Yahweh of the Southlands – Nathan H Scherrer PDF

This thesis seeks to demonstrate the high probability of a Yahwistic cult located in the southern Transjordan in the 13th century BCE. Brief mentions in the biblical text bring to light Yahweh’s habitation, not in the land he grants the Israelite tribes, but in the southern Transjordan. Consistently recognized as an unusual element in the biblical corpus, Yahweh’s southern habitation is often only briefly introduced as a mere possibility. Thus this study will engage the particulars of the BA history of Yahweh experienced by the peoples of the southern territories. The first chapter will argue for the existence of a motif employed in the HB that preserves the memory of an ancient proto-Yahwistic cultus located in the south. This will include Judges 5:4-5 and its sister text in Psalm 68:8-9 as well as Deuteronomy 33:2 and its similar text in Habakkuk 3:3. Chapter two will outline a chronology and population trend in the southern Levant in order to demonstrate the boundaries from which a proto-Yahwistic cult may have emerged. This will survey the southern Levant from the Chalcolithic age until the IA II establishment of the secondary state in order to grasp the full breadth of population dynamics contributing to southern territories. Chapter three will survey the qualities and relationship among four major deities, Yahweh, El, Baal, and Qaus, who demonstrate the potential to have influenced the motif. Chapter four will survey the Kenite-Midianite hypothesis as the primary solution put forth by scholars to explain the various data surrounding Yahweh’s origins. Finally, this study will conclude by synthesizing the data and suggesting an appropriate interpretation regarding the next steps of engagement with the origins of Yahweh. All translations from Hebrew are my own. All scriptural references correspond to the versification of the Hebrew text.