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#REDIRECT [[tetragrammaton]]
{{Short description|National god of ancient Israel and Judah}}
{{About|the national god of the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah|the modern Jewish conception of Yahweh|God in Judaism|and|God in Abrahamic religions|the name "YHWH" and its vocalization|Tetragrammaton|other uses}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
[[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|pp=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 Modern {{lang-he|{{Script/Hebrew|יַהְוֶה}}}} {{IPA-he|jahˈwe|}}}} was the [[national god]] of ancient [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]].{{sfn|Miller|Hayes|1986|p=110}} His origins reach at least to the early [[Iron Age]], and likely to the Late [[Bronze Age]].{{sfn|Miller|2000|p=1}} In the oldest [[biblical]] literature, he is a [[Weather god|storm]]-and-[[List of war deities|warrior deity]]{{sfn|Smith|2001|page=146}} who leads the [[Heavenly host#In the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)|heavenly army]] against Israel's enemies;{{sfn|Hackett|2001|pp=158–59}} at that time the [[Israelites]] worshipped him 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 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 the [[Yahwism|Yahwist religion]].{{sfn|Smith|2002|pages=8, 135}}

Towards the end of the [[Babylonian captivity]], the very existence of foreign gods was denied, and Yahweh was proclaimed as the [[creator deity|creator of the cosmos]] and the [[Monotheism|one true God of all the world]].{{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}} [[Jews]] began to substitute the divine name with the word ''adonai'' ({{Script/Hebrew|אֲדֹנָי‬}}), meaning "[[Lord#Religion|My Lords]]" but used as a singular like "[[Elohim]]", and after the Temple was destroyed in {{CE|link|70}} the original pronunciation was forgotten.{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}} Outside of [[Jewish history|early Judaism]], Yahweh was frequently invoked in [[Magic in the Greco-Roman world|Greco-Roman magical texts]] from the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE{{sfn|Betz|1996|p={{page needed|date=August 2020}}}} under the names [[Tetragrammaton|Iao]], [[Adonai]], [[Sabaoth]], and [[Elohim|Eloai]].{{sfn|Smith|Cohen|1996b|pp=242–56}}

==Name==
Ancient Hebrew was written without vowels, so that the god's name is written as ''𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄'' ({{Script/Hebrew|יהוה}} in Modern Hebrew), [[transliteration|transliterated]] as [[YHWH]]; modern scholarship has agreed to represent this as Yahweh.{{sfn|Alter|2018|p=unpaginated}} The shortened forms "Yeho-" and "Yo-" appear in [[Theophory_in_the_Bible#Yah_theophory|personal names]] and in phrases such as "[[Hallelujah]]!"{{sfn|Preuss|2008|p=823}}

This name is not attested other than among the Israelites and seems not to have any plausible etymology.{{sfn|Hoffman|2004|page=236}} ''Ehye ašer ehye'' ("[[I Am that I Am]]"), the [[folk etymology|explanation]] presented in [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 3:14,<ref>{{bibleverse||Exodus|3:14|HE}}</ref> appears to be a late theological gloss invented at a time when the original meaning had been forgotten.{{sfn|Parke-Taylor|1975|p=51}} Biblical scholar [[Frank Moore Cross]] has proposed that ''Yahweh'' derives from an [[epiphet]] of El: ''ḏū yahwī ṣabaʾôt'', "he (El,) who creates the hosts" (contracted from ''ʾel zū yahwī ṣabaʾôt''), perhaps the epiphet of El as patron deity of a Midianite league.{{sfn|Cross|1973|p=71}}{{sfn|Miller|2000|p=2}} This argument has been criticized as having numerous weaknesses, including the dissimilar characters of the two gods El and Yahweh, Yahweh's association with the storm (an association never made for El), and the fact that ''ʾel zū yahwī ṣabaʾôt'' is nowhere attested either inside or outside the Bible.{{sfn|Day|2002|pp=13–14}}

The sacrality of the name, as well as the proscribed [[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 pronouncing the term in writing. 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> though it is more than likely that this is an exaggeration, and that in fact, the name was pronounced daily in the [[liturgy]] of the [[Temple in Jerusalem|Temple]] in the priestly [[benediction]] of worshippers, after the daily sacrifice; whereas outside the Temple and in the [[synagogue]]s, a substitute (probably "Adonai") was used.<ref>''[[Mishneh Torah]]'' Maimonides, Laws of Prayer and Priestly Blessings, Chapter 14; http://www.chabad.org/dailystudy/rambam.asp?tDate=28 March 2012&rambamChapters=3</ref><ref name="Moore">{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Jehovah |volume= 15 | pages = 311&ndash;314 |last1= Moore |first1= George Foot |author-link=George Foot Moore }}</ref> With the destruction of the Temple, the name was no longer used in any liturgy, and its pronunciation was forgotten by the 5th century CE.<ref name="Moore" />

==History==
===Periods===
''(Note that other sources will give slightly different dates)''
* Late Bronze: 1550&ndash;1200&nbsp;BCE
* [[Iron Age#Near East timeline|Iron Age]] I: 1200&ndash;1000&nbsp;BCE
* Iron Age II: 1000&ndash;586&nbsp;BCE
* Neo-Babylonian: 586&ndash;539&nbsp;BCE
* Persian: 539&ndash;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&ndash;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&ndash;1200&nbsp;BCE) ===
[[File:Storm god-AO 11188-IMG 7668.JPG|right|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]]]]
Scholars disagree as to the origins of the god Yahweh.{{sfn|Kaiser|2017|p=unpaginated}} The oldest plausible occurrence of his name is in the phrase "[[Shasu#Shasu of Yhw|Shasu of Yhw]]" ([[Egyptian language|Egyptian]]: {{Script/Egyp|𓇌𓉔𓍯𓅱}} ''yhwꜣw'')<ref>Giveon, Raphael (1971) ''Les Bédouins Shosou des documents égyptiens'', documents 6a and 16a.</ref> in an Egyptian inscription from the time of [[Amenhotep III]] (1402&ndash;1363&nbsp;BCE),{{sfn|Freedman|O'Connor|Ringgren|1986|p=520}}{{sfn|Anderson|2015|p=510}} the Shasu being nomads from [[Midian]] and [[Edom]] in northern Arabia.{{sfn|Grabbe|2007|p=151}} The current consensus is therefore 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}}{{sfn|Grabbe|2007|p=153}} This raises the question of how Yahweh came to be worshipped further 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 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 Canaan, and doubts as to the historicity of Moses.{{sfn|Van der Toorn|1995|pp=247–48}} If the Kenite hypothesis is to be maintained without accepting some form of the Moses tradition, then it must be assumed that the Israelites encountered Yahweh (and the Midianites/Kenites) inside Israel.{{sfn|Van der Toorn|1995|p=248}}

=== Iron Age I (1200&ndash;1000&nbsp;BCE) ===
[[File:Bull site statuette.png|left|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}}]]
Iron Age I corresponds approximately to the Judges period of the Bible.{{sfn|Hackett|2001|p=132}} During this period, Israel was a confederation of tribes,{{sfn|Stager|2001|p=91}} each of which was (by then) a territorial entity with boundaries and rights.{{sfn|Stager|2001|p=111}} The earliest known reference to ''Israel'' is a [[Merneptah Stele|stele of the pharaoh Merneptah]] dated to 1208&nbsp;BCE.{{sfn|Smith|2002|p=24}} Although the Biblical account draws a clear distinction between Israelites and Canaanites in this period, and this was followed in early scholarship, the modern consensus is that there was no distinction in language or material culture between these groups and scholars accordingly define Israelite culture as a subset of Canaanite culture.{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=7, 19-31}}

With the notable exception of Yahweh himself, the deities worshipped by Israel were also Canaanite. These included [[El (deity)|El]], the ruler of the pantheon,{{sfn|Golden|p=182}} [[Asherah]], his consort, and [[Baal]].{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=19-31}} El and his seventy sons, who included Baal and Yahweh, made up the Assembly of the Gods, each member of which had a human nation under his care; a textual variant of [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] 32:8&ndash;9 describes Yahweh receiving Israel when El divided the nations of the world among his sons:{{sfn|Hess|2007|p=103}}{{sfn|Smith|2002|p=32}}
{{poemquote|When the Most High (''{{'}}elyôn'') gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he separated humanity,
he fixed the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of divine beings.
For Yahweh's portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.{{efn|name="Deut"|For the varying texts of this verse see {{harvnb|Smith|2010|pp= 139–40 & chapter 4}} }} }}

The etymology of the name Israel is unclear, but a plausible suggestion is "El rules".{{sfn|Levenson|2014|p=63}} This implies the original deity of Israel was El, but from some early date Yahweh was understood as Israel's god, as reflected in the quotation above, which refers to El having allotted Israel to Yahweh.{{sfn|Smith|2002|p=32}} El and Yahweh were subsequently identified and the name of El became a generic noun meaning "god". Yahweh is expressly identified with El Shadday in Exodus 6:2&ndash;3. During Iron&nbsp;I, Yahweh acquired characteristics of El, such as being bearded, commanding the divine council and compassion.{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=32-43}}

In the earliest Biblical literature Yahweh is a storm-god typical of ancient Near Eastern myths, marching out from a region to the south or south-east of Israel 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=158–60}}

{{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.<ref>Verses 4&ndash;5 and 20 of {{Bibleverse|Judges|5|WEB}} (WEB), the [[Song of Deborah]].</ref>}}

=== Iron Age II (1000&ndash;586&nbsp;BCE) ===
[[File:Ajrud.jpg|left|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 jar found at Kuntillet Ajrud, under the inscription "Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah" (c.&nbsp;800&nbsp;BCE)]]

Iron II saw the emergence of nation-states in the [[Southern Levant]] including Israel, Judah, [[Philistia]], [[Moab]], [[Ammon]], [[Edom]] and [[Phoenicia]].{{sfn|Schniedewind|2013|p=93}} Each kingdom had its own national god:{{sfn|Schniedewind|2013|p=93}} [[Chemosh]] was the god of the Moabites, [[Milcom]] the god of the Ammonites, [[Qaus]] the god of the Edomites, and Yahweh the god of Israel.{{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 emerged probably 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}} During the reign of [[Ahab]] (c. 871&ndash;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 9th century, the Yahweh-religion began to separate itself from its Canaanite heritage, with the rejection of Baal worship (associated with the prophets [[Elijah]] and [[Elisha]]). This process continued over the period 800&ndash;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, El (or ''{{'}}el'') ({{lang-he|אל}}) became a generic term meaning "god" as opposed to the name of a specific god, 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 prophets and Deuteronomists, 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}} When Judah became an Assyrian vassal-state after the destruction of Israel in 722&nbsp;BCE, the relationship between the king and dynastic god Yahweh in Judah came to be thought of in terms of Assyrian vassal treaties.{{sfn|Levin|2013|p=248}}

=== Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods (586&ndash;332&nbsp;BCE)===
{{main|Second Temple Judaism}}
[[File:Jerus-n4i.jpg|right|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 Jerusalem fell to the [[Neo-Babylonian]]s, the 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 sacrifices 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|p274}} In 539&nbsp;BCE 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 Temple was rebuilt.{{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|Lord]]".{{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 "the Lord".{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}} After the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE the original pronunciation of the tetragrammaton was forgotten.{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}}

The period of Persian rule saw the development of expectation in a future human king who would rule 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=182–83}}{{sfn|Albertz|2003|p=[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=Xx9YzJq2B9wC&pg=PA130 130]}} From these ideas, [[Christianity]], [[Rabbinic Judaism]], and [[Islam]] would later emerge.

==Worship==
{{Main article|Yahwism}}
===Festivals and sacrifice===
The centre of Yahweh's worship lay in three great annual festivals coinciding with major events in rural life: [[Passover]] with the birthing of 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=151–52}} 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=158–65}} [[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).]]
Yahweh's role as the national god was reflected each year in Jerusalem when the king presided over a ceremony at which Yahweh was enthroned in the Temple.{{sfn|Petersen|1998|p=23}} 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 "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 and 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 [[standing stone]]s, 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=288–90}} No satisfactory explanation of Israelite aniconism has been advanced, 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 recent study, "[a]n early aniconism, ''de facto'' or otherwise, is purely a projection of the [[Second Temple Judaism|post-exilic]] imagination" (MacDonald, 2007).{{sfn|MacDonald|2007|pp=21, 26–27}}

== Yahweh and the rise of monotheism ==

The worship of Yahweh alone began at the earliest with the prophet [[Elijah]] in the 9th century BCE, but more likely with the prophet [[Hosea]] in the 8th; even then it remained the concern of a small party before gaining ascendancy in the [[Babylonian exile]] and early [[Second Temple Judaism|post-exilic period]].{{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 he was the only god 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}}

== 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=242–56}} 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=242–56}} The [[archangels]] [[Michael (archangel)|Michael]], [[Gabriel]], [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]], and [[Uriel|Ouriel]] and Jewish cultural heroes 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=242–56}}

A coin issued by [[Pompey]] to celebrate his successful conquest of Judaea showed a kneeling, bearded figure grasping a branch (a common Roman symbol of submission) subtitled ''BACCHIVS IVDAEVS'' or "The Jewish [[Bacchus]]", which has been interpreted as depicting Yahweh as a local variety of Dionysus.{{sfn|Scott|2015|pp=169–72}} [[Tacitus]], [[John the Lydian]], [[Cornelius Labeo]], and [[Marcus Terentius Varro]] similarly identify Yahweh with the [[Dionysus]] (i.e., Bacchus).{{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 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 "Euoi" and "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=232–33}} 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 ==

* [[Ancient Semitic religion]]
* [[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]]
* [[Tutelary deity]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

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

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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
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|title = In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language
|publisher = NYU Press
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|isbn = 978-0-8147-3706-4
}}
* {{cite book
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|chapter = God, Names of
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|title = Mercer Dictionary of the Bible
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|year = 1990
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|isbn = 978-0-86554-373-7
}}
* {{cite journal |last=Joffe |first=Alexander H. |year=2002 |title=The Rise of Secondary States in the Iron Age Levant |journal=Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient |volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=425–67 |doi=10.1163/156852002320939311 |jstor=3632872}}
* {{cite book
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|title = Exodus
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|isbn = 978-0-310-53173-9
}}
* {{cite book
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|title = The Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms
|publisher = Eisenbrauns
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}}
* {{cite book|last=Leech|first=Kenneth|date=2002|orig-year=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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* {{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.
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}}
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* {{cite book
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* Nestor, Dermot Anthony, ''Cognitive Perspectives on Israelite Identity,'' Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010
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|publisher = Peeters Publishers
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* {{citation
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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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* {{cite book
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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 book
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|editor2-last = Myer
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|title = Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible
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|year = 2000
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* {{cite book
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|year = 2001
|title = The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts
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* {{cite book
|last = Smith
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|title = The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel
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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
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|title = Prayer, Magic, and the Stars in the Ancient and Late Antique World
|publisher = Penn State Press
|year = 2003
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* {{cite book
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|title = God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World
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* {{cite book
|last = Smith
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|editor1-last = Van Oorschot
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|title = The Origins of Yahwism
|publisher = De Gruyter
|series = Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
|volume = 484
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}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{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
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|title = The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion
|publisher = Oxford University Press
|year = 2011
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|isbn = 978-0-19-973004-9
}}
* {{cite book
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|title = Ve-Eileh Divrei David
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|isbn = 978-9004340879
}}
* {{cite book
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|title = The Oxford History of the Biblical World
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}}
* {{cite book
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|title = God: An Anatomy
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}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Thomas |first=Zachary |date=2016-05-01 |title=Debating the United Monarchy: Let's See How Far We've Come |journal=Biblical Theology Bulletin |volume=46 |issue=2 |pages=59–69 |issn=0146-1079 |doi=10.1177/0146107916639208
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|title = Pluralism and Identity: Studies in Ritual Behaviour
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}}
* {{cite book
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|title = Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible
|publisher = Eerdmans
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|title-link = Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible
}}
* {{cite book
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}}
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|date=2005
|title=Ancient Israelite And Early Jewish Literature
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|publisher=Brill
|isbn=978-90-04-12427-1
}}
* {{cite book
|last = Wanke
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|year = 1984
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* {{cite book
| last1 = Wright
| first1 = J. Edward
| title = The Early History of Heaven
| year = 2002
| publisher = Oxford University Press
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| 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}}

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

[[Category:Yahweh| ]]
[[Category:Conceptions of God]]
[[Category:Creator gods]]
[[Category:Deities in the Hebrew Bible]]
[[Category:Judeo-Christian topics]]
[[Category:Reconstructed words]]
[[Category:Religion in ancient Israel and Judah]]
[[Category:Sky and weather gods]]
[[Category:Tetragrammaton]]
[[Category:War gods]]
[[Category:West Semitic gods]]
[[Category:Names of God]]

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