Poor polecat...his little yahweh-based world is crumbling around his ears.
Tough.
From The Quest for the Historical Israel Page 175 by Israeli Archaeologist, Amihai Mazar.
In this, Mazar mirrors the opinion of William G. Dever, who studied this shit so long that he went from a fundie xtian to an agostic. You should put your bible down and study some archaeology.
Tough.
From The Quest for the Historical Israel Page 175 by Israeli Archaeologist, Amihai Mazar.
Quote:Each Iron Age territorial state had it own major god: Milkom in Ammon, Kemosh in Moab, Qaus in Edom, and Yahweh in Israel and Judah. Private names found on seals, seal impressions, and other written documents in Judah (mostly from the eighth century b.c.e. and later) include in many cases the theophoric ending -yahu, while in northern Israel the common ending is -yo. Both reflect belief in the god of Israel, Yahweh, the national god of both kingdoms. However, in northern Israel, where the older Canaanite legacy was stronger, we find also private names with Canaanite theophoric endings like Baal. Indeed, the population of the Northern Kingdom included many indigenous
Canaanites, who inhabited the main northern valleys. In addition, Israel was heavily influenced by nearby Phoenicia.
An analysis of the biblical sources as well as the archaeological remains
shows that Israelite religion passed through several stages of development. The worship of Yahweh alongside a consort named Asherah is known from the inscriptions at Kuntillet ?Ajrud, a fortified citadel-like structure in the eastern Sinai desert dated to about 800 b.c.e. This unusual and remote site, located on the main highway between Gaza and the Red Sea, seems to have been used as a roadside station, but was also a place of religious activity. It
seems to have been utilized by people from both Israel and Judah, as can be detected by pottery types that represent both kingdoms. Ink inscriptions and paintings found on the white plaster of the walls, as well as on large pottery containers and a stone trough, contain dedications, prayers, and blessings. The most revealing is a dedication or prayer to Yahweh and “his Asherah.” A similar combination of Yahweh and Asherah appears also on an inscription from a cave at Khirbet el-Kom (biblical Makedah?) in the Shephelah. This combination probably reflects a theology that is substantially different from
the pure monotheistic religion as it is preserved for us in the Hebrew Bible.
This evidence indicates a strong continuity with Canaanite religion, where El was the head of the pantheon and Asherah was his consort. While the worship of Asherah was condemned by the Jerusalem prophets, they probably represent the new theology that was emerging towards the end of the monarchy among the Jerusalem intellectual elite, while the popular religion embraced by the common folk was much more traditional, preserving indigenous ideas and beliefs rooted in Canaanite religion.
In this, Mazar mirrors the opinion of William G. Dever, who studied this shit so long that he went from a fundie xtian to an agostic. You should put your bible down and study some archaeology.
