Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jack Kilmon" <jkilmon AT historian.net>
> Other than Yehoshua which I believe is a "back naming" I cannot help but
> notice that all of the Judges; Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech,
> Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, Samuel..and the monarchs
> until the mid 9th century BCE; Saul, David, Solomon, Jeroboam (which is
also
> a helluva lotta champagne), Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri Omri, Ahab...not a
> Yaho/Yeho to be found. Suddenly after Ahab we begin to see the Yahwist
> theophoric in 853 BCE Ahaziah, Jehoram, Jehu, Jehoahaz, Jehoash,
Zechariah,
> Pekahiah..and at the same mid 9th century in Judah Jehoshaphhat,
> Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah..everybody is on the
Yaho
> bandwagon. So suddenly mid 9th century BCE the Yahwist theophoric comes
into
> use.
>
> Does 850ish BCE coincide with the Yahwist author?  What happens around 850
> BCE that brings the theophoric into use?  The first person that seems to
> kick off the yahu theophoric is Eliyahu (Elijah)..."Yahweh is God."
>
> Jack
>

Hi Jack,

You are, of course, assuming that King Abiah was really Abiam. Jeroboam had
a son of the same name. What about Yehonathan (Jonathan), son of Saul? And
Yedidyah (Jedidiah)/Solomon? And Jotham son of Gideon? And Zuriah, David's
sister? And her son Joab (Yo is the father)? And the prophet Ahiah the
Shilonite?

Yahwistic names become more common after c. 850, but they certainly existed
before. But your point is a good one: and it makes the house of Ahab seem
much more loyal to Yahweh than the Bible would have us imagine! Worth a lot
of thought!

Yigal