- Here’s more:
- Canaanites, prior to the Israelites, worshiped a pantheon of gods. The head god was named El. Other gods in the pantheon were Ba’al, Anat, Mot (death), Yam (sea), Shamash (sun). We learn this mostly from excavations of the ancient site of Ugarit, which fell around 1200 BCE.
- It does not appear that Canaanites worshiped a god named YHWH. There is one text that might possibly indicate the existence of such a god, but the translation is highly debated, and certainly can’t be used as certain proof.
- More reliably, we have two references from Egypt dating to the 14th and 13th centuries that refer to the “Shasu of YHW.” A group of nomads. However, Egypt heiroglyphics often give context to what words represent, and YHW represents a toponym or a placename, not a deity (although it could be both).
- Some verses in the Tanach indicate that YHWH worship was imported from the southern regions. There is a theory that Israelites learned about YHWH from a nation called the Kenites (the nation represented by Cain in the Genesis story). You can read more about the Kenite hypothesis here. As an additional point of support, the Kuntellet Arjud inscription around 800 century BCE refers to Yahweh of the south.
- In later Israelite culture (late first monarchy and perhaps a bit before). YHWH and El had become merged into a single deity. The names were synonymous. The are a few stories where God reveals that he is both YHWH and El, the most famous being at the burning bush (although be careful because many scholars think that there are multiple accounts here that have been combined.)When the merging process occurred, and how it occurred is a very tricky question. The question is dealt thoroughly by Mark Smith in two of his works. Although these works are not very easy to read. As a quick point of summary. He traces a procedure in which YHWH gradually absorbed all the other popular deities, including El, Ba’al, Asherah and Anat, while other deities had their agency stripped away (Mot, Yam, Shamash).Finally, most scholars do not think that Abraham was a real person. Rather he’s a mythical construct, similar to many of the other characters from that era.
- Nevertheless there’s something to be said for the Israelites choosing YHWH as their deity. Again, a very common theory is that worship of YHWH evolved from general polytheism into henotheism/monolatry and from there into pure monotheism. Henotheism means that you recognize many gods, but you only worship one.
- Schneider (2007) argues that a Yahweh theophoric appears in a text from the late 18th dynasty. If he’s correct it lends credence to the toponym that is mentioned, and would bolster the case for an Edomite origin.(edited)
- https://www.amazon.com/Beihefte-Zeitschrift-Alttestamentliche-Wissensch-Wissenschaft/dp/3110425386/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=
This is basically arguing over the Midianite/Kenite hypothesis. Tropper’s article on the Tetragrammaton is phenomenal. I’d highly recommend that book, although the origins of YHWH are something we can really only speculate about. I’m writing a portion of my dissertation right now on the origin of deity concepts in Israel, including YHWH, and there’s really not much data available. What we have to do is observe patterns in how deities develop in other cultures and then try to come up with a framework that we think facilitates a decent framework for speculating about YHWH’s origins. Luckily, the cultures surrounding Israel developed in very much the same Israel did (Moab, for instance), so there are some connections.
Robert D. Miller II just published a volume resurrecting the Midian-Yahweh hypothesis: Yahweh: Origin of a Desert God (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021).
Daniel E. Fleming has also recently published Yahweh Before Israel: Glimpses of History in a Divine Name (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021), in which he argues that Yahweh was not a “borrowed” deity from Midian, et al., but organically arose from the diverse ethno-religious milieu of the Levant, particularly what would become Israel.
https://newbooksnetwork.com/yahweh-origin-of-a-desert-god
Since Yahweh and El were originally separate deities, the question is raised where Yahweh originated. Yahweh himself does not appear to have been a Canaanite god in origin: for example, he does not appear in the Ugaritic pantheon lists. Most scholars who have written on the subject during recent decades support the idea that Yahweh had his origins outside the land of Israel to the south, in the area of Midian (cf. Judg. 5.4-5; Deut. 33.2; Hab. 3.3,7) and there has been an increasing tendency to locate Mt Sinai and Kadesh in N.W. Arabia rather than the Sinai peninsula itself. The former view, long held by German scholars, has been supported by evidence of a civilization in the Hejaz area in N.W. Arabia (Midian) in the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, in contrast to the general lack of this in the period in the Sinai peninsula. Also, the epithet ‘Yahweh of Teman’ in on of the Kuntillet ‘Ajrud isncriptions fits in with this. References to the Shasu Yahweh in Egyptian texts alongside the Shasu Seir may also be cited in support.
Mark S. Smith, Origins of Biblical Monotheism:
A common assumption is that El’s cult did not exist in Israel except as part of an identification with Yahweh. For ancient Israel, this question depends on whether Yahweh was a title of El or secondarily identified with El. Besides the grammatical objections sometimes raised against this view, the oldest biblical traditions place Yahweh originally as a god in southern Edom, Midian, Teman, Paran, and Sinai. This general area for old Yahwistic cult is attested in the Bible (Deuteronomy 33:2; Judges 5:4-5; Psalm 68:9, 18; Habakkuk 3:3) as well as inscriptional sources. Evidence from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, a southern shrine preserving inscriptions written by visiting northerners, also attests to “Yahweh of Teman.” These facts argue against [identification] of Yahweh as originally a title of El.
Aside from archeological concerns there’s lots of evidence within the texts that suggest that the culture has a memory of YHWH being associated with Midian and coming out of the area. Especially the well know stories of Moses first encountering YHWH and learning the name at the burning bush in Midian, particularly the sort of retroactive explaination from YHWH that He is the same God from previous stories but now using a different name, to try and smooth it all out. The whole origin story of Moses fleeing to Midian has the hallmarks of being a narrative generated to simply explain to later Jews why YHWH has all this Midian baggage. Along with the special treatment and attention paid toward Midian by the Jews later on this all sets a pretty stable framework for YHWHs origins in the area. Obviously the Jews continued the evolution of the diety, mixing elements with other canaanite characteristics and characters like El and Baal.
The West Semitic deity El. Mark S. Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism:
Aramaic evidence for the god El from the eighth century is less equivocal but more sparse. Panammu, king of Samal, mentions El in a list of deities (KAI 21:4, 2, 11, 18). The so-called Sefire inscription is a treaty text with a list of divine witnesses; these include El (KAI 222A:11). Like the Phoenician evidence, the Transjordanian material for the cult of El has been debated vigorously. Ammonite personal names attest to the element ‘l, but it is unclear whether El is the referent. That El continued to have a cult in the first millennium might be suggested by the Deir ‘Alla inscriptions (and by their possible connections with those biblical books, such as Job, which show a similar use of divine titles). B.A. Levine argues that the Deir ‘Alla inscriptions show an El cult separate from the cult of Yahweh in the Iron Age. Two questions surrounding this interpretation involve genre and date. Do the Deir ‘Alla texts and the book of Job reflect literary usage that predates the Iron II period and therefore does no constitute evidence for El’s cult in this period and region? Or do these texts reflect traditional cultic title of El Shadday that were at home at one or more cultic cites in Transjordan? If the Deir ‘Alla inscription represents a later copy of an older text, as a number of scholars suppose, then its date cannot be determined. In this case, the text could not be used as evidence for the cult of El in Iron Age Transjordan.
At some point, a number of Israelite traditions identified El with Yahweh or presupposed this equation. The Hebrew Bible rarely distinguishes between El and Yahweh or offers polemics against El. West Semitic El lies behind the god of the patriarchs in Genesis 33:20 and 46:3 (and possibly elsewhere). Later tradition clearly intended that this god be identified as Yahweh. For example, the priestly theological treatment of Israel’s early religious history in Exodus 6:2-3 identifies the old god El Shadday with Yahweh:
And God said to Moses, “I am Yahweh, I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as El Shadday, but my name Yahweh I did not make myself known to them.”
This passage shows that Yahweh was unknown to the patriarchs. Rather, they are depicted as worshippers of El. In Israel El’s characteristics and epithets became part of the repertoire of descriptions of Yahweh. Like El in the Ugaritic texts, Yahweh is described as an aged, patriarchal god (Psalm 102:28; Job 36:26; Isaiah 40:28; cf. Psalm 90:10; Isaiah 57:15; Habakkuk 3:6; Daniel 6:26, 2 Esdras 8:20; Tobit 13:6, 10; Ben Sira 18:30), enthroned amidst the assembly of divine beings (1 Kings 22:19; Isaiah 6:1-8; cf. Psalms 29:1-2, 82:1, 89:5-8; Isaiah 14:13; Jeremiah 23:18, 22; Zechariah 3; Daniel 3:25). Later biblical texts continued the notion of aged Yahweh enthroned before the heavenly hosts. Daniel 7:9-14, 22 describes Yahweh as the “ancient of days,” and “the Most High.” He is enthroned amid the assembly of heavenly hosts, called in verse 18 “the holy ones of the Most High,” qaddîšȇ ‘elyônîn (cf. 2 Esdras 2:42-48; Revelation 7). This description for the angelic hosts derives from the older usage of Hebrew qědōšîm, “holy ones,” used for the divine council (Psalm 89:6; Hosea 12:1; Zechariah 14:5; cf. KAI 4:5, ; 14:9, 22; 27:12’ see chapter 5, section 3).
El and Yahweh are rendered with a similar compassionate disposition toward humanity. Like El, Yahweh is a father (Deuteronomy 32:6; Isaiah 63:16, 64:7; Jeremiah 3:4, 19; 31:9; Malachi 1:6, 2:10; cf. Exodus 4:22; Hosea 11:1) with a compassionate disposition, many times expressed as “merciful and gracious god,” ‘ēl-rāḥûm wěḥannûn (Exodus 34:6; Jonah 4:2; Joel 2:13; Psalms 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Nehemiah 9:17). Both El and Yahweh appear to humans in dream-visions and function as their divine patron. Like El (CAT 1.16 V-VI), Yahweh is a healing god (Genesis 20:17; Numbers 12:13; 2 Kings 20:5, 8; Psalm 107:20; cf. the personal name, rěpā’ēl, in 1 Chronicles 26:7). Moreover, the description of Yahweh’s dwelling-place as a “tent” (‘ōhel) (e.g., Psalms 15:1; 27:6; 91:10; 132:3), called in the Pentateuchal traditions the “tent of meeting” (*’ōhel mô’ēd) (Exodus 33:7-11; Numbers 12:5, 10; Deuteronomy 31:14, 15), recalls the tent of El. The tabernacle of Yahweh has qěrāšîm, usually understood as “boards” (Exodus 26-40; Numbers 3:36; 4:31), whereas the dwelling of El is called qrš, perhaps “tabernacle” or “pavilion” (CAT 1.2 III 5; 1.3 V 8; 1.4 IV 24; 1.17 V 49). Furthermore, the dwelling of El is set amid the cosmic waters (CAT 1.2 III 4; 1.3 V 6; 1.4 IV 20-22; 1.17 V 47-48), a theme evoked in descriptions of Yahweh’s abode in Jerusalem (Psalms 47:5; 87; Isaiah33:20-22; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Joel 4:18; Zechariah 14:8). Other passages include motifs that can be traced to traditional descriptions of El (Deuteronomy 32:6-7). The eventual identification of Yahweh and El within Israel perhaps held ramifications for the continuations of other deities as well. It has been argued that Asherah became the consort of Yahweh as a result of his identification with El.
The history of astral deities in ancient Israel may have been affected by the identification of El and Yahweh, a point discussed in detail in chapter 3. Perhaps originally associated with El, they became part of the divine assembly subordinate to Yahweh.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0309089209105686
Psalm 29 may even have originated as a hymn to the Canaanite storm god Baal:
Give to the Lord, O gods, Give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory of his name, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters, the God of glory thunders, the Lord, upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the oaks whirl, and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’ The Lord sits enthroned over the flood, the Lord sits enthroned as king for ever. May the lord give strength to his people, may the Lord bless his people with peace.
Biblical scholar John Day writes in Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan:
Yahweh’s kingship in this psalm is manifested in the thunder, just like that of Baal, and the thunder is represented as his voice, as was also the case with Baal (cf. KTU 1.4.VII.29-31). Yahweh’s lordship over the cosmic waters (vv. 3,10) and exaltation of ther other gods of the divine assembly (v.1) is also ultimately derived from Baal mythology. In addition … a further striking parallel with Baal mythology … is the sevenfold manifestation of the deity in the thunder, the qol yahweh (vv. 3a, 4a, 4b, 5, 7, 8, 9). In KTU 1.101.3b-4, it is said of Baal:
Seven lightnings…
Eight storehouses of thunder. The shaft of lightning…
Now, the numerical sequence 7/8 is capable of meaning simply seven in Ugaritic, the second number having the nature of what has been called ‘automatic parallelism’ (cf. KTU 1.6.V.8-9 and 1.19.I.42-44). It therefore seems that this is a reference to Baal’s seven thunders as well as lightnings (cf. Hab. 3.9), the parallel to Psalm 29 being even closer when it is noted that in KTU 1.101.1-3a, immediately before the reference to Baal’s seven thunders and lightnings, we read of Baal’s enthronement like the flood: ‘*Baal sits enthroned, like the sitting of a mountain, the god of Zaphon in the [midst of] the mountain of victory’, just as Ps. 29.10 states, ‘The Lord sits enthroned over the flood, the Lord sits enthroned as king forever’. […]
There can thus be no doubt that Psalm 29 stands remarkably close to the circle of mythological ideas surrounding Baal as they are attested in the Ugaritic texts. A number of scholars, in particular H.L. Ginsberg, T.H. Gaster, F.M. Cross and A. Fitzgerald, go so far as to maintain that Psalm 29 is a Canaanite psalm taken over wholesale, with the simple substitution of the name of Yahweh instead of the name of Baal for the deity concerned (Ginsberg and Cross also maintaining that v. 11 is a Yahwistic addition). This is possible, but cannot claim to be proven. […] It is probably safer to suppose that Psalm 29 is an Israelite composition largely modeled on the language used by the Canaanites about Baal, rather than to suppose it is a Baal psalm pure simple with the substitution of the name of Yahweh for Baal.
Here’s a bit more on the “fiery” imagery of a storm god’s lightning (Töyräänvuori, Joanna. “Weapons of the Storm God in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Traditions.” Studia Orientalia 112 (2012): 147–80):
There are also allusions to the weapons of the storm god in many of the theophanies of the weather god in the Old Testament. For example, in Isa. 30:30 Yahweh is portrayed using thunder and lightning as his weapons: “And Yahweh will cause the majesty of his voice to be heard. And he will show the lightning down of his arm with furious anger and the flame of a devouring fire, With a bursting of clouds, and a storm of rain, and hailstones.” The “word of fire”, referring to the thunderous boom of the storm god’s voice, is depicted in various seals of the Syrian-Anatolian area as a vegetal outgrowth emanating from the god’s mouth.
Pfeiffer, Henrik. “The Origin of YHWH and its Attestation.” In The Origins of Yahwism, 115–144. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2017.:
Only the cultic songs of the monarchic period – according to current scholarship likely the oldest texts in the Hebrew Bible – preserved in the Psalter provide a secure tradition-historical basis. These texts depict YHWH as a storm-god analogous to the type of Baal-Hadad attested in Syria-Palestine. The core of Ps 29 is an old litany of the thunderous voice of YHWH. This voice is accompanied by the classic elements of a theophany of a storm-god: storm (v. 5.9), earthquake (v. 6.8) and fire (v. 7).
John Calvin, in his commentary on Psalm 29, makes a comparison to Zeus’ fiery lightning:
The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters. David now rehearses the wonders of nature which I have previously referred to… as even Horace was compelled, though he was not only a heathen poet, but an Epicurean, and a vile contemner of Deity, to say of himself in one of his Odes, “… Who frequent cleaves the clouds with fire, Parent of day, immortal Jove; …” … Similar is the figure, when he says, the Lord striketh out flames of fire, which is done when the vapours, being struck, as it were, with his hammer, burst forth into lightnings and thunderbolts.
For these and other reasons, scholars like Mark S. Smith think Yahweh’s original character was probably most similar to the storm deity Baal (Hadad)
All of these different but similar theories show that YHWH had his origins outside of Israel as a god of metallurgy, war, storms etc.
Yahweh originated outside of Israel is pretty well-accepted, he doesn’t appear to have been Canaanite, having no attestation at Ugarit, and the idea that he emerged as an epithet of the native god El is a minority position.
Here’s John Day in Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan:
Yahweh himself does not appear to have been a Canaanite god in origin: for example, he does not appear in the Ugaritic pantheon lists. Most scholars who have written on this subject in recent decades support the idea that Yahweh had his origins outside the land of Israel to the south, in the area of Midian (cf. Judg. 5.4-5; Deut. 33.2; Hab. 3.3,7) and there has been an increasing tendency to locate Mt Sinai and Kadesh in N.W. Arabia rather than the Sinai peninsula itself. The former view, long held by German scholars, has been supported by evidence of a civilization in the Hejaz area in N.W. Arabia (Midian) in the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, in contrast to the general lack of this in this period in the Sinai peninsula. Also, the epithet ‘Yahweh of Teman’ in one of the Kuntillet ‘Ajrud inscriptions fits in with this. References to the Shasu Yahweh in Egyptian texts alongside the Shasu Seir may also be cited in support.
Mark S. Smith in The Origins of Biblical Monotheism:
A common assumption is that El’s cult did not exist in Israel except as part of an identification with Yahweh. For ancient Israel, this question depends on whether Yahweh was a title of El or secondarily identified with El. Besides the grammatical objections sometimes raised against this view, the oldest biblical traditions place Yahweh originally as a god in southern Edom, Midian, Teman, Paran, and Sinai. This general area for old Yahwistic cult is attested in the Bible (Deuteronomy 33:2; Judges 5:4-5; Psalm 68:9, 18; Habakkuk 3:3) as well as inscriptional sources. Evidence from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, a southern shrine preserving inscriptions written by visiting northerners, also attests to “Yahweh of Teman.” These facts argue against [identification] of Yahweh as originally a title of El.
Amzallag is the only scholar supporting the “volcano god” theory.
John Day, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan:
The question is raised whether Yahweh was a form of the god El from the beginning or whether they were separate deities who only became equated later. The Old Testament itself indicates some sense of discontinuity as well as continuity, in that both the E and P sources imply that the patriarchs did not know the name Yahweh and that this was first revealed to Moses (Exod. 3.13-15, E; 6.2-3, P), in contrast to the J source, where the name Yahweh was already known in primaeval times (Gen. 4.26). The P source specifically states that the patriarchs had previously known God under the name El-Shaddai (Exod. 6.3).
In the nineteenth century J. Wellhausen believed Yahweh to be the same as El, and more recently this has been particularly argued by F.M. Cross and J.C. de Moor. However, the following arguments may be brought against this. First, in the Ugaritic texts the god El is revealed to be wholly benevolent in nature, whereas Yahweh has a fierce as well as a kind side. Secondly, as T.N.D. Mettinger has rightly emphasized, the earliest evidence, such as that found in Judg. 5.4-5, associates Yahweh with the storm, which was not something with which El was connected at all. Rather, this is reminiscent of Baal. Thirdly, as for F.M. Cross’s view that Yahweh was originally a part of El’s cultic title, ‘El who creates hosts’ (‘il du yahwi saba’ot), this is pure speculation. The formula in question is nowhere attested, whether inside or outside the Bible. Cross’s reasons for thinking that yhwh sb’t cannot simply mean ‘Lord of hosts’, namely, that a proper name should not appear in the construct, is incorrect. Further, hyh (hwh) is not attested in Hebrew in the hiphil (’cause to be’, ‘create’),though this is the case in Aramaic and Syriac. Yahweh in any case more likely means ‘he is’ (qal) rather than ‘he causes to be/creates’ (hiphil): to suppose otherwise requires emendation of the Hebrew text in Exod. 3.14 (‘ehyeh, ‘I am’), which explains the name Yahweh. I conclude, therefore, that El and Yahweh were originally distinct deities that became amalgamated. This view was held as long ago as F.K. Movers, and have been argued since by scholars such as O. Eissfeldt and T.N.D. Mettinger.
The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities of Ancient Israel by Mark S. Smith:
[Deuteronomy 32:8-9] suggests that Yahweh, originally a warrior god from Sinai1 /Paran2 /Edom3 /Teiman4 was known separately from El at an early point in early Israel.
Deut. 33:2; cf. Judg. 5-5; Ps. 68-9. 2) Deut 33:2; Hab 3:3. 3) Judg. 5:4. 4) Hab. 3:3 and the Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions; cf. Amos 1:12; Ezek. 25-13
Michael Heiser:
A major difficulty with the explanations of the name Yahweh on the basis of HWY interpreted as ̳to be‘, however, is the fact that they explain the name of a South Semitic deity (originating from Edom, or even further south) with the help of a West-Semitic etymology (KNAUF 1984a:469). The form of the name has the closest analogues in the pre-Islamic Arab pantheon; it is natural, therefore, to look first at the possibility of an explanation on the basis of the Arabic etymology. The relevant root HWY has three meanings in Arabic: 1. to desire, be passionate; 2. to fall; 3. to blow. All three have been called upon for a satisfactory explanation of the name Yahweh. The derivation of the name Yahweh from the meaning ̳to love, to be passionate‘, which resulted in the translation of Yahweh as ̳the Passionate‘ (GOITEIN 1956) has made no impact on OT scholarship. Hardly more successful was the [Page 916] suggestion that Yahweh is ̳the Speaker‘, also based on the link of the name with the root HWY (cf. Akk awû, atmû; BOWMAN 1944:4–5).
A greater degree of plausibility attaches to those interpretations of the name Yahweh which identify him as a storm god. Thus the name has been connected with the meaning ̳to fall‘ (also attested in Syriac), in which case the verbal form is seen as a causative ( ̳He who causes to fall‘, scil. rain, lightning, or the enemies by means of his lightning, see BDB 218a). Another suggestion is to link the name with the meaning ̳to blow‘, said of the wind (cf. Syr hawwē, ̳wind‘). This leads to the translation ―er fährt durch die Lüfte, er weht‖ (J. WELLHAUSEN, Israelitische und jüdische Geschichte [3rd ed.; Berlin 1897] 25 note 1; KNAUF 1984a:469; 1988:43–48). Especially the latter possibility merits serious consideration. In view of the south-eastern origins of the cult of Yahweh, an Arabic etymology has a certain likelihood. Also, his presumed character as a storm god contributes to explain why Yahweh could assume various of Baal‘s mythological exploits.
And from Justin Kelley:
Yahweh and Qos were both manifestations of the syrian storm deity known from the general milieu of syria-Palestine, who were endowed with traits indigenous to their local worshippers. This is a viable perspective in the sense that the inhabitants of the steppe were dependent on their deities for rain and defense of their territory from enemies, hence the typical role of the storm-god as warrior and bringer of fertility. The southern origin of both Qos and Yahweh warrants an understanding of these deities as storm-gods, though a connection with the northern storm-deity Hadad, or his Canaanite counterpart, Baal, is not necessary.
And Nissim Amzallag reckons Yahweh was the *Canaanite god of metallurgy.
Kelley builds on his work, proposing that:
Yahweh and Qos either existed side-by-side in a pantheon perhaps,5 or even as the same storm (or perhaps metalworking) deity, among the tribes of the northwestern Arabian Peninsula. This religious connection likely resulted from ancient familial and economic ties between the tribes of the sinai, the Hijaz, and the northwestern Arabian Peninsula. These tribal groups would have included the Midianites/kenites and those who would eventually come to inhabit Judah and Edom.
In light of this, Amzallag may be right that the name Qos was an epithet of the pre-Israelite Yahweh that either was meant to avoid the use of the name Yahweh, as Amzallag suggests, or, perhaps more likely, to denote or symbolize a characteristic of pre-Israelite Yahweh—a hunter/warrior deity who made use of a bow (קשת). Th. C. Vriezen has shown that a common element of many deities in the ancient Near East was the use of a deified weapon that functioned both as a weapon in the hands of the god, as well as a deity in its own right. The weapon could also be a symbol by which the deity was known, i.e. the name of the symbol could be used as a name for the deity.
This final theory is appealing given that certain biblical texts indicate that Yahweh uses a bow as a weapon. A particularly interesting passage in light of the above data, is Habakkuk 3:9. Here the prophet envisions Yahweh coming from Edom to deliver his people, and shaking the pavilions of the land of Midian, a recrudescence of the older imagery present in Judges 5. Yahweh marches forth, bow exposed and ready for battle. other passages include Psalm 18:15 and perhaps Psalm 7: 1 . one should note also that the imagery often associated with Yahweh in these texts where he uses a bow is that of a storm-god, especially in Habakkuk 3:9 and Psalm 18:15 and also genesis 9: 1 . These texts, despite their potentially late composition, may preserve a vestige of this early period when Yahweh/Qos was worshiped among the tribes of the south prior to the formation of the kingdoms of Judah, Israel and Edom in the tenth through eighth centuries BC.
Yahweh: Origin of a Desert God (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2021) is another good book.
According to the source Harold Bloom J, it describes creation in the Torah. Although this much is speculative, there are many elements in TaNaH that indicate that similar stories of Baal’s battle with the sea god Yam and the sea monster Lotan in the Baal Cycle in ancient Israel also happened for Yahweh.
