Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah!... No, actually, it's Yahweh,
A somewhat notable Deity considered by the ancient Israelite people their National God and first attested from the early 9th century BCE.¹
This c. 1518 painting by Raphael is based on a mystical vision of 𒀭Yahweh attributed to the prophet Ezekiel, who belonged to a priestly lineage said to be descended from the legendary Joshua. Ezekiel was active during the time the Kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the early 6th century BCE. (Public domain)
Yahweh was also apparently worshipped among the Edomites, the Israelites' southern neighbors, based on a reference to “Yahweh of Teman” in an inscription on an early 8th century BCE jar discovered at the site of Kuntillet ʿAjrud in the Sinai, with Teman being a major Edomite clan.¹ It's believed the ʿAjrud outpost was established by the northern Kingdom of Israel as the region fell into their domain after a botched invasion by the southern Kingdom of Judah. The two kingdoms were also under the influence of the Neo-Assyrian Empire at this time with contemporaneous Assyrian records noting both Judahite and northern Israelite representatives at the capital city of Kalḫu (known as Nimrud in modern times).²
Illustrations of the two vessels from Kuntillet ʿAjrud with translations. It's debated if the Bes-type figures on Pithos A are meant to depict 𒀭Yahweh and His Consort 𒀭ʾAsheratah, but it should be noted the righthand figure does not actually have visible genitals as the outdated illustration here shows.³ (Source)
Although Yahweh is primarily associated with monotheistic religion nowadays for obvious reasons, historical evidence indicates He was first worshipped in a polytheistic context as the Israelite culture distinguished itself from the Canaanite milieu it emerged from. This can even be seen within the Hebrew Bible; A wonderful example is found in the Book of Habakkuk in the form of an archaic Hebrew poem describing Yahweh and His Company including the Plague-God Resheph (His Name is usually mistranslated as “plague” in English Bibles) battling sea monsters. Another one of the most noted can be seen in the Book of Deuteronomy, indicating Yahweh was probably worshipped as One of the Seventy (symbolically “many”) Sons of ʾEl:
⁸ When ʿElyon apportioned the nations, when He divided humankind, He fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the Gods; ⁹ Yahweh's own portion was His people, Jacob His allotted share.
Deuteronomy 32:8–9 (adapted from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition, 2021)
Yahweh fits well the form exemplified by other Storm Gods worshipped in cultures of the Syro-Palestinian region during the Iron Age. The other most famous example of such a Deity is the Levantine manifestation of Baʿal, Who is cast as Yahweh's greatest Rival in the collection of texts within the Hebrew Bible known as the Deuteronomistic history, although the presence of Baʿal's name at ʿAjrud would suggest this conflict is a later development. It's even been proposed Yahweh was originally associated specifically with destructive elements of weather such as flash floods.⁴ Although there are some respectable academic claims of pre-Israelite attestations of Yahweh from the Late Bronze Age, none of these are secure and all of them are very much debated.⁵ The scholar Christian Frevel also fascinatingly proposed in 2021 that Yahweh was the tutelary Deity of the Omride clan which came to rule the northern Kingdom of Israel for over a century and established its capital of Samaria.¹
A modern artistic impression of a ritual performed by ancient Israelites at the Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem during the Iron Age. The dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon (c. 1910) by William Hole. (Public domain)
The emergence of monotheism from traditional Israelite belief is an incredibly convoluted topic that I don't intend to get into the weeds of here. One of the most recognizable milestones therein, though, was the religious reforms of King Josiah of Judah shortly before our dear Ezekiel's time. This saw the absolute consolidation of religious authority in the Temple of Yahweh at Jerusalem and even the forced closure of all other cultic sites in Judah. However, there's also direct evidence that Yahweh continued to be worshipped among other Gods and Goddesses well after the monotheistic, Jerusalem-centric religion which came to be known as Judaism had entered its Second Temple Period.
Most notably, a community of Israelites living on the island of Elephantine at ancient Egypt's southern frontier had a Pantheon in which Yahweh was associated with the Goddess ʿAnat and another God named Bethʾel.⁶ They even had Priestesses of Yahweh and were apparently on good terms with Jerusalem as indicated by the Aramaic-language texts written in Egyptian Demotic script discovered at Elephantine. An analysis of the narrative of Aaron's Rod in the Book of Numbers has also led to the alluring proposition that worship of the famous ʾAsherah as Yahweh's Consort may have continued even within the Jerusalemite cult itself during this period.⁷
An altar of incense discovered at the site of ancient Taʿanakh. Although it's dated to the tenth century BCE, predating any secure attestations of Yahweh, some researchers believe the top and second-to-bottom registers are intended to symbolize Him, likewise for ʾAsheratah on the alternating registers. (Source)
There's so many fascinating developments being made in archaeology and the study of history unraveling more about the ancient Israelites and the worship of Yahweh before our very eyes. I honestly feel incredibly privileged to be alive just in time to witness such a thing. Although I haven't “worked with” Yahweh myself within my primarily Canaanite Pagan practice, I'd be very interested to hear and discuss different perspectives on this fascinating ancient Deity and it'd make me very happy to see what some of you think. Shalōm 𐤔𐤋𐤌 and thank you so much for reading!
Given what part of the world this all concerns, I feel I would be morally remiss to say nothing of the genocide taking place against the Palestinian people in their homeland and particularly in Gaza. I find this important because earlier today the so-called President of the United States Donald Trump expressed the US's intent to “take over” and ethnically cleanse Gaza at a public event alongside Benjamin Netanyahu, the so-called Prime Minister of Israel. In the face of such great evil, I feel obligated by simple virtue of being a human to state I wholeheartedly support the full liberation of Palestine and an end to the unjust and unlawful occupation with all it has wrought. Arab.org is a website which allows you to support Palestinians via a simple click of a button with no donation necessary along with providing further resources. Free Palestine 🇵🇸
Frevel, Christian. “When and from Where Did YHWH Emerge? Some Reflections on Early Yahwism in Israel and Judah.” Entangled Religions 12:2 (March 30, 2021). https://doi.org/10.46586/er.12.2021.8776.
Na’aman, Nadav. “Samaria and Judah in an Early 8th-Century Assyrian Wine List.” Tel Aviv 46:1 (January 2, 2019): pp. 12–20. https://www.academia.edu/43169801.
This was clarified by archaeologist Ze'ev Meshel in communication with Nir Hasson reporting for Haaretz, https://www.facebook.com/share/1JASsUsdcN.
Fleming, Daniel E. “Yahweh among the Baals: Israel and the Storm Gods.” Essay. In Mighty Baal: Essays in Honor of Mark S. Smith, edited by Stephen C. Russel and Esther J. Hamori, pp. 160–74. Harvard Semitic Studies 66. Leiden, Netherlands; Boston, Massachusetts, United States: Brill, 2020.
Pfeiffer, Henrik. “The Origin of YHWH and its Attestation.” Essay. In The Origins of Yahwism, edited by Markus Witte and Jürgen van Oorschot, pp. 115–44. Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 484. Berlin, Germany; Boston, Massachusetts, United States: De Gruyter, 2017.
Cornell, Colin. “Judeans and Goddesses at Elephantine.” Ancient Near East Today 7:11 (November 2019). American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR). https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2019/11/Judeans-and-Goddesses-at-Elephantine.
Eichler, Raanan. “Aaron’s Flowering Staff: A Priestly Asherah?” TheTorah.com, 2019. https://www.thetorah.com/article/aarons-flowering-staff-a-priestly-asherah.
My interpretation of the Blessing of ʾAmaryaw inscribed on Pithos B from Kuntillet ʿAjrud (pictured)
May you be blessed to Yahweh of Teman and ʾAsheratah;
May they bless you and keep you and be with you always.
Praise to Yahweh of Teman and ʾAsheratah!
All they beseech of one is to act with compassion,
And Yahu will give them according to their heart.
May the days be long in their good time
As Yahweh of Teman and ʾAsheratah are satisfied,
For Yahweh of Teman and ʾAsheratah favor the kindhearted.
