Re: Origins of Yahweh.

On 8/23/2026 10:37 AM, jojo wrote:
> Dawn Flood wrote:
>> On 8/22/2026 7:39 AM, Dawn Flood wrote:
>>> This is so cool!!
>>>
>>> Historically, Yahweh originated as an Iron Age warrior and storm 
>>> deity from
>>> the southern regions of the ancient Levant before becoming the 
>>> national god
>>> of Israel and Judah. While the Bible presents Yahweh as the eternal 
>>> creator
>>> revealed directly to Moses, historical and archaeological evidence
>>> indicates a gradual evolution from a regional, polytheistic deity 
>>> into the
>>> singular, monotheistic God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
>>>
>>> 1. Geographic Origins:
>>>
>>> The Southern HypothesisMost historians support the "Southern Origin
>>> Hypothesis", also known as the Midianite/Kenite Hypothesis. This theory
>>> posits that Yahweh was not native to Canaan (modern-day Israel/ 
>>> Palestine)
>>> but was introduced from the deserts to the south:Egyptian 
>>> Inscriptions: The
>>> earliest historical references to the name appear in 14th-century BCE
>>> Egyptian texts from the reign of Amenhotep III. They mention the 
>>> "Shasu of
>>> Yhw"—referring to nomadic pastoralists living in the regions of 
>>> Midian and
>>> Edom (southern Jordan/northwest Arabia).Biblical Corroboration: Archaic
>>> Hebrew poetry in the Bible supports this southern origin. Texts like 
>>> Judges
>>> 5:4 and Deuteronomy 33:2 explicitly describe Yahweh marching out from
>>> southern desert regions like Seir, Edom, and Mount Paran.The Kenite
>>> Connection: In the book of Exodus, Moses encounters Yahweh at the 
>>> burning
>>> bush while living in Midian with his father-in-law, Jethro, who was a
>>> Midianite priest. Jethro is shown offering sacrifices to Yahweh 
>>> before the
>>> Israelite priesthood is even established.
>>>
>>> 2. Early Character: Storms and Warfare
>>>
>>> Before becoming the sole master of the universe, Yahweh possessed traits
>>> typical of ancient Near Eastern weather and war deities:He is 
>>> depicted as
>>> riding on the clouds, throwing lightning bolts, and causing 
>>> earthquakes to
>>> shatter his enemies.He functioned as a divine warrior leading the 
>>> heavenly
>>> armies (Yahweh Sabbaoth, or "Lord of Hosts") to defend his chosen 
>>> tribes.
>>>
>>> 3. Transition into the Canaanite Pantheon
>>>
>>> When the proto-Israelites settled in the highlands of Canaan, they 
>>> brought
>>> the worship of Yahweh with them. The early Israelite religion was
>>> polytheistic and heavily derived from the broader Canaanite religion:El,
>>> the Supreme Father: In early Bronze Age records (such as the Ugaritic
>>> texts), El was the supreme creator and head of the Canaanite pantheon.
>>> Yahweh was initially viewed as a distinct, lesser deity. This is 
>>> preserved
>>> in passages like Deuteronomy 32:8-9, where the "Most High" (El) 
>>> divides the
>>> nations among his sons, giving Jacob/Israel to Yahweh as his specific
>>> share.The Conflation with El: Over time, Yahweh and El merged into a 
>>> single
>>> deity in Israelite thought. Yahweh assumed the traits, epithets (like El
>>> Shaddai), and supreme status of El.Yahweh and His Asherah: 
>>> Archaeological
>>> discoveries, such as inscriptions at Kuntillet Ajrud, show that many 
>>> early
>>> Israelites worshiped Yahweh alongside a consort, Asherah (who was
>>> originally the wife of El).
>>>
>>> 4. The Rise of Monotheism
>>>
>>> The shift from worshiping Yahweh as one god among many (monolatry) to
>>> worshiping Him as the only existing God (monotheism) was a long 
>>> historical
>>> process:Prophetic Reform: Throughout the Iron Age, a "Yahweh-alone"
>>> movement emerged, championed by prophets and select kings (such as 
>>> Hezekiah
>>> and Josiah). They fiercely condemned the worship of other popular 
>>> gods like
>>> Baal and Asherah.The Babylonian Exile (6th Century BCE): The turning 
>>> point
>>> occurred when Jerusalem fell to Babylon. To explain why their 
>>> national god
>>> allowed his own temple to be destroyed, Israelite theologians argued 
>>> that
>>> Yahweh was not just a local protector who lost a battle, but the 
>>> ultimate
>>> master of all empires, using Babylon to punish Israel. During this 
>>> period,
>>> the exclusive monotheism that defines modern Judaism was solidified.
>>>
>>> Linguistic Meaning
>>>
>>> The name is represented in Hebrew by the Tetragrammaton (four 
>>> letters): יהוה
>>> (YHWH). Because ancient Hebrew did not write vowels, and later Jews 
>>> stopped
>>> pronouncing the name out loud out of extreme reverence, the exact 
>>> original
>>> pronunciation is debated, though modern scholarship reconstructs it as
>>> "Yahweh." Linguistically, it is most commonly understood to mean "He 
>>> causes
>>> to be" or "He brings into existence."
>>
>> The above comes from Google AI, by the way; sorry if I did not point 
>> that out!
>>
>> Here's another one:  "Why did the Romans never mention Jesus during 
>> his lifetime?"
>>
>> During his lifetime, Jesus was viewed by Roman authorities as a minor, 
>> localized religious figure in a distant, turbulent province. His 
>> crucifixion under Pontius Pilate was a routine administrative action 
>> for a perceived agitator, not an event of empire-wide importance that 
>> would command the attention of Roman historians or the imperial archive.
>>
>> Local Scale and Status Obscurity:
>>
>> Jesus operated in Galilee and Judea, preaching to agrarian and local 
>> Jewish communities, far outside the social and political circles of 
>> Rome's elite writers.
>>
>> Routine Execution:
>>
>> Crucifixion was common for rebels and dissidents in occupied 
>> territories; a single execution among many did not warrant a dispatch 
>> to Emperor Tiberius.
>>
>> Provincial Focus:
>>
>> Roman historians of the era focused on imperial politics, military 
>> campaigns, and major state affairs, ignoring minor religious disputes 
>> within Judea.
>>
>> Survival and Recording of Evidence
>>
>> Loss of Records:
>>
>> Day-to-day administrative notes, trial logs (acta diurna or 
>> prefectural records), and provincial archives written on papyrus or 
>> wax tablets decayed and were lost.
>>
>> Later Attestation:
>>
>> Romans only began to take formal notice of Jesus decades later when 
>> Christianity grew into a noticeable social and political disturbance 
>> in cities like Rome. This prompted later mentions by writers like 
>> Tacitus and Pliny the Younger.
>>
> 
> i think for religious people, it doesnt matter how their stories came 
> about. they are living inside the story, they dont care about the outside.

So true.  And, well stated!!

Dawn