Yahweh

Yahweh was a deity from the ancient Semitic world, specifically from the southeastern part of the Levant. He became the national god of the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel-Samaria and Judah. While scholars don’t agree on where exactly he came from, many think his origins were in the south. Worship of this god dates back at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the late Bronze Age.

In the oldest parts of the Bible, Yahweh is shown with traits typical of storm and war gods—he makes the land of Israel fertile and leads a heavenly army against Israel’s enemies. Many scholars believe the early Israelites practiced polytheism, common in ancient Semitic religions, since Israelite religion grew out of Canaanite religion and included gods like El, Asherah, and Baal. Over time, Yahweh seems to have merged with El, taking over as the head of the pantheon. El’s partner Asherah became linked to Yahweh, and titles originally tied to El, like ʾĒl Šadday, were used only for him. Traits from other deities, such as Asherah and Baal, were also absorbed into the concept of Yahweh.

As Yahwism evolved into Judaism and Samaritanism, it shifted from polytheism to monotheism. Other gods were denied entirely, and Yahweh was declared the creator and the only god worthy of worship.

During the Second Temple period, Jews began replacing the name Yahweh with other Hebrew words, mainly ăḏōnāy (meaning “My Lords”). By the time of the Jewish-Roman wars and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, the original pronunciation of the name had been completely forgotten.

Yahweh also appears in the Imperial Aramaic text Papyrus Amherst 63 from ancient Egypt, and in Jewish or Jewish-influenced Greek magical papyri from Roman Egypt, dating from the 1st to 5th centuries CE.

**Name**

The name was written in Paleo-Hebrew as 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (יהוה in block script), and is transliterated as YHWH. Modern scholars generally agree on “Yahweh” as the pronunciation. Shortened forms like Yeho-, Yahu-, Yah-, and Yo- appear in personal names (such as Joel, Isaiah, and Joshua) and in phrases like “Hallelujah!” Over time, the sacredness of the name and the commandment against taking it “in vain” led to stricter Jewish rules against speaking or writing it. Rabbinic sources say that by the Second Temple period, the name was only spoken once a year by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. After Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE, the original pronunciation was lost. The four-letter form is commonly called the Tetragrammaton.

**History**

**Periods** Scholars Philip King and Lawrence Stager divide Yahweh’s history into these periods: Late Bronze (1550–1200 BCE), Iron Age I (1200–1000 BCE), Iron Age II (1000–586 BCE), Neo-Babylonian (586–539 BCE), and Persian (539–332 BCE). Other terms include the First Temple period (from the Temple’s construction in 957 BCE to its destruction in 586 BCE), exilic (the Babylonian Exile, 586–539 BCE), post-Exilic, and the Second Temple period (from the Temple’s rebuilding in 515 BCE to its destruction in 70 CE).

**Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE)** There’s almost no agreement on where Yahweh came from. He isn’t mentioned outside of Israelite contexts, and there’s no consensus on his name’s meaning. The explanation in Exodus 3:14—“I Am that I Am”—seems to be a later theological addition, made after the original meaning was forgotten, though some scholars disagree. Theodor Lewis links the name to the Amorite element *yahwi-* (ia-wi), found in personal names from Mari texts, meaning “brings to life” or “causes to exist” (for example, *yahwi-dagan* means “Dagon causes to exist”). This is similar to the Akkadian *ibašši-DN*. However, Frank Moore Cross stressed that the Amorite verb form is only useful for reconstructing the verb root of “Yahweh,” and that using *yahwi-* as a divine title should be strongly argued against. J. Philip Hyatt thinks *yahwi-* more likely refers to a god creating and sustaining a newborn’s life, not the universe. This idea was common in the ancient Near East, but the Israelites later removed any link to human ancestors and combined it with other elements (like *Yahweh ṣəḇāʾōṯ*). Hillel Ben-Sasson says there’s not enough evidence for Amorites using *yahwi-* for gods, but he notes it resembles other theophoric names and that *yahwi-* (or more accurately *yawi*) comes from the root *hwy* in the *pa’al* form, meaning “he will be.”

One theory is that “Yahweh” started as a shortened form of *ˀel ḏū yahwī ṣabaˀôt*, meaning “El who creates the hosts.” Cross thought this was one of El’s cultic names. But this phrase doesn’t appear in or outside the Bible, and the two gods are quite different—El is old and fatherly, lacking Yahweh’s storm and battle traits. Even if these issues were solved, Yahweh is generally agreed to have a non-causative etymology, because otherwise YHWH would be written as YHYH. This also raises the question of why the Israelites would shorten the epithet. One possible reason is that religious modernism and conservatism often coexist in all religions. Scholar Gérard Nissim Amzallag has also proposed ideas on the subject.