Bethel and Yahō: A Tale of Two Gods in Egypt

Abstract

Aramaic documents from Egypt suggest that Yahwists there may have identified Yahweh/Yahō with the Syrian-Aramean deity Bethel (Bayt-ʔēl). Portions of Papyrus Amherst 63, the long and complex multi-composition Aramaic text written using Demotic script, also support this view. For instance, Bethel and Yahō seem to be paralleled with each other in two poems on the papyrus; both deities share some attributes otherwise ascribed to Baʕal-Shamayn (i.e., Hadad), yet are superior to that deity; and a priestess of Bethel is termed a khnh, the feminine form of khn, the noun used solely for a priest of Yahō and no other deity in Egypt. Other subtle connections between Bethel and Yahō can also be found.