The Solar Nature of Yahweh: Reconsidering the Identity of the Ancient Israelite Deity
Ebook
In The Solar Nature of Yahweh: Reconsidering the Identity of the Ancient Israelite Deity, the original nature of the chief god of the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh, is reexamined. Daniel Sarlo challenges the current consensus that Yahweh was initially a storm god by examining the relevant biblical texts and comparing them with Ancient Near Eastern texts, ultimately arguing that Yahweh was a solar deity. The implication of this research is that Yahweh was not a minor god who gradually accumulated characteristics to become the head of the ancient Israelite pantheon, but rather a significant god from the very beginning, or at least before the inception of the United Monarchy.
The author was featured on an episode of "What Your Pastor Didn't Tell You": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X48VfIZ09AM&t=34s .
Introduction
Part 1—Yahweh, the Storm God?
1. Yahweh’s Storm Characteristics
2. The “Solarization” of Yahweh
Part 2—Yahweh, the Sun God
3. Sun Gods of the Ancient Near East
4. Yahweh’s Solar Characteristics
5. Proof of Concept: An Ancient Yahwistic Mountain Epiphany (Deut 33:2–3)
6. Conclusions
Daniel Sarlo clearly understands the necessary task of reassessing orthodoxies that creep into the study of ancient texts. He also takes into account contextual understandings of what are currently termed natural phenomena. This combination attests to the utility of his work. The field of ancient West Asian religions has long suffered under schools of interpretation that gloss over what close reading reveals. Sarlo here demonstrates the many benefits of turning over rocks and describing what lies beneath.
The Solar Nature of Yahweh is a monograph that unveils the erudition of its author, Daniel Sarlo, and the audacity of his analysis. It successfully achieves three important goals. First, it challenges the common view that YHWH was originally a storm god. Second, it rehabilitates the ancient theory of the solar origin of YHWH, strengthening it with new observations. Third, it identifies YHWH as a great god from the very beginning of his cult. These accomplishments are welcome. They will undoubtedly contribute to modify our current representation of early Israel and its religion.
Based on a shortened version of the author’s doctoral thesis at the University of Toronto, this bold monograph argues that Yahweh was not originally a storm deity, as is widely held, but a solar deity. Previously it has often been thought that he was ‘solarized’, but the first two chapters point out the weaknesses in these suppositions, with particular attention to Pss. 18.8-16 and 29.1-10... This is a learned but eminently accessible study which makes many strong points. There is a danger that the arguments against the usual storm god theory work on the ‘divide and rule’ principle without considering the possible strength of cumulative evidence within single passages. Equally, there are some points where S.’s own preference can be challenged, as he acknowledges. Nevertheless, he makes a strong case that will need to be considered carefully by those who have previously favoured a different opinion.
- Title: The Solar Nature of Yahweh: Reconsidering the Identity of the Ancient Israelite Deity
- Author: Daniel Sarlo
- Publisher: Fortress Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2022
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781978714328, 9781978714311, 1978714319, 1978714327
- Resource ID: LLS:9781978714328
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-08-07T03:26:45Z
Daniel Sarlo (Ph.D. in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, University of Toronto) is currently an independent researcher.