The Solar Nature of Yahweh: Reconsidering the Identity of the Ancient Israelite Deity

Daniel Sarlo

doi:10.5771/9781978714328

Summary

In The Solar Nature of Yahweh: Reconsidering the Identity of the Ancient Israelite Deity, the original nature of the chief god of the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh, is reexamined. Daniel Sarlo challenges the current consensus that Yahweh was initially a storm god by examining the relevant biblical texts and comparing them with Ancient Near Eastern texts, ultimately arguing that Yahweh was a solar deity. The implication of this research is that Yahweh was not a minor god who gradually accumulated characteristics to become the head of the ancient Israelite pantheon, but rather a significant god from the very beginning, or at least before the inception of the United Monarchy.

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2022
Copyright Year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-1-9787-1431-1
ISBN-Online: 978-1-9787-1432-8
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 228
Product Type: Monograph

1. Contents No access
2. Preface No access
3. 1. All abbreviations follow The SBL Handbook of Style, Second Edition (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2014). Those not found there are conveniently listed below: No access
1. 0.1 Significance of the Question No access
2. 0.2 Previous Scholarship on Yahweh’s Nature No access
3. 0.3 Methodology No access
4. 0.4 Outline No access
5. Notes No access
1. 1. 1.1 “Storm God” Passages in the HB No access
  2. 1.2 Conclusion No access
  3. Notes No access
2. 1. 2.1 Indirect Evidence: The “Solarization” of Ninurta and Assur No access
  2. 2.2 Direct Evidence: The “Solarization” of Yahweh No access
  3. 2.3 The Sun-Wind Connection in the Ancient Near East No access
  4. 2.4 An Explanation of Yahweh’s Storm Characteristics No access
  5. 2.5 Conclusion No access
  6. Notes No access
1. 1. 3.1 The Sun God and the Sun Disk No access
  2. 3.2 The Sun God and the Cosmos No access
  3. 3.3 The Eastern Mountain Palace of the Sun God No access
  4. 3.4 Judgment in the Morning No access
  5. 3.5 The Battle with the Sea No access
  6. 3.6 The Sun God in the Underworld No access
  7. 3.7 Conclusion No access
  8. Notes No access
2. 1. 4.1 Yahweh and the Sun Disk No access
  2. 4.2 Yahweh and the Cosmos No access
  3. 4.3 Yahweh’s Eastern Mountain Palace No access
  4. 4.4 Yahweh and the Morning No access
  5. 4.5 Yahweh’s Battle with the Sea No access
  6. 4.6 Yahweh and the Underworld No access
  7. 4.7 Conclusion No access
  8. Notes No access
3. 1. 5.1 The Mountain Epiphany Genre in the HB No access
  2. 5.2 Deut 33:2–3 as an Ancient Yahwistic Hymn No access
  3. 5.3 Conclusion No access
  4. Notes No access
1. 6.1 Yahweh Was Not a “Storm God”2 No access
2. 6.2 Yahweh Was Not “Solarized”4 No access
3. 6.3 The Sun God Was Supreme in ANE Pantheons No access
4. 6.4 Yahweh Shares the Characteristics of a Typical ANE Solar Deity No access
5. 6.5 Implications and Potential for Future Research No access
6. Notes No access
Bibliography No access Pages 171 - 204
Subject Index No access Pages 205 - 210
Scripture Index No access Pages 211 - 226
About the Author No access Pages 227 - 228