This article is about the ancient Israelite religion. For the Christian movement, see Sacred Name Movement.
Sherd of a pithos found at Kuntillet Ajrud in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, bearing the inscription "Yahweh and his Asherah"
Yahwism, as it is called by modern scholars, was the religion of ancient Israel and Judah.[1] An ancient Semitic religion of the Iron Age, Yahwism was essentially polytheistic and had a pantheon, with various gods and goddesses being worshipped by the Israelites.[2] At the head of this pantheon was Yahweh—held in an especially high regard as the two Israelite kingdoms' national god—and his consort Asherah.[3] Following this duo were second-tier gods and goddesses, such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, each of whom had their own priests and prophets and numbered royalty among their devotees.[4][5]
The practices of Yahwism included festivals, ritual sacrifices, vow-making, private rituals, and the religious adjudication of legal disputes.[6] For most of its history, the Temple in Jerusalem was not the sole or central place of worship dedicated to Yahweh, with many locations throughout Israel, Judah, and Samaria.[7][8] However, it was still significant to the Israelite king, who effectively led the national religion as the national god's worldly viceroy.[9]
Yahwism underwent several redevelopments and recontextualizations as the notion of divinities aside from or comparable to Yahweh was gradually degraded by new religious currents and ideas. Possibly beginning with the hypothesized United Kingdom of Israel, the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah had a joint religious tradition comprising cultic worship of Yahweh. Later theological changes concerning the evolution of Yahweh's status initially remained largely confined to small groups,[10] only spreading to the population at large during the general political turbulence of the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. By the end of the Babylonian captivity, Yahwism began turning away from polytheism (or, by some accounts, Yahweh-centric monolatry) and transitioned towards monotheism, where Yahweh was proclaimed as the creator deity and the only entity worthy of worship.[11] Following the end of the Babylonian captivity and the subsequent establishment of Yehud Medinata in the 4th century BCE, Yahwism coalesced into what is known as Second Temple Judaism,[12][13] from which the modern ethnic religions of Judaism and Samaritanism, as well as the Abrahamic religions of Christianity and Islam, would later emerge.
^Miller 2000, p. 1.
^Sommer 2009, 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 [...].
^Niehr 1995, p. 54-55.
^Handy 1995, pp. 39–40.
^Meier 1999, p. 45–46.
^Bennett 2002, p. 83.
^Davies 2010, p. 112.
^Miller 2000, p. 88.
^Miller 2000, p. 90.
^Albertz 1994, p. 61.
^Betz 2000, p. 917 "With the work of the Second Isaiah toward the end of the Babylonian Exile, Israelite monotheism took on a more forceful form of expression. Yahweh is proclaimed as the creator of the cosmos (Isa. 40:21-23, 28). Foreign deities do not exist; there is only one true God, Yahweh (40:12-31; 43:8-13; 46:5-13)."
Yahwism, as it is called by modern scholars, was the religion of ancient Israel and Judah. An ancient Semitic religion of the Iron Age, Yahwism was essentially...
Israelites branched out of the Canaanite religion and took the form of Yahwism. Yahwism was the national religion of the Kingdom of Israel and of the Kingdom...
was practiced in ancient Israel during the 9th and 8th centuries BCE (Yahwism)—has been described as henotheistic or monolatric. For example, the Moabites...
interpretation of Yahwism, known as the "sins of Jeroboam", Ahab institutionalized Baalism, which was completely divorced from Yahwism. He was likewise...
(1 Kings 16:31). According to the biblical narrative, Jezebel replaced Yahwism with Baal and Asherah worship and was responsible for Naboth’s death. This...
Origins of Judaism Seven Laws of Noah Shituf Thirteen Attributes of Mercy Yahwism Portals: Judaism Religion Tuling, Kari H. (2020). "PART 2: Does God Have...
worshipped decreased, and figurative images vanished from their shrines. Yahwism, as some scholars name this belief system, is often described as a form...
might have played a role in the prophetic experiences of adherents of Yahwism. According to Martti Nissinen, Yahwist prophets may have received messages...
a distinct tradition until the Hasmonean and Roman era, by which point Yahwism had coalesced into Second Temple Judaism.[page range too broad] The temple...
(2021). "When and from Where did YHWH Emerge? Some Reflections on Early Yahwism in Israel and Judah". Entangled Religions. 12 (2). doi:10.46586/er.12.2021...
organized religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age, and evolved from Yahwism, the cultic religious movement of ancient Israel and Judah, around the...
Judah. Overall, the Bible portrays the Omrides as apostates, who abandoned Yahwism for Baal worship. In terms of foreign policy, they dealt with troublesome...
Arabia Tribes of Arabia Religions of the ancient Near East Daeva Dingir Yahwism Historical Vedic Religion Hinduism Vedas Om Brahman Shiva Georgii Wilhelmi...
probably during the early first millennium BCE, polytheism was ubiquitous in Yahwism. (The religion that exalted Yahweh and would later become known as Judaism...
out from the Canaanites through[dubious – discuss] the development of Yahwism, a distinct monolatristic—and later monotheistic—religion centred on the...
history Judaism Jerusalem Zionism Jewish leaders Jewish warfare Related Jewish history Yahwism Hebrew calendar Archaeology Museums Israel portal v t e...
establish the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Judaism emerged from Yahwism, the religion of the Israelites, by the late 6th century BCE, with a theology...
to the Jahwist, a hypothetical source of the Pentateuch Pertaining to Yahwism, a hypothetical religion in ancient Israel and Judah Jehovist (disambiguation)...
early conception of Yahweh as a universal deity. The monolatrist nature of Yahwism was further developed in the period following the Babylonian captivity...
ISBN 9780865543737. Cook, Stephen L (2004). The Social Roots of Biblical Yahwism. Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 9781589830981. De Pury, Albert (2000)...
Christine. "RLST 145 – Lecture 7 – Israel in Egypt: Moses and the Beginning of Yahwism (Genesis 37 – Exodus 4) | Open Yale Courses". oyc.yale.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-15...
the purpose of Asherah poles are unknown. Due to its role in Iron Age Yahwism, some suggest they were embodiments of Yahweh himself. Evidence for the...
history Judaism Jerusalem Zionism Jewish leaders Jewish warfare Related Jewish history Yahwism Hebrew calendar Archaeology Museums Israel portal v t e...
found in early religions such as ancient Chinese religion, Tengrism, and Yahwism. The word monotheism comes from the Greek μόνος (monos) meaning "single"...
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