| “ | When Elyon divided the nations, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the gods; YHWH’s own portion was his people, Jacob his allotted share.
Deuteronomy 32:8-9
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The God of Israel is the monotheistic god of Judaism and Christianity as described in the set of Hebrew scriptures known as the Tanakh (also referred to as the Hebrew Bible, or as the Old Testament in Christianity). Due to traditions forbidding writing or uttering his name, the God of Israel is never directly named in the text. Instead, he is referred to indirectly by a set of four Hebrew consonants referred to in Greek as the Tetragrammaton ( יְהוָֹה ). The Tetragrammaton has been transliterated into English in various ways, such as YHWH or JHVH. These transliterations are often written with vowels added between them leading to the names Yahweh and Jehovah respectively, with Yahweh being the more common of the two.
Yahweh originally evolved from the polytheistic storm god of the same name worshiped by Israel and Judah in the Levant. Over time this polytheism developed into henotheism, where Yahweh was considered supreme among the gods. Earlier iterations of Yahweh later became amalgamated with the Canaanite high god El, eventually moving towards monotheism following the Babylonian Exile. Even with this strong trend towards monotheism, residual traces of Yahweh's polytheistic and henotheistic roots can be found throughout the Tanakh.
Within the Canaanite pantheon, El was originally considered to be the head of the pantheon but was usurped over time by the Canaanite storm deity Ba'al Hadad. Throughout the Tanakh Ba'al Hadad is seen as a rival deity to El/Yahweh.
Dissolution of the pantheon of gods[]
| “ | Elohim has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, “You are gods, sons of Elyon, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” Arise, O Yahweh, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations! Psalm 82
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Syncretization with El[]
| “ | And Abram was ninety-nine years old, and Yahweh appeared to Abram, and He said to him, "I am El Shaddai; walk before Me and be perfect.
Genesis 17:1
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| “ | God spoke to Moses, and He said to him, "I am Yahweh. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai, but [with] My name "Yahweh," I did not become known to them.
Exodus 6:2
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