Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Ian Hutchesson <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

At 13.11 19/02/00 -0600, Henry Churchyard wrote:
>I don't know of much
>evidence in the Bible for any El vs. YHWH religous conflict, and I'm not
>sure that Hebrew prophets would have had much objection to worshiping
>YHWH under the name of "El" (as long as Canaanite rituals and
>mythologies concerning the Canaanite "El" were not dragged in) -- while
>they would have had the most violent antipathy towards worshipping YHWH
>under the names Baal, Asherah, Anath, etc.

Dear Henry,

While I don't hold the position that you are reacting to, I don't think the
situation is as clear here as you seem to be describing it.

There are various people in the Hebrew tradition, for example, whose name
contained the theophoric element "ba'al". (The imagery in Dan7 is a clear
reference to Baal's defeat of Yam.)

Two shrines in Palestine talk of YHWH and his consort (asherah). (Isn't the
great stone that Joshua sets up under the oak the divine pair?)

One of the judges was called Shamgar, son of Anath. And wasn't Anath then
name of she who was the asherah?

The sources are not prophets, but the texts have been in the hands of
Yahwists for a long time. You've seen what Kings does with Ishbaal and
Meribbaal.

>On a different point, "Yashuya" as a supposed early transliteration of
>"Joshua" 

(I think Yashuya was Jesse according to those renaming people in the Amarna
letters, if I understand what you are referring to.)


Ian