Ryan Thomas - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ryan Thomas

Die Welt des Orients, 2022

In scholarship on Levantine religion the divine names Eshem and Ashima are generally regarded as ... more In scholarship on Levantine religion the divine names Eshem and Ashima are generally regarded as closely connected, but the question of their etymology and meaning continues to prompt debate. The present study offers a critical review of the etymologies that have been put forward since the beginning of the 20th century, focusing particularly on recent proposals by Karel van der Toorn and Edward Lipiński. The analysis concludes that both names are related to the Semitic concept of šm "name, " widely attested as a divine epithet in the ancient Near East. Pointing to their status as offspring gods, this interpretation throws new light on the mythological profiles of Eshem and Ashima as well as their relationship to one another in the West Semitic pantheon.

Ugarit-Forschungen, 2020

The article examines evidence for polytheism at Judaean Elephantine in southern Egypt during the ... more The article examines evidence for polytheism at Judaean Elephantine in southern Egypt during the Persian period. Employing anthropomorphism as a hermeneutical framework for exploring ancient deity concepts, analysis of the available material shows that the Judean community worshiped a small pantheon modeled on the royal patriarchal household. The polytheistic cult of Yahu at Elephantine likely had its roots in Iron Age Israel-Judah but also reflects a degree of acculturation to the Syrian-Aramaean cult of Bethel in Egypt.

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2019

Although a Canaanite deity named Gad has long been known to have had a cultic following in the Le... more Although a Canaanite deity named Gad has long been known to have had a cultic following in the Levant, relatively little attention has been devoted to elucidating its character, status, and relationship to other major gods. The following study aims to investigate the nature of the deity by culling information from a broad analysis of West Semitic personal names carrying this theophoric as well as synthesizing the data with diverse biblical and inscriptional material. Several lines of evidence are adduced to suggest that Gad is not an independent West Semitic divinity but merely a descriptive epithet of the personal god El.

Semitica, 2017

The meaning of asherah in the inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom has been a fo... more The meaning of asherah in the inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom has been a focus of persistent discussion and debate, and still today the divergence in scholarly views is wide-ranging. The present paper aims to critically assess previous scholarship by examining each of the major proposals that have been made for elucidating the term and in the process advance an interpretation that is methodologically defensible and historically more plausible given our present knowledge of the cultural context of ancient Israel-Judah. Because asherah likely refers to a female deity and yet the designation is declined with a pronominal suffix, I propose that the term is a hitherto unattested common noun denoting YHWH’s female partner and that the goddess is to be distinguished from the goddess Asherah.

Ugarit-Forschungen, 2017

This article addresses the meaning of the verb qny in the divine epithet qny ʾrṣ, variously trans... more This article addresses the meaning of the verb qny in the divine epithet qny ʾrṣ, variously translated “Creator,” “Begetter,” or “Owner of the earth.” I argue that the verb never means “to create” in West Semitic and that all attested usages can be explained on the assumption that they derive from a single root with the basic meaning “to acquire, come into possession.” The correct translation of Hebrew qnh šmym wʾrṣ in Gen 14: 19, 22 is “Owner of heaven and earth.”

This paper explores the mythological background of the Garden of Eden in Canaanite-Israelite trad... more This paper explores the mythological background of the Garden of Eden in Canaanite-Israelite tradition. Among other things, I argue that the mysterious ʾēd that comes up to water the ground in Gen 2:6 is correctly translated “flood” and that the motif hearkens back to an ancient Canaanite myth in which El created the world through defeating the primordial Sea monster. This analysis then leads me to reconstruct how the biblical Garden of Eden story has evolved over time, with particular emphasis on the identity of YHWH-Elohim and the original mountain location of Eden in Canaan. I show how at an earlier stage in the narrative the divine protagonist was likely El rather than YHWH-Elohim and that the site of Eden has been adapted from Mount Lebanon to a non-defined place somewhere on the eastern horizon.

Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions, 2016

The question of the identity of the two standing figures at the center of pithos A continues to b... more The question of the identity of the two standing figures at the center of pithos A continues to be a subject of vigorous debate, with the scholarly community divided over whether they should be explained in light of the inscription invoking YHWH and his asherah that is situated above them. In this article, the author contributes to the discussion by reviewing the main iconographic arguments for identifying the figures as YHWH and his female partner and in the process responds to some of the common objections that have been raised against the hypothesis. These include the figures’ sexual dualism, overlapping pose as male and female partners, their Bes-like and bovine features and associated mythological compatibility with YHWH, and the larger iconographic context of the individual pithoi.

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 2019

Richard Bushman has called the gold plates story "the single most troublesome item in Joseph Smit... more Richard Bushman has called the gold plates story "the single most troublesome item in Joseph Smith's history." 1 Smith famously claimed to have discovered, with the help of an angel, anciently engraved gold plates buried in a hill near his home in New York from which he translated the sacred text of the Book of Mormon. Not only a source of new scripture comparable to the Bible, the plates were also a tangible artifact, which he allowed a small circle of believers to touch and handle before they were taken back into the custody of the angel. The story is fantastical and otherworldly and has sparked both devotion and skepticism as well as widely varying assessments among historians. Critical and non-believing historians have tended to assume that the presentation of material plates shows that Smith was actively engaged in religious deceit of one form or another, 2 while Latter-day Saint historians have been inclined to take Smith and the traditional narrative at face value. For example, Bushman writes, "Since the people who knew Joseph best treat the plates as fact, a skeptical analysis lacks evidence. A series of surmises replaces a documented narrative." 3 Recently, Anne Taves has articulated a middle way between these positions by suggesting that

Die Welt des Orients, 2022

In scholarship on Levantine religion the divine names Eshem and Ashima are generally regarded as ... more In scholarship on Levantine religion the divine names Eshem and Ashima are generally regarded as closely connected, but the question of their etymology and meaning continues to prompt debate. The present study offers a critical review of the etymologies that have been put forward since the beginning of the 20th century, focusing particularly on recent proposals by Karel van der Toorn and Edward Lipiński. The analysis concludes that both names are related to the Semitic concept of šm "name, " widely attested as a divine epithet in the ancient Near East. Pointing to their status as offspring gods, this interpretation throws new light on the mythological profiles of Eshem and Ashima as well as their relationship to one another in the West Semitic pantheon.

Ugarit-Forschungen, 2020

The article examines evidence for polytheism at Judaean Elephantine in southern Egypt during the ... more The article examines evidence for polytheism at Judaean Elephantine in southern Egypt during the Persian period. Employing anthropomorphism as a hermeneutical framework for exploring ancient deity concepts, analysis of the available material shows that the Judean community worshiped a small pantheon modeled on the royal patriarchal household. The polytheistic cult of Yahu at Elephantine likely had its roots in Iron Age Israel-Judah but also reflects a degree of acculturation to the Syrian-Aramaean cult of Bethel in Egypt.

Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2019

Although a Canaanite deity named Gad has long been known to have had a cultic following in the Le... more Although a Canaanite deity named Gad has long been known to have had a cultic following in the Levant, relatively little attention has been devoted to elucidating its character, status, and relationship to other major gods. The following study aims to investigate the nature of the deity by culling information from a broad analysis of West Semitic personal names carrying this theophoric as well as synthesizing the data with diverse biblical and inscriptional material. Several lines of evidence are adduced to suggest that Gad is not an independent West Semitic divinity but merely a descriptive epithet of the personal god El.

Semitica, 2017

The meaning of asherah in the inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom has been a fo... more The meaning of asherah in the inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud and Khirbet el-Qom has been a focus of persistent discussion and debate, and still today the divergence in scholarly views is wide-ranging. The present paper aims to critically assess previous scholarship by examining each of the major proposals that have been made for elucidating the term and in the process advance an interpretation that is methodologically defensible and historically more plausible given our present knowledge of the cultural context of ancient Israel-Judah. Because asherah likely refers to a female deity and yet the designation is declined with a pronominal suffix, I propose that the term is a hitherto unattested common noun denoting YHWH’s female partner and that the goddess is to be distinguished from the goddess Asherah.

Ugarit-Forschungen, 2017

This article addresses the meaning of the verb qny in the divine epithet qny ʾrṣ, variously trans... more This article addresses the meaning of the verb qny in the divine epithet qny ʾrṣ, variously translated “Creator,” “Begetter,” or “Owner of the earth.” I argue that the verb never means “to create” in West Semitic and that all attested usages can be explained on the assumption that they derive from a single root with the basic meaning “to acquire, come into possession.” The correct translation of Hebrew qnh šmym wʾrṣ in Gen 14: 19, 22 is “Owner of heaven and earth.”

This paper explores the mythological background of the Garden of Eden in Canaanite-Israelite trad... more This paper explores the mythological background of the Garden of Eden in Canaanite-Israelite tradition. Among other things, I argue that the mysterious ʾēd that comes up to water the ground in Gen 2:6 is correctly translated “flood” and that the motif hearkens back to an ancient Canaanite myth in which El created the world through defeating the primordial Sea monster. This analysis then leads me to reconstruct how the biblical Garden of Eden story has evolved over time, with particular emphasis on the identity of YHWH-Elohim and the original mountain location of Eden in Canaan. I show how at an earlier stage in the narrative the divine protagonist was likely El rather than YHWH-Elohim and that the site of Eden has been adapted from Mount Lebanon to a non-defined place somewhere on the eastern horizon.

Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions, 2016

The question of the identity of the two standing figures at the center of pithos A continues to b... more The question of the identity of the two standing figures at the center of pithos A continues to be a subject of vigorous debate, with the scholarly community divided over whether they should be explained in light of the inscription invoking YHWH and his asherah that is situated above them. In this article, the author contributes to the discussion by reviewing the main iconographic arguments for identifying the figures as YHWH and his female partner and in the process responds to some of the common objections that have been raised against the hypothesis. These include the figures’ sexual dualism, overlapping pose as male and female partners, their Bes-like and bovine features and associated mythological compatibility with YHWH, and the larger iconographic context of the individual pithoi.

Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, 2019

Richard Bushman has called the gold plates story "the single most troublesome item in Joseph Smit... more Richard Bushman has called the gold plates story "the single most troublesome item in Joseph Smith's history." 1 Smith famously claimed to have discovered, with the help of an angel, anciently engraved gold plates buried in a hill near his home in New York from which he translated the sacred text of the Book of Mormon. Not only a source of new scripture comparable to the Bible, the plates were also a tangible artifact, which he allowed a small circle of believers to touch and handle before they were taken back into the custody of the angel. The story is fantastical and otherworldly and has sparked both devotion and skepticism as well as widely varying assessments among historians. Critical and non-believing historians have tended to assume that the presentation of material plates shows that Smith was actively engaged in religious deceit of one form or another, 2 while Latter-day Saint historians have been inclined to take Smith and the traditional narrative at face value. For example, Bushman writes, "Since the people who knew Joseph best treat the plates as fact, a skeptical analysis lacks evidence. A series of surmises replaces a documented narrative." 3 Recently, Anne Taves has articulated a middle way between these positions by suggesting that