Ancient Israelite religion

The religious traditions practiced by the ancient Israelites, centered on worship of Yahweh and shaped over time by changing institutions, texts, and encounters with neighboring peoples.

Yahweh: The national god of ancient Israel and Judah, later understood in Judaism as the one God. Israelite religion centered increasingly on worship of Yahweh.
Canaanite religion: The religious traditions of ancient Canaan, including worship of El, Baal, and other deities. Israelite religion shares names, imagery, and practices with this regional tradition.
Hebrew Bible: The collection of sacred texts that forms the scriptural foundation of Judaism and part of the Christian Bible. Its varied writings preserve and reshape traditions about Israelite worship and history.
Monolatry: The exclusive worship of one deity without necessarily denying the existence of other deities. It describes a possible stage between Israelite polytheism and exclusive monotheism.
Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions: Eighth-century BCE inscriptions from a site in the northeastern Sinai that mention Yahweh and Asherah. Their wording is central to debates about divine imagery and household religion.
El (deity): A West Semitic high god whose name and attributes appear in ancient Israelite traditions. Some biblical names and divine titles preserve traditions associated with El.
Ancient Israel: A people and political formation in the southern Levant whose history is known from biblical and archaeological sources. Its social and political history shaped the development of Israelite religious traditions.
Deuteronomistic history: A scholarly name for the biblical narrative from Deuteronomy through Kings, shaped by recurring themes of covenant and judgment. Its account links political events to faithfulness or disobedience toward Yahweh.
Polytheism: The worship of or belief in multiple deities. Some evidence suggests early Israelite practice included worship beyond Yahweh alone.
Khirbet el-Qom inscription: An eighth-century BCE inscription from Judah that mentions Yahweh and a figure called Asherah. It provides evidence relevant to whether Asherah was associated with Yahweh in some settings.

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