The Storm-god In The Ancient Near East (biblical And Judaic Studies From The University Of California, San Diego)

In this comprehensive study of a common deity found in the ancient Near East as well as many other cultures, Green brings together evidence from the worlds of myth, iconography, and literature in an attempt to arrive at a new synthesis regarding the place of the Storm-god. He finds that the Storm-god was the force primarily responsible for three major areas of human concern: (1) religious power because he was the ever-dominant environmental force upon which peoples depended for their very lives; (2) centralized political power; and (3) continuously evolving sociocultural processes, which typically were projected through the Storm-god’s attendants. Green traces these motifs through the Mesopotamian, Anatolian, Syrian, and Levantine regions; with regard to the latter, he argues that Yahweh of the Bible can be identified as a storm-god, though certain unique characteristics came to be associated with him: he was the Creator of all that is created and the self-existing god who needs no other. The Storm-god Was A Deity Common To Every Culture In The Ancient Near East. In This Comprehensive Study Of The Literature, Iconography (seals, Monuments), And Myths Related To The Storm-god In Its Various Guises, Alberto Green Attempts A New Synthesis Of The Available Data. He Finds That The Storm-god Was The Force Primarily Responsible For Three Areas Of Human Concern: (1) Religious Power, Because He Was The Ever-dominant Environmental Force Upon Which Peoples Depended For Their Lives; (2) Centralized Political Power; And (3) Continuously Evolving Sociocultural Processes, Which Typically Were Projected Through The Storm-god's Attendants. Green Traces These Motifs Through The Mesopotamian, Anatolian, Syrian, And Levantine Regions; He Argues That, In The End, Yahweh Of The Bible Can Be Identified As A Storm-god, Though Certain Unique Characteristics Came To Be Associated With Him: He Was The Creator Of All That Is Created And The Self-existing God Who Needs No Other.--book Jacket. 1. Mesopotamia: The Land Between Two Rivers -- Climate And Ecology -- Iconography Of The Mesopotamian Storm-god: Prehistoric Up To The End Of The Old Babylonian Period -- Textual Evidence Of Sumero-akkadian Storm-gods In Southern Mesopotamia -- Storm-gods Of Northern Mesopotamia: Sumerian And Semitic -- The Storm-gods Of Mesopotamia: Representations Of Primary Human Concerns -- Semitic Storm-gods Of Northern Mesopotamia: Iconographic And Epigraphic Correlations -- 2. The Highlands Of Anatolia -- The Physical Environment -- The Focus Of Religion In Prehistoric Anatolia -- Cultural Assemblage In Historic Anatolia -- The Storm-god: Archaeological Pictorial Representations -- The Storm-god On Rock Carvings, Orthostats, And Temples -- The Antolian Storm-god In The Written Sources -- The Storm-god In Hittite Mythology -- Summary -- 3. Syria: The Upper Country -- The Syrian Physical Environment -- The Emergence Of The Syrian Storm-god In Iconography -- The Storm-god And His Attendants Within Syria And Non-anatolian Peripheral Regions -- Written Evidence Of The Syrian Storm-god Outside Syria -- Hadad In The Historical And Mythical Sources In Syria -- Baal, The Cloud-rider -- Baal, The Fertility God -- The Natural Pattern Of The Fertility Process -- Baal-(h)adad In The Cultural Milieu Of Ancient Syria 4. Coastal Canaan: A Land Bridge Between The Continents -- The Region And Culture Of Canaan -- The Background Of Yahwism In The Canaanite Milieu -- The Deity Yahweh In The Earliest Extrabiblical Sources -- Yahweh In The Earliest Nonpoetic And Poetic Sources -- Archaic Poetic Historical References To Yahweh As The Canaanite God El -- Yahweh, The Hebrew Storm-god -- The Storm-god Yahweh Within The Canaanite Milieu -- 5. The Storm-god And His Associates: Summary And Conclusions -- The Storm-god As A Force In Nature -- The Storm-god As The Foundation Of Political Power -- The Storm-god And The Evolving Religious Process -- 6. Bibliography. By Alberto R.w. Green. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 293-333) And Indexes. Annotation. "The Storm-god was a deity common to every culture in the ancient Near East. In this comprehensive study of the literature, iconography (seals, monuments), and myths related to the Storm-god in its various guises, Alberto Green attempts a new synthesis of the available data. He finds that the Storm-god was the force primarily responsible for three areas of human concern: (1) religious power, because he was the ever-dominant environmental force upon which peoples depended for their lives; (2) centralized political power; and (3) continuously evolving sociocultural processes, which typically were projected through the Storm-god's attendants. Green traces these motifs through the Mesopotamian, Anatolian, Syrian, and Levantine regions; he argues that, in the end, Yahweh of the Bible can be identified as a storm-god, though certain unique characteristics came to be associated with him: he was the creator of all that is created and the self-existing god who needs no other."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. 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