The central element of ancient Israel's religion through most of the monarchic period was the worship of a god named Yahweh, and for this reason the religion of Israel is often referred to as Yahwism.[5] Yahweh, however, was not the "original" god of Israel. Rather it was El, the head of the Canaanite pantheon whose name forms the basis of the name "Israel" (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל),[19] and none of the Hebrew patriarchs, tribes of Israel, Judges, or early monarchs have a Yahwistic theophoric name (i.e., a name incorporating the name of Yahweh).[20] It is unclear how, where, or why Yahweh appeared in the Levant; even his name is a point of confusion.[21] The exact date of his first appearance is also ambiguous: the term Israel first enters historical records in the 13th century BCE with the Egyptian Merneptah Stele, and, while the worship of Yahweh is circumstantially attested to as early as the 12th century BCE,[22] there is no attestation of even the name "Yahweh" in the Levant until some four hundred years later with the Mesha Stele (9th century BCE).[23][a] Because of this, Christian Frevel argues that Yahweh worship was rooted in the Kingdom of Israel and preserved by the Omride clan.[25] Nevertheless, many scholars believe that the shared worship of Yahweh played a role in the emergence of Israel in the Late Bronze Age (circa 1200 BCE).[26]
Canaanite religion or Syro-Canaanite religions refers to the myths, cults and ritual practices of people in the Levant during roughly the first three millennia BC.[1] Canaanite religions were polytheistic and in some cases monolatristic. They were influenced by neighboring cultures, particularly ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian religious practices. The pantheon was headed by the god El and his consort Asherah, with other significant deities including Baal, Anat, Astarte, and Dagon.
The worship of Yahweh alone began at the earliest with prophet Elijah in the 9th century BCE, and at the latest with prophet Hosea in the 8th; even then it remained the concern of a small party before gaining ascendancy in the exilic and early post-exilic period.[15] The early supporters of this faction are widely regarded as monolatrists rather than monotheists;[32] believing Yahweh was the only god worthy of Israelite worship, not that Yahweh was the only god in existence—a noticeable departure from the traditional beliefs of the Israelites nonetheless.[33] It was during the national crisis of the Babylonian Exile that the followers of Yahweh went a step further and denied that any deities aside from Yahweh existed at all—marking the transition from monolatrism to monotheism, and, by extension, from Yahwism to Judaism.[16] Some scholars date the start of widespread monotheism to the 8th century BCE, and view it as a response to Neo-Assyrian aggression.[15][34]
Below Yahweh and Asherah were second tier gods and goddesses such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte, all of whom had their priests and prophets and numbered royalty among their devotees.[9] A goddess called the "Queen of Heaven" was also worshiped: she was probably a fusion of Astarte and the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar[42] although the phrase is possibly a title of Asherah.
A third tier may also have existed, made up of specialist deities such as the god of snakebite-cures – his name is unknown, as the biblical text identifies him only as Nehushtan, a pun based on the shape of his representation and the metal of which it was made[44] – and below these again was a fourth and final group of minor divine beings such as the mal'ak, the messengers of the higher gods, who in later times became the angels of Christianity, Judaism and Islam,[10] and other heavenly beings such as cherubim.
Worship of Baal and Yahweh coexisted in the early period of Israel's history, but they were considered irreconcilable after the 9th century BCE, following the efforts of King Ahab and his queen Jezebel to elevate Baal to the status of national god,[45] although the cult of Baal did continue for some time.[
During the Iron Age I period (12th to 11th centuries BCE[7]), the religion of the 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 of Judah.[8][9] As distinct from other Canaanite religious traditions, Yahwism was monolatristic and focused on the particular worship of Yahweh, whom his worshippers conflated with El.[10] Yahwists started to deny the existence of other gods, whether Canaanite or foreign, as Yahwism became more strictly monotheistic over time.[11][12]
Iron Age Yahwism was formalized in the 9th century BCE, around the same time that the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel (or Samaria) and Judah became consolidated in Canaan.[19][failed verification][20][failed verification][21] Yahweh was the national god of both kingdoms.[22]
Other neighbouring Canaanite kingdoms also each had their own national god originating from the Canaanite pantheon of gods: Chemosh was the god of Moab, Milcom was the god of the Ammonites, Qaus was the god of the Edomites, and so on. In each kingdom, the king was his national god's viceroy on Earth.[22][23][24]
The national gods in Canaan were relatively equal, mirroring the balance of the kingdoms. Each kingdom featured a divine couple—Yahweh and the goddess Asherah in Israel and Judah—who led a pantheon of lesser gods.
A group of deities in a four-tier hierarchy headed by El and Asherah[a][b] were worshipped by the followers of the Canaanite religion; this is a detailed listing:[13]
- Aglibol, god of the moon and brother of Malakbel. Part of a trio of gods of Palmyra, Syria, along with Bel and Yarhibol. Also part of another trio with Baalshamin and Malakbel.
- Anat, virgin goddess of war and strife, sister and putative mate of Baʿal Hadad.
- Arsay, goddess of the underworld, one of the three daughters of Ba'al Hadad.
- Arsu, god of the evening star and twin brother of Azizos.
- Asherah, queen consort of El (Ugaritic religion), Amurru (Amorite religion), Elkunirša (Hittite religion) and 'Amm (Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia). While it is sometimes claimed that Asherah was considered Yahweh's consort in Israelite religion, Edward Lipiński argues that the Hebrew ʾašērāh mentioned in epigraphic sources refers to a "holy place" rather than a goddess.
- Ashima, goddess of fate.
- Ashtar-Chemosh, wife of Chemosh and goddess of the Moabites.
- Astarte, goddess of war, hunting and love.
- Atargatis, wife of Hadad, goddess of fertility and the chief goddess of northern Syria.
- Attar, god of the morning star ("son of the morning") who tried to take the place of the dead Baal and failed. Male counterpart of Athtart.
- Azizos, god of the morning star and twin brother of Arsu.
- Ba'alah, the wife or female counterpart of Ba'al (also Belili).
- Ba'alat Gebal, goddess of Byblos, Phoenicia.
- Ba'al Hammon, god of vegetative fertility and renewer of all energies of Ancient Carthage.
- Ba'al Hermon, titular local deity of Mount Hermon.
- Ba'al Shamin also called Baal Shamem and Baal Shamaim, supreme sky god of Palmyra, Syria whose temple was destroyed on 23 August 2015 by ISIL. His attributes were the eagle and the lightning bolt. Part of trinity of deities along with Aglibol and Malakbel.
- Ba'al Zebub, the lord of flies, more commonly known as Beelzebub. Worshiped by the inhabitants of Ekron, this deity was associated with vermin and pestilence.
- Ba'al Zephon or Baʿal Ṣaphon, lord of the north. Alternate form of Ba'al Hadad as lord of Mount Zaphon.
- Bel, or Bol, was the chief god of Palmyra, Syria whose temple was destroyed on August 30, 2015, by ISIL.
- Bethel, who became popular during the Neo-Babylonian Empire in the Syria region and in the Samarian-Judean diaspora settlement of Elephantine, Egypt.
- Chemosh, possibly one of the sons of El, a god of war and destruction and the national god of the Moabites and the Ammonites.
- Dagon (Dagan) god of crop fertility and grain, father of Ba'al Hadad.
- El, also called 'Il or Elyon ("Most High"), god of creation, husband of Athirat.
- Eshmun, god, or as Baalat Asclepius, goddess, of healing.
- Gad, god of fortune.
- Gupan and Ugar, messenger gods of the weather god Baal, who always appear as a pair.
- Hadad, often known as Baʿal "Lord", god of storms, thunder, lightning and air. King of the gods. Uses the weapons Driver and Chaser in battle. Often referred to as Baalshamin.
- Haurun, an underworld god, co-ruler of the underworld, twin brother of Melqart, a son of Mot. Bethoron in Israel, takes its name from Horon.
- Išḫara, a goddess of Eblaite origin.
- Ishat, goddess of fire, wife of Moloch. She was slain by Anat.
- Kotharat, seven goddesses of marriage and pregnancy.
- Kothar-wa-Khasis, the skilled god of craftsmanship, created Yagrush and Aymur (Driver and Chaser) the weapons used by the god Ba'al Hadad.
- Lotan, the twisting, seven-headed serpent ally of Yam.
- Malakbel, god of the sun, vegetation, welfare, angel of Bel and brother of Agilbol. Part of a trinity of deities in Palmyra, Syria along with Aglibol and Baalshamin.
- Marqod, god of dance.
- Melqart, "king of the city", god of Tyre, the underworld and cycle of vegetation in Tyre, co-ruler of the underworld, twin brother of Horon and son of Mot.
- Milcom, national god of the Ammonites.
- Misor, twin brother of Sydyk.
- Moloch, putative god of fire, husband of Ishat, may be identified with Milcom.
- Mot or Maweth, god of death (not worshiped or given offerings).
- Nikkal-wa-Ib, goddess of orchards and fruit.
- Pidray, goddess of light and lightning, one of the three daughters of Ba'al Hadad.
- Qadeshtu, lit. "Holy One", putative goddess of love, desire and lust. Also a title of Asherah.
- Qos, national god of the Edomites.
- Resheph, god of plague and of healing.
- Shadrafa, god of medicine or healing.
- Shachar and Shalim, twin mountain gods of dawn and dusk, respectively. Shalim was linked to the netherworld via the evening star and associated with peace.
- Shapash, also transliterated Shapshu, goddess of the sun; sometimes equated with the Mesopotamian sun god Shamash, whose gender is disputed. Some authorities consider Shamash a goddess.
- Sydyk, the god of righteousness or justice, sometimes twinned with Misor, and linked to the planet Jupiter.
- Tallai, the goddess of winter, snow, cold and dew, one of the three daughters of Ba'al Hadad.
- Yahweh (YHWH), national god of the Israelites and central figure of worship in Yahwism.
- Yam ( 'sea-river') the god of the sea and rivers, also called Judge Nahar (judge of the river).
- Yarhibol, solar god and "lord of the spring". Part of a trinity of co-supreme gods of Palmyra, Syria along with Aglibol and Bel.
- Yarikh, god of the moon and husband of Nikkal. The city of Jericho was likely his cultic center.
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