Yahweh

Template:Pp-move Template:Pp-semi-indef Template:Use dmy dates Template:Short description Template:About Template:Infobox deity Template:Fertile Crescent myth (Levantine) Template:Middle Eastern deities YahwehTemplate:Efn was an ancient Semitic deity of weather and war in the ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and the head of the pantheon of the polytheistic Israelite religion.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Although there is no clear consensus regarding the geographical origins of the deity,Template:Sfn scholars generally hold that Yahweh was associated with Seir, Edom, Paran, and Teman,Template:Sfn and later with Canaan. The worship of the deity reaches back to at least the early Iron Age, and likely to the late Bronze Age, if not somewhat earlier.Template:Sfn

In the oldest biblical texts, Yahweh possesses attributes that were typically ascribed to deities of weather and war, fructifying the Land of Israel and leading a heavenly army against the enemies of the Israelites.Template:Sfn The early Israelites engaged in polytheistic practices that were common across ancient Semitic religion,Template:Sfn because the Israelite religion was a derivative of the Canaanite religion and included a variety of deities from it, including El, Asherah, and Baal.Template:Sfn Initially a lesser deity among the Cannanite pantheon,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Yahweh in later centuries became conflated with El; Yahweh took on El's place as head of the pantheon of the Israelite religion, El's consort Asherah, and El-linked epithets, such as Template:Transliteration (Template:Script/Hebrew), came to be applied to Yahweh alone.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Characteristics of other deities, such as Asherah and Baal, were also selectively absorbed in conceptions of Yahweh.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

As Israelite Yahwism eventually developed into Judaism and Samaritanism, and eventually transitioned from polytheism to monotheism, the existence of other deities was denied outright, and Yahweh was proclaimed the creator deity and the sole deity to be worthy of worship. During the Second Temple period, Jews began to substitute other Hebrew words, primarily Template:Transliteration (Template:Script/Hebrew, Template:Literal translation), in place of the name Yahweh. By the time of the Jewish–Roman wars—namely following the Roman siege of Jerusalem and the concomitant destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE—the original pronunciation of the name of the deity was forgotten entirely.Template:Sfn

Additionally, Yahweh is invoked in the Aramaic-language Papyrus Amherst 63 from ancient Egypt, and also in Jewish or Jewish-influenced ancient Greek-language Greek Magical Papyri in Roman Egypt dated to the 1st to 5th centuries CE.Template:Sfn

NameEdit

The deity's name was written in Paleo-Hebrew as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Template:Script/Hebrew in block script), transliterated as YHWH; modern scholarship has reached consensus to transcribe this as "Yahweh".<ref>Template:Harvnb: "The strong consensus of biblical scholarship is that the original pronunciation of the name YHWHTemplate:Nbsp... was Yahweh."</ref> The shortened forms Yeho-, Yahu-, Yah- and Yo- appear in personal names and in phrases such as "Hallelujah!"Template:Sfn The sacrality of the name, as well as the Commandment against "taking the name 'in vain'Template:Hair space", led to increasingly strict prohibitions on speaking or writing the term. Rabbinic sources suggest that, by the Second Temple period, the name of God was officially pronounced only once a year by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement.<ref>Template:Harvnb: "...Template:Nbspthe pronunciation of the Ineffable Name was one of the climaxes of the Sacred Service: it was entrusted exclusively to the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement in the Holy of Holies."</ref> After the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destruction of Jerusalem in 70Template:NbspCE]], the original pronunciation of the name was forgotten entirely.Template:Sfn

HistoryEdit

File:כתובת אריהו מפורשת.jpg

Uriyahu inscription, Khirbet el-Qom, 8th c. BCE, "Blessed is/be Uriyahu by Yahweh"

PeriodsEdit

Philip King and Lawrence Stager place the history of Yahweh into the following periods:

Late Bronze: 1550–1200Template:NbspBCE
Iron Age I: 1200–1000Template:NbspBCE
Iron Age II: 1000–586Template:NbspBCE
Neo-Babylonian: 586–539Template:NbspBCE
Persian: 539–332Template:NbspBCETemplate:Sfn

Other academic terms often used include First Temple period, from the construction of the Temple in 957Template:NbspBCE to its destruction in 586Template:NbspBCE, exilic for the period of the Exile from 586 to 539Template:NbspBCE (identical with Neo-Babylonian above), post-Exilic for later periods and Second Temple period from the reconstruction of the Temple in 515Template:NbspBCE until its destruction in 70Template:NbspCE.

Late Bronze Age origins (1550–1200Template:NbspBCE)Edit

There is almost no agreement on the deity's origins.Template:Sfn Yahweh is not attested other than among the Israelites, and there is no consensus on its etymology, with Template:Tlit ('I Am that I Am'), the explanation presented in Exodus 3:14,<ref>Template:Bibleverse</ref> appearing to be a late theological gloss invented at a time when the original meaning had been forgotten,Template:Sfn although some scholars dispute this.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Lewis connects the name to the Amorite element Template:Tlit (ia-wi), found in personal names in Mari texts,Template:Sfn meaning 'brings to life'Template:\'causes to exist' (e.g., yahwi-dagan = "Dagon causes to exist"), commonly denoted as the semantic equivalent of the Akkadian Template:Tlit;Template:Sfn though Frank Moore Cross emphasized 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.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Harvnb: "There has been one key objection, by Michael Streck, who reevaluated Amorite personal names as a whole in 2000 and as part of this work published the separate conclusion (1999) that all the Ya-wi- and Ya-aḫ-wi- elements in these names must be understood to reflect the same root ḥwy, "to live"....If Streck is correct that these are all forms of the verb "to live", then the Amorite personal names must be set aside as useful to any interpretation of the name [Yahweh]." But see Template:Harvnb: "While the identification of the verbal root in the Amorite names with and without the -ḫ- remains impossible to prove with certainty, the parallels with contemporary Old Babylonian Ibašši-DN and the later second-millennium parallels from the verb kwn show the viability of a West Semitic root hwy, "to be, be evident", for at least some portion of these Amorite names."</ref> In addition, J. Philip Hyatt believes it is more likely that Template:Tlit refers to a god creating and sustaining the life of a newborn child rather than the universe. This conception of God was more popular among ancient Near Easterners but eventually, the Israelites removed the association of Template:Tlit to any human ancestor and combined it with other elements (e.g., Template:Tlit).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Update inline Hillel Ben-Sasson states there is insufficient evidence for Amorites using yahwi- for gods, but he argues that it mirrors other theophoric names and that yahwi-, or more accurately yawi, derives from the root hwy in pa'al, which means "he will be".Template:Sfn

One scholarly theory is that "Yahweh" originated in a shortened form of Template:Tlit, 'El who creates the hosts',Template:Sfn which Cross considered to be one of the cultic names of El.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn It also raises the question of 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.Template:Sfn

The oldest plausible occurrence of Yahweh's name is in the Egyptian demonym Template:Tlit, 'YHWA [in] the Land of the Shasu' (Egyptian: Template:Script/Egyp Template:Tlit) in an inscription from the time of Amenhotep III (1390–1352Template:NbspBCE),Template:Sfn Template:Sfn the Shasu being nomads from Midian and Edom in northern Arabia.Template:Sfn Although it is still uncertain whether a relationship exists between the toponym yhwꜣ and theonym YHWH,<ref>Template:Harvnb: "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 from the southern region associated with Seir, Edom, Paran and Teman.Template:Sfn There is considerable although not universal support for this view,Template:Sfn but it raises the question of how Yahweh made his way to the north.Template:Sfn An answer many scholars consider plausible is the Kenite hypothesis, which holds that traders brought Yahweh to Israel along the caravan routes between Egypt and Canaan.Template:Sfn 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,Template:Sfn but its major weaknesses are that the majority of Israelites were firmly rooted in Palestine, while the historical role of Moses is problematic.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Christian Frevel argues that inscriptions allegedly suggesting Yahweh's southern origins (e.g., "YHWH of Teman") may simply denote his presence there at later times, and that Teman can refer to any southern territory, including Judah.<ref name=":0" />

Alternatively, some scholars argue that YHWH worship was rooted in the indigenous culture of the Kingdom of Israel and was promoted in the Kingdom of Judah by the Omrides.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref> Frevel suggests that Hazael's conquests in the Kingdom of Israel forced the two kingdoms to cooperate, which spread YHWH worship among Judean commoners. Previously, YHWH was viewed as the patron god of the Judean state.<ref name=":0" />

Early Iron Age (1200–1000Template:NbspBCE)Edit

File:Bull site statuette.png

Early Iron Age bull figurine from Bull Site at Dhahrat et-Tawileh (modern West Bank, ancient Ephraim), representing El, Baal or YahwehTemplate:Sfn Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn In this view, the Israelite religion consisted of Canaanite gods such as El, the ruler of the pantheon,Template:Sfn Asherah, his consort, and Baal.Template:Sfn

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:Template:Sfn

Template:Poemquote

Alternatively, parts of the storm god imagery could derive from Baal.Template:Sfn<ref name=":3" />Template:Rp

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.Template:Sfn Aside from their common territorial origins, various common characteristics between the Yahwist cult and the Edomite cult of Qōs hint at a shared connection.<ref name="Manyanya">Template:Cite book</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 Ammonites (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.], Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, pp. 674–677. Wm. B. Eerdmans. p. 677. "This clan or family must have been of Edomite or Idumaean origin."</ref><ref>Elie Assis, Identity in Conflict: The Struggle between Esau and Jacob, Edom and Israel, Penn State Press, 2016 Template:Isbn 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.Template:'"</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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

Late Iron Age (1000–586Template:NbspBCE)Edit

Template:Multiple image

File:Ajrud.jpg

Painting on a jar found at Kuntillet Ajrud, under the inscription "Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah" (c.Template:Nbsp800Template:NbspBCE)

The late Iron Age saw the emergence of nation states associated with specific national gods:Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn In each kingdom the king was also the head of the national religion and thus the viceroy on Earth of the national god.Template:Sfn Yahweh filled the role of national god in both the Kingdom of Israel, which emerged in the 10th century BCE, and in Kingdom of Judah, which may have emerged a century laterTemplate:Sfn (no "God of Judah" is mentioned anywhere in the Bible).Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

Accordingly, there have been different tiers of deities in the original pantheon: El and Asherah on top; followed by their children, the divine assembly; then followed by traders and craftsman deities; and finally minor deities or messenger gods.Template:Sfn It has been argued that Yahweh was originally described as one of the sons of El in Deuteronomy 32:8–9,Template:Sfn Template:Sfn and that this was removed by a later emendation to the text:Template:Sfn

Template:Poem quote

However, at some point the second tier collapsed, whereupon Yahweh became conflated with El, even though El was the original head of the pantheon. The remaining deities then became angels.Template:Sfn Template:When During the reign of Ahab, and particularly following his marriage to Jezebel, Baal may have briefly replaced Yahweh as the national god of Israel (but not Judah).Template:Sfn Template:Sfn

In the 9th centuryTemplate:NbspBCE, 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 500Template:NbspBCE with legal and prophetic condemnations of the asherim, sun worship and worship on the high places, along with practices pertaining to the dead and other aspects of the old religion.Template:Sfn Features of Baal, El, and Asherah were absorbed into Yahweh, and epithets such as El Shaddai came to be applied to Yahweh alone.Template:Sfn

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;Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

Some scholars date the start of widespread monotheism to the 8th century BCE, and view it as a response to Neo-Assyrian aggression.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

Monolatrous movements (9th–1st centuriesTemplate:NbspBCE)Edit

The earliest monotheistic movements among Yahwists appear in the 9th–8th centuriesTemplate:NbspBCE, during the time of Elijah and Hosea.Template:Sfn By ascending to the role of the "Lord of the Land" (Template:Tlit), he also absorbs the functions of earlier deities, such as Baal and El.Template:Sfn However, this depiction of Yahweh had only marginal impact under Josiah, and did not become lasting until the exilic and post-exilic period.Template:Sfn Template:Efn Only in the post-exilic and prophetic writings, and under influence of Zoroastrianism, Yahweh becomes a distant and more merciful supreme deity.<ref name="The Encyclopedia of Religion">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> It is also only then that Elohim, a term previously referring to the Canaanite High God, becomes an alternative designation for Yahweh.<ref>Edelman, D. V. (Ed.). (1995). The Triumph of Elohim: From Yahwisms to Judaisms (Vol. 13). Peeters Publishers. pp. 22–23</ref> This reconsideration of the former pantheon derives from the monotheistic concept of Persian beliefs at the time,<ref>Edelman, D. V. (Ed.). (1995). The Triumph of Elohim: From Yahwisms to Judaisms (Vol. 13). Peeters Publishers. p. 23</ref> as generally agreed upon by scholars.<ref>Sacchi, Paolo. "The history of the second temple period." (2004): 10</ref>

In the national crisis of the Babylonian exile, Yahweh is described as the sole deity and absorbs all attributes of previous gods and goddesses.Template:Sfn The notion of Yahweh as a supreme deity is described in the 6th-centuryTemplate:NbspBCE Second Isaiah.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The author's praise for Yahweh is motivated by restoring Israel's confidence into their own historical gods against the deities of their Babylonian enemies.Template:Sfn The claim for monotheism is directed against the deities of Nebuchadnezzar II, who founded his reign on Marduk and Nabu.Template:Sfn The transition was a gradual one and was not totally accomplished during the First Temple period.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Page needed At least some Jews seem to have worshipped Yahweh and Anath as distinct from Asherah and El during the 5th centuryTemplate:NbspBCE.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Under Hellenistic influence, Yahwistic beliefs became more exclusive.<ref>Sacchi, Paolo. "The history of the second temple period." (2004): 10</ref><ref>Edelman, D. V. (Ed.). (1995). The Triumph of Elohim: From Yahwisms to Judaisms (Vol. 13). Peeters Publishers. p. 23</ref> These beliefs rejected the idea of lesser deities and emanations of deities in favor of Yahweh as an abstract single god.<ref>Edelman, D. V. (Ed.). (1995). The Triumph of Elohim: From Yahwisms to Judaisms (Vol. 13). Peeters Publishers. p. 23</ref> During the Hellenistic period, the scriptures were translated into Greek by the Jews of the Egyptian diaspora.Template:Sfn Greek translations of the Hebrew scriptures render both the names Yahweh and Template:Tlit as Template:Tlit ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), meaning 'Lord'.Template:Sfn Jewish tradition celebrated Yahweh's name at least once a year at the temple by the High Priests at the Day of Atonement.Template:Sfn However, after the destruction of the Second Temple, Yahweh's name ceased to be used.Template:Sfn

The Secret Book of John reinterpreted the Genesis story under Hellenistic influence and proposes that Eve copulated with Yaldabaoth and gave birth to two sons: Abel and Cain, identified with Elohim and Yahweh respectively.<ref>Pearson, Birger A. Gnosticism, Judaism, and Egyptian Christianity. Fortress Press, 1990. pp. 100–102</ref> The former is said to be righteous and the latter injust. By murdering his brother, and corrupted by his father, he brings envy and death into the world.<ref>Pearson, Birger A. Gnosticism, Judaism, and Egyptian Christianity. Fortress Press, 1990. pp. 100–102</ref>

WorshipEdit

Template:Main article

Festivals and sacrificeEdit

Template:See also 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.Template:Sfn These probably pre-dated the arrival of the Yahweh religion,Template:Sfn but they became linked to events in the national mythos of Israel: Passover with the exodus from Egypt, Shavuot with the law-giving at Mount Sinai, and Sukkot with the wilderness wanderings.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn 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, were introduced only after the Babylonian exile, and that in reality any head of a family was able to offer sacrifice as occasion demanded.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Sacrifice was presumably complemented by the singing or recital of psalms, but again the details are scant.Template:Sfn Prayer played little role in official worship.Template:Sfn

TemplesEdit

File:Tissot Solomon Dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem.jpg

Solomon dedicates the Temple in 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.Template:Sfn 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 on Israel's northern border, at Arad in the Negev and Beersheba, both in the territory of Judah.Template:Sfn Shiloh, Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah, Ramah and Dan were also major sites for festivals, sacrifices, the making of vows, private rituals, and the adjudication of legal disputes.Template:Sfn

PortrayalEdit

Prohibition of depictions of Yahweh are a late idea and entered around the age of the Deuteronomy textsTemplate:Sfn There is no universally accepted explanation for such aniconism, and a number of 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 post-exilic imagination".Template:Sfn Other scholarsTemplate:Who? argue that there is no certain evidence of any anthropomorphic representation of Yahweh during the pre-exilic period.Template:Sfn

Graeco-Roman syncretismEdit

Yahweh is frequently invoked in Graeco-Roman magical texts dating between the 2nd centuryTemplate:NbspBCE and the 5th centuryTemplate:NbspCE, most notably in the Greek Magical Papyri,Template:Sfn under the names Iao, Adonai, Sabaoth, and Eloai.Template:Sfn In these texts, he is often mentioned alongside traditional Graeco-Roman deities and Egyptian deities.Template:Sfn The archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Ouriel and Jewish cultural heroes such as Abraham, Jacob, and Moses are also invoked frequently.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In any event, Tacitus, John the Lydian, Cornelius Labeo, and Marcus Terentius Varro similarly identify Yahweh with Bacchus–Dionysus.Template:Sfn Jews themselves frequently used symbols that were also associated with Dionysus such as kylixes, amphorae, leaves of ivy, and clusters of grapes, a similarity Plutarch used to argue that Jews worshipped a hypostasized form of Bacchus–Dionysus.Template:Sfn In his {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Plutarch further notes that the Jews hail their god with cries of "Euoi" and "Sabi", phrases associated with the worship of Dionysus.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn Template:Sfn According to Sean M. McDonough, Greek speakers may have confused Aramaic words such as Sabbath, Alleluia, or even possibly some variant of the name Yahweh itself, for more familiar terms associated with Dionysus.Template:Sfn

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, 83 (note 118). The Oxford Latin Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982, 1985 reprinting), p. 252, entry on {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, cites Juvenal, Petronius, and Florus as examples of Caelus or Caelum "with reference to Jehovah; also, to some symbolization of Jehovah."</ref>

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

Template:Cite journal

Template:Names of God Template:Authority control