Yahweh & El Elyon

#Yahweh #Elyon #DivineCouncil It seems to be the majority view among scholars that pre exilic Israel shared the polytheistic worldview of her pagan neighbors. In this view, Yahweh was a member of the pantheon (one of the sons of Elyon) and became Israel’s National god (Deuteronomy 32:8-9). Over time Yahweh subsumed the characteristics of the gods of Canaan and emerged as the head of the pantheon (Psalm 82). Israel slowly evolved into monotheism and their scriptures were then redacted and all traces of the previous polytheism were removed. Michael Heiser “This evolution, according to the consensus view, was achieved through the zealous commitment of Israelite scribes who edited and reworked the Hebrew Bible to reflect emerging monotheism and to compel the laity to embrace the idea.” Except these same scholars who promote this consensus opinion also state that all traces of the previous polytheism weren’t fully redacted and that’s why we have Deuteronomy 32 and Psalm 82. Deuteronomy 32:8-9, as I mentioned, is cited in support of this evolutionary view by assuming that Yahweh and Elyon are separate deities. Heiser “this consensus view lacks coherence on several points.” In this study we will go through the scholarship, and there has been a lot written on this subject. I will be quoting many scholars, even scholars who believe in the consensus view, to show that, in fact, Yahweh and El Elyon are one and the same.