ABSTRACT
Studies on YHWH typically focus either on the Early/Late Iron Age period or on the Neo-Babylonian/Persian Period. Chapter 5 traces trends from early periods and follows them into the Persian period. The Persian period becomes particularly important with a scribal tradition attempting to recover aspects of YHWHism after its Babylonian exile. While much scholarly discussion has occurred regarding monotheism, this chapter utilizes the common patterns of cultural translation and subversive reception charted in past chapters, to explore how YHWHism emerged and made sense in Persian Yehud. Selected texts such as the expression of YHWH from the Elephantine community, Third-Isaiah generally—and Isaiah 57 specifically—and the book of Jonah, each show an increasing universalism, connection of YHWH to the community, while some desire for the urbanization of the Neo-Assyrian period returns, but now with extreme conditions for divine presence based in the community life. At times, subversive reception and cultural translation now do not fully capture how YHWH is being expressed. Instead, in this period we see more wrestling with Israel’s own received traditions. As part of this but still in response to the context, aspects of YHWH return to the earliest expressions such as YHWH’s connection to liminal regions, and outsider spaces and peoples, retains some aspects of urbanism, but has grown to a distinct type of YHWHism unique in its cultural matrix.
