Leprosy was a generic word for any skin disease, including leprosy. The nomadic band of lepers doesn't make any sense. The Jews did believe in YHWH and it appears from 11th century drawings YHWH was worshipped along side Baal and Ashera. This was an age of god/godess consolidation. Baal was sun, Ashera was Venus, and YHWH would be the lunar diety who was also the supreme deity.
The Jews were Canaanites and basically worshipped as they did, except they held YHWH supreme over all the other gods. Later they would claim there was only one god.
I am not sure if there is a pre-YHWH, unless they worshipped a lunar god by a different name, in which case the god's name was most likely "Sin" of early Babylonian influence. (Abraham/Ur/Haran)
The Jewish religion most likely wasn't formalized until the time of Ezra (4th century BCE) or later. Until that time they would have simply been Canaanites who worshipped YHWH.
From what I can tell the OT Bible stories are MB Amorite versions of EB Akkadian texts, which were then altered to fit a later Judaic culture.
The Jews were Canaanites and basically worshipped as they did, except they held YHWH supreme over all the other gods. Later they would claim there was only one god.
I am not sure if there is a pre-YHWH, unless they worshipped a lunar god by a different name, in which case the god's name was most likely "Sin" of early Babylonian influence. (Abraham/Ur/Haran)
The Jewish religion most likely wasn't formalized until the time of Ezra (4th century BCE) or later. Until that time they would have simply been Canaanites who worshipped YHWH.
From what I can tell the OT Bible stories are MB Amorite versions of EB Akkadian texts, which were then altered to fit a later Judaic culture.
"On Earth as it is in Heaven, the Cosmic Roots of the Bible" available on the Amazon.
