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Yahweh

This article is about the national god of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the Iron Age. For the modern Jewish concept of Yahweh, see God in Judaism and Jehovah. For the name "YHWH" and its vocalization, see Tetragrammaton.
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 Persian province of Yehud Medinata, showing Yahweh sitting on a winged wheel.

Yahweh was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah.[1] His worship may have started at least at the early Iron Age, and most likely to the Late Bronze Age (if not earlier.)[2] In the oldest writings of the Bible (Torah) he has characteristics that typical weather and war gods have, like making the land bear fruit and sending his heavenly armies to go against Israel's enemies.[3] The early people of Israel were polytheistic and worshipped not Yahweh alone but a lot of Canaanite gods and goddesses. These include El, Asherah, Baal.[4] In later centuries, the deities of El and Yahweh were combined, and because of this, Yahweh won the qualities of El. This made titles that were supposed to be only applied to El, like El Shaddai, be applied to Yahweh alone.[5] Other Caananite gods and goddesses, such as Baal and Asherah, were absorbed into the Yahwism fully.[6]

  1. ↑ Miller & Hayes 1986, p. 110.
  2. ↑ Miller 2000, p. 1.
  3. ↑ Hackett 2001, pp. 158–59.
  4. ↑ Smith 2002, p. 7.
  5. ↑ Smith 2002, pp. 8, 33–34.
  6. ↑ Smith 2002, pp. 8, 135.
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