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YHWH

The Book of Jonah: A Parody of the Northern Prophet Jonah Son of Amittai

The post-exilic book of Jonah opposes the chest-thumping that was prevalent during the northern kingdom’s resurgence under Jeroboam II, as displayed by the historical Jonah of Gath-hepher (2 Kings 14:25). It insists that YHWH is a universal god and that Israel must reconcile itself to living in a world where all penitents, regardless of nationality, are pardoned.

Prof.

Mordechai Cogan

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YHWH, the God of Israel, Doesn’t Just Command Charity for the Poor

Hellenistic religion didn’t require charity. In contrast, the biblical command for charity is founded not only on YHWH’s commitment to reward the generous, but on YHWH adopting the voice of the poor, a critical factor in the vibrancy of early Judaism and Christianity.

Prof.

Gary A. Anderson

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YHWH is My Shepherd and My Host: Parallel Scenes in Psalm 23

From a shepherd’s guidance to a royal feast, the psalm’s two parallel scenes describe God’s providence and care.

Prof. Rabbi

Stephen A. Geller

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How YHWH Became King of the Universe

Israel’s deity becomes a universal God and the political power behind human affairs. This is just one of seven historical shifts in how the Bible conceives of “theocracy,” divine political power.

Prof.

Reinhard Achenbach

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A Testy YHWH

YHWH continuously tests Israel in the wilderness with water, manna, and quail. When they fail, YHWH threatens to leave them and then punishes them with fire and plague. J's depiction of YHWH as an emotional deity is already reflected in the stories of Eden and the flood.

Dr.

Philip Yoo

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The Angel of YHWH

Abraham, Hagar, Moses, and Gideon all encounter the angel of YHWH. What is this divine being and how are we to understand its relationship to YHWH?

Dr.

Daniel O. McClellan

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David’s Double Narration of YHWH’s Salvation: Psalm 18

In verses 2–31, YHWH is a mythic warrior, with smoke coming from his nostrils, riding a cherub and wielding weapons of lightning and thunder against the enemy. In contrast, in verses 32–51, YHWH strengthens and equips the psalmist to fight his own battles. The combined psalm celebrates YHWH’s complex involvement in human affairs.

Dr.

Aubrey E. Buster

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YHWH’s Flame: A Love Metaphor in the Song of Songs

Shalhevetyah שַׁלְהֶבֶתְיָה, Song of Songs 8:6, a word appearing only here in the Bible, expresses the power of love by evoking the fiery destructive force of YHWH.

Dr.

Danilo Verde

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Did YHWH Speak to Moses Face to Face?

But doesn’t YHWH tell Moses that “no human can see me and live”(Exodus 33:20)?

Prof.

Kenneth Seeskin

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YHWH: The Kenite God of Metallurgy

The Bible describes YHWH as glowing (kabod), and YHWH’s heat as melting mountains, imagery connected with volcano gods, the divine patrons of metalworkers such as the Kenites, who lived in the Negev region. Indeed, the description of Israel’s encounter with YHWH at Sinai portrays a volcanic eruption, with smoke “as if from a furnace” (Exodus 19:18).

Dr.

Nissim Amzallag

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YHWH’s Word Is Not Contained in a Single Scroll

In Deuteronomy, “these words,” “this torah,” and “this scroll” refer not to a specific delimited text, but point instead to the total revelation of YHWH to Israel that cannot be limited to one set of words or texts.

Prof.

Raymond F. Person

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YHWH Battles the Egyptians with a Fiery Cloud

When the Egyptians pursue Israel into the wilderness, Moses tells the Israelites to “stand by and witness the deliverance which YHWH will work for you today” (Exodus 14:13). YHWH brings panic upon the enemy, as he does in the battle of Gibeon and the war against Sisera. This is J’s story of Israel’s escape, hidden in the biblical accounts of the escape by the sea.

Dr.

David Ben-Gad HaCohen

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Joseph and the Famine: The Story’s Origins in Egyptian History

During the reign of Pharaoh Siptah, Egypt had a powerful vizier from the Levant named Baya, who dominated even the Pharaoh. Archaeological records and climatological studies show that this was right in the middle of a lengthy famine that affected the entire Mediterranean.

Prof.

Israel Knohl

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When Did the Bible Become Monotheistic?

It is often said that monotheism is one of Judaism’s greatest contributions to Western culture; however, it is far from clear that the Hebrew Bible is monotheistic. What is monotheism and when did it first develop?

Prof.

Kenneth Seeskin

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YHWH: The Original Arabic Meaning of the Name

God reveals his name to Moses as “I am,” from the Hebrew root ה.ו.י, “being.” The name YHWH, however, originates in Midian, and derives from the Arabic term for “love, desire, or passion.”

Prof.

Israel Knohl

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Is There a Symbolic Meaning to the Awkward Syntax of Leviticus 1:1?

“And He called to Moses and YHWH spoke to him” וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר יְ־הוָה אֵלָיו —Leviticus 1:1. Why is YHWH, the subject of this verse, missing from the opening phrase, and appearing only after the second verb? Traditional and critical scholars struggle to explain this syntactic problem.

Dr.

Elaine Goodfriend

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Habakkuk’s Mythological Depiction of YHWH

Habakkuk 3 is framed as a lament, in which the psalmist asks God to save him and his people from danger. The core of the psalm is a divine theophany, in which YHWH is described as coming from afar to battle his enemies in classic ancient Near East mythological fashion.

Prof.

Marvin A. Sweeney

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The Psalm of the Shofar: Its Use in Liturgy and its Meaning in the Bible

Prof.

Alan Cooper

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Documentary Hypothesis: The Revelation of YHWH’s Name Continues to Enlighten

When God reveals the name YHWH to Moses in Exodus, he says that not even the patriarchs knew this name, yet they all use it in Genesis. Critical scholarship’s solution to this problem led to one of the most important academic innovations in biblical studies in the last three hundred years: the Documentary Hypothesis.

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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Bezalel ben Uri and the Impotence of Foreign Deities

“See, YHWH has called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri.” (Exodus 35:30) Who is Bezalel and why is he chosen as the architect and artisan of the Tabernacle?

Dr. Rabbi

Jeremy S. Morrison

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Who Was Balaam’s God: YHWH El? Or Bull El?

Prof. Rabbi

Robert Harris

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Why Are There No Israelite Priestesses?

Hittite texts show us that in the ancient Near East, women, including the queen, served as priestesses. The biblical authors, in their fervor for YHWH, monotheism, and centralization of worship through one Temple and one priesthood, strongly objected.

Prof.

Ada Taggar-Cohen

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Hovav the Midianite: Why Was the End of the Story Cut?

The Midianite Origin of YHWH and Aniconism

Prof.

Israel Knohl

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Enthroning God in the Temple with the Song of the Sea

The Song of the Sea begins with defeat of the Egyptians and ends with YHWH’s enthronement in His temple. Comparison with the Epic of Baal and Enuma Elish clarify the genre and purpose of such hymns, and a striking parallel with Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 8 offers a clue to the original context of this ancient song.

Rabbi

Daniel M. Zucker

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Balaam the Seer: From the Bible to the Deir ʿAlla Inscription

What we know about where he lived, the language he spoke, and the gods he worshiped.

Prof.

Carl S. Ehrlich

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Why Is the Torah Divided into Five Books?

The division of the Torah into five books is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible, yet by the early first millennium C.E., the Torah became known by the Greek name Pentateuch, literally “five scrolls.” When and why was this division created?

Dr.

Elaine Goodfriend

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How Does God Answer the Question: What Is Your Name?

God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites two different names, Ehyeh and YHWH.

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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In the Presence of God

The Difference between God’s “Name (שם)” and “Presence (כבוד)”

Dr.

Michael Carasik

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YHWH: The God that Is vs. the God that Becomes

The meaning of God’s names, especially YHWH, is central to Jewish theology. Two approaches have dominated: the philosophical, focusing on God’s essence (“being”) and the kabbalistic, focusing on God’s evolving relationship with Israel (“becoming”). Some modern thinkers such as Malbim and Heschel have looked for new syntheses or formulations.

Prof.

James A. Diamond

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Judean Life in Babylonia

Upon the conquest of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar deported many Judeans to Babylonia. What was their life like there? Were they assimilated, or did they stand out? What language(s) did they speak and what religious practices did they maintain? What was their social and economic standing? Babylonian records allow us glimpses into the lives of some of the deportees.

Dr.

Laurie Pearce

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