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You Shall Have Other Gods: An Analysis of the Ancient Israelite Pantheon

Vroniku, Lores LU (2026) BIVK10 20252
Centre for Theology and Religious Studies
Biblical Studies
Abstract
In this project, I explore the ancient Israelite pantheon and its tiers (excluding the third tier) by looking at specific deities which represent those tiers. The gods analyzed include El, Yahweh, Asherah, Yamm, Mot, Baal, Anat, and angel deities. Using a predominantly traditio-historical approach, I try to reconstruct historical realities about ancient Israel’s pantheon of gods. To help us with this, we use Hebrew Bible texts and Ugaritic material to better understand those deities. Another part of our exploration consists of studying scribal reactions to these deities, and to do so, we likewise turn to the Hebrew Bible. Our result shows that ancient Israel, throughout various periods, knew of the above-mentioned divinities, and that the... (More)
In this project, I explore the ancient Israelite pantheon and its tiers (excluding the third tier) by looking at specific deities which represent those tiers. The gods analyzed include El, Yahweh, Asherah, Yamm, Mot, Baal, Anat, and angel deities. Using a predominantly traditio-historical approach, I try to reconstruct historical realities about ancient Israel’s pantheon of gods. To help us with this, we use Hebrew Bible texts and Ugaritic material to better understand those deities. Another part of our exploration consists of studying scribal reactions to these deities, and to do so, we likewise turn to the Hebrew Bible. Our result shows that ancient Israel, throughout various periods, knew of the above-mentioned divinities, and that the biblical scribes openly acknowledge their status and power. At the same time, we see a biblical resistance to most of these deities except for Yahweh, El, Anat, and the angel deities, and what I have concluded from these results is that further research about the relationship between the figure of the angel of Yahweh and the angel-like deity Resheph, as well as the position of the goddess Anat in ancient Israel, would provide exciting discussions and results. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Vroniku, Lores LU
supervisor
organization
course
BIVK10 20252
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Biblical studies, Hebrew Bible, Israel, polytheism, Northwest Semitic religions
language
English
id
9219565
date added to LUP
2026-01-21 11:07:13
date last changed
2026-01-21 11:07:13
@misc{9219565,
  abstract     = {{In this project, I explore the ancient Israelite pantheon and its tiers (excluding the third tier) by looking at specific deities which represent those tiers. The gods analyzed include El, Yahweh, Asherah, Yamm, Mot, Baal, Anat, and angel deities. Using a predominantly traditio-historical approach, I try to reconstruct historical realities about ancient Israel’s pantheon of gods. To help us with this, we use Hebrew Bible texts and Ugaritic material to better understand those deities. Another part of our exploration consists of studying scribal reactions to these deities, and to do so, we likewise turn to the Hebrew Bible. Our result shows that ancient Israel, throughout various periods, knew of the above-mentioned divinities, and that the biblical scribes openly acknowledge their status and power. At the same time, we see a biblical resistance to most of these deities except for Yahweh, El, Anat, and the angel deities, and what I have concluded from these results is that further research about the relationship between the figure of the angel of Yahweh and the angel-like deity Resheph, as well as the position of the goddess Anat in ancient Israel, would provide exciting discussions and results.}},
  author       = {{Vroniku, Lores}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{You Shall Have Other Gods: An Analysis of the Ancient Israelite Pantheon}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}