Polytheism in the Tanakh and the transition to monotheism
Notes:
This was written for uni.
I don't accept David and Solomon as anything other than mythic characters and where possible this has affected the wording.
There is far more information and sources that could have been used for this. Some of my original plan got altered because I had a word limit of 2500.
the Tanakh - hebrew bible, old testament etc.
Theogeny - the birth of a god
etiology - an origin story
cultic practice - religious practice of deity X.
mauvedragon
The Tanakh is traditionally read as a monotheistic document. However sections of it were not written from a monotheistic view point. Israel and Judah historically went through a transition from polytheism to monotheism and there is evidence in the Tanakh of this. First of all though, polytheistic motifs need to be discussed. Before considering the transition to monotheism, the form of polytheistic Yahwehism must be understood. From the polytheistic viewpoint Yahweh’s origins will be considered as will his relationships with his divine family and the divine council. Psalm 82 marks an important transition from polytheism to monotheism. The long term success of monotheism is shown in dogma of the modern religions of the book.
Ugaritic texts from the ancient city of Ugarit, modern Ras Shamra, contemporary to ancient Israel, describe polytheistic myths and cultic material including well known deities from the Tanakh such as Ba’al. The notable exception here is the absence of Yahweh . Various deities including El and Ba’al in the Ugaritic texts have divine councils which may also represent family groupings around a patriarchal figure . The Hebrew phrase for the council of Yahweh is bĕnê elōhîm, these are the inhabitants of heaven; with Yahweh, elōhîm, as the head of the group . The Ugaritic pantheon is conceived as a multi-family or joint household around a patriarch . This will be another point of comparison to make a case for a structure of polytheism in some of the older biblical texts.
The Ugaritic divine family and the royal household are reflections of each other, with the king as patriarch of the royal household and using titles that reflect El’s titles as the head of the pantheon . Parallels in royal theology from the Tanakh include Yahweh as divine king and the human king completing the same actions together and metaphorical granting of divine power to the human king . Usage of royal theology continues as the prophets promote monotheism. This will be returned to in discussing the rhetoric of monotheism.
In speaking of Yahweh’s origins, it is not his theogeny that is going to be considered. It is question of “Was Yahweh the original god of Israel?” Smith makes a case for El being the chief god of Israel originally. The name of IsraEl contains the divine element of the name of El rather than Yahweh. If it had been named after Yahweh, the name according to Hebrew naming conventions should have been *yiśrâ-yāh . Deuteronomy 32:8-9 is easier to understand when Elyon, most high, is seen as El and Yahweh as one of the divine sons .
“When the Most High gave nations their homes
And set the divisions of man
He fixed the boundaries of peoples
In relation to Israel’s numbers
For Yahweh’s portion is His people,
Jacob His own allotment.”
Smith argues that El and Yahweh coalesced as Yahweh’s cult increased in popularity. The oldest view would be with El as head of pantheon and god of Israel and Yahweh as its warrior god . El and Yahweh merged as a single god prior to the song of Debrah in Judges 5. This texts dates prior to the 10th century BCE. This would have occurred at different rates in different regions .
The authors and editors of the Tanakh had an ambiguous relationship with the divine council as Yahweh’s retinue, sometimes ignoring it, sometimes writing strongly against and sometimes reducing the individuality of its members . One instance of this reduced individuality is Psalm 103:21
“Bless Yahweh, all his hosts
His servants who do His will”
In this verse the hosts and the servants are actually translations of the Hebrew phrase of the divine council, bĕnê elōhîm . Genesis 6: 1-4 is a story of divine rape by the bĕnê elōhîm of human women producing the Nephilim (giants), this is an etiology story of the giants and in it the bĕnê elōhîm act wickedly . Job 1 and 2 also tell a story of the bĕnê elōhîm “One day the divine beings (bĕnê elōhîm) beings presented themselves before Yahweh and the Adversary came along with them” On the surface the Satan does the same kind of things as the bĕnê elōhîm in other verses. He reports to Yahweh and carries out Yahweh’s will among humans. Yahweh and the Satan make a bet about wether Job will remain faithful if his blessings are taken away . Yahweh says of Job “He still keeps his integrity so you have incited Me against him to destroy him for no good reason.” In effect Yahweh accuses the Satan of tricking him. It is ambiguous if the Satan wanted to prove that Job only served out of gain or if he was trying to trick Yahweh into destroying Job. Either way the Satan is capable of deceiving Yahweh and opposed to human well being among the bĕnê elōhîm. 1 Kings 22 is an interesting case. Maicaiah son of Imlah sees Yahweh conferring with the bĕnê elōhîm. Yahweh asks “Who will entice Ahab so he will march and fall at Ramoth-gilead?” A spirit agrees and when asked how says “I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets” . Yahweh in 1 Kings 22 acts as the chair of the bĕnê elōhîm, where there is a discussion of how to carry out Yahweh’s wishes and then delegates . In these understandings of the bĕnê elōhîm, they act on earth, they can challenge Yahweh and they can act independently of Yahweh even in wickedness. In this the bĕnê elōhîm, function as a pantheon with Yahweh as the head of the pantheon.
Genesis 1 stresses Yahweh as both male and female . This seems to be part of a later priestly tradition to prevent Yahweh from having a consort. For much the same reasons the Tanakh is skittish about sexuality of Yahweh and doesn't speak of his sexual organs. However there is a divine family comparable to the polytheistic motif of Ugartic pantheon in the Tanakh. Hokmah and Lady Zion can be clearly demonstrated to be Yahweh’s daughters from the Tanakh and Asherah is strongly implied as his consort. Archaeology is in favour of Asherah as his consort .
In the Tanakh Hokmah appears in Proverbs 1-10 and the Deutorocanon, outside of it she appears in rabbinic and early christian writings . Proverbs 8 is particularly important for Hokmah and includes her theogeny. Yahweh lacks theogeny. Proverbs 8 opens strongly,
“It is Wisdom (Hokmah) calling,
Understanding raising her voice,
She takes her stand at the topmost heights,
by the wayside, at the crossroads” .
To me this is a strong anthropomorphic image. Hokmah is calling, raising her voice all of which are active verbs in the infinitive giving a sense of Hokmah as a young woman who can speak. Anthropomorphism is a polytheistic motif and attempts were made to reduce it in the Tanakh with the increase of polytheism. Later traditions treat her in abstract rather than as a goddess in order to include her in monotheistic theology . Alternatives proposed for Hokmah due to scholarly monotheistic bias claim either she is a goddess but non-Israelite or she is Israelite but not a goddess .
Lady Zion, the other daughter of Yahweh is the focus of much literature in Psalms . Bat-siyyôn she is called in Psalm 9:14, Daughter Zion ie Yahweh’s daughter . The idea of the beautiful cosmic mountain is one common to the West Semitic cultures and the cult of Zion originated with the Jebusites and became Israelite cultic practice when David conquered the city 1 Chronicles 15 shows this . Zion is understood as a garden city with a flowing river and the home of the gods . Lady Zion could serve as a mediator between Yahweh and the people, she was less transcendent and more available, humanising Yahweh’s qualities. She became an idealised link to Judah after the exile . So there were two daughters of Yahweh, but did he have a consort?
In 1 Kings 18 Elijah challenges the prophets of Ba’al to a duel, the prophets of Asherah are there but do not compete nor are they killed at the end. It’s as if Ba’al and Yahweh are competing over Asherah . 1 Kings 15:13 also has a reference to Asherah as a goddess, “He (Asa) also deposed his mother Maacah from because she made an abominable thing for [the goddess] Asherah ….” 2 Kings 21 describes Manasseh as restoring the polytheistic practices which Hezekiah had stopped . 2 Kings 23:4 describes Josiah destroying the objects of the Temple made for Ba’al, Asherah and the host of heaven . These are evidence for polytheistic worship of Ba’al, Asherah etc in the Temple in the 7th century . Images of the cult of Asherah are not only present in the records of kings but also in the 9th-7th century prophetic texts . Asherah is connected with tree imagery and Hosea 14:9 uses this.
“Ephraim [shall say]:
‘What more have I do with idols?
When I respond and look to Him,
I become like a verdant cypress.”
Your fruit is provided by Me .
Line two could alternatively read “I am his Anat and his Asherah ” showing the linkage between these goddesses and the fertility symbols. The very condemnation of Asherah suggests that the worship of Asherah and the frequency of the condemnation would suggest that worship of her was reasonably common. The ones who opposed Asherah, her worship and her cult objects were those who were promoting the idea of Yahweh alone. Most of the time these objects were tolerated and even cherished in sacred spaces including by the royal family . It seems highly likely that Asherah is the consort of Yahweh .
Psalm 82 explains how there were gods and then Yahweh became the only god. “God stands in the divine assembly among the divine beings he pronounces judgement .” The Hebrew phrase for “the divine beings” in this context ădat-ēl, the congregation of El . In this instance it is El who is chairing the meeting and lurks in the background as the absent father. Yahweh accuses the other gods of not promoting justice, of not protecting their domains and declares them dead .
“I had taken you for divine beings,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
but you shall die as men do,
fall like any prince. ”
This is Yahweh’s judgement pronounced upon the other gods. He then assumes their responsibilities. This is an etiology of how Israel came to worship Yahweh alone . This is the Tanakh explaining how and why monotheism became the preferred mode of worship for Yahweh. This is the Tanakh’s explanation of the transition from polytheism to monotheism.
The Tanakh shows polytheistic motifs comparable to the Ugaritic pantheon. The change from El as head of pantheon to Yahweh as head of pantheon. These include the bĕnê elōhîm, Yahweh’s council, and the family of Yahweh, Asherah, Hokmah and Lady Zion. Psalm 82 both demonstrates both the power of Yahweh and the end of the gods because of their failure to do justice to their nature.
Bibliography.
Primary sources.
Jewish Publication Society(eds), “JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh The Traditional Hebrew Text and the New JPS Translation”, The Jewish Publication society, Philadelphia, 1985.
Secondary sources.
Dever, William G. “Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and folk religion in Ancient Israel”, William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p 214-5
Penchansky, David. “Twilight of the Gods Polytheism in the Hebrew Bible”, Westminster John Knox Press, Loiusville, 2005, pp 23-29, 36, 49-51, 60, 62, 68-9, 71-73, 83
Smith, Mark S. “The origins of Biblical Monotheism. Israel’s Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts.” Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001, pp 5, 42, 55, 60, 142-144, 158.
This essay originally had foot notes which got lost in the process of posting. Also there are contrary views on the matter particularly with Zion. The information selected has been that which will support my argument and my biases are that I'm a christian herectic, hard polytheist and pagan.
This was written for uni.
I don't accept David and Solomon as anything other than mythic characters and where possible this has affected the wording.
There is far more information and sources that could have been used for this. Some of my original plan got altered because I had a word limit of 2500.
the Tanakh - hebrew bible, old testament etc.
Theogeny - the birth of a god
etiology - an origin story
cultic practice - religious practice of deity X.
mauvedragon
The Tanakh is traditionally read as a monotheistic document. However sections of it were not written from a monotheistic view point. Israel and Judah historically went through a transition from polytheism to monotheism and there is evidence in the Tanakh of this. First of all though, polytheistic motifs need to be discussed. Before considering the transition to monotheism, the form of polytheistic Yahwehism must be understood. From the polytheistic viewpoint Yahweh’s origins will be considered as will his relationships with his divine family and the divine council. Psalm 82 marks an important transition from polytheism to monotheism. The long term success of monotheism is shown in dogma of the modern religions of the book.
Ugaritic texts from the ancient city of Ugarit, modern Ras Shamra, contemporary to ancient Israel, describe polytheistic myths and cultic material including well known deities from the Tanakh such as Ba’al. The notable exception here is the absence of Yahweh . Various deities including El and Ba’al in the Ugaritic texts have divine councils which may also represent family groupings around a patriarchal figure . The Hebrew phrase for the council of Yahweh is bĕnê elōhîm, these are the inhabitants of heaven; with Yahweh, elōhîm, as the head of the group . The Ugaritic pantheon is conceived as a multi-family or joint household around a patriarch . This will be another point of comparison to make a case for a structure of polytheism in some of the older biblical texts.
The Ugaritic divine family and the royal household are reflections of each other, with the king as patriarch of the royal household and using titles that reflect El’s titles as the head of the pantheon . Parallels in royal theology from the Tanakh include Yahweh as divine king and the human king completing the same actions together and metaphorical granting of divine power to the human king . Usage of royal theology continues as the prophets promote monotheism. This will be returned to in discussing the rhetoric of monotheism.
In speaking of Yahweh’s origins, it is not his theogeny that is going to be considered. It is question of “Was Yahweh the original god of Israel?” Smith makes a case for El being the chief god of Israel originally. The name of IsraEl contains the divine element of the name of El rather than Yahweh. If it had been named after Yahweh, the name according to Hebrew naming conventions should have been *yiśrâ-yāh . Deuteronomy 32:8-9 is easier to understand when Elyon, most high, is seen as El and Yahweh as one of the divine sons .
“When the Most High gave nations their homes
And set the divisions of man
He fixed the boundaries of peoples
In relation to Israel’s numbers
For Yahweh’s portion is His people,
Jacob His own allotment.”
Smith argues that El and Yahweh coalesced as Yahweh’s cult increased in popularity. The oldest view would be with El as head of pantheon and god of Israel and Yahweh as its warrior god . El and Yahweh merged as a single god prior to the song of Debrah in Judges 5. This texts dates prior to the 10th century BCE. This would have occurred at different rates in different regions .
The authors and editors of the Tanakh had an ambiguous relationship with the divine council as Yahweh’s retinue, sometimes ignoring it, sometimes writing strongly against and sometimes reducing the individuality of its members . One instance of this reduced individuality is Psalm 103:21
“Bless Yahweh, all his hosts
His servants who do His will”
In this verse the hosts and the servants are actually translations of the Hebrew phrase of the divine council, bĕnê elōhîm . Genesis 6: 1-4 is a story of divine rape by the bĕnê elōhîm of human women producing the Nephilim (giants), this is an etiology story of the giants and in it the bĕnê elōhîm act wickedly . Job 1 and 2 also tell a story of the bĕnê elōhîm “One day the divine beings (bĕnê elōhîm) beings presented themselves before Yahweh and the Adversary came along with them” On the surface the Satan does the same kind of things as the bĕnê elōhîm in other verses. He reports to Yahweh and carries out Yahweh’s will among humans. Yahweh and the Satan make a bet about wether Job will remain faithful if his blessings are taken away . Yahweh says of Job “He still keeps his integrity so you have incited Me against him to destroy him for no good reason.” In effect Yahweh accuses the Satan of tricking him. It is ambiguous if the Satan wanted to prove that Job only served out of gain or if he was trying to trick Yahweh into destroying Job. Either way the Satan is capable of deceiving Yahweh and opposed to human well being among the bĕnê elōhîm. 1 Kings 22 is an interesting case. Maicaiah son of Imlah sees Yahweh conferring with the bĕnê elōhîm. Yahweh asks “Who will entice Ahab so he will march and fall at Ramoth-gilead?” A spirit agrees and when asked how says “I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets” . Yahweh in 1 Kings 22 acts as the chair of the bĕnê elōhîm, where there is a discussion of how to carry out Yahweh’s wishes and then delegates . In these understandings of the bĕnê elōhîm, they act on earth, they can challenge Yahweh and they can act independently of Yahweh even in wickedness. In this the bĕnê elōhîm, function as a pantheon with Yahweh as the head of the pantheon.
Genesis 1 stresses Yahweh as both male and female . This seems to be part of a later priestly tradition to prevent Yahweh from having a consort. For much the same reasons the Tanakh is skittish about sexuality of Yahweh and doesn't speak of his sexual organs. However there is a divine family comparable to the polytheistic motif of Ugartic pantheon in the Tanakh. Hokmah and Lady Zion can be clearly demonstrated to be Yahweh’s daughters from the Tanakh and Asherah is strongly implied as his consort. Archaeology is in favour of Asherah as his consort .
In the Tanakh Hokmah appears in Proverbs 1-10 and the Deutorocanon, outside of it she appears in rabbinic and early christian writings . Proverbs 8 is particularly important for Hokmah and includes her theogeny. Yahweh lacks theogeny. Proverbs 8 opens strongly,
“It is Wisdom (Hokmah) calling,
Understanding raising her voice,
She takes her stand at the topmost heights,
by the wayside, at the crossroads” .
To me this is a strong anthropomorphic image. Hokmah is calling, raising her voice all of which are active verbs in the infinitive giving a sense of Hokmah as a young woman who can speak. Anthropomorphism is a polytheistic motif and attempts were made to reduce it in the Tanakh with the increase of polytheism. Later traditions treat her in abstract rather than as a goddess in order to include her in monotheistic theology . Alternatives proposed for Hokmah due to scholarly monotheistic bias claim either she is a goddess but non-Israelite or she is Israelite but not a goddess .
Lady Zion, the other daughter of Yahweh is the focus of much literature in Psalms . Bat-siyyôn she is called in Psalm 9:14, Daughter Zion ie Yahweh’s daughter . The idea of the beautiful cosmic mountain is one common to the West Semitic cultures and the cult of Zion originated with the Jebusites and became Israelite cultic practice when David conquered the city 1 Chronicles 15 shows this . Zion is understood as a garden city with a flowing river and the home of the gods . Lady Zion could serve as a mediator between Yahweh and the people, she was less transcendent and more available, humanising Yahweh’s qualities. She became an idealised link to Judah after the exile . So there were two daughters of Yahweh, but did he have a consort?
In 1 Kings 18 Elijah challenges the prophets of Ba’al to a duel, the prophets of Asherah are there but do not compete nor are they killed at the end. It’s as if Ba’al and Yahweh are competing over Asherah . 1 Kings 15:13 also has a reference to Asherah as a goddess, “He (Asa) also deposed his mother Maacah from because she made an abominable thing for [the goddess] Asherah ….” 2 Kings 21 describes Manasseh as restoring the polytheistic practices which Hezekiah had stopped . 2 Kings 23:4 describes Josiah destroying the objects of the Temple made for Ba’al, Asherah and the host of heaven . These are evidence for polytheistic worship of Ba’al, Asherah etc in the Temple in the 7th century . Images of the cult of Asherah are not only present in the records of kings but also in the 9th-7th century prophetic texts . Asherah is connected with tree imagery and Hosea 14:9 uses this.
“Ephraim [shall say]:
‘What more have I do with idols?
When I respond and look to Him,
I become like a verdant cypress.”
Your fruit is provided by Me .
Line two could alternatively read “I am his Anat and his Asherah ” showing the linkage between these goddesses and the fertility symbols. The very condemnation of Asherah suggests that the worship of Asherah and the frequency of the condemnation would suggest that worship of her was reasonably common. The ones who opposed Asherah, her worship and her cult objects were those who were promoting the idea of Yahweh alone. Most of the time these objects were tolerated and even cherished in sacred spaces including by the royal family . It seems highly likely that Asherah is the consort of Yahweh .
Psalm 82 explains how there were gods and then Yahweh became the only god. “God stands in the divine assembly among the divine beings he pronounces judgement .” The Hebrew phrase for “the divine beings” in this context ădat-ēl, the congregation of El . In this instance it is El who is chairing the meeting and lurks in the background as the absent father. Yahweh accuses the other gods of not promoting justice, of not protecting their domains and declares them dead .
“I had taken you for divine beings,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
but you shall die as men do,
fall like any prince. ”
This is Yahweh’s judgement pronounced upon the other gods. He then assumes their responsibilities. This is an etiology of how Israel came to worship Yahweh alone . This is the Tanakh explaining how and why monotheism became the preferred mode of worship for Yahweh. This is the Tanakh’s explanation of the transition from polytheism to monotheism.
The Tanakh shows polytheistic motifs comparable to the Ugaritic pantheon. The change from El as head of pantheon to Yahweh as head of pantheon. These include the bĕnê elōhîm, Yahweh’s council, and the family of Yahweh, Asherah, Hokmah and Lady Zion. Psalm 82 both demonstrates both the power of Yahweh and the end of the gods because of their failure to do justice to their nature.
Bibliography.
Primary sources.
Jewish Publication Society(eds), “JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh The Traditional Hebrew Text and the New JPS Translation”, The Jewish Publication society, Philadelphia, 1985.
Secondary sources.
Dever, William G. “Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and folk religion in Ancient Israel”, William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p 214-5
Penchansky, David. “Twilight of the Gods Polytheism in the Hebrew Bible”, Westminster John Knox Press, Loiusville, 2005, pp 23-29, 36, 49-51, 60, 62, 68-9, 71-73, 83
Smith, Mark S. “The origins of Biblical Monotheism. Israel’s Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts.” Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001, pp 5, 42, 55, 60, 142-144, 158.
This essay originally had foot notes which got lost in the process of posting. Also there are contrary views on the matter particularly with Zion. The information selected has been that which will support my argument and my biases are that I'm a christian herectic, hard polytheist and pagan.