What does ywhw

Moses is wandering in Midianite territory, though not in Arabia but in the vicinity of modern-day Petra, biblical Kadesh Reqem in Aramaic , where we have evidence of a Qurrayah-culture group living not far from Edom. In , Shelomo Dov Goitein , a scholar of both Jewish and Arabic studies, [16] suggested that the name derives from the Arabic root h. One of the laws, which forbids Israel to worship other gods, reads:. Moreover, according to Goitein, this exclusivity demanded by YHWH goes back to his appearance as a god among nomadic, Arabian tribes.

In fact, many biblical passages that we read nowadays as monotheistic are really monolatrous. A classic example is in the Decalogue itself:. The text does not say that no other gods exist, only that they should not be worshipped in addition to YHWH, because YHWH is an impassioned God who would naturally become jealous and agitated at such behavior. YHWH is just such an impassioned husband to his espoused people and just as vengeful if his people are disloyal.

Iconoclasm also characterized the Qurayyah culture Midianites , as seen from the excavations at Timna. Because of the extreme aridity of the area, pieces of the tent survived and were discovered by the excavators. Unlike the Egyptian Hathor Temple, the Midianite worship area had no images, whether painted or carved, reflecting their aniconism.

When the Egyptians left this area, the Midianites took control of the entire area including the Hathor Temple. More problematically, Moses not only finds his wife among the Midianites, but finds his God there as well.

One further piece of evidence for Midianite aniconism comes from the Kenites. In Judges , we are told that the Kenites settled in the Arad Valley, and scholars have long suggested that the city of Horvat Uza is biblical Kina, since the stream in its vicinity is called Wadi-el-Keni, i. Excavations of the Iron II monarchic period city there show that whereas the neighboring Israelite! In Jeremiah we hear that this group—the Rechabites, a Kenite subclan—lived a nomadic tent-dwelling life, without building houses or planting fields, and eschewed wine consumption.

This lifestyle is reminiscent of what we see in later times with yet another Arabic tribe, the Nabateans, who were also aniconic. Even if the exact relationship between Midianites, Kenites, and Rechabites remains hazy—except that the latter two small groups became part of Israel and the former large group did not—all of these groups were part of an aniconic, YHWH worshipping tradition, which was adopted and reshaped by the Israelites in an early period.

Please support us. Tabes Louvain , The point is that the Midianites are from the same area as the Arabian tribes and were likely part of this Arab or proto-Arab group. Unlike in the word shaswe , it cannot be a phonetic complement since phonetic complements are paired to the second consonant of a biliteral sign, or to both consonants, but not to just the first.

In theory it could be another consonant yielding Yehwaw. Before teaching at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and then at Princeton, he wrote on the Bible and was even in charge of Bible education in mandatory Palestine.

Need even more definitions? Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms The same, but different. Ask the Editors 'Everyday' vs. What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'? How 'literally' can mean "figuratively". Literally How to use a word that literally drives some pe Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice? We can trust God as much as we want and it will never be too much. He will always measure up. Only a mysterious God would ask us to know him as the God who is who he is.

We worship a God of mystery, yet a God who is closer than our very breath. Yahweh is a paradox, one we will never reach the end of when it comes to our understanding of him.

There is simply too much of him to know fully in one lifetime! That should be our daily goal — to move one step closer to knowing the God who is. The richness and fullness of perfect love await anyone seeking to know the one who would do anything to have us. Jenna Martin is a youth ministry worker and freelance writer who specializes in Bible, health, and tourism topics. For more info, you can check out her blog here. Plus Toggle navigation. Password Assistance. Email address. Jenna Martin.

Yahweh Is Full of Mystery Share Tweet Save. Clarence L. This codified form was not meant to be pronounced as is, rather it means "think Yahweh , say Adonai". This was done based on the idea of Rabbinic Judaism that it is better not to say "Yahweh" at all rather than to take a chance on saying it in vain.

Some Christians who were unaware of this, pronounced the codified form as is. Wenkle August 05, Gods name