YHWH: A Storm-God of Hosea? The Beginning of Yahwism in Light of the Book of Hosea

Abstract

ABSTRACT The original profile of YHWH is a much-discussed issue of research, YHWH being defined mostly as either an El-like or a Baal-like deity. Scholars are investigating older texts of the Hebrew Bible that might reflect relevant imagery. The Book of Hosea is a neglected corpus in this discussion. However, the book contains North-Israelite traditions and concepts from the 8th century BCE that preserve and reflect an earlier stage of the YHWH-cult. If the imagery of the book could be traced back to a single, fundamental god-type, that could be a hint at the original character of YHWH. This article ventures to catalog, analyze, and evaluate the imagery of the book, to ultimately propose an original god-type for YHWH.