DeeEss

Hey all, I'm new to these forums and had a few questions. I know there are separate gods being referred to in the OT and was wondering what the differences were between them. Can anyone enlighten me?

Amaleq13

It would help if you provided the specific verses about which you have questions.

DeeEss

Ack, sorry. I was referring to Yahweh, Jehovah, and any other names used for the christian god.

John Kesler

Here are some previous threads that you may find of interest:

Toto

Just note that YHWH is the Jewish God - the name is never used in the New Testament. YHWH is turned into Yahweh by adding a vew vowels. Jehovah is a variation on YHWH (Y --> J, W --> V, different vowels.)

The Hebrew Scriptures do mention quite a few other gods (and goddesses) usually as false gods, or as gods worshipped by neighboring alien cultures.

semiopen

YHWH is called the Tetragrammaton.

Elohim is also used. The "im" ending is a plural in Hebrew and can also mean Gods.

El is popular as shown by the number of given names ending with it like Michael, Israel, Samuel, etc. In the Canaanite pantheon, El was the father of the Gods who pretty much minded his own business. His attributes were eventually absorbed by YHWH.

God tells Moses at the Burning_bush that his name is I am that I am which might be a derivation of YHWH. This contruct might also hint at Ashera who was a Canaanite Goddess, who was something of a heavenly bicycle (everyone had a ride - Austin Powers). She was originally close to El and hung out with both YHWH and Baal.

God also tells Moses that he was known to the patriarchs as El_Shaddai.

BTW, he told me once that it really pisses him off to be referred to as the "Christian God."

Sheshbazzar

My old 'Christian' acquaintances (pre-Internet) used to be quite vehement in their insistence that Yahweh was NOT their God, and ridiculed and ostracised me from fellowship with them over my usage of that name.
Even had church pastor's who told me I would not be welcome in their church unless I conformed and used the 'common' names.
Just a fact Jack .

Solo

He introduces himself by that alias ('God Almighty') first to Abram (Gen 17:1).

An interesting summary of the early history of the Abrahamic God is in Robert Wright's The Evolution of God (or via: amazon.co.uk). Wright accepts the thesis that El/YHWH was first a Canaanite god in a regional Pantheon co-existing for a while with neighbouring deities which is attributed to Israelites' conquest or cultural dominance of Canaan and their subsequent strategy of (mostly) coexistence and system of alliances with their neighbours. But when that FP (foreign policy) pattern was broken in mid 8th century BCE due to various external pressures, YHWH emerges as fiercely jealous and implacably singular God. Wright calls the worship of this deity monolatry and it seems to have affected the scripture retroactively. Wright accepts that the first Commandment was supplied much later, and that the biblical account of king Solomon is a much later recension which subjects Solomon's liberality to other gods (of his many wives) to harsh criticism.

Jiri

dog-on

I knew your were perhaps a bit "longer in the tooth", but to have known real live Marcionites, oh my!