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Was YHWH...

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okamido View Drop Down
Consul
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  Quote okamido Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Was YHWH...
    Posted: 04-Nov-2011 at 21:46
...originally a nomadic storm god , Sumerian lunar god, or some form of War god?
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Jarns View Drop Down
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  Quote Jarns Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Nov-2011 at 11:19
 I can tell you that Greek visitors to the area conflated supreme gods within the Semitic religions with Poseidon while the Romans conflated him with Neptune. I've thought about this extensively, and the conclusion I came to is that Poseidon/Neptune use natural disasters to inflict punishment, a major treat of the Semitic gods. The Flood and the story of Jonah probably didn't help that idea very much.

 Now, let's remember that when we see the phrase 'God Almighty' in the Bible we're seeing a translation of the term 'El Shaddai.' 'Shaddai' has a kind of double meaning as a toponym, referencing mountains - this makes sense, considering all of his major Old Testament stories (Noah, Moses and Abraham) involve mountains. It's even implied, in the Book of Judges, that the early Hebrews might of seen him as residing on a mountain.

 This entire bit of earlier information is important because of the Akkadian god Amurru. Amurru was at times known as 'Shaddu'a' which is 'mountain-dweller.' He was also known as 'sa a-bu be (roughly)' which means 'of the Deluge.' The problem with this theory is, of course, that the Amorites (who worshipped Amurru over others) and the Hebrews are Biblically recorded as being at war with each other at the commandment of Yahweh. This is particularly clear with the incidents involving the citizens of Gibeon.

 I'm using the Amarru story for one particular reason: Amurru is just one of the many, many local incarnations of the supreme being 'El.' El, of course, being the root word in 'Elohim,' 'Elija,' 'Emmanuel,' etc. They share a wife (Asterum/Asherah) and have a similar nature. Judges and Deuteronomy point to the idea that Asherah was worshipped alongside Yahweh; in fact, there are inscriptions in the region dedicated to both Yahweh and Asherah.

 Now that we have a rather strong background to conflate El with Yahweh. Seeing as how, yet again, the Greeks/Romans equated El with Poseidon there seems to be a common idea as to what he represented.

 Add to that Ea/Enki, of Eridu, who is possibly derived from El, and you get some interesting traits: Enki performs the flood, creates man out of clay & blood and confuses the languages. Ea is, interestingly enough, a water divinity.
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