Ancient Gods and the bible.

Crazyguy

This seems like a very good site on the subject. https://sites.google.com/site/yahwehelohiym/an-ancient-view-of-god/one-god-or-many-gods

One scripture that was mentioned that was very intersting to me was Judges 1:19 where is says that the LORD or Yahweh was with Judah and they drove out the mountaineers but could not drive out the people of the lowlands because they had chariots. So I guess Yahweh is not an all powerful god after all??

Anyone done much research of the idea that the Hebrews were not monotheistic after all and saw Yahweh as only their god among many and this god may have been nothing more then the idea of what we refer to a mother nature??

Apognophos

I haven't done a lot of research yet (I want to buy some books, but I can't do that until I've finished my fading plan). But I do find this subject very interesting. It seems that at one time the Ancient Near East nations each more or less followed one or two specific gods/goddesses, and acknowledged the others' gods as being as valid as their own. Eventually Israel's priests began demanding that the people only follow YHWH.

I think the most fascinating scripture in this regard is Deut. 32:8, 9. In its original version, it seems to be stating that YHWH is a part of the divine assembly of El's 70 sons. El is the chief god in this pantheon, and he is assigning the 70 gods their inheritances; each god gets their own nation or people. YHWH receives Israel as his inheritance. Leolaia discusses how the verse was redacted over time until it stopped mentioning other gods overtly: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/147775/1/Deuteronomy-32-7-9-Who-is-the-Most-High#.UxP_6F6VEnQ

QuestioningEverything

Yes the Israelites worshipped more than one god. The scriptures are full of calf worship,the witch 0f endor, the prophets of bael as well as countless other gods adapted from nearby nations. The prophets of Yaweh usually killed off these people.

EdenOne

Crazyguy,

That text is an old favorite of our very own Adamah. Its context, however, shows that it were the hebrews of Judah, not Yahweh, that couldn't drive the cananites away. The charriots were their excuse. And the broader context shows that other tribes simply didn't bother enough to drive the cananites away completely. Apparently they were too tired to wage war and simply got soft and let them stay, much against Yahweh's orders.

To use that text as "evidence" that Yahweh isn't powerful enough is lame, to say the least.

Eden

Xanthippe

Its context, however, shows that it were the hebrews of Judah, not Yahweh, that couldn't drive the cananites away. The charriots were their excuse...To use that text as "evidence" that Yahweh isn't powerful enough is lame, to say the least. - EdenOne

Surely Yahweh could do anything if he was the true God?

transhuman68

LOL, there were lots of gods way back when- every nation had one- heaven must have been a really crowded place, LOL! One really funny part in the Bible is where Jehovah claims Cyrus as his own: but Cyrus himself attributed all his victories to his god Marduk. Just imagine Jehovah & Marduk fighting up in heaven over who can be Cyrus' god! Either they all exist, or none of them- simple, really...

designs

Thor never met a chariot he couldn't Zot!

Crazyguy

Eden I see what your saying but when you look at the website and others about the old canninite city and its gods and stories it looks more and more that the Israelites barrowed many of the stories and gods from them. It also looks as though the Israelite were not monotheistic until later and then the translations of the bible were changed to support the new monotheistic view of their priests.

EdenOne

I lean towards the thesis that the pre-exile Israelites were henotheists; they believed in other gods [Elohim], but considered that Yahweh was the Almightly amongst them, and the only one deserving worship. Therefore, they weren't monotheists. More often then not, they resorted to polytheism. Only in post-exile times they adopted a strict monotheism.

Eden

Crazyguy

What's your thoughts on this website and others that talk about there being 70 sons of a guy or god and these were each given a territory and a people each became gods and stayed in there own territory. Yah didn't go to Egypt with Moses for example also many of the verse in the bible indicate these gods including yah were like mother nature, having to do with the weather and even fertility?

Ancient Gods and the bible.

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