Development of Yahwism in Israel's Religion (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Theology - Miscellaneous, , language: English, abstract: This study was analytic in nature. The researcher found out that Israel never had a stable religion bit it metamorphosed as they journeyed to the promise land .

The Israelites are a set of people that are so passionate about their religion. It is interwoven with other factors of their life, for they are inseparable from their religion. There is no such word as "religion" to someone from the Near East because there is no dichotomy between sacred and secular. Suffice to assert that it is a futile attempt to separate an average Israelite from their religion. In their religion, the priestly community exercised a fundamental role in maintaining the order of life in the community and were the ones who stood at the center of religious life.

The history of Israel reveals that their religion was a metamorphosing one and an essential source for its knowledge is the Old Testament. The religion began with the Patriarchs who understood God as El and gave him different names due to their various experiences; for instance, in Genesis 17:1, God revealed Himself to Abram as El Shaddai before Yahwism which is the main focus of this paper became a national religion. Helmer Ringgren avers that the basic tenet of this Israelite religion is "hear, O Israel our God is One..." In this paper, this researcher shall discuss the commencement of Yahwism, its development in Israel's religion, specifically looking at the Pre-Mosaic period, the Mosaic Period, and the Post-Mosaic Period.