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Yahweh: another in my
occasional series on the different gods worshipped around this complex and
fascinating world of ours.
Also known as Jehovah and
Elohim, Yahweh is the personal name of God in the Old Testament and Hebrew
Scriptures. The word is a modern convention for the original Hebrew,
transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for
which the original pronunciation is lost. The added vowels are thought by
scholars to represent the most likely vocalization of this Tetragrammaton.
There are many theories about meaning of the name and none is regarded as
conclusive but the most likely may be “He Brings Into Existence Whatever
Exists". In the Bible, Yahweh is the god responsible for delivering Israel
from Egypt and giving the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel. Known as a
jealous god, Yahweh is supposed to have revealed himself to Israel as a god who
wouldn't allow idols or the worship of other gods; "I am Yahweh, that is
My name; I will not give My glory to another, or My praise to idols."
Prior to the change to worship of a single deity, the followers of Yahweh, in common with most ancient
groups, worshipped many different gods that supplied many varied roles and
functions. Pantheism was much more popular amongst the early seekers of answers
to the inexplicable than monotheism, which gradually replaced this tolerant
form of worship with a power base that could be used to control the gullible
and ill-informed.
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