Which of the heavenly bodies is YHWH associated with?

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Expand view Topic review: Which of the heavenly bodies is YHWH associated with?

Re: Which of the heavenly bodies is YHWH associated with?

Post by jimwalton » Thu Oct 19, 2017 12:35 pm

In the ancient world (the world of the Old Testament), YHWH was associated with no earthly bodies, and particularly not the earth or the sun. Those were the associations of the surrounding cultural mythologies, and the writers of the OT drew a distinct line of separation between YHWH and those false gods.

Later in history there were some syncretistic efforts to associate YHWH with the Sun god, and there are occasional OT references where there is some poetic imagery aligning the two. The primary archaeological evidence comes from the 4-tiered cult stand found at Taanach (though there is still debate as to whether it is showing the sun as YHWH's consort, or portraying YHWH as the sun. Some say YHWH is being portrayed by the empty space in the stand.). Some scholars believe that calling YHWH the Lord of Hosts (YWHW Sabaoth) implied that He was the head of the stars, viz., the sun. See also Dt. 33.2; Ps. 84.11; Mal. 4.1-3; possibly even Judges 5.20.

The prophets and godly rulers fought against such identification, however. In the 10 plagues in Egypt there were at least two plagues where the sun was blotted out (in YHWH's display of his power against the sun god of Egypt). In 2 Ki. 23.5, 11, Josiah destroyed what he considered to be a false and idolatrous association. True Yahwism forbade the worship of the moon or of any heavenly body as if it were associated with YHWH (Dt. 4.19; 17.2-5; 2 Ki. 23.5; Jer. 8.2; Job 31.27-28; Ezk. 8.16-18). See also Jer. 19.13; Zeph. 1.5.

To answer the other part of your question, there is never any association in the Bible of YHWH with the earth of which I am aware.

Re: Which of the heavenly bodies is YHWH associated with?

Post by Righteous One » Wed Sep 06, 2017 11:48 am

If you mean the seven "classical planets", YHWH is not associated with any of them.

In classical antiquity, the sacred Seven Luminaries or what we now call the Seven Classical Planets are the seven non-fixed objects visible in the sky: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The word planet comes from the Greek word πλανήτης, planētēs "wanderer" (short for asteres planetai "wandering stars"), expressing the fact that these objects move across the celestial sphere relative to the fixed stars.

The term planet in modern terminology is only applied to satellites orbiting the Sun, so that of the classical seven planets, five are planets in the modern sense, the five planets easily visible to the unaided eye.

Which of the heavenly bodies is YHWH associated with?

Post by Just Running » Wed Sep 06, 2017 10:59 am

Which of the seven heavenly bodies is Yah associated with? Would it be the earth itself? Or the sun?

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