History of ancient Israel and Judah Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Henotheism=== [[File:El, the Canaanite creator deity, Megiddo, Stratum VII, Late Bronze II, 1400-1200 BC, bronze with gold leaf - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07734.JPG|thumb|El, the Canaanite creator deity, Megiddo, Stratum VII, Late Bronze II, 1400β1200 BCE, bronze with gold leaf β Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago β DSC07734 The Canaanite god El, who may have been the precursor to the Israelite god Yahweh.]] [[Henotheism]] is the act of worshipping a single god, without denying the existence of other deities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/henotheism|title=the definition of henotheism|website=Dictionary.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-26}}</ref> Many scholars believe that before monotheism in ancient Israel, there came a transitional period; in this transitional period many followers of the Israelite religion worshipped the god Yahweh, but did not deny the existence of other deities accepted throughout the region.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Routledge Companion to Theism|last1=Taliaferro|first1=Charles|last2=Harrison|first2=Victoria S.|last3=Goetz|first3=Stewart|publisher=Routledge|year=2012}}</ref> Henotheistic worship was not uncommon in the Ancient Near East, as many Iron Age nation states worshipped an elevated [[national god]] which was nonetheless only part of a wider pantheon; examples include [[Chemosh]] in [[Moab]], [[Qos (deity)|Qos]] in [[Edom]], [[Milkom]] in [[Ammon]], and [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]] in Assyria].<ref name="Levine">{{Cite journal|last=Levine|first=Baruch A.|author-link=Baruch A. Levine|title=Assyrian Ideology and Israelite Monotheism|journal=British Institute for the Study of Iraq|volume=67|issue=1|pages=411β27|jstor=4200589|year=2005}}</ref> [[Ancient Canaanite religion|Canaanite religion]] syncretized elements from neighbouring cultures, largely from [[Ancient Mesopotamian religion|Mesopotamian religious]] traditions.<ref name="Meek">{{Cite journal|last=Meek|first=Theophile James|author-link=Theophile James Meek|year=1942|title=Monotheism and the Religion of Israel|journal=[[Journal of Biblical Literature]]|volume=61|issue=1|pages=21β43|doi=10.2307/3262264|jstor=3262264}}</ref> Using Canaanite religion as a base was natural due to the fact that the Canaanite culture inhabited the same region prior to the emergence of Israelite culture.<ref name="Dever">{{Cite journal|last=Dever|first=William|title=Archaeological Sources for the History of Palestine: The Middle Bronze Age: The Zenith of the Urban Canaanite Era|journal=[[The Biblical Archaeologist]]|volume=50|issue=3|pages=149β77|jstor=3210059|year=1987|doi=10.2307/3210059|s2cid=165335710}}</ref> Israelite religion was no exception, as during the transitional period, Yahweh and [[El (deity)|El]] were syncretized in the Israelite pantheon.<ref name="Dever" /> El already occupied a reasonably important place in the Israelite religion. Even the name "Israel" is based on the name El, rather than Yahweh.<ref name="Coogan">{{cite book |last1=Coogan |first1=Michael David |last2=Coogan |first2=Michael D. |title=The Oxford History of the Biblical World |date=2001 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-513937-2 |page=54 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DVHJRFW3mYC&q=name+Israel+comes+from+El&pg=PA54 |access-date=3 November 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Mark S. |title=The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel |date=2002 |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |isbn=978-0-8028-3972-5 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1yM3AuBh4AsC&pg=PA31|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Giliad |first1=Elon |title=Why Is Israel Called Israel? |url=https://www.haaretz.com/.premium-why-is-israel-called-israel-1.5353207 |access-date=3 November 2019 |work=Haaretz |date=20 April 2015 |language=en}}</ref> It was this initial harmonization of Israelite and Canaanite religious thought that lead to Yahweh gradually absorbing several characteristics from Canaanite deities, in turn strengthening his own position as an all-powerful "One." Even still, monotheism in the region of ancient Israel and Judah did not take hold overnight, and during the intermediate stages most people are believed to have remained henotheistic.<ref name="Meek" /> During this intermediate period of henotheism many families worshipped different gods. Religion was very much centred around the family, as opposed to the community. The region of Israel and Judah was sparsely populated during the time of Moses. As such many different areas worshipped different gods, due to social isolation.<ref name="Caquot">{{Cite journal|last=Caquot|first=AndrΓ©|author-link=AndrΓ© Caquot|title=At the Origins of the Bible|journal=[[Near Eastern Archaeology (journal)|Near Eastern Archaeology]]|volume=63|issue=4|pages=225β27|jstor=3210793|year=2000|doi=10.2307/3210793|s2cid=164106346}}</ref> It was not until later on in Israelite history that people started to worship Yahweh alone and fully convert to monotheistic values. That switch occurred with the growth of power and influence of the Israelite kingdom and its rulers. Further details of this are contained in the Iron Age Yahwism section below. Evidence from the Bible suggests that henotheism did exist: "They [the Hebrews] went and served alien gods and paid homage to them, gods of whom they had no experience and whom he [Yahweh] did not allot to them" (Deut. 29.26). Many believe that this quote demonstrates that the early Israelite kingdom followed traditions similar to ancient Mesopotamia, where each major urban centre had a supreme god. Each culture embraced their patron god but did not deny the existence of other cultures' patron gods. In Assyria, the patron god was Ashur, and in ancient Israel, it was Yahweh; however, both Israelite and Assyrian cultures recognized each other's deities during this period.<ref name="Caquot" /> Some scholars have used the Bible as evidence to argue that most of the people alive during the events recounted in the Hebrew Bible, including Moses, were most likely henotheists. There are many quotes from the Hebrew Bible that are used to support this view. One such quote from Jewish tradition is the first commandment which in its entirety reads "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: You shall have no other gods before me."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.20.3?lang=bi&aliyot=0|title=Exodus 20:2|website=www.sefaria.org|access-date=2023-01-21}}</ref> This quote does not deny the existence of other gods; it merely states that Jews should consider Yahweh or God the supreme god, incomparable to other supernatural beings. Some scholars attribute the concept of angels and demons found in Judaism and Christianity to the tradition of henotheism. Instead of completely getting rid of the concept of other supernatural beings, these religions changed former deities into angels and demons.<ref name=Meek/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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