Yahwism

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[edit] Documentary hypothesis

According to the documentary hypothesis, "Yahwism" refers to the religion of the group behind the J source of the Torah. According to the theory, the Yahwist community believed in a personified deity by the name of "Yahweh" and were focused upon (or came from) the Kingdom of Judah and the Aaronid priesthood. Most Yahwists believe in the keeping of the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) yet recognize Yeshua (spelled differently by each Yahwist group) as the Messiah and as the son of YHWH. Yahwists tend to believe in the entire Bible - both old testament and new testament. Many in the Yahwist movement believe that the so called "lost tribes of Israel" are not lost but are living in just about all of the nations today (mostly in the prosperous nations). Most Yahwists also believe that is the responsibility of the tribes of Israel to spread the blessing of Yahweh and teach His law to the entire world.

In addition, there is evidence, both from inside the Bible and from ancient text discoveries (such as the Kuntillet Ajrud inscription and the Elephantine papyri), that some worshipped YHWH as the tribal or national god of Israel alongside or in conjunction with other gods.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Yahwistic

Yahwistic is a theophoric term meaning of or pertaining to Yahweh, the name of the Jewish conception of monotheistic God, and can be applied as a suffix or prefix to a word. These prefixes or suffixes are yhw or variations of it, like ia-a in Akkadian or yau. In common usage, the theophoric element of the word can be dropped- for example, the official name Jehoahaz becomes Ahaz among the commoners. Many- but not all- of the ancient Kings of Israel have Yahwistic names, like Hezekiah or Jehosophat.

Many other biblical characters take Yahwistic names. In the Hebrew Bible, these include Yehoshua (Joshua), Joseph, and Jacob. In the New Testament, aside from Joseph, Jesus also has a Yahwistic name, the original Hebrew being Yeshu, a diminutive form of Yehoshua (Joshua).

In historical terms, having a Yahwistic name is usually proof of the subject being an Israelite or Judahite, but this is not always the case. One of the Shasu groups has a Yahwistic name, while a reference to a Yahweh of Teman has also been found (Teman being Hebrew for south). Still, since most of the Yahwistic names occur in Israel and Judah in ancient Palestine, it is relatively safe to assume historically Yahwistic people are from Palestine.

Yahwistic names should be contrasted with Elohistic names, which referred instead to El, such as Daniel, Ezekiel (c.f. Hezekiah), and Elizabeth. These were also popular in ancient times, particularly amongst the more northern kingdom of Israel, rather than Judah, where theophory in El was more prevalent than Yahweh.

Amongst traditional positions, the distribution of Elohistic and Yahwistic names is explained as by Yahweh being considered the same as El, El being merely translated God, as is perfectly possible. More critical modern positions see traces within the bible, particularly the portions seen as older in critical circles, such as certain of the psalms and the Song of Deborah, Yahweh is considered once to have been a lesser god to El, Yahweh being the patron god of Judah, amongst a pantheon in which El is the chief God, and favourite of Israel.

[edit] Notes

1: Since Ancient Hebrew had no written vowels, there is no certain way to know how it would have been pronounced, however "Yahweh" has become the convention.