what religion refers to god as the most high
Yahweh is the name of the state god of the ancient Kingdom of State of israel and, later, the Kingdom of Judah. His proper name is equanimous of four Hebrew consonants (YHWH, known equally the Tetragrammaton) which the prophet Moses is said to take revealed to his people. As the name of the supreme being was considered also holy to be spoken, the consonants YHWH were used to remind 1 to say the word 'adonai' (lord) in place of the god's proper name, a common practice throughout the Near E in which epithets were used in referencing a deity.
All of these stipulations and details were practical to the god later, however; it is unclear exactly when Yahweh was offset worshipped, by whom, or how. Scholars J. Maxwell Miller and John H. Hayes write:
The origins of Yahwism are hidden in mystery. Even the last edited course of Genesis – II Kings [in the Bible] presents diverse views on the matter. Thus Genesis 4:xvi, attributed by literary critics to the so-chosen `Yahwistic' source, traces the worship of Yahweh back to the earliest days of the man race, while other passages trace the revelation and worship of Yahweh dorsum to Moses [in the Volume of Exodus]. (111)
Scholar Nissim Amzallag, of Ben-Gurion Academy, disagrees with the claim that Yahweh'due south origins are obscure and argues that the deity was originally a god of the forge and patron of metallurgists during the Bronze Historic period (c. 3500-1200 BCE). Amzallag specifically cites the ancient copper mines of the Timna Valley (in southern Israel), biblical and extra-biblical passages, and similarities of Yahweh to gods of metallurgy in other cultures for support.
Although the Bible presents Yahweh every bit the god of the Israelites, there are many passages which make clear that this deity was as well worshipped past other peoples in Canaan.
Although the Bible, and specifically the Book of Exodus, presents Yahweh as the god of the Israelites, at that place are many passages which make clear that this deity was likewise worshipped by other peoples in Canaan. Amzallag notes that the Edomites, Kenites, Moabites, and Midianites all worshipped Yahweh to ane caste or another and that there is evidence the Edomites who operated the mines at Timnah converted an before Egyptian temple of Hathor to the worship of Yahweh.
Although the biblical narratives draw Yahweh as the sole creator god, lord of the universe, and god of the Israelites especially, initially he seems to have been Canaanite in origin and subordinate to the supreme god El. Canaanite inscriptions mention a bottom god Yahweh and even the biblical Book of Deuteronomy stipulates that "the Virtually High, El, gave to the nations their inheritance" and that "Yahweh's portion is his people, Jacob and his allotted heritage" (32:8-9). A passage similar this reflects the early on behavior of the Canaanites and Israelites in polytheism or, more accurately, henotheism (the conventionalities in many gods with a focus on a single supreme deity). The claim that Israel always only best-selling one god is a afterwards conventionalities cast back on the early days of Israel's development in Canaan.
Map of Canaan
The meaning of the name `Yahweh' has been interpreted every bit "He Who Makes That Which Has Been Made" or "He Brings into Beingness Whatever Exists", though other interpretations have been offered by many scholars. In the late middle ages, `Yahweh' came to be changed to `Jehovah' past Christian monks, a proper name unremarkably in use today.
The character and power of Yahweh were codified following the Babylonian Captivity of the 6th century BCE and the Hebrew scriptures were canonized during the Second Temple Period (c.515 BCE-70 CE) to include the concept of a messiah whom Yahweh would ship to the Jewish people to lead and redeem them. Yahweh as the all-powerful creator, preserver, and redeemer of the universe was and so later developed past the early on Christians as their god who had sent his son Jesus as the promised messiah and Islam interpreted this same deity every bit Allah in their belief system.
Actress-biblical Mention of Yahweh
The oldest mention of Yahweh was long held to be the Moabite Stone (also known as the Mesha Stele) erected by King Mesha of Moab to gloat his victory over Israel in c. 840 BCE. The inscription mentions how Mesha, after defeating the Israelites, "took the vessels of Yahweh to Kemosh" (the chief god of Moab), meaning the objects sacred to the worship of Yahweh in the temple, almost probable the temple in Israel'due south capital of Samaria (Kerrigan, 78-79).
The Moabite Stone was discovered in 1868 CE in modern-24-hour interval Jordan and the find published in 1870 CE. Every bit the first extra-biblical inscription found to mention Yahweh, much was fabricated of the discovery equally the stele reported the same outcome from the biblical narrative of II Kings 3 in which Mesha the Moabite rebels against Israel (though with the major difference of the stele claiming a Moabite victory and the Bible challenge Israel the winner). The manner the Yahweh line was interpreted farther supported the concept of Yahweh as the god of the Israelites lone since Mesha claims to have taken the Israelite god's vessels as tribute to his ain.
Mesha Stele - Moabite Rock
In 1844 CE the ruins of the ancient city of Soleb in Nubia was excavated past the archeologist Karl Richard Lepsius who documented the site in detail but did non excavate. In 1907 CE James Henry Breasted arrived and photographed the site but, again, engaged in no earthworks. It was not until 1957 CE that a team under the archeologist Michela Schiff Giorgini, excavated the site and found reference to a grouping of people described as "Shasu of Yahweh" at the base of i of the columns of the temple in the hypostyle hall. The temple was congenital by Amenhotep III (c.1386-1353 BCE) and the reference to Yahweh established that this god was worshipped by some other people long before the time when the events of the biblical narratives are thought to accept taken place.
The discovery of Amenhotep Iii'due south mention of the Shasu of Yahweh placed the god much earlier in history than had been accepted previously.
The Shasu (also given equally Shashu) were a Semitic, nomadic people described equally outlaws or bandits by the Egyptians and, in fact, they are named on the column of the temple at Soleb among Egypt's other enemies and appear later, in an inscription from the reign of Ramesses 2 (1279-1213 BCE), as amidst the pharaoh's enemies at the Battle of Kadesh. Every bit it has been established they were a nomadic people, attempts take been made to link them with the Hebrews and with the Habiru, a group of renegades in the Levant, but these claims have been refuted. Whoever the Shasu were, they were non Hebrew and the Habiru seem to be Canaanites who simply refused to conform to the customs of the state, not a split ethnic group.
The discovery of Amenhotep 3's mention of the Shasu of Yahweh placed the god much before in history than had been accepted previously merely too suggested that Yahweh was perhaps not native to Canaan. This fit with the theory that Yahweh was a desert god whom the Hebrews adopted in their exodus from Egypt to Canaan. The descriptions of Yahweh actualization as a pillar of fire by night and deject by twenty-four hour period equally well as the other burn-imagery from the Book of Exodus was interpreted by some scholars every bit suggesting a storm god or weather-deity and, particularly, a desert god since Yahweh is able to directly Moses to water sources (Exodus 17:vi and Numbers xx). It is generally accepted in the mod day, however, that Yahweh originated in southern Canaan as a lesser god in the Canaanite pantheon and the Shasu, equally nomads, most likely acquired their worship of him during their time in the Levant.
The Moabite Stone has too been reinterpreted in light of recent scholarship which demonstrates that the people of Moab besides worshipped Yahweh and the reference to Mesha taking the vessels of Yahweh to Kemosh almost likely means he repossessed what he felt belonged to the Moabites, not that he conquered State of israel and its god in the name of his ain.
Yahweh in the Bible
The Bible does mention other nations worshipping Yahweh and how the god arrived from Edom to help the Israelites in warfare (Deuteronomy 33:2, Judges five:4-5) only this is not the primal narrative. In the Bible, Yahweh is the one true God who creates the heavens and the globe and so chooses a certain people, the Israelites, every bit his own.
Yahweh creates the world, and hangs the dominicus and the moon in the heavens, every bit the Volume of Genesis opens. He creates animals and human beings, destroys all in a swell alluvion except Noah, Noah'southward family, and the animals Noah saves, and elects Abram (later on known as Abraham) to atomic number 82 his people to the land of Canaan and settle at that place (Genesis 1-25).
Detail, Noah Window, Chartres
Abraham'southward initial community was adult by his son Isaac and so his grandson Jacob (also known as Israel). Jacob's favorite son, Joseph, was sold by his brothers into slavery and brought to Egypt where, owing to his skill in interpreting dreams, he rose to prominence and was able to save the region from famine (Genesis 25-50). The Book of Genesis concludes with Joseph dying subsequently telling his brothers that Yahweh will bring them out of Egypt and dorsum to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Many years later, when the Israelites take grown too populous for the Egyptians, an unnamed pharaoh orders them to be enslaved and makes their lives harsh (Exodus 1-14). Even so, the Israelite population continues to grow and and then pharaoh orders all male infants killed (Exodus one:15-22). A woman of the Levite tribe among the Israelites hides her son and and then sends him downriver in a handbasket to be plant past pharaoh's daughter, who adopts him; this child is Moses (Exodus 2:1-10). Moses learns his true identity equally an Israelite and, after killing an Egyptian, flees to the state of Midian where, in fourth dimension he encounters Yahweh in the grade of a burning bush-league (Exodus three, 4:1-17). The residue of the Book of Exodus details the Ten Plagues which Yahweh sends on Egypt and how Moses leads his people to freedom.
Moses never reaches the promised state of Canaan himself attributable to a misunderstanding he has with Yahweh in which he strikes a rock for water when he was not supposed to (Numbers twenty) but he turns over leadership to his correct-hand-man Joshua who then leads his people in the conquest of Canaan as directed past Yahweh. In one case the country is conquered, Joshua divides it amidst his people and, in time, they constitute the Kingdom of Israel.
Yahweh in the Canaanite Pantheon
The biblical narrative, however, is not as straightforward as it may seem as it also includes reference to the Canaanite god El whose name is directly referenced in `Israel' (He Who Struggles with God or He Who Perseveres with God). El was the chief deity of the Canaanite pantheon and the god who, according to the Bible, gave Yahweh authority over the Israelites:
When the Nearly High [El] gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of men, he fixed the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the Sons of God. For Yahweh's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. (Deuteronomy 32:viii-nine, Masoretic Text).
The Canaanites, like all ancient civilizations, worshipped many gods but chief among them was the sky-god El. In this passage from Deuteronomy, El gives each of the gods authority over a segment of the people of earth and Yahweh is assigned to the Israelites who, in fourth dimension, will make him their supreme and only deity; but information technology is articulate he existed beforehand equally a lesser Canaanite god.
Yahweh, as the actual name of the supreme beingness, seems to have remained in employ until the Babylonian Exile in the sixth century BCE.
Yahweh every bit God of Metallurgy
Co-ordinate to scholar Nissim Amzallag, yet, Yahweh was a god of metallurgy. Amzallag writes:
An essential link between Yahweh and copper is suggested in the Book of Zechariah where the abode of the God of Israel is symbolized by two mountains of copper (Zech. half-dozen:1-6). In his prophecies, Ezekiel describes a divine existence as `a man was there, whose appearance shone like copper' (Ezek. forty:3), and in another part of this volume, Yahweh is even explicitly mentioned as being a smelter (Ezek. 22:twenty). In Isaiah 54:xvi, Yahweh is explicitly mentioned as the creator of both the copperworker and his work…Such an involvement of Yahweh is never mentioned elsewhere for other crafts or homo activities. (394)
Amzallag farther notes the similarities between Yahweh and other gods of metallurgy:
The god of metallurgy generally appears as an outstanding deity. He is generally involved in the creation of the world and/or the creation of humans. The overwhelming importance of the god of metallurgy reflects the central function played by the copper smelters in the emergence of civilizations throughout the ancient world. (397)
Amzallag compares the attributes of the Egyptian Ptah and the Mesopotamian Ea/Enki along with Napir of Elam, all gods of metallurgy (among their other attributes) with Yahweh and finds striking similarities. He farther claims that the name of the god of the Edomites, Qos, is an epithet for Yahweh and notes how the Edomites, a people closely associated with metallurgy, were the primary workers and administrators of the copper mines at Timna and, further, that Edom is never mentioned in the Bible as challenging Israel in the name of a foreign god; thus suggesting that the two peoples worshipped the same deity (390-392).
Copper "Oxhide" Ingot, Uluburun Shipwreck
Although Amzallag's theory has been challenged, it has non been refuted. Particularly compelling are his arguments from biblical passages and the archaeological testify cited from the ruins of the mines of Timna.
From God of Metallurgy to Supreme Deity
Yahweh, according to Amzallag, was transformed from one god among many to the supreme deity past the Israelites in the Atomic number 26 Historic period (c.1200-930 BCE) when atomic number 26 replaced bronze and the copper smelters, whose craft was seen as a kind of transformative magic, lost their unique status. In this new historic period, the Israelites in Canaan sought to altitude themselves from their neighbors in lodge to consolidate political and military forcefulness and then elevated Yahweh above El as the supreme being and claimed him every bit their ain. His association with the forge, and with imagery of fire, smoke, and smiting, worked every bit well in describing a god of storms and war and so Yahweh's character changed from a deity of transformation to one of conquest. Miller and Hayes comment:
Peradventure the most noticeable characteristic of Yahweh in Israel'southward early poesy and narrative literature is his militancy. The and so-chosen "Vocal of the Body of water" in Exodus xv:i-18 and the "Song of Deborah" in Judges five are typical in their praise of Yahweh, the divine warrior who could be counted on to intervene on behalf of his followers…Thus information technology may have been primarily in connexion with Israel's wars that Yahweh gained status every bit the national god. During times of peace, the tribes will have depended heavily on Baal in his various local forms to ensure fertility. But when they came together to wage war confronting their common enemies, they would have turned to Yahweh, the divine warrior who could provide victory. (112)
Yahweh-every bit-warrior is evident throughout the Hebrew scriptures which became the Christian Onetime Testament and warrior imagery is also apparent in passages in the New Testament which drew on the earlier works (ex: Ephesians 6:xi, Philippians ii:25, Ii Timothy 2:iii-four, I Corinthians 9:7, amongst others). Past the time these works were written, the worship of Yahweh had undergone a dramatic transformation from what it had been in the early days of the Israelites in Canaan.
Early & Later Religious Belief & Practise
Initially, the people of Canaan, including the Israelites, practiced a form of ancestor worship in which they venerated the "god of the father" or the "god of the business firm", in addition to paying homage to their earthly ancestors, in an endeavour to plant individual tribal and family unit connections (van der Toorn, 177). In time, this practice evolved into worship of deities such as El, Asherah, Baal, Utu-Shamash, and Yahweh among others.
Map of the Levant circa 830 BCE
As the Israelites adult their community in Canaan, they sought to distance themselves from their neighbors and, as noted, elevated Yahweh in a higher place the traditional Canaanite supreme deity El. They did non, however, encompass monotheism at this time. The Israelites remained a henotheistic people through the time of the Judges, which predates the ascent of the monarchy, and throughout the time of the Kingdom of State of israel (c.1080-c. 722).
In 931 BCE, post-obit the death of Solomon, the kingdom split in two and a new political entity, the Kingdom of Judah with its capital letter at Jerusalem, emerged in the due south. The kingdoms of State of israel and Judah periodically warred or allied with each other until 722 BCE when the Assyrians destroyed Israel and, in keeping with their usual military machine policies, deported the inhabitants and replaced them with others from their empire. Judah was able to withstand the Assyrian military campaigns but only past paying tribute to Assyria.
The Assyrian Empire savage to an invading forcefulness of Babylonians, Medes, and others in 612 BCE and the Babylonians claimed the region of Canaan. In 598 BCE they invaded Judah and sacked Jerusalem, destroying the temple of Solomon and taking the leading citizens back to Babylon. This is the time in Jewish history known as the Babylonian Captivity (c.598-538 BCE). Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great (d.530 BCE) of the Persians who immune the Jewish leaders to return to their homeland in 538 BCE.
Equally with all aboriginal religions (likewise equally mod), the faith of the people was based on an understanding of quid pro quo (this-for-that) in which they would honor and serve a deity and, in render, would receive protection and guidance. When the temple was destroyed and the kingdom sacked, the Jewish clergy had to find some reason for the tragedy and concluded it was considering they had not paid enough attention to Yahweh and had angered him through the acknowledgement and worship of other gods.
During the Second Temple Period (c.515 BCE-70 CE) Judaism was revised, the Torah canonized, and a new understanding of the divine established which today is known every bit monotheism – the belief in a single deity. At this fourth dimension, scholars accept established, the older works which eventually became the Hebrew Scriptures were revised to reflect a monotheistic belief system amidst the Israelites far earlier than was actually practiced.
The monotheism of the Hebrew Scriptures would later be appropriated by the adherents of Christianity who would continue veneration of Yahweh, eventually known as Jehovah so, simply, as "God", and Islam would likewise develop the deity under the name of Allah ("the God") start in the 7th century CE. Whoever Yahweh was originally, and however he was worshipped, today he forms the basis of the iii groovy monotheistic religions of the world.
This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication.
Source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Yahweh/
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