]] Israel as Yahweh's representative at the [[Jewish eschatology|end of time]]—a [[messiah]]. The first to mention this were [[Haggai]] and [[Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)|Zechariah]], both prophets of the early Persian period. They saw the messiah in [[Zerubbabel]], a descendant of the [[Davidic line|House of David]] who seemed, briefly, to be about to re-establish the ancient royal line, or in Zerubbabel and the first High Priest, [[Joshua the High Priest|Joshua]] (Zechariah writes of two messiahs, one royal and the other priestly). These early hopes were dashed (Zerubabbel disappeared from the historical record, although the High Priests continued to be descended from Joshua), and thereafter there are merely general references to a Messiah of [[David]] (i.e. a descendant).{{sfn|Wanke|1984|pp=182–183}}{{sfn|Albertz|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Xx9YzJq2B9wC&pg=PA130 130]}} From these ideas, [[Second Temple Judaism]] would later emerge, whence [[Christianity]], [[Rabbinic Judaism]], and [[Islam]].

==Worship==
{{Main article|Yahwism}}

===Festivals and sacrifice===
{{also|Feast of Wine}}
The centre of Yahweh's worship lay in three great annual festivals coinciding with major events in rural life: [[Passover]] with the birthing of [[Sheep|lambs]], [[Shavuot]] with the [[cereal]] [[harvest]], and [[Sukkot]] with the [[fruit]] harvest.{{sfn|Albertz|1994|p=89}} These probably pre-dated the arrival of the Yahweh religion,{{sfn|Albertz|1994|p=89}} but they became linked to events in the [[national myth]]os of Israel: Passover with [[the exodus]] from Egypt, Shavuot with the law-giving at [[Mount Sinai (Bible)|Mount Sinai]], and Sukkot with the [[wilderness]] wanderings.{{sfn|Davies|2010|p=112}} The festivals thus celebrated Yahweh's [[salvation]] of Israel and Israel's status as his holy people, although the earlier agricultural meaning was not entirely lost.{{sfn|Gorman|2000|p=458}} His worship presumably involved sacrifice, but many scholars have concluded that the rituals detailed in [[Leviticus]] 1–16, with their stress on purity and [[Atonement in Judaism|atonement]], were introduced only after the [[Babylonian exile]], and that in reality any head of a family was able to offer sacrifice as occasion demanded.{{sfn|Davies|Rogerson|2005|pp=151–152}} A number of scholars have also drawn the conclusion that [[infant sacrifice]], whether to the underworld deity [[Molech]] or to Yahweh himself, was a part of Israelite/Judahite religion until the reforms of [[King Josiah]] in the late 7th century BCE.{{sfn|Gnuse|1997|p=118}} Sacrifice was presumably complemented by the singing or recital of [[Book of Psalms|psalms]], but again the details are scant.{{sfn|Davies|Rogerson|2005|pp=158–165}} [[Jewish prayer|Prayer]] played little role in official worship.{{sfn|Cohen|1999|p=302}}

===Temples===
[[File:Tissot Solomon Dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|alt=In the foreground, a bearded man dressed in an impressive white robe and head-dress raises his hand to heaven.  Behind him, a large crowd bows in prayer.|[[Solomon]] dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem (painting by [[James Tissot]] or follower, c. 1896–1902).]]
The Hebrew Bible gives the impression that the Jerusalem temple was always meant to be the central or even sole temple of Yahweh, but this was not the case.{{sfn|Davies|2010|p=112}} The earliest known Israelite place of worship is a 12th-century BCE open-air altar in the hills of [[Samaria]] featuring a bronze bull reminiscent of Canaanite [[El (deity)#Ugarit and the Levant|Bull-El]] (El in the form of a bull) and the archaeological remains of further temples have been found at [[Dan (ancient city)|Dan]] on Israel's northern border, at [[Tel Arad|Arad]] in the [[Negev]] and [[Tel Be'er Sheva|Beersheba]], both in the territory of Judah.{{sfn|Dever|2003a|p=388}} [[Shiloh (biblical city)|Shiloh]], [[Bethel]], [[Gilgal]], [[Mizpah in Benjamin|Mizpah]], [[Ramah in Benjamin|Ramah]] and Dan were also major sites for festivals, sacrifices, the making of [[Vow#Divine vows|vows]], private rituals, and the adjudication of legal disputes.{{sfn|Bennett|2002|p=83}}

===Portrayal===
Yahweh-worship was famously [[aniconic]], meaning that the god was not depicted by a statue or other image. This is not to say that he was not represented in some symbolic form, and early Israelite worship probably focused on [[baetylus|standing stones]], but according to the Biblical texts the temple in Jerusalem featured Yahweh's throne in the form of two [[cherub]]im, their inner wings forming the seat and a box (the [[Ark of the Covenant]]) as a footstool, while the throne itself was empty.{{sfn|Mettinger|2006|pp=288–290}} There is no universally accepted explanation for such [[aniconism]], and a number of recent scholars have argued that Yahweh was in fact represented prior to the reforms of [[Hezekiah]] and [[Josiah]] late in the monarchic period: to quote one study, "[a]n early aniconism, ''[[de facto]]'' or otherwise, is purely a projection of the [[Second Temple Judaism|post-exilic]] imagination".{{sfn|MacDonald|2007|pp=21, 26–27}} Other scholars argue that there is no certain evidence of any [[anthropomorphic]] representation of Yahweh during the pre-exilic period.{{sfn|Lewis|2020|pp=293–297}}

==Yahweh and the rise of monotheism==
It is unclear when the worship of Yahweh alone began. The earliest known portrayals of Yahweh as the principal deity to whom "one owed the powers of blessing the land" appear in the teachings of the prophet [[Elijah]] in the 9th century BCE. This form of worship was likely well established by the time of the prophet [[Hosea]] in the 8th century BCE, in reference to disputes between Yahweh and Baal.{{sfn|Albertz|1994|p=61}} The early supporters of this faction are widely regarded as being [[monolatrism|monolatrists]] rather than true [[monotheists]];{{snf|Eakin|1971|pages=70, 263}} they did not believe Yahweh was the only god in existence, but instead believed that he was the only god which the people of Israel should worship.{{snf|McKenzie|1990|page=1287}} 

Finally, in the national crisis of the exile, the followers of Yahweh went a step further and outright denied that the other deities aside from Yahweh even existed, thus marking the transition from monolatrism to true monotheism.{{sfn|Betz|2000|p=917}} The notion that Yahweh is to be worshipped as the [[creator god|creator-god]] of all the earth is first elaborated by the [[Deutero-Isaiah|Second Isaiah]], a 6th-century BCE exilic work whose case for the theological doctrine rests on Yahweh's power over other gods,{{sfn|Rosenberg|1966|p=297}}{{Update inline|date=August 2023|reason=The source is literally almost 60 years old.}} and his incomparability and singleness relative to the gods of the Babylonian religion.{{sfn|Albani|2020|p=226}}

==Graeco-Roman syncretism==
Yahweh is frequently invoked in [[Graeco-Roman magic]]al texts dating from the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE, most notably in the [[Greek Magical Papyri]],{{sfn|Betz|1996|p={{page needed|date=August 2020}}}} under the names [[Tetragrammaton|Iao]], [[Adonai]], [[Sabaoth]], and [[Elohim|Eloai]].{{sfn|Smith|Cohen|1996b|pp=242–256}} In these texts, he is often mentioned alongside traditional [[List of Greek mythological figures|Graeco-Roman deities]] and [[List of Egyptian deities|Egyptian deities]].{{sfn|Smith|Cohen|1996b|pp=242–256}} The [[archangels]] [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]], [[Gabriel]], [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]], and [[Uriel|Ouriel]] and Jewish [[cultural hero]]es such as [[Abraham]], [[Jacob]], and [[Moses]] are also invoked frequently.{{sfn|Arnold|1996|p={{page needed|date=August 2020}}}} The frequent occurrence of Yahweh's name was likely due to Greek and Roman folk magicians seeking to make their spells more powerful through the invocation of a prestigious foreign deity.{{sfn|Smith|Cohen|1996b|pp=242–256}}

A coin issued by [[Pompey]] to celebrate his successful [[Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC)|conquest of Judaea]] showed a kneeling, bearded figure grasping a branch (a common Roman symbol of submission) subtitled ''BACCHIVS IVDAEVS'', which may be translated as either "The Jewish [[Bacchus]]" or "Bacchus the Judaean". The figure has been interpreted as depicting Yahweh as a local variety of Bacchus, that is, [[Dionysus]].{{sfn|Scott|2015|pp=169–172}} However, as coins minted with such iconography ordinarily depicted subjected persons, and not the gods of a subjected people, some have assumed the coin simply depicts the surrender of a Judean who was called "Bacchius", sometimes identified as the Hasmonean king [[Aristobulus II]], who was overthrown by Pompey's campaign.{{sfn|Scott|2015|pp=11, 16, 80, 126}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Levine |first=Lee I. |title=Judaism and Hellenism in Antiquity: Conflict or Confluence? |date=1998 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=978-0-295-97682-2 |pages=38–60 |jstor=j.ctvcwnpvs |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lane |first=Eugene N. |date=November 1979 |title=Sabazius and the Jews in Valerius Maximus: a Re-examination |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-studies/article/abs/sabazius-and-the-jews-in-valerius-maximus-a-reexamination/9A146A478B7D4B7F239ED7AE321C2F34 |journal=The Journal of Roman Studies |language=en |volume=69 |pages=35–38 |doi=10.2307/299057 |jstor=299057 |s2cid=163401482 |issn=1753-528X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Harlan |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YztmAAAAMAAJ |title=Roman Republican Moneyers and Their Coins, 63 B.C.–49 B.C. |publisher=Seaby |year=1995 |isbn=0-7134-7672-9 |pages=115–118 |language=en-us}}</ref> 

In any event, [[Tacitus]], [[John the Lydian]], [[Cornelius Labeo]], and [[Marcus Terentius Varro]] similarly identify Yahweh with Bacchus–Dionysus.{{sfn|McDonough|1999|page=88}} Jews themselves frequently used symbols that were also associated with Dionysus such as [[kylix]]es, [[amphora]]e, leaves of [[ivy]], and clusters of [[grapes]], a similarity [[Plutarch]] used to argue that Jews worshipped a [[Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)|hypostasized]] form of Bacchus–Dionysus.{{sfn|Smith|Cohen|1996a|page=233}} In his ''[[Moralia|Quaestiones Convivales]]'', Plutarch further notes that the Jews hail their god with cries of "[[wikt:euoi|Euoi]]" and "[[Sabazios|Sabi]]", phrases associated with the worship of Dionysus.{{sfn|Plutarch|n.d.|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg112.perseus-eng1:4.6 "Question VI"]}}{{sfn|McDonough|1999|page=89}}{{sfn|Smith|Cohen|1996a|pages=232–233}} According to [[Sean M. McDonough]], Greek speakers may have confused [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] words such as [[Sabbath]], [[Alleluia]], or even possibly some variant of the name Yahweh itself, for more familiar terms associated with Dionysus.{{sfn|McDonough|1999|pages=89–90}} 

Other Roman writers, such as [[Juvenal]], [[Petronius]], and [[Florus]], identified Yahweh with the god [[Caelus]].<ref>[[Juvenal]], ''Satires'' 14.97; Peter Schäfer, ''Judeophobia: Attitudes toward the Jews in the Ancient World'' (Harvard University Press, 1997), pp. 41, 79–80.</ref><ref>[[Petronius]], frg. 37.2; Schäfer, ''Judeophobia'', pp. 77–78.</ref><ref>[[Florus]], ''Epitome'' 1.40 (3.5.30): "The Jews tried to defend [[Jerusalem]]; but he ''[Pompeius Magnus]'' entered this city also and saw that grand Holy of Holies of an impious people exposed, Caelum under a golden vine" ''(Hierosolymam defendere temptavere Iudaei; verum haec quoque et intravit et vidit illud grande inpiae gentis arcanum patens, sub aurea vite Caelum).'' Finbarr Barry Flood, ''The Great Mosque of Damascus: Studies on the Makings of an Umayyad Visual Culture'' (Brill, 2001), pp. 81 and 83 (note 118). The ''[[Oxford Latin Dictionary]]'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982, 1985 reprinting), p. 252, entry on ''caelum'', cites Juvenal, Petronius, and Florus as examples of ''Caelus'' or ''Caelum'' "with reference to [[Jehovah]]; also, to some symbolization of Jehovah."</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Jewish|Judaism}}
{{columns-list|
* [[Ancient Semitic religion]]
* [[El (deity)|El]]
* [[God in Abrahamic religions]]
* [[God in Christianity]]
* [[God in Judaism]]
* [[Historicity of the Bible]]
* [[History of ancient Israel and Judah]]
* [[Jah]], a short form of the name
* [[Jehovah]]
* [[Names of God in Judaism]]
* [[Sacred Name Movement]]
* [[Tetragrammaton]]
* [[Theophany#Judaism|Theophany]]
* [[Tutelary deity]]
}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|20em}}

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|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pcAkKMECPKIC&q=%22The+tetragrammaton+YHWH+is+the+personal+name+of+the+god+of+Moses%22&pg=PA500
|isbn = 978-0-8028-2329-8
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Geller
|first = Stephen A.
|chapter = Priests and Levites in the Hebrew Bible
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KgJtcvs7ObAC
|editor1-first = Levenson
|editor1-last = Alan T.
|title = The Wiley-Blackwell History of Jews and Judaism
|publisher = Wiley-Blackwell
|year = 2012
|isbn = 978-1-118-23293-4
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Gnuse
|first = Robert Karl
|title = No Other Gods: Emergent Monotheism in Israel
|series = [[Journal for the Study of the Old Testament|Journal for the Study of the Old Testament: Supplement Series]]
|volume = 241
|publisher = Sheffield Academic Press
|year = 1997
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_lmvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA214
|isbn = 978-0-567-37415-8
}}
* {{cite journal
| last1 = Gnuse
| first1 = Robert Karl
| date = 1999
| title = The Emergence of Monotheism in Ancient Israel: A Survey of Recent Scholarship
| journal = Religion
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| issue = 4
| pages = 315–36
| doi=10.1006/reli.1999.0198
}}
* {{Cite book
|last=Golden
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|title=Ancient Canaan and Israel: An Introduction
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|date=2009
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|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EResmS5wOnkC }}
* {{cite book
|last = Gorman
|first = Frank H. Jr.
|chapter = Feasts, Festivals
|editor1-last = Freedman 
|editor1-first = David Noel 
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|editor2-first = Allen C. 
|title = Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible
|publisher = Amsterdam University Press
|year = 2000
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&q=%22saving+actions+on+behalf+of+the+nation%22&pg=PA458
|isbn = 978-1-57506-083-5
}}
* {{cite book
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|publisher = A&C Black
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|isbn = 978-0-567-55248-8 
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Grabbe
|first = Lester L.
|chapter = 'Many nations will be joined to YHWH in that day': The question of YHWH outside Judah
|editor1-last = Stavrakopoulou
|editor1-first = Francesca
|editor2-last = Barton
|editor2-first = John
|title = Religious diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah
|publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group
|year = 2010b
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kG_9-vki4ocC&pg=PA175
|pages=175–87
|isbn = 978-0-567-03216-4
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Grabbe
|first = Lester
|title = Ancient Israel: What Do We Know and How Do We Know It?
|publisher = A&C Black
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}}
* {{cite book
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|author-link = Jo Ann Hackett
|chapter = 'There Was No King in Israel': The Era of the Judges
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|title = The Oxford History of the Biblical World
|publisher = Oxford University Press
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}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
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* {{cite book|last=Hess|first=Richard S.|author-link=Richard Hess|title=Israelite Religions: An Archaeological and Biblical Survey
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* {{cite book|last=Hess|first=Richard S.|date=2012|chapter=Yahweh's "Wife" and Belief in One God in the Old Testament|title=Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?: A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture|editor1-last=Hoffmeier|editor1-first=James K.|editor2-last=Magary|editor2-first=Dennis R.|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lc_R1E1wD9cC&q=Kuntillet+Ajrud+Yahweh+and+his+Asherah+potsherd+Bes+music&pg=PA472 |location=Wheaton, IL|publisher=Crossway |pages=459–76|isbn=978-1-4335-2574-2}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Oxford Handbook of the Historical Books of the Hebrew Bible |last=Hess |first=Richard S. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-19-026116-0 |pages=241–253 |editor-last=Kelle |editor-first=Brad E. |chapter=Yahwistic Religion in the Assyrian and Babylonian Periods |editor-last2=Strawn |editor-first2=Brent A. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T_kFEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA241}}
* {{cite book
|last = Hoffman
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|publisher = NYU Press
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}}
* {{cite book
|last = Humphries
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|chapter = God, Names of
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|editor1-first = Watson E. 
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|title = Mercer Dictionary of the Bible
|publisher = Mercer University Press
|year = 1990
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=goq0VWw9rGIC&q=%22used+in+the+Septuagint+where+Yahweh+appears%22&pg=PA340
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* {{Cite book
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|title=Life in Biblical Israel
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|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtOhypZz_pEC&pg=PAxxiii
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* {{Cite journal 
|title=The Verb *yahway 
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|doi=10.15699/jbl.1381.2019.508716 
|year=2019 
|issn=0021-9231
}}
* {{cite book |title=Yehezkel Kaufmann and the Reinvention of Jewish Biblical Scholarship |last=Knohl |first=Israel |publisher=Academic Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-3-525-54414-3 |editor-last=Jindo |editor-first=Job Y. |chapter=The Rise, Decline and Renewal of Biblical Religion |editor-last2=Sommer |editor-first2=Benjamin D. |editor-last3=Staubli |editor-first3=Thomas |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/35321606}}
* {{cite book|last=Leech|first=Kenneth|date=2002|orig-date=1985|title=Experiencing God: Theology as Spirituality|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q5lKAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60|location=Eugene, OR |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers|isbn=978-1-57910-613-3}}
* {{cite book
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* {{cite book
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* {{cite book
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|year = 2014
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* {{cite book
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* {{cite book
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* {{cite book
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|publisher = Bloomsbury
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* {{cite book|last=McDonough|first=Sean M.|date=1999|title=YHWH at Patmos: Rev. 1:4 in Its Hellenistic and Early Jewish Setting|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0ZG4P8J1roC |series=Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe|volume=107|location=Tübingen, Germany|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=978-3-16-147055-4|issn=0340-9570}}
* {{cite book |author-link=John L. McKenzie |last=McKenzie |first=John L. |chapter=Aspects of Old Testament Thought |editor1=Raymond E. Brown |editor2=Joseph A. Fitzmyer |editor3=Roland E. Murphy |name-list-style=amp |title=The New Jerome Biblical Commentary |location=New Jersey |publisher=Prentice Hall |year=1990}} S.v. 77:17.
* {{cite book
|last          = Mettinger
|first         = Tryggve N.D.
|chapter       = A Conversation with My Critics: Cultic Image or Aniconism in the First Temple?
|editor1-last  = Amit
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|editor2-last  = Naʼaman
|editor2-first = Nadav
|title         = Essays on Ancient Israel in Its Near Eastern Context
|publisher     = Eisenbrauns
|year          = 2006
|chapter-url   = https://books.google.com/books?id=Ku4OKVrEd4MC&q=%22the+prohibition+of+images+was+a+late+idea%22%22in+a+very+late+Deuteronomistic+layer%22&pg=PA273
|isbn          = 978-1-57506-128-3
}}
* {{cite book
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|editor1-last = Coogan
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|year = 2001
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gM-tZeEO4wgC&q=%22monarchic+state%22%22formal+concentration+of+power%22&pg=PA166
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}}
* {{cite book
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|year = 2007
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ZrGfxNqfszsC&q=%22Aniconism+in+the+Old+Testament%22&pg=PA21
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* {{cite book 
|title = Yahweh: Origin of a Desert God 
|last = Miller II 
|first = Robert D. 
|publisher = Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht 
|year = 2021 
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|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SrbkEAAAQBAJ 
|series = Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments 
|volume = 284
}}
* {{cite book
|last1 = Moore
|first1 = Megan Bishop
|last2 = Kelle
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|title = Biblical History and Israel's Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History
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|year = 2011
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Qjkz_8EMoaUC&pg=PA125
|isbn = 978-0-8028-6260-0
}}
* Nestor, Dermot Anthony, ''Cognitive Perspectives on Israelite Identity,'' Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010
* {{cite book
|last = Niehr
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|chapter = The Rise of YHWH in Judahite and Israelite Religion
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|publisher = Peeters Publishers
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* {{citation
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|date=1975
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* {{cite book
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* {{cite book |author=Plutarch |author-link=Plutarch |date=n.d. |title=Quaestiones Convivales |editor-last=Goodwin |editor-first=William Watson |translator-last=Creech |translator-first=Thomas |publisher=Little, Brown & Co. |location=Boston |publication-date=1874 |url= https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg112.perseus-eng1:4.0}}
* {{cite book
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|editor1-last = Bromiley
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* {{cite book
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*{{cite journal |title=Yahweh Becomes King |first=Roy A. |last=Rosenberg |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |volume=85 |issue=3 |date=1966 |pages=297–307 |publisher=The Society of Biblical Literature |doi=10.2307/3264243 |jstor=3264243 }}
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* {{cite book |last=Scott |first=James M. |year=2015 |title=Bacchius Iudaeus: A Denarius Commemorating Pompey's Victory over Judea |series=Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus |volume=104 |place=Göttingen |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht |isbn=978-3-525-54045-9}}
* {{cite journal
|last = Shalomi Hen
|first = Racheli
|title = Signs of YHWH, God of the Hebrews, in New Kingdom Egypt?
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|title = Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible
|publisher = Eerdmans
|year = 2000
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* {{cite book
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* {{cite book
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|author-link = Mark S. Smith
|year = 2002
|title = The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel
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|edition = 2nd
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* {{cite book
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|chapter = Astral Religion and the Divinity
|editor1-last = Noegel
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|editor2-last = Walker
|editor2-first = Joel
|title = Prayer, Magic, and the Stars in the Ancient and Late Antique World 
|publisher = Penn State Press
|year = 2003
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=gb-jl0nef-4C&q=%22West+Semitic+religion+in+general+owes+much+to+astral+religion%22&pg=PA187
|isbn = 978-0-271-04600-6
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* {{cite book
|last = Smith
|first = Mark S.
|author-link = Mark S. Smith
|year = 2010
|title = God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World
|publisher = Eerdmans
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yvWlC0kUlkYC&pg=PA119
|isbn = 978-0-8028-6433-8
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Smith
|first = Mark S.
|author-link = Mark S. Smith
|chapter = Proposals for the Original Profile of YHWH
|editor1-last = Van Oorschot
|editor1-first = Jürgen
|editor2-last = Witte
|editor2-first = Markus
|title = The Origins of Yahwism
|publisher = [[De Gruyter]]
|series = [[Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft]]
|year = 2017
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8LtGDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA37
|isbn = 978-3-11-044711-8
|doi=10.1515/9783110448221
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Smith
|first = Morton
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|chapter = Jewish Religious Life in the Persian Period
|editor1-last = Finkelstein
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|publisher = Cambridge University Press
|year = 1984
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Jo0LKxcMJKAC
|isbn = 978-0-521-21880-1
}}
* {{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Morton|last2=Cohen|first2=Shaye J. D.|date=1996a|title=Studies in the Cult of Yahweh: Volume One: Studies in Historical Method, Ancient Israel, Ancient Judaism|publisher=E. J. Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherlands, New York, and Cologne|isbn=978-90-04-10477-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EyfB19u1U8EC}}
* {{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Morton|last2=Cohen|first2=Shaye J. D.|date=1996b|title=Studies in the Cult of Yahweh: Volume Two: New Testament, Christianity, and Magic|publisher=Brill|location=Leiden, The Netherlands, New York, and Cologne|isbn=978-90-04-10479-2}}
* {{cite book
|last1 = Sommer
|first1 = Benjamin D.
|chapter = God, Names of
|editor1-last = Berlin
|editor1-first = Adele
|editor2-last = Grossman
|editor2-first = Maxine L.
|title = The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion
|publisher = Oxford University Press
|year = 2011
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|isbn = 978-0-19-973004-9
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* {{cite book
|last = Sperling
|first = S. David
|title = Ve-Eileh Divrei David
|publisher = Brill
|year = 2017
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=q668DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA254
|isbn = 978-90-04-34087-9
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Stager
|first = Lawrence
|author-link = Lawrence Stager
|chapter = Forging an Identity: The Emergence of Ancient Israel
|editor1-last = Coogan
|editor1-first = Michael David
|title = The Oxford History of the Biblical World
|publisher = Oxford University Press
|year = 2001
|isbn = 978-0-19-513937-2
}}
* {{cite book 
|title = The "God of Israel" in History and Tradition 
|last = Stahl 
|first = Michael J. 
|publisher = BRILL 
|year = 2021 
|isbn = 978-90-04-44772-1 
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=drMlEAAAQBAJ 
|series = Vetus Testamentum, Supplements 
|volume = 187
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Stavrakopoulou
|first = Francesca
|author-link = Francesca Stavrakopoulou
|title = God: An Anatomy
|publisher = Picador
|year = 2021
|isbn = 978-1-5098-6734-9
}}
* {{cite book |last=Stone |first=Robert E. II |chapter=I Am Who I Am |editor1-last=Freedman |editor1-first=David Noel |editor2-last=Myers |editor2-first=Allen C. |title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible |publisher=Eerdmans |year=2000 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC&q=i+am |isbn=978-90-5356-503-2}}
* {{cite journal 
|title=El extraño caso del dios Qos. ¿Por qué la deidad edomita/idumea no es mencionada en la Biblia? 
|journal=Revista Bíblica 
|last=Tebes 
|first=Juan Manuel 
|issue=1–2 
|volume=85 
|pages=55–70 
|doi=10.47182/rb.85.n1-2-2023349 
|issn=2683-7153 
|year=2023 
|language=es
|doi-access=free 
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Trotter
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|title = Reading Hosea in Achaemenid Yehud
|publisher = Bloomsbury
|year = 2002
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|last = Van der Toorn
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|chapter = Ritual Resistance and Self-Assertion
|editor1-last = Platvoet
|editor1-first = Jan. G.
|editor2-last = Van der Toorn
|editor2-first = Karel
|title = Pluralism and Identity: Studies in Ritual Behaviour
|publisher = Brill
|year = 1995
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=178X5n7zArwC&q=%22Ritual+Resistance+and+Self-Assertion%22&pg=PA229
|isbn = 978-90-04-10373-3
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Van der Toorn
|first = Karel
|chapter = Yahweh
|editor1-last = Van der Toorn
|editor1-first = Karel
|editor2-last = Becking
|editor2-first = Bob
|editor3-last = Van der Horst
|editor3-first = Pieter Willem
|title = Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible
|publisher = Eerdmans
|year = 1999
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yCkRz5pfxz0C&q=%22If+the+Kenite+hypothesis+is+to+be+maintained%22&pg=PA912
|isbn = 978-0-8028-2491-2
|title-link = Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Van der Toorn
|first = Karel
|title = Family Religion in Babylonia, Ugarit and Israel: Continuity and Changes in the Forms of Religious Life
|publisher = Brill
|year = 1996
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VSJWkrXfbLQC&pg=PA281
|isbn = 978-90-04-10410-5
}}
* {{cite book
|author1-last=Vriezen
|author1-first=T. C.
|author2-last=van der Woude
|author2-first=Simon Adam
|date=2005
|title=Ancient Israelite And Early Jewish Literature
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VeOwyTae71cC&pg=PA18
|publisher=Brill
|isbn=978-90-04-12427-1
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Wanke
|first = Gunther
|chapter = Prophecy and Psalms in the Persian Period
|editor1-last = Finkelstein
|editor1-first = Louis 
|title = The Cambridge History of Judaism: Volume 1, Introduction, The Persian Period
|publisher = Cambridge University Press
|year = 1984
|isbn = 978-0-521-21880-1
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mxrgAVkVysAC
}}
* {{cite book
| last1     = Wright
| first1    = J. Edward
| title     = The Early History of Heaven
| year      = 2002
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=lKvMeMorNBEC&pg=PA42
| isbn      = 978-0-19-534849-1
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Wyatt
|first = Nicolas
|chapter = Royal Religion in Ancient Judah
|editor1-last = Stavrakopoulou
|editor1-first = Francesca
|editor2-last = Barton
|editor2-first = John
|title = Religious Diversity in Ancient Israel and Judah
|publisher = Continuum International Publishing Group
|year = 2010
|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kG_9-vki4ocC&pg=PR5 |isbn=978-0-567-03216-4
}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite journal |last=Amzallag |first=Nissim |title=Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy? |journal=Journal for the Study of the Old Testament |volume=33 |issue=4 |date=June 2009 |pages=387–404 |doi=10.1177/0309089209105686 |s2cid=171053999 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0309089209105686}}
*{{cite journal |last=Kelley |first=J. |title=Toward a new synthesis of the god of Edom and Yaheweh |journal=Antiguo Oriente |publisher=Cuadernos del Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente |date=2009 |volume=7 |url=https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/7231 |hdl=123456789/7231}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{cite journal |last=Tebes |first=J. M. |title=Yahweh's Desert Origins |journal=[[Biblical Archaeology Review]] |date=2022 |url=https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/15051 |hdl=123456789/15051}}

{{Names of God}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Yahweh| ]]
[[Category:Children of El (deity)]]
[[Category:Conceptions of God]]
[[Category:Creator deities]]
[[Category:Creator gods]]
[[Category:Deities in the Hebrew Bible]]
[[Category:Dionysus]]
[[Category:Judeo-Christian topics]]
[[Category:Names of God]]
[[Category:National gods]]
[[Category:Reconstructed words]]
[[Category:Religion in ancient Israel and Judah]]
[[Category:Savior deities]]
[[Category:Savior gods]]
[[Category:Tetragrammaton]]
[[Category:West Semitic gods]]