THE DEITY OF ABRAHAM

It is a well-known fact that the Canaanites religion (the 'AL religion) influenced 'AbraHam and so through him Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three religions acknowledge the same Deity (the Deity of 'AbraHam), but they differ in their perception of 'AbraHam's Deity.

The 'AL religion surely dates back to pre-flood times. We find the name 'AL in the name of Qenan's son, Mahalalel -GENESIS 5: 12.

COMMENT: The name used in the Hebraic text rendered as MAHALALEL in English is spelled *Mem, Hé, Lamed, Lamed, 'Aleph, Lamed* MHLL'AL [Mahalal'al] = Priase of 'AL.)

'AL is the oldest name for the AbraHamic Deity. The title "God" in the English versions of the Holy Bible, in 213 instances is the translation of the Canaanite name 'AL. For example, the Deity is called 'AL fifty-six times in the Book of -JOB:

..."'AL thunders with his voice"...-JOB 37: 5

The proper name of the Deity of 'AbraHam was 'AL. Here is evidence. In the following Scripture Jacob (Israel) built an altar to 'AL:

..."And he pitched his tent there, and erected an altar, and called it 'AL 'Alohi Yshra'al ('AL, Deity of Israel)"... -GENESIS 33: 20

..."And 'AL, spoke to Israel (Jacob) in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. Then He said to him, I am 'AL, the 'ALHYM (Deity) of your father"... -GENESIS 46: 2-3

The phrase "'AL, the Deity of your father" makes it clear that the proper name of the Deity of the patriarchs ('AbraHam, Isaac, and Jacob) was 'AL.

'AL was the Supreme Deity of the Canaanite pantheon. He is mentioned in numerous passages of the Ugaritic texts. For example:

..."Your decree, O 'AL, is wise, Your wisdom is eternal"...

The Ugaritic texts were written around 1400 B.C.E. They were discovered in modern Syria. 'AbraHam discovered 'AL in Haran of Syria, and then moved to Canaan.

In English Bibles 'AL is also called "The Most High", which in the Canaanite language is: 'Alyon and means: "Most High". The Canaanite Deity 'AL was the Most High Deity (the Head Deity of the Canaanite pantheon).

'AL ALYON

Certainly, 'AbraHam did not introduce the Deity 'AL to the Canaanites. He dwelled among them as a stranger. He was not their king to impose his Deity on them. He learned about 'AL from those who had been worshipping 'AL before him, the Hamitic-Canaanites.

Jewish religious traditions rest on pre-Mosaic foundations. Part of these pre-Mosaic foundations was the worship of the Canaanite Deity 'AL. The patriarchs worshipped One Deity, while they believed that other deities existed. They practiced Henotheism. Henotheism continued in the 'AL-istic tradition until the establishment of Monotheism, sometime during the exile (soon after 586 B.C.E.).

Words have meanings relative to time and place. As time goes on, the meanings of words change. Originally 'AL was the name of the Supreme Deity of the Canaanite pantheon. After worshipping 'AL for several centuries, the Canaanites abandoned worshipping him and switched to the worship of Baal. After that, the name 'AL lost its prominence. It acquired additional meanings:

1.) Deity
2.) Power
3.) Mighty

In the Holy Bible, as a rule (i.e. 213 times out of 245), the name 'AL is the proper name of the 'AbraHamic Deity and in a few exceptional instances is used as a generic term:

1.) Deity
2.) Power
3.) Mighty

Here is an example where after the establishing of Monotheism (after 586 B.C.E.) the Epithet 'AL is used as a generic term ("a Deity"):

..."For you will worship no other 'AL; for YHWH, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous 'AL"... -EXODUS 34: 14

'AL is the Authentic and Original Proper Name of the Deity of 'Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
-EXODUS 6: 3. So 'AL was the Original Proper Name of the Deity of the ancient Abarim (Hebrews).

'Aloah (Eloah) and 'Alohim (Elohim) are both 'Abari (Hebrew) words, of which the second is the plural of the first. They were formed from the Hamitic Kenaani (Canaanite) words:

1.) 'AL (which is the Propre Name of the Supreme Deity of the Canaanites in particular).

2.) 'ALIM (which is the plural of 'AL).

'AL = Power.
'ALIM = Powers.

In some Shemitic languages 'AL is rendered Il, which in Arabic is rendered Ilah, from where
'Al-Ilah = (The Deity) became 'Allah. Which the plural form is Ilm, the equivalent of the Kenaani (Canaanite) 'Alim and 'Abari (Hebrew) 'Alohim (Elohim).

'ALLAH

The 'Abari (Hebrew) word 'Alohim (Elohim) is used in the first chapter of the Book of -GENESIS, to designate 'AL (the One Supreme Creator) and the 'ALIM (the secondary deities) as seen in the below Scriptures:

..."Then 'Alohim said, Let Us make 'Adam in Our image, after Our likeness. So 'Alohim created 'Adam in His own image, in the image of 'Alohim He created him; Zakar (male) and Nekaybah (female) He created them"... -GENESIS 1: 26-27

The equivalent of the Hebrew word 'Alohim (Elohim) is Theos in Greek, Deus in Latin, God in English. 'AL is the original ancient Proper Name of the One Supreme Kenaani (Canaanite) Deity.

In ancient Canaanite Myths and Legends 'AL was the head of the pantheon, the King and Father of the 'ALIM (deities), called 'Creator of created things'. His epithet 'Bull' emphasized his strength. His consort was the deity 'Athirat (Asherah).

According to Canaanite literature, the Deity 'AL begot seventy sons through the Dessess Asherah:

..."'AL summons Asherah's seventy children"...

He summoned His sons to His community (known as "the community of 'AL"), over which He presided. Similarly, YHWH presided over "the community of 'AL":

..."'Alohim (YHWH as Deity) stands in the community of 'AL (A'dath 'AL); in the midst of the 'Alohim (deities) He judges"... -PSALM 82: 1

The phrase "in the midst of the 'Alohim (deities) He judges" indicates that YHWH was surrounded by secondary deities.

Likewise, in the below verse:

..."I will Thank You (YHWH) with my whole heart; before (in front of) the 'Alohim I will sing praise to you (YHWH)"... -PSALM 138: 1

These secondary deities are called the "sons of 'AL":

..."Give to YHWH, sons of Mighty (Bene 'Alim), give to YHWH glory and strength"... -PSALM 29: 1

Here is another instance where YHWH is called 'AL and presides over His community:

..."'AL (YHWH) is greatly to be feared in the community of the saints, and to be feared by all around Him (referring to his sons that are around Him)"... -PSALM 89: 7

One has to study these Scriptures in the original (by-pass the English translations), to discover that the Deity was the Canaanite Deity 'AL. (Further on we will compare YHWH with the Canaanite 'AL with parallel quotations from ancient texts.)

One Ugaritic poem reads:

..."Now the 'Alonim (deities) were seating to eat, the holy ones to dine, Baal attending upon 'AL"...

..."The 'Alonim (deities) drop their heads down upon their knees"...

The Canaanite Deity 'AL and his sons had the same image, the image of man. YHWH and his secondary deities, had the same image:

..."And said YHWH (to his secondary deities), Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness"... -GENESIS 1: 26

Their image was that of a man, 'Adam looked liked them. In the beginning 'Adam did not know the difference between good and evil. But YHWH and his secondary deities knew.

The Serpent told Eve:

..."For knows 'Alohim (YHWH) that in the day you eat of it (the fruit of the tree of knowledge), then shall be opened your eyes and you will be as 'Alohim (deities), knowing good and evil"... -GENESIS 3: 5

The phrase, "you will be as 'Alohim (deities)" indicates the existence of other deities, beside YHWH. Had the writer of -GENESIS believed that there was only one Deity, he would have written "you will be as 'AL". When -GENESIS was written there was the belief of other deities beside YHWH.

Who were those deities the Serpent was referring to? The deities to whom YHWH said, "Let Us make man in Our image"...

After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, YHWH said:

..."Behold, the man has become as one of Us, to know good and evil"... -GENESIS 3: 22

The expression "one of Us" indicates that YHWH was talking to His peers; the secondary deities, His sons, the ones mentioned in the following verse:

..."Now came a day when came the sons of 'Alohim (YHWH) to present themselves before YHWH"...
-JOB 1: 6

As mentioned above, YHWH presided over them:

"'Alohim (YHWH) stands in the community of 'AL; in the midst of the 'Alohim (deities) He holds judgment"... -PSALM 82: 1

"I have said, 'Alohim (deities) You are; and sons of A'lyon (Most High) all of you"... -PSALM 82: 6

The "sons of 'AL" were also called "the morning stars":

..."When the morning stars sang together, and shouted for joy all the sons of 'Alohim (YHWH)"...
-JOB 38: 7

Ugaritic text: The sons of 'AL, the assembly of the stars:

..."That the sons of 'AL may know and the assembly of the stars may understand"...

The Book of -JOB is a poem that employs parallelism. The expressions "the morning stars" and "sons of 'AL" are parallel. Hebraic poetry, 'parallelism' often provides the double statement of a single matter.

Likewise for the Ugaritic passage:

"The sons of 'AL and "The assembly of the Stars" are a parallelism.

The "sons of 'AL" were also called the "assembly of the stars".
The "assembly of the stars" or the "morning stars" was also called "the host of Heaven" (literally: "the army of the sky").

The word "host" can mean:

1.) Host (organized army),
2.) Host (of angels),
3.) Sun, Moon, and Stars.

The stars were divine beings. In the following Scripture, the stars (the army of the sky), fought from Heaven against Sisera.

..."The stars fought from the heavens; from their courses they fought with Sisera"... -JUDGES 5: 20

The stars were standing on both sides of YHWH:

..."I saw YHWH sitting on His throne, and all the host of Heaven were standing by Him, on His right and on His left"... -1 KINGS 22: 19

The belief that the stars were live persons appears in the Book of -REVELATION, where a star was given the key to open the bottomless pit:

..."And I saw a star out of heaven which had fallen onto the earth. And the key to the pit of the abyss was given to it". And he opened the pit of the abyss"... -REVELATION 9: 1-2

The "host of heaven" was part of the assembly of 'AL and corresponded to the Canaanite "assembly of the stars." The Israelites worshipped the stars as secondary deities:

..."And have gone and served other 'Alohim (deities), and worshipped them; either the sun, or the moon, or any of all the host of the heavens (stars), which I (YHWH) have not commanded"...
-DEUTERONOMY 17: 3

They worshipped the stars at the time of Josiah:

"And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring out from the temple of YHWH all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for Asherah, and for all the host of the heavens"... -2 KINGS 23: 4

In some ancient cultures kings and heroes were deified upon their death and joined the assembly of stars. An Egyptian pyramid inscription addressed to King Pepi I (who ruled during the 6th dynasty, ca. 2345-2182 B.C.E.), reads:

..."O Pepi, you have gone away (died) to become a spirit, to become powerful as a deity --- among the spirits, the Imperishable Stars"...

The Egyptians believed that the stars were the powerful spirits of kings. Pepi became "a powerful deity". As we will further examine, the spirits of the dead were called "deities".

The Cushite-Akkadians had a pantheon similar to that of the Hebrews and the Canaanites.
The Cushite-Akkadian deity Marduk, corresponded to the Canaanite and Hebrew deity 'AL.

In the Cushite-Akkadian Creation Epic, the deity Marduk was king of the secondary deities who were called Anunnaki:

..."Marduk, the king of the deities divided all the Anunnaki above and below --- three hundred in the heavens He stationed them as guard"...

The Anunnaki correspond to the "host of heaven" or "sons of 'AL" of the Canaanites and of the Hebrews. Marduk allotted portions to the Anunnaki:

..."To the Anunnaki of heaven and earth (Marduk) had allotted their portions"...

Likewise, the Canaanite Deity 'AL A'lyon allotted portions to His sons:

..."When 'Alyon (Most High) divided to the nations their inheritance (portion of); when He separated the sons of 'Adam, He sat up the bounds of the peoples, according to the number of the sons of Israel"...
-DEUTERONOMY 32: 8

In the following Scripture these "sons of 'AL" are called the "host of heaven," whom 'AL allotted to all the nations:

...And that you not lift up your eyes towards the heavens and shall see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of the heavens, and you be drawn away and worship them, and serve them; which YHWH your 'Alohim (Deity) has allotted (divided) to all the peoples under all the heavens"...
-DEUTERONOMY 4: 19

COMMENT: For the International AbraHamic Ministry (IAM) 'AL is the Transcendant One. 'AL is the Mysterious Reason of All. The One Spirit which transcends human intellect and wisdom itself. Without beginning or end 'AL is the One Primal Cause and Source, the Foundation and Creator of ALL.