When and from where did YHWH emerge? Some reflections on early Yahwism in Israel and Judah
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Authors
Frevel, Christian
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Publisher
Center for Religious Studies
Abstract
The paper addresses two crucial questions of the history of Israelite religion.Did YHWH emerge in the southern steppe and when did YHWH become the God of Judah?After discussing the available evidence for YHWH’s origin in the South, the paper teststhe extra-biblical evidence for the worship of YHWH in Israel and Judah and questionshis widespread importance in the tenth and early ninth centuries BCE in the mentionedterritories. By presenting the theophoric personal names, the hypothesis is corroboratedthat YHWH was significantly introduced at the earliest by the Omrides. Moving then tothe epigraphic evidence, the additional evince for YHWH’s origin in the South is reviewednegatively. YHWH of Teman from Kuntillet ʽAjrud cannot prove the origin of this deity inthe South. It is rather a piece of evidence that the worship of this deity in the South wasnot natural even in the mid-eighth century BCE. That YHWH’s true origin is in Midian,Paran, Seir, etc. remains a speculative hypothesis that is built on the tradition-history ofsome biblical passages and the biblical Sinai tradition. This particular feature is indeedrelated to the South and its struggle to claim independence for the Southern YHWH fromthe North. YHWH was only introduced to Judah as a patron deity of the dynasty, and thatis the state of the Omrides ruling in Jerusalem.
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Keywords
YHWH,Israelite religion,Early Yahwism,Iconography,Judahite religion,History of ancient Israel,Hebrew Bible,Sinai
Sustainable Development Goals
Citation
Frevel, C. 2021, 'When and from where did YHWH emerge? Some reflections on early Yahwism in Israel and Judah', Entangled Religions, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 1-32.