Yahweh: Difference between revisions

{{About|the ancient Levantine deity of Israel and Judah|the modern Judeo-Christian conception of Yahweh|God in Judaism|and|God in Christianity|and|God in Abrahamic religions|8=the name "YHWH" and its vocalization|9=Tetragrammaton|10=other uses}}

[[File:Zeus Yahweh.jpg|thumb|alt=A coin showing a bearded figure seating on a winged wheel, holding a bird on his outstretched hand|The [[God on the Winged Wheel coin]], aminted 4th-centuryin BCE[[Gaza silverCity]] coinin fromsouthern [[Philistia]] during the [[Achaemenid EmpireEber-Nari|PersiaPersian period]]n period,of the 4th century BCE. It possibly representingrepresents Yahweh enthroned on a [[winged wheel]].,{{sfn|Edelman|1995|p=190}}{{sfn|Stavrakopoulou|2021|pp=411–412, 742}} Thisalthough this identification is disputed, howeveramong scholars.{{sfn|Pyschny|2021|pp=26–27}}]]{{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 {{langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|*יַהְוֶה}}|label=block script}} *''Yahwe'', {{IPA|he|jahˈwe|}}}} was an ancient [[Levant]]ineReligions deity,of the [[nationalancient god]]Near ofEast|ancient theLevantine [[Israelites|Israelitedeity]] kingdomswho ofwas venerated in [[KingdomHistory of ancient Israel (Samaria)and Judah|Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]].{{sfn|Miller|Hayes|1986|p=110}}{{sfn|Niehr|1995|p=54-55}} Though no consensus exists regarding the deity'shis origins,{{sfn|Fleming|2020|p=3}} scholars generally contend that Yahwehhe is associated with [[Mount Seir|Seir]], [[Edom]], [[Desert of Paran|Paran]] and [[Teman (Edom)|Teman]],{{sfn|Smith|2017|p=42}} and later with [[Canaan]]. TheHis originsworship ofreaches hisback worship reachto at least to the early [[Early Iron Age]], and likely to the Late [[Late Bronze Age]], if not somewhat earlier.{{sfn|Miller|2000|p=1}} AlthoughWhile the [[Israelites]] held him as their [[national god]], their religion—known as [[Yahwism|religion]], involving the worship of IsraelitesYahweh among a broader [[Pantheon (religion)|Semitic pantheon]]—was wasstill [[Polytheism|polytheistic]] prioror, according to thesome accounts, [[BabylonianMonolatry#In captivityancient Israel|monolatristic]],.{{efn|{{harvnb|Sommer|2009|loc=p. 145: "It is a commonplace of modern biblical scholarship that Israelite religion prior to the Babylonian exile was basically polytheistic. [...] Many scholars argue that ancient Israelites worshipped a plethora of gods and goddesses [...]."}}}} However, during and after the deity[[Babylonian ofcaptivity]] Yahwehin laterthe evolved6th intocentury BCE, the conceptsIsraelite ofreligion gradually evolved into [[GodJudaism]] inand [[GodSamaritanism]], inwhich Judaismare both strictly [[Monotheism|Judaismmonotheistic]] and thus regard Yahweh as [[Samaritanism#Beliefs|SamaritanismGod]] in the singular sense—that is, whichas arethe strictlysupreme monotheisticbeing of the universe and without any equals.

In the oldest examples of [[biblical]] literature]], heYahweh possesses attributes that were typically ascribed to deities of [[Weather god|weather]] and [[List of war deities|war deities]], fructifying the land[[Land of Israel]] and leading thea [[Heavenly host#Tanakh|heavenly army]] against Israelthe nation's enemies.{{sfn|Hackett|2001|pp=158–59}} The early [[Israelites]] may have leaned towards polytheistic practices that were otherwise common across [[polytheisticancient Semitic religion]] practices, as their worship apparently included a variety of [[Ancient Canaanite religion|Canaanite gods and goddesses]], includingsuch as [[El (deity)|El]], [[Asherah]], and [[Baal]].{{sfn|Smith|2002|page=7}}

In later centuries, [[El (deity)|El]] and Yahweh became [[Conflation|conflated]], and El-linked epithets, such as [[El Shaddai]], came to be applied to Yahweh alone.{{sfn|Smith|2002|pages=8, 33–34}} Some scholars believe that El and Yahweh were always conflated.{{sfn|Lewis|2020|p=222}}{{sfn|Cross|1973|pp=96–97}}{{sfn|Cornell|2021|p=18}} Characteristics of other godsdeities, such as Asherah and Baal, were also selectively "absorbed" in conceptions of Yahweh.{{sfn|Smith|2002|pages=8, 135}}{{sfn|Smith|2017|p=38}}{{sfn|Cornell|2021|p=20}}

Over time, the existence of other godsdeities was denied outright, and Yahweh was proclaimed the [[creator deity]] and [[Monotheism|the sole divinity]] to be worshippedworthy of worship. During the [[Second Temple period]], openly speaking the name of Yahweh in public became regarded as [[a religious taboo]],{{sfn|Leech|2002|pp=59–60}} and [[Jews]] instead began to substitute other [[Names of God in Judaism#Adonai|Hebrew words]], primarily ''adonai''{{Transliteration|he|ăḏōnāy}} ({{Script/Hebrew|אֲדֹנָי‬}}, "my{{Literal translation|My [[majesticPluralis pluralmajestatis|Lords]]"}}). InBy Romanthe times,time of the [[Jewish–Roman wars]]—namely following the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|SiegeRoman siege of Jerusalem]] and the concomitant destruction of itsthe [[Second Temple]] in {{CE|70|link=n}}, theCE—the [[YHWH|original pronunciation of the godYahweh's name]] was forgotten entirely.{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}}

Additionally, Yahweh is also invoked in the [[Aramaic]]-language [[Papyrus Amherst 63]] from [[ancient Egypt]], and also in Jewish or Jewish-influenced [[Graeco-Egyptian magical papyri|Greco-Egyptian magical texts]] from the 1st to 5th centurycenturies CE.{{sfn|Smith|Cohen|1996b|pp=242–256}}