Patron, the god of the Jews Yahweh is the god of the Old Testament, who had many names. His cult existed even before the unification of the Jewish tribes in Israel.
Cult of God Yahweh
Initially, the people who worshiped one god Yahweh lived in the Jewish tribe. The rest of the Jewish tribes honored other gods - Shaddai, Anat, Tammuz, Moloch. Yahweh was then depicted as a bull and a lion. After the descendants of Judah became the initiators of the unification of the entire people of Israel, it was this deity who became the patron of the entire kingdom of Israel. At the same time, his appearance has also changed - the bull has now turned into a man.
Jews believe that the god Yahweh lived on Mount Sinai, therefore, it was there that divine services were held, which included indispensable bloody sacrifices. At the same time, both animals and people were sacrificed, who were mainly enemies of the Jewish people.
At the same time, Yahweh often communicated directly with people, descending from the sky in the form of a pillar of fire or light. Moses enjoyed his special love - it was to him that this god first named his name, then he helped his people to be taken away from Egypt, in addition, he presented the tablets with the commandments. These events are described in detail in the Old Testament.
It is interesting that modern researchers who have studied the New and Old Testaments in detail say that in these parts of the Bible the god Yahweh is described in completely different ways, while some major events, such as the creation of the world, also diverge. Therefore, a huge number of assumptions arose as to who this higher power was. According to some researchers, it was a cruel demon demanding bloody sacrifices.
According to the second version, the god Yahweh received an extraterrestrial origin. There are several facts that support this theory:
- the image of an aircraft disc-shaped apparatus is found on the murals of temples and ancient icons;
- in the book of Ezekiel, the description of the "Glory of the Lord" surprisingly resembles the description of a modern aircraft;
- the rules of the god Yahweh suggest that he can infect a person with serious diseases, as well as cure him;
- Yahweh addresses people as “sons of men”, while distancing himself from them.
Today, the people who worshiped one god Yahweh are only the notorious Jehovah's Witnesses.
West Semitic mythology
There are sources that say that the Almighty had a spouse, more precisely, 2 spouses at once. This is Ashera and Anat. According to some researchers, among the ancient Jews during the transition to monotheism, he was the only god, while having a spouse. Some of the sources indicate that she was Anat, the other part - Ashera. At the same time, in the Old Testament, the worship of the Jews to the "Queen of Heaven" was mentioned - this is exactly what the prophet Jeremiah fought against.
At the same time, archaeological evidence suggests that her cult was widespread in Palestine until about the 6th century BC. e. Despite this, among researchers there is confusion between the names of the goddesses themselves, which differ in Ugaritic mythology.
Correspondence with other deities
Most likely, the veneration of him was not common among the ancient Jews, in addition, it was also found among some West Semitic tribes. For example, among the Phoenicians, it is designated by the name Yevo. He was also responsible for the elements of the sea and was the patron of Beirut, where texts entirely dedicated to Yevo were later discovered. They were inspired by various myths about the god of thunder, Baal Haddad, son of Ilu.
The last name in Hebrew passed into a common noun, directly in the meaning of "god", while the functions of Ilu were absorbed by Yahweh. He was considered the patron of the Israeli union of tribes in Palestine and, most likely, he was the patron of Edom there. Fights the leviathan and the sea (Yammu) and wins a crushing victory. In Canaan and Ugarit, the god Yahweh was called Yammu - he was the god of the sea, defeated in the battle with Baal.
In the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, Yahweh (usually in the synodal translation "Lord") is the monotheistic personal God of the people of Israel, who brought the Jews out of Egypt, and also gave Moses the divine Law. It is interesting that the cult of Yahweh is opposed to the negatively evaluated cults of other Semitic deities. At the same time, the history of the relationship between the inhabitants of Israel and this god is the main plot of the Old Testament.
In the Bible, Yahweh actually participates in the life of Israel and other nations, gives commandments, reveals himself to the prophets, and punishes disobedience. The perception of the personality of this Old Testament god differed in different philosophical and religious teachings. For example, from the point of view of Christianity, its continuity was emphasized in comparison with the concept of an omnipotent higher power.
Christianity
The name of Yahweh in orthodox Christianity befits all 3rd persons of the Godhead. It is worth noting that the Son of God appeared to Moses and the prophets under the name of Yahweh (before the incarnation of Jesus). Yahweh is the legislator, the creator of the world, a deity, a protector, a powerful and supreme ruler. The synodal translation at the same time conveys the tetragram with the word "Lord".
In the Christian world, the pronunciation "Jehovah" has been used for about 200 years, although in many translations into Russian of the Bible it is quite rare and replaced by other names (mostly by "Lord").
