Biblical Hebrew Forum

[peter_kirk AT sil.org]

I believe in and worship one deity and call him (amongst other things) 
"God". My French friend believes in and worships one deity and calls 
him "Dieu". Does that mean that we have two different gods, or just 
that we have two different words or names for one God?

If you prefer a more polytheistic context, how about the Roman who 
worshipped Jupiter and the Greek who worshipped Zeus? Two gods, or two 
names for one god? Not such an easy question, I know. But how do we 
distinguish between one god with two names and two separate gods?

Do you have any evidence that any "Israelite" believed in and/or 
worhipped two separate divinities El and Yahweh? If not, could it not 
be that they were the same God.

Peter Kirk


______________________________ Reply Separator 
_________________________________
Subject: The gods of "Israel"
Author:  <barre AT access1.com> at Internet
Date:    10/01/2000 16:49


To Whom it may concern:

>From before the Menerptah stele (c. 1220) to the graffito of Kintullet 
>Ajrud, E
l and not
Yahweh was the high god of Israel proper (the northern tribes).  El and 
Yahweh c
ame to
have the same relationship as Canaanite El and Baal and Aramean El and Hadad. 
Syncretistic motivated by attempts at social cohesion have obscured the 
identity
 and role of
El in ancient Israel.  As a result, we can only conclude that much past, 
present
 and likely
future research into the history of Israelite religion is skewed and 
therefore f
atally flawed.  We
may also predict that theological concern of both Judaism and Christianity 
will 
throw up
strong psychological resistance to a historical thesis that is virtually 
certain
.  Sorry but there is
not one god of the Old Testament but two.

Thank you.

Shalom





---------------------------
L.M. Barre, Ph.D.

barre AT access1.com
www.angelfire.com/ca2/AncientIsrael
La Jolla, California






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