📖 Get to know our publishing house: https://radionaukowe.pl/wydawnictwo 📚 Convenient book shopping: https://wydawnictwoRN.pl. Use the discount code for audiobooks: sluchamRN 👉 Become a Patron: https://patronite.pl/radionaukowe 👉 Make a one-time support: https://suppi.pl/radionaukowe 🎧 Listen on streaming: https://ffm.bio/radionaukowe 🔔 Subscribe: / @radionaukowe 🌐 Website: https://radionaukowe.pl 👍 Facebook: / radionaukowe 📷 Instagram: / radionaukowe ❌ Twitter: / radionaukowe 🎓 Visit LAMU: / @letniaakademiamlodychumyslow 🎬 See more: • Radio Naukowe recommends 📩 Contact: [email protected] Yahweh had a partner. The cult of Asherah developed without any problems throughout the existence of the Kingdom of Judah and Israel, that is, until the beginning of the 6th century BC - says prof. Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò, Dean of the Faculty of History at the University of Warsaw, specialist in ancient Palestine. This is confirmed by archaeological sources. Some extra-biblical sources speak of Yahweh as the guardian deity of the dynasty ruling in Israel, still with its capital in Samaria. In the 9th century BC, this dynasty conquers Jerusalem and builds a temple of its guardian there. Yahweh thus appears in the area with which we associate him today, and becomes the most important, although not the only god there. He demands from his faithful complete submission... and offering sacrifices: firstborns. Mainly animals, but also children. Such sacrifices have been practiced for a very long time, and the faithful designate special places for them so as not to defile the temple with the death of a human being. We will find mentions of molka sacrifices, as they were called, in the Bible itself, but also - in later books - a record of their explicit prohibition. To us it sounds dramatic, but according to prof. Niesiołowski-Spanò, it is worth considering these practices as a manifestation of great piety or trust in the deity. The turning point in the perception of Yahweh was the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BC. The Babylonians destroyed the temple, took away its artifacts, so according to the standards of the time, Yahweh lost, he turned out to be weaker than the deity of the enemies. This is a serious threat to the cult. The prophet Ezekiel therefore came up with something revolutionary, a new theological formula: God is transcendent, he does not need a physical emanation. - This allowed us to maintain fidelity to this deity, because it did not lose, it only put us to the test - explains the historian. Then the concept of the chosen nation also arises, connected with God by a special covenant. The people need a new narrative: the blame for captivity is placed on the kings, the laws come directly from God, or more precisely through Moses (a fictional character). Its followers therefore retain their distinctiveness (for example, by emphasizing the practice of circumcision, which the Babylonians did not practice), but the forms of worship themselves are changing. Religion has become a family matter, with the father making offerings to God on behalf of his loved ones, and individual piety has also emerged: everyone can pray to God in their own home. We talk a bit more about the Babylonian captivity itself (from which the Israelites did not return so eagerly), about the significance of the return from captivity for the Old Testament (nothing supports creativity like the need to emphasize that your customs are better than those found there), about whether the Bible is a good historical source and why the first Christians needed anti-Semitism. A solid, concise, long episode! I recommend the books of Prof. Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò. I particularly used "History of the Jews in Antiquity. From Thotmes to Mahomet" written together with Prof. Krystyna Stebnicka. WE RECOMMEND OTHER MATERIALS: • Radio Naukowe - All episodes • Physics • Biology • Astronomy • Psychology • Animals • Religion • History • History of life • Geography • Technology • Man • Culture • Medicine • Archaeology 🧠 Radio Naukowe - turn on knowledge! 🧠 #RadioNaukowe #KarolinaGłowacka #ŁukaszNiesiołowski-Spanò