Archaeologists discover Yahweh, the Jewish God had a Goddess wife, Asherah | ReligionForBreakfast

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Uploaded: 16 May 2018   (8 years ago)  ·  Shared: 17 May 2018

Video Description (from Youtube)

YHWH...the God of the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible, and you shall have no other gods before him. But did some ancient Israelites worship another god, Asherah? Archaeological evidence suggests that

some Israelites may have believed YHWH had a consort or wife.

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Sources:

William Devers, "Did God Have a Wife?" Eerdmans, 2005.

William Dever, “Archaeology and Ancient Israelite Iconography: Did Yahweh Have a Face?” in A.M. Maeir and P. de Miroschedji (editor), "I will Speak the Riddles of Ancient Times”: Archaeological and Historical Studies in Honor of Amihai Mazar," 461.

Judith Hadley, "The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess," Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Critical Review of William Dever’s book: https://members.bib-arch.org/biblical-archaeology-review/32/5/15

Hershel Shanks, “The Persisting Uncertainties of Kuntillet ‘Ajrud,” https://members.bib-arch.org/biblical-archaeology-review/38/6/2?ip_login_no_cache=%EA~%7C%DC%F7%B6%07%FF

Dr. Erin Darby interview on pillar figurines: https://www.coursera.org/learn/bible-history/lecture/gZbL6/darby-interview

Source on standing stones: Stephen Herring, "Divine Substitution," "Chapter 3: Iconic Israel: Divine Representation, Idol Polemics, and the Awareness of the Relationship between Image and Presence in the Hebrew Bible," Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, 2013.

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Overview & Key Concepts


Who are ReligionForBreakfast?

ReligionForBreakfast is an educational channel dedicated to the academic, nonsectarian study of religion. We strive to raise the level of conversation

about religion on YouTube by exploring surprising facts about humanity's beliefs and rituals through an anthropological, sociological, and archaeological lens. Here at RFB we respect everyone: religious, non-religious, and everyone in between.

Who was Asherah?

Asherah in ancient Semitic religion, is a mother goddess who appears in a number of ancient sources. She appears in Akkadian writings by the name of

Asratu, and in Hittite as Aserdu or Asertu. Asherah is generally considered identical with the Ugaritic goddess Atirat. Asherah is identified as the queen consort of the Sumerian god Anu, and Ugaritic El, the oldest deities of their respective pantheons, as well as Yahweh, the god of Israel and Judah. Despite her association with Yahweh in extra-biblical sources, Deuteronomy 12 has Yahweh commanding the destruction of her shrines so as to maintain purity of his worship.

Who is Yahweh?

Yahweh was the national god of the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel (Samaria) and Judah. His exact origins are disputed, although they reach back to the

early Iron Age and even the Late Bronze: his name may have begun as an epithet of El, head of the Bronze Age Canaanite pantheon, but the earliest plausible mentions of Yahweh are in Egyptian texts that refer to a similar-sounding place name associated with the Shasu nomads of the southern Transjordan. In the oldest biblical literature, Yahweh is a typical ancient Near Eastern "divine warrior", who leads the heavenly army against Israel's enemies; he later became the main god of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) and of Judah, and over time the royal court and temple promoted Yahweh as the god of the entire cosmos, possessing all the positive qualities previously attributed to the other gods and goddesses.

What is Jewish?

Judaism is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people

Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of observing the Mosaic covenant, which they believe was established between God and the Jewish people. The religion is considered one of the earliest monotheistic religions. Jewish religious doctrine encompasses a wide body of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Among Judaism's core texts is the Torah - the first five books of the Hebrew Bible - and a collection of ancient Hebrew scriptures. The Tanakh, known in English as the Hebrew Bible, has the same books as Protestant Christianity's Old Testament, with some differences in order and content.

Who is GOD?

In monotheism and henotheism, God is conceived as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith. The concept of God as described by theologians

commonly includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), omnibenevolence (perfect goodness), divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence.
<ul>
<li>In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe</li>
<li>In deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe</li>
<li>Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one God or in the oneness of God</li>
<li>In pantheism, God is the universe itself</li>
<li>In atheism, God is purported not to exist, while deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism. </li>
</ul>

Frequently Asked Questions


1.Where did the name Yahweh come from?

The name Yahweh is the principal, sacred vocalisation of the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (YHWH), revealed historically to Moses in the Old Testament Book of Exodus as God's personal covenant name. Biblical scholars note its linguistic roots link directly to an archaic Hebrew verb meaning "To Be," signifying the eternal, self-existing, and uncreated nature of the Creator.


2.How did the Early Jewish-Christians practise their religion?

The earliest Jewish-Christians strictly followed traditional Hebrew practices, including daily prayers, circumcision, rituals for purity, fasting, dietary laws, and temple, according to the source material.


3.Did Jesus claim to be 'King of the Jews'?

A political placard accusing Jesus of making this claim was nailed to his cross, and this historical artifact can be found today at the Church of Santa Croce in Rome.


4.How was Jesus Jewish?

Jesus fully observed the laws of the Torah, maintained kosher dietary regulations, and never asked his followers to abandon Judaism, as they continued to meet at the Temple and practice circumcision rather than establishing a separate religion or attending a church.


5.What did early Jewish-Christians think of Apostle Paul?

Between 55 and 66 CE, early Jewish-Christian leaders in Jerusalem rejected Paul's teachings and challenged his authority, leading to a significant decline in his popularity.


6.Were the early Christians Jews?

Yes, Jesus and early followers were entirely Jewish, strictly observing traditional laws and customs.


7.Did Saul kill the early Jewish-Christians?

Before his conversion, Saul actively sought to imprison and execute early Jewish-Christians. Saul believed that he was serving God by finding Christians, throwing them into prison, and even executing them.

1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
[Acts 8:1-3]


8.How did the Jews view Apostle Paul?

Faithful Jews viewed Paul's salvation theory as blatant blasphemy because his theological teachings explicitly ridiculed all previous revelations from God, including the sacred Torah, while teaching a doctrine that went against the absolute oneness of God.


9.According to Apostle Paul, why did God give Jews the Torah?

Paul viewed the Torah as a temporary guide, claiming it was given to the Jews until they could be saved through faith in Jesus Christ.


10.How did Apostle Paul differ with the Jewish Rabbis?

The Jewish Rabbis preached a person was saved so long as their intention was to remain within the covenant, and one truly repented and seek forgiveness for their sins.

Paul preached that every person was 'damned' until they was offered salvation. Mans problem was that he was 'in the flesh' in bondage to the Law, sold under Sin, enslaved by the fundamental spirits of the universe (ie. dead).

Paul preached the only cure was liberation from slavery and death by union with Christ, who had conquered death and sin.


11.How did the early Jewish-Christians view Jesus' resurrection?

The earliest Jewish-Christians did not believe that the resurrection meant Jesus was God, but rather that he was a righteous man approved by God through miracles, wonders, and signs. Based on texts like Acts 2:22-24, they maintained the theological view that Jesus had been raised by God, not that he was the Creator himself.


12.Who seperated Christianity from Judaism?

It was Apostle Paul's dramatic conversion and subsequent teachings that directly resulted in the permanent theological separation of Christianity from Judaism. Within mere months of Jesus' departure, the original human-centric and law-abiding message was fundamentally altered into an independent religious system.


13.Why Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah?

The Bible claims the Messiah will accomplish certain signs:

1. Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).

2. Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).

3. Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)

4. Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the worldon that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9).

The historical fact is that Jesus fulfilled none of these messianic prophecies.

Christians counter that Jesus will fulfill these in the Second Coming, but Jewish sources show that the Messiah will fulfill the prophecies outright, and no concept of a second coming exists.


14.What does the Quran say about Jews and Christians?

The Quran recognizes Jews and Christians as "People of the Book" (Ahl al-Kitab), acknowledging that they were given previous divine revelations through prophets like Moses and Jesus. While it praises the righteous among them, it also critiques their theological developments, specifically rejecting the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the divine sonship of Jesus.


15.How was Apostle Paul viewed by the Jews?

Paul was widely viewed by mainstream Jewish communities as a radical apostate and religious heretic because he preached that observance of the Mosaic Torah was no longer required for salvation. This fierce theological conflict frequently resulted in severe public opposition, legal charges before Roman authorities, and physical riots during his travel throughout ancient Mediterranean cities.


16.Does the Quran tell Jews and Christians to refer to their Scriptures (Torah and Bible)?

Yes, the Quran references previous scriptures in passages like Surah Al-Ma'idah (5:47), which tells the followers of the Gospel to judge by what God has revealed in it. From an academic perspective, this reflects the historical context of 7th-century Medina, where Jews and Christians were recognized as "People of the Book" who possessed divine laws. While Islamic theology holds that modern biblical texts have suffered from textual corruption (tahrif), the Quran historically appeals to the core monotheistic truths remaining in those scriptures to validate Muhammad's message.


17.In the time of Jesus, what qualities would identify the Messiah, to the Jews?

First-century Jewish expectations, as discussed in this analysis of Trinity dogma, centered on a human leader, such as a prophet or king from David's line, rather than a divine figure.


18.How did the 1st century Jews view the Holy Spirit?

As explained in this analysis of Trinity dogma, the Holy Spirit was understood as God's active, divine power, rather than a distinct, third person of a Trinity.


19.Jesus claimed to be God. The Jews must have understood this, as they accused him of blasphemy and were ready to stone him?

The platform asserts that Jesus did not claim divinity in this instance, and that his mention of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:34 was a defense noting that human judges are called "gods" in scripture, thus challenging the accusation of blasphemy.


20.Why do Jews let the hair grow on the sides of there head?

In the text of the Torah (Leviticus 19:27), God explicitly forbids cutting or rounding off the corners of the hair on the sides of the head and marring the edges of the beard.


21.How did Jews view the Greek Bible (Septuagint)?

The Jewish community regarded the Septuagint only as a translation of the original Hebrew, never as an independent or authoritative scripture.


22.In the time of Jesus, how were the Jews viewed by the Greeks?

The text suggests that the Greeks perceived Judaism as an insular tradition, weakened by long-term Roman occupation, economic decline, and emigration.






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