Yahwism

Phoenician silver drachm from ca. 350 BC possibly depicting Yahweh. [1] Yahwism (Yah´wism) is the use of the name Yahweh, esp in parts of the Old Testament, as the personal name of God In modern usage, the term is used to describe Christian religious groups which use the terms "Yahweh" and " Yahshua " to refer to the God of Israel and Jesus.

Yahwism may be The historical worship of Yahweh/Yahu/Yehowah/Jehovah in the Levant during the Iron Age. The faction in modern Christianity which insists on using the name "Yahweh" instead of the conventional L ORD , see Sacred Name Movement . Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Yahwism . If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Worship of Yahweh in the Levant during the Iron Age Not to be confused with Jahwist . Image on a pithos sherd found at Kuntillet Ajrud below the inscription "Yahweh and his Asherah", depicting the two as bulls with the androgynous Egyptian deity Bes . The two standing figures are sometimes seen as a representation of the divine couple, while the seated lyre-player behind them is an entertainer. Alternatively, many art historians identify the standing figures as representations of Bes, on account of their distinctively bovine faces. Ziony Zevit has argued that Yahweh was represented as a Bes-figure, though there is little evidence for this. It is also possible that the images on the pot have nothing to do with the inscription at all. Yahwism was the historic monolatristic worship of Yahweh in the ancient Israelite kingdoms of Judah and Israel (Samaria) , Yahweh being one of the many gods and goddesses of the pantheon of gods of the Land of Canaan , the southern portion of which would later come to be called the Land of Israel . Yahwism thus evolved from Canaanite polytheism , which in turn makes Yahwism the monolatristic primitive predecessor stage of Judaism in Judaism ‘s evolution into a monotheistic religion. Despite modern Judaism and Yahwism both being the veneration of Yahweh, the distinctions between the two belief systems are quite clear. Unlike the religions that would descend from it, Yahwism was characterized by henotheism / monolatrism , which recognized Yahweh as the national god of Israel, but nevertheless gave acknowledgement to the existence, though not necessarily the worship, of other gods of ancient Semitic religion , or more specifically of the other gods of the Canaanite pantheon from which Yahwism emerged, such as Baal , Moloch , Asherah , and Astarte . The exact transition between what is now considered monolatristic Yahwism and monotheistic Judaism is somewhat unclear, however it is evident that the event began with radical religious amendments such as the testaments of Elijah and the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah and had been fulfilled by the end of the Babylonian captivity , where the recognition of Yahweh as the sole god of the universe had finally secured a majority of the Jewish people.

Iron Age cultic worship of Yahweh in the southern Levant Not to be confused with the Jahwist source . Image on a pithos sherd found at Kuntillet Ajrud in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt with the inscription " Yahweh and his Asherah " Yahwism is the name given by modern scholars to the religion of ancient Israel and Judah . Yahwism was essentially polytheistic , with a plethora of gods and goddesses . Heading the pantheon was Yahweh , the national god of the Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah , with his consort, the goddess Asherah , and 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. The practices of Yahwism included festivals , sacrifices , vow -making, private rituals , and the adjudication of legal disputes . Contrary to the picture presented in the Hebrew Bible , the Temple in Jerusalem was not the sole, or even central, temple of Yahweh, but the king was the head of the national religion and thus the viceroy on Earth of the national god, a role reflected each year when he presided over a ceremony enthroning Yahweh in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem . 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. During the monarchic period ( c. 10th to 6th centuries BCE) of the mid- Iron Age , the religion of Israel moved towards the sole worship of Yahweh alone; however, these theological changes initially remained largely confined to small groups, only spreading to the population at large during the widespread political turbulence of the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. The progressive evolution towards monotheism had ultimately culminated by the end of the Babylonian exile in the late 6th century BCE, and by the 4th century BCE, Yahwism had coalesced into what is now known as Second Temple Judaism . Yahwism also gave rise to Samaritanism . [...] Many scholars argue that ancient Israelites worshipped a plethora of gods and goddesses [...].

Ancient Semitic religion of ancient Israel and Judah This article is about ancient Semitic religion of ancient Israel and Judah. Yahwism , also known as the Israelite religion , was the ancient Semitic religion of ancient Israel and Judah and the ethnic religion of the Israelites . The Israelite religion was a derivative of the Canaanite religion and a polytheistic religion that had a pantheon with various gods and goddesses . The primary deity of the religion and the head of the pantheon was Yahweh , the national god of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel . The majority of scholars hold that the goddess Asherah was the consort of Yahweh , though some scholars disagree. Following this divine duo were second-tier gods and goddesses, such as Baal , Shamash , Yarikh , Mot , and Astarte , with each having priests and prophets , and numbering royalty among their devotees. The practices of Yahwism included festivals, ritual sacrifices, vow-making, private rituals, and the religious adjudication of legal disputes. However, it was still significant to the Israelite king , who effectively led the national religion as the worldly viceroy of the national god. Yahwism underwent several recontextualizations and redevelopments as the notion of divinities aside from or comparable to Yahweh was gradually degraded by new religious currents and ideas . Possibly beginning with the emergence of Israel during the Late Bronze Age, 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, 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 , and Yahweh was proclaimed the creator deity and the sole deity to be worthy of worship. 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 , from which the modern ethnic religions of Judaism and Samaritanism , as well as the Abrahamic religions of Christianity and Islam , would later emerge. [...] Many scholars argue that ancient Israelites worshipped a plethora of gods and goddesses [...]. [...] Many scholars argue that ancient Israelites worshipped a plethora of gods and goddesses [...]. Yahweh is proclaimed as the creator of the cosmos (Isa. 40:21-23, 28).