The earliest deity we know of in history may or may not be The Goddess, as, some say, represented by the Venus of Willendorf.
Otherwise, as far as I can tell, Sumer's Innana (a warlike Venus) is the earliest deity we know of, becoming (or becoming identified with) Babylon's Ishtar. After her come the many gods of Sumer, the many gods of the rest of (Semitic) Mesopotamia, the many gods of Egypt, and the many gods of Mycenae and Minoan culture (proto-Greek).
(I say that without bothering to check what we know about the gods of the Indus valley and of early China. And I may be being enormously disrespectful to the Rainbow Serpent, chief agent, if I understand correctly, in Creation, in the lore of Australian aborigines, whose history only recently got an incredible filip from 40,000 years since they arrived there, to over 60,000 years.)
Not until ~1500 BCE do we come across Proto-Yahweh, in Canaan, where he's one of the members of the Canaanite pantheon and has a consort Ashterah.
500 or so year later, the Tanakh leaves no doubt that he was then only one of the recognized gods available in the region. You already know 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me' (NOT There are no other gods') in the Decalog. And here are some more:
Ashterah or Yahweh or both made a career choice to split, perhaps after 1000 BCE since, say the people who study these matters, there are hints of her in Kings. Yahweh then (say some) became both male and female (not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, though if we're made in his image his sex life is a deep puzzle).
And as everyone knows, Yahweh's career took off, aided in no small part by the Emperor Constantine and the Prophet Mohammed pbuh.
Which brings me to my questions.
Where was Yahweh before he was one of the gods in the Canaanite pantheon circa 1500 BCE?
How can the total silence beforehand, and his visible progress through the bible from the Canaanite pantheon (Smallville) to the Monogod of Everything (Metropolis) be accounted for?
Otherwise, as far as I can tell, Sumer's Innana (a warlike Venus) is the earliest deity we know of, becoming (or becoming identified with) Babylon's Ishtar. After her come the many gods of Sumer, the many gods of the rest of (Semitic) Mesopotamia, the many gods of Egypt, and the many gods of Mycenae and Minoan culture (proto-Greek).
(I say that without bothering to check what we know about the gods of the Indus valley and of early China. And I may be being enormously disrespectful to the Rainbow Serpent, chief agent, if I understand correctly, in Creation, in the lore of Australian aborigines, whose history only recently got an incredible filip from 40,000 years since they arrived there, to over 60,000 years.)
Not until ~1500 BCE do we come across Proto-Yahweh, in Canaan, where he's one of the members of the Canaanite pantheon and has a consort Ashterah.
500 or so year later, the Tanakh leaves no doubt that he was then only one of the recognized gods available in the region. You already know 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me' (NOT There are no other gods') in the Decalog. And here are some more:
Exodus 15:11 Who is like thee, O Lord, among the gods?
Numbers 33:4 upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments.
Judges 11:23-24 So the the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? 24 Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess?
Psalms 82:1 God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.
Psalms 86:8 There is none like thee among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like thine.
Psalms 95:3 For the Lord is a great god,
and a great King above all gods.
Psalms 135:5 For I know that the Lord is great;
and that our Lord is above all gods.
Numbers 33:4 upon their gods also the Lord executed judgments.
Judges 11:23-24 So the the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? 24 Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess?
Psalms 82:1 God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.
Psalms 86:8 There is none like thee among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like thine.
Psalms 95:3 For the Lord is a great god,
and a great King above all gods.
Psalms 135:5 For I know that the Lord is great;
and that our Lord is above all gods.
Ashterah or Yahweh or both made a career choice to split, perhaps after 1000 BCE since, say the people who study these matters, there are hints of her in Kings. Yahweh then (say some) became both male and female (not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, though if we're made in his image his sex life is a deep puzzle).
And as everyone knows, Yahweh's career took off, aided in no small part by the Emperor Constantine and the Prophet Mohammed pbuh.
Which brings me to my questions.
Where was Yahweh before he was one of the gods in the Canaanite pantheon circa 1500 BCE?
How can the total silence beforehand, and his visible progress through the bible from the Canaanite pantheon (Smallville) to the Monogod of Everything (Metropolis) be accounted for?
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