It appears that Yahweh, the tribal god of IsraEL, started out as one of many pagan deities in a polytheistic culture. The canaanite religion predates the proto-Judaic religion. In the Ugarit belief system El Elyon (EL the Most High or EL of the Mountains) was the chief of the gods. He had a wife (Asherah), and had 70 sons, among which were Yahweh (God of Storms) and Ba’al . Elements of the Canaanite belief system can be seen in the Old Testament, in the parts written before Judaism became mono-theistic. For example where the OT talks about the Elohim — this would be the heavenly court of El, comprised of him, his wife, and all their sons and their son’s wives. Also, in Job, Genesis, and Deuteronomy, where you see the term: “sons of God”. In the original, the phrase was: “sons of El” conveniently changed when Jews became mono-theistic after the Babylonian exile. Also: In 1 Kings 22:19-22 we read of Yahweh meeting with his heavenly council. This is the very description of heaven which one finds in the Ugaritic texts. For in those texts the “sons of god” are the sons of El (the chief Caananite god). El had 70 sons, one of which was purported to be YHWH. Deuteronomy 32:8-9 is usually cited in support of this. Deuteronomy 32:8-9 reads When El-Elyon apportioned the nations, when he divided humankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the gods; 9 Yahweh’s own portion was his people, Jacob his allotted share. There is one Ugaritic text which seems to indicate that among the inhabitants of Ugarit, Yahweh was viewed as another son of El. KTU 1.1 IV 14 says: sm . bny . yw . ilt “The name of the son of god, Yahweh.” This text seems to show that Yahweh was known at Ugarit, though not as the Lord but as one of the many sons of El.’ A couple of other interesting texts: * Psalm 82:1: Elohim has taken his place in the assembly of EL, in the midst of the elohim He holds judgment. * Psalm 29:1: Ascribe to Yahweh, O sons of EL, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength. * Psalm 89:6: For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh, who among the sons of EL is like Yahweh, It appears that the Hebrew theologians adopted the titles of the Canaanite gods and attributed them to Yahweh in AN EFFORT TO ELIMINATE THEM. Names that used to stand for specific deities were now assimilated and even used as alternative names for Yahweh. Having Yahweh take on the characteristics and even the names of many of the other popular gods, would mean there would no longer be a need for the Canaanite gods to exist! This process is known as assimilation. .
- The Great Pretender