Elohim (gods)
Encyclopedia : E : EL : ELO : Elohim (gods)
| Fertile Crescent myth series |
Mesopotamian
| Levantine
| Arabian
| God in Hebrew
| Mesopotamian religion
| Yezidism
| The Levant
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In the Levantine pantheon, the Elohim are the sons of El the ancient of days (olam) assembled on the divine holy place, Mount Zephon (Jebel Aqra). This mountain, which lies in Syria, was regarded as a portal to its heavenly counterpart. The Elohim are ruled by the El called Hadad the most high (elyon) who was known among the common people as "the master" ("Baal"). Assembled on the holy mountain of heaven and ruled by one, the pantheon (Elohim) acts as one. The enemy of the Elohim is Yaw whom El also created.
The historic and linguistic evidence and the ambiguous use of the word in the Old Testement suggest that the Israelites borrowed the Canaanite plural noun Elohim and made it singular in their religious texts. Many biblical scholars believe that this is evidence of the polytheistic and henotheistic roots of Judaism.
See also
- Ugaritic religion
- Semitic gods
- Aramean religion
- Natib Qadish
- Judeo-Paganism
External links
- [Online text: The Epic of Ba'al (Hadad)]
- [Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology]
- [Ugarit and Biblical Heritage] - An excellent site on descriptions of the primary and minor gods, with generous excerpts from the actual stories.
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