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Storm Gods from Iskur to Jesus.

Storm Gods from Iskur to Jesus.

Shown here, a surviving image of El as an idol and who is the God the Hebrews used as the basis for their later Yahwism. El or Elu or Ilu whom was called and associated with Daganu whom an epithet of Ilu was \Elu.

Three distinct and prominent early Israelite characters who are intertextualized in Biblical literature are El, Yahweh, Baal. Though at times El is coupled with Yahweh. For this I recommend Mark Smith "The Early History of God" as well "Yahweh and Gods and Goddesses of Canaan", and "afterlife in early civilizations". Yahweh and Baal are amalgamated, while El and Yahweh are coupled in Old Testament literature. The outcome of the three deities becomes reminiscent throughout the annals of history and we see an emerging hero in the New Testament who garners characteristics of Baal, Yahweh, El. The best evidences to use are Biblical verses themselves as well extra Biblical literature.

In the Old Testament Yahweh is called El, but these are two different deities, even in characteristics. The sources that some might use are Priestly, El, J for Yahweh, Deuteronomy sources or PEJD. In the OT (Old Testament) the E & P sources imply the patriarchs didn't know who Yahweh was; Exodus 3:13-15, Exodus 6:2-3 and the opposition to this is the J source in Genesis 4:26 that the name Yahweh was already known. The P sources says that the name El-Shaddai was known Exodus 6:3, a scholar asserted that Yahweh is the same as El, and another scholar didn't like this. So, there was an "argument"; in Ugarit (a neighboring people to the Canaanite) El reveals himself (note that masculine terms are used for Biblical deities, which shows clearly females are ostracized) a being benevolent, and this differs from his buddy Yahweh who is shown as fierce yet kind. In Judges 5:4-5 Yahweh is seen as a storm deity, and El is not shown as a storm deity. But, Baal is, and in the earlier Elimelek tablets there is also some discontinuity as well continuity. In one epic Baal the son of El asks Anat to petition El to build Baal a palace, and El's wife Asherah send an Egyptian to build the palace. In another epic King Danel has no son, so he asks Baal for help, Baal petitions El and El grants a son to king Danel. Another issue is that in El's cult title it is "he who creates hosts" and is pure speculation, but this is not in Biblical literature at all. The text reads "Further, hyh (hwh) is not attested in Hebrew in the hiphil ('cause to be', 'create ' ), though this is the case in Aramaic and Syriac. Yahweh in any case more likely means 'he is' (qal) rather than 'he causes to be/creates' (hiphil): to suppose otherwise requires emendation of the Hebrew text in Exod. 3.14 ('ehyeh, 'I am ' ), which explains the name Yahweh", hence, Yahweh and El are two different deities. The OT however doesn't seem to have a problem making El and Yahweh the same, this is "contrast to its vehement opposition to Baal, let alone the equation of Yahweh with Baal (cf. Hos. 2.18 [ET 16])".

Since Mr. Yahweh is a distinct deity from El the Canaanite deity, there are plenty of OT materials that show Yahweh as a storm deity, very much so like Baal, the son of El in Canaan, the downtrodden God in the Israelite belief traditions who is depicted as a "false god". In the Ugarit Baal is shown as a storm deity, he is also shown as a divine warrior, I suggest KTU are Ugaritic (KTU 1.4 V 6-9, 1.6 III 6f., 12f., 1.19 I 42-46) or his role as warrior (KTU 1.2 IV, 1.5 I 1-5, 1.119.26-29, 34-36; RS 16.144.9).

The text follows showing "Biblical material deriding other deities reserves power over the storm for Yahweh (Jer. 10:11-16; 14:22; Amos 4:7; 5:8; 9:6). Biblical descriptions of Yahweh as storm-god (1 Sam. 12:18; Psalm 29; Job 38:25-27, 34-38) and divine warrior (Pss. 50:1-3; 97:1-6; 98:1-2; 104:1-4; Deut. 33:2; Judges 4-5; Job 26:11-13; Isa. 42:10-15, etc.) exhibit this underlying unity and pattern explicitly in Psalm 18 (= 2 Sam. 22):6-19, 68:7-10, and 86:9-19.337 Psalm 29, 1 Kings 19, and 2 Esdras 13:1-4 dramatize the meteorological progression underlying the imagery of Yahweh as warrior. All three passages presuppose the image of the storm moving eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the coast. In 1 Kings 19 and 2 Esdras 13:1-4 this force is portrayed with human imagery. The procession of the divine warrior is accompanied by a contingent of lesser divine beings (Deut. 32:34; 33:2; Hab. 3:5; KTU 1.5 V 6-9; cf. Judg. 5:20). The Ugaritic antecedent to Resheph in Yahweh’s entourage in Habakkuk 3:5 may be KTU 1. 82.1-3, which perhaps includes Resheph as a warrior with Baal against tnn, related to biblical tannînîm.338 Though the power of other Near Eastern warrior-gods was manifest in the storm (e.g., Amun, Ningirsu/Ninurta, Marduk, and Addu/Adad),339 the proximity of terminology and imagery between the Ugaritic and biblical evidence points to an indigenous cultural influence on meteorological descriptions of Yahweh. Israelite tradition modified its Canaanite heritage by molding the march of the divine warrior specifically to the element of Yahweh’s southern sanctuary, variously called Sinai (Deut. 33:2; cf. Judg. 5:5; Ps. 68:9), Paran (Deut. 33:2; Hab. 3:3), Edom (Judg. 5:4), and Teiman (Hab. 3:3 340 and in the Kuntillet ‘Ajrûd inscriptions; cf. Amos 1:12; Ezek. 25:13). This modification may underlie the difference between Baal’s epithet rkb ‘rpt, “cloud-rider” (e.g., CTA 2.4[KTU 1.2 IV].8), and Yahweh’s title, rokeb bāa‘ărābôt, “rider over the steppes,” in Psalm 68:5 (cf. Deut. 33:26; Ps. 104:3),341 although a shared background for this feature is evident from other descriptions of Baal and Yahweh. The notion of Baal riding on a winged war chariot is implicit in one element in Baal’s meteorological entourage in KTU 1.5 V 6-11.342 Psalm 77:19 refers to the wheels in Yahweh’s storm theophany, which presumes a divine war chariot. Psalm 18 (2 Sam. 22):11 presents Yahweh riding on the wind surrounded by storm clouds. This image forms the basis for the description of the divine chariot in Ezekiel 1 and 10. Psalm 65:12 (E 11) likewise presupposes the storm-chariot image: “You crown your bounteous year, and your tracks drip with fatness.” Similarly, Yahweh’s storm chariot is the image presumed by Habakkuk 3:8 and 15"

There are plenty of storm deities in the Ancient Near East (ANE) such as Tessub the son of Anu and Kumbarbi, who also like Yahweh rides on a chariot or even in the early dynastic period Baal is referred to as Balu or Belu and even in Neo Assyria the King's might garner the name Hadad or Haddad to reflect on the earliest of storm deities from Akkad, the earliest of storm deities is, Iškur a Sumerian storm deity who would predate Baal, as well Yahweh. So, we see a long line and tradition of storm deities, one conquering different region’ in the Ancient Near East with the spread of storm deities well into the New Testament.

Speaking of the New Testament the very last storm deity I'd like to discuss is Jesus (Hebrew) Christ (Greek), in Luke 8:25 like Baal and Yahweh Jesus is shown as with the ability (so along as they have faith in the New Testament, though faith may not be a requirement as it is presumed Jesus can do “anything”) to control the storm. In Matthew 14:22 Jesus has his disciples enter onto a ship, he overlooks the sea, he prays for them, and he divinely planned a storm. The earliest literature this parallels to is Yahweh the storm deity who can control the storms. When Jesus dies in the New Testament, what follows is an earthquake of epic proportions, from Matthew 27:45 then in Matthew 27:51 there is an earthquake after darkness falls on the land, to show that Jesus can cause disastrous events, religiously it is said to signify divine revelation storms similarity are reserved for Yahweh as well earthquakes. When Yahweh appeared to Moses on Sinai to give His law, “the whole mountain shook violently” Exodus 19:18 (though the laws are derived originally from Hammurabi), however, the context of storm language is apparent, as earthquakes are noted as "a sudden and violent shaking of the ground,". Earthquakes shake the earth while a storm is a "a violent disturbance of the atmosphere with strong winds and usually rain, thunder, lightning, or snow". But, as I know there is some evidence that suggest that storms can cause earthquakes, while this is not a specificity in Biblical literature, but as I know there was a study that "demonstrated the correlation between typhoons and tiny earthquakes known as "slow quakes". Big storms cause air pressure to plummet and underground water and air to rush to the Earth's surface, therefore reducing friction between tectonic plates and making earthquakes more likely. These slow quakes, over time, reduce the pressure between tectonic plates and can cause real earthquakes." Regardless there is a long line of storm deities stemming from Sumer to the popularized Jesus.