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Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy?

Nissim Amzallag
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 2009 33: 387
DOI: 10.1177/0309089209105686

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DOI: 10.1177/0309089209105686
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Yahweh, the Canaanite God of

Metallurgy?

NISSIM AMZALLAG
[email protected]

Abstract
In antiquity, south-eastern Canaan was a very important centre for copper smelting.
While it is likely that there existed a patron deity of metallurgy, the identity of the
Canaanite god of smelting remains unknown. Although some biblical writings suggest a
south Canaanite origin of Yahweh, no details are provided concerning his worship prior
to him becoming the god of Israel. This study explores whether Yahweh was formerly
the Canaanite god of metallurgy. The following observations corroborate this hypothesis:
(1) Yahweh was worshiped by the Edomites, and especially by the Kenites, a small tribe
regarded as the Canaanite smelters; (2) the Israelite cult of Yahweh was associated with
copper and with a bronze serpent, a typical symbol of metallurgy; (3) the melting of
copper is considered in Exodus 4 as the specific sign of Yahweh; (4) a parallel exists
between Yahweh and the god of metallurgy worshiped in Egypt (Ptah), Mesopotamia
(Ea/Enki) and Elam (Napir), all of them being a mysterious lonely deity; (5) fighting the
(other) gods is common to Yahwism and to ancient metallurgical traditions. These data
suggest that, before becoming publicly worshipped in Israel, Yahweh was formerly the
god of the Canaanite guild of metallurgists.

Keywords: Cain, copper smelting, Yahweh, Edom, Kenite, origin of monotheism.

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388 Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33.4 (2009)

1. Introduction
Until now, investigations into the origin of Yahweh worship have
remained highly speculative, not least because the deity is almost ignored
outside of the biblical writings. Many scholars have emphasized the
occurrence of a crisis of polytheism during the second half of the second
millennium BCE in Egypt, Canaan and Mesopotamia.1 In such a context,
some scholars have proposed a foreign origin for Yahweh.2 And yet, no
evidence exists towards a foreign cult of Yahweh. Other scholars have
assumed the existence of an endemic tribal cult of Yahweh in Canaan
prior to the deity’s metamorphosis into the ‘national god’ of Israel. In
this case, the increasing importance of Yahweh would result from a
political expansion of the tribes worshiping him, and monotheism would
emerge as a consequence of a gradual subordination of all Canaanite
gods to Yahweh prior to their progressive ‘collapse’.3 However, such a
‘gradualist’ explanation is not entirely satisfying. The raising up of a
clan-deity and his transformation into a ‘national god’ is considered as a
common feature in the history of religion, yet it does not always evolve
towards monotheism. Furthermore, as observed with the raise of Marduk
at Babylon, the transformation of a clan-deity into a national deity is
generally concomitant with the concentration of political power towards
the town this god patronized. In the Canaan of the early Iron Age, no
such concentration of political power can be used to justify the collapse
of the whole pantheon. Shechem, a place of central importance for the
ancient Israelite religion,4 was not the capital of any vast kingdom at the
beginning of the first millennium BCE. Even Jerusalem, the town sub-
sequently associated with Yahweh, was formerly patronized by Shalem,
an epithet of the Canaanite god Resheph.5

1. See J.C. de Moor, The Rise of Yahwism: The Roots of Israelite Monotheism
(Leuven: Peeters, 1990), pp. 42-100.
2. For example, Keel and Uehlinger have shown, from an extensive comparative
approach of iconography in the Near East, affinities between Yahweh and Amon-Re, the
Egyptian solar deity; see O. Keel and C. Uehlinger, Gods, Goddesses and Images of God
in Ancient Israel (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), especially pp. 110-14.
3. For an extensive review of opinions concerning the rise of Yahwism, see, for
example, R. Gnuse, No Other Gods (JSOTSup, 241; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press,
1997), especially pp. 62-128.
4. See G.R.H. Wright, ‘Shechem and League Shrine’, VT 21 (1971), pp. 572-603.
5. See H.O. Thompson, Mekal, the God of Beth-Shan (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1970),
p. 160. This singularity is even mentioned in Ezek. 16.3-14, where Jerusalem is con-
sidered as an ‘adoptive daughter’ of Yahweh and is castigated for the ‘abominations’
related to its early youth.

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 AMZALLAG Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy? 389

Since no substantial evidence exists to confirm the gradualist sequence

from local clan-deity to universal monotheism, a ‘latent monotheism or
monolatry’ inherent to the Canaanite culture is sometimes postulated in
order to account for the emergence of Yahwism.6 However, such an ad
hoc argument is no more than an attempt to convert the final conditions
into a ‘starting point’, thus transforming the historical explanation into a
tautology.
By analysis of biblical texts, some scholars have assumed for a long
time that Yahweh was formerly worshipped in the south of Canaan
(especially in Edom and/or by the Kenites).7 The claim that ‘Yahweh
comes from Seir’8 has been strengthened by the discovery of Canaanite
inscriptions evoking ‘Yahweh of Teman’,9 but also by Egyptian writings
mentioning Negeb and northern Sinai as ‘the land of Ywh’.10
The idea of an Edomite origin for Yahweh may be of crucial impor-
tance for discovering his former identity, because the south-eastern part
of Canaan was known from the earliest times as a very important place
for copper metallurgy.11 At Punon (Feynan), the most important centre of
metallurgy in the Arabah, archaeologists have estimated that between

6. For example, Norbert Lohfink (‘Gott und die Götter im Alten Testament’,
Theologische Akademie 6 [1969], pp. 50-71 [mentioned by Gnuse, No Other Gods,
p. 91]) assumes that a latent monotheism or monolatry existed in the ancient Near East.
7. The southern origin of Yahweh was already suggested in the nineteenth century;
see, for example, Karl Budde, Die Religion des Volkes Israel bis zur Verbannung
(Giessen: Alfred Töpelmann, 1900). Recent scholars defending this opinion are discussed
by Gnuse, No Other Gods, and include Gösta Ahlström (see pp. 77-79), Hermann
Vorlander (see pp. 86-88) and P. Kyle McCarter (see pp. 97-98).
8. Judg. 5.4: ‘LORD, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the
region of Edom’. For the correspondence between Seir and the land of Edom, see
Z. Kallai, ‘The Campaign of Chedorlaomer and Biblical Historiography’, Shnaton 10
(1989), pp. 153-70.
9. See J.A. Emerton, ‘New Light on Israelite Religion: The Implications of the
Inscriptions from Kuntillet Ajrud’, ZAW 94 (1982), pp. 2-20. See also A. Lemaire, ‘Les
inscriptions de Khirbet el-Qom et l’Ashera de YHWH’, RB 84 (1977), pp. 595-608;
J. Hadley, ‘The Khirbet el-Qom Inscriptions’, VT 37 (1987), pp. 39-49.
10. See de Moor, The Rise of Yahwism, p. 111. See also M. Weinfeld, ‘The Traditions
Relative to Moses and Jethro at Mount Elohim’, Tarbiz 56 (1988), pp. 449-60 (Hebrew).
See also K.A. Kitchen, ‘The Egyptian Evidence on Ancient Jordan’, in P. Bienkowski
(ed.), Early Edom and Moab: The Beginning of Iron Age in Southern Jordan (Sheffield
Archaeological Monographs, 7; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992), pp. 21-34.
11. E.A. Knauf and C.J. Lanzen, ‘Edomite Copper Industry’, in A. Hadidi (ed.),
Studies in the History and Archaeology of Jordan (Amman: Department of Antiquities,
1987), III, pp. 83-88.

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390 Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33.4 (2009)

150,000 and 200,000 tons of slag resulted from copper metallurgy in the
period from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age.12 Even the emergence of
Edom as a political entity, during the first millennium BCE, has been
related to the sudden increase in mining and smelting activities in this
area.13 Thus, it would be extremely surprising if metallurgy had not
impacted the Edomite way of life and religion.
Based on the central importance of Levantine copper smelting from
the earliest times,14 the patron of the Canaanite smelters would certainly
have been famous. And yet, strikingly, this deity has not been yet identi-
fied among the 240 Canaanite deities mentioned in the Ugaritic texts.15 In
parallel, it is interesting to notice that the Ugaritic texts also ‘forgot’ to
mention Yahweh. All these indications invite the testing of the hypothe-
sis that Yahweh was formerly the Canaanite god of metallurgy.

2. Yahweh, an Edomite God

Many ‘theophoric’ names including the divine name Qos have been
found in Edom. Accordingly, it has been assumed that Qos was the main

12. V.C. Pigott, ‘Near Eastern Archaeometallurgy: Modern Research and Future
Directions’, in J.S. Cooper and G.M. Schwartz (eds.), The Study of the Ancient Near East
in the Twenty-first Century (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1996), pp. 139-76.
According to these authors, a collapse in copper metallurgy industry is observed during
the second millennium BCE.
13. Bienkowski (ed.), Early Edom and Moab, pp. 1-13. Concerning the metallurgic
activity in Edom at the beginning of the first millennium BCE, see T. Levy et al.
‘Reassessing the Chronology of Biblical Edom: New Excavations and 14C Dates from
Khirbat en-Nahas (Jordan)’, Antiquity 302 (2004), pp. 865-79.
14. See G.N. Amzallag, The Copper Revolution: Canaanite Smelters and the Origin
of Civilizations (Shani: Hameara, 2008 [Hebrew]).
15. See J.C. de Moor, ‘The Semitic Pantheon of Ugarit’, UF 2 (1970), pp. 187-218.
Canaanite gods have been identified in recently discovered Ugaritic texts, but the god of
metallurgy is yet absent from these writings. See D. Pardee, Les textes para-mytho-
logiques de la 24e campagne (Paris: Edition Recherche sur les Civilisations, 1988). In
Ugaritic mythology, Kothar is the god who produces copper artifacts both for the other
deities and for the heroes, suggesting that he was the patron of the coppersmiths.
However, one has to keep in mind that during Antiquity, smelting (the genesis of copper
from ore) and metal craft (the cold-working, hot-working and casting of copper) were
activities carried out by distinct corporations; see T. Levy and S. Shalev, ‘Prehistoric
Metalworking in the Southern Levant: Archaeometallurgical and Social Perspectives’,
World Archaeology 20 (1989), pp. 352-72. See also Amzallag, The Copper Revolution,
pp. 46-63. Thus it is likely that the patron of metal crafts and the god of metallurgy were
distinct entities.

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 AMZALLAG Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy? 391

Edomite deity.16 However, nothing is known about Qos worship since no

public cult is found in Edom.17 Neither is the interpretation of Qos as the
main Edomite deity supported by the biblical writings, where this name
is never mentioned. In fact, the name of no other Edomite is mentioned.
This situation contrasts with the explicit mention of Chemosh and
Milkom as the ‘national’ deities of Moab and Amon respectively.18 This
silence about the Edomite deity is probably not incidental. Edom, the
bitter enemy of Israel, is never blamed for idolatry by the prophets. This
suggests that Edom did not oppose Israel in the name of any other god. 19
The silence of the biblical writings about the Edomite deity provides
circumstantial evidence for its identification with Yahweh. Further
indications strengthen this claim.
First, Edom is qualified as ‘the land of wisdom’ in Jer. 49.7 and Obad-
iah 8. In a monotheistic context, it is difficult to assume that wisdom
would have a source other than Yahweh. Furthermore, it seems that the
book of Job, the main ‘wisdom book’ of the Bible, has an Edomite
origin,20 thus strengthening the linkage between Edom and Yahweh.
Second, the worship of Yahweh in Edom is explicitly mentioned in
Isa. 21.11 (‘One is calling to me [Yahweh] from Seir’), and the duty of
Yahweh in regard to his Edomite worshippers is stressed by Jer. 49.11
(‘Leave [Edom] your orphans, I [Yahweh] will keep them alive; and let
your widows trust in me’).

16. See J.A. Dearman, ‘Edomite Religion: A Survey and an Examination of Some
Recent Contributions’, in D.V. Edelman (ed.), You Shall Not Abhor an Edomite for He is
Your Brother (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995), pp. 119-36.
17. See also J.R. Bartlett, Edom and the Edomites (JSOTSup, 77; Sheffield: JSOT
Press, 1989) (see especially Chapter 11: ‘Religion in Edom’, pp. 187-207).
18. For Chemosh, see, for example, Num. 21.29; Judg. 11.24. Concerning Milkom,
see 1 Kgs 11.33 and 2 Kgs 23.13.
19. Concerning the outstanding position of Edom in the prophetic literature, see B.
Dicou, Edom, Israel’s Brother and Antagonist: The Role of Edom in Biblical Prophecy
and Story (JSOTSup, 169; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994).
20. About the Edomite origin of the book of Job, Uz, the country of Job (Job 1.1), has
been identified with Edom in Lamentations (4.21). Teman, the homeland of Eliphaz (Job
4.1), is also located in the south of Canaan. The name Job has been also related to Jobab,
mentioned in Gen. 36.33 as a grandson of Esau and king of Edom. Furthermore, a short
text very similar to a fragment of the book of Job has recently been discovered at Khirbet
Uzza (south of the Dead Sea), providing further evidence for the Edomite origin of the
book of Job. See V. Sasson, ‘An Edomite Joban Text with a Biblical Joban Parallel’,
ZAW 117 (2006), pp. 601-15.

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392 Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33.4 (2009)

Third, according to the book of Exodus, Esau–Edom and not Jacob–

Israel had to inherit Yahweh’s benediction from Isaac (Exod. 27.2-4).
This suggests that, before emergence of the Israelite alliance, Esau was
the ‘legitimate trustee’ of the Yahwistic traditions.21
1. The Israelite nazirim (the men self-consecrated to Yahweh in
Israel) are compared by Jeremiah to the Edomites: ‘For thus says
the LORD: If those [the Israelite nazirim] who do not deserve to
drink the cup still have to drink it, shall you [Edom] be the one
to go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished; you must drink
it.’22 Such a parallel between the elite of the Israelite worshippers
(nazirim) and the Edomite people as a whole also suggests that
Edom was the first ‘land of Yahweh’.
2. The primacy of Edom did not disappear quickly from the
Israelite collective memory. This point is clearly stressed by
Amos (9.11-12): ‘On that day I will raise up the booth of David
that is fallen, and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins, and
rebuild it as in the days of old; in order that they may possess the
remnant of Edom…’
Together, these five points suggest the conclusion that Yahweh was truly
the main (if not the only) deity worshipped in Edom. In this case, it is
likely that (1) the name of Yahweh was not used publicly in Edom, 23 and
(2) ‘Qos’ was an Edomite epithet for Yahweh rather than an autonomous
deity.24

21. This prevalence is confirmed by the fact that Jacob had to disguise himself as
Esau in order to receive Yahweh’s benediction (Exod. 27.20-26).
22. See Jer. 49.12. A similar parallel is established in the book of Obadiah (16). This
linkage confirms the relationship existing between the Kenites, Edom and Yahweh. The
interdiction against consuming wine is common to the nazirim in Israel (Num. 6.2-3;
Judg. 13.4-5; Amos 2.12) and to the Kenites (Jer. 35.5-6).
23. A lack of public use of the name of the metallurgic deities is well known and
relates to the initiatory dimension of the cults related to metallurgy; see Amzallag, The
Copper Revolution, pp. 64-97; and M. Eliade, Forgerons et Alchimistes (Paris:
Flammarion, 1977), pp. 45-53. Even though the Israelite cult of Yahweh was public, it
seems that the ‘use’ of his name was submitted to severe restrictions (see, e.g., Exod.
20.7 and Deut. 5.11).
24. See M. Rose, ‘Yahweh in Israel—Qaus in Edom?’, JSOT 4 (1977), pp. 28-34.

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 AMZALLAG Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy? 393

3. The Metallurgic Dimension of Yahwism

Yahweh, a Kenite God
From the earliest of times, production of metal from ore (a stone) in the
furnace was interpreted as an act of creation of matter.25 Interestingly, the
name Cain derives from the Semitic root (QN) that formerly referred to
acts of creation.26 Accordingly, it is not surprising that Cain is the com-
mon name of the smelters in ancient Canaanite, and that Tubal-cain is
regarded in the book of Genesis as ‘the father of every smith’ (Gen. 4.22).
The Kenites (the sons of Cain), a small tribe mentioned in the Bible,
have been identified for a long time as the Canaanite copper metallur-
gists.27 Bringing together data from many biblical sources reveals that
this small tribe originated from the land of Edom, and especially to the
area of Bozrah–Sela–Punon,28 the homeland of the Canaanite copper
metallurgy.
The intimate link existing between Yahweh and the Kenites is
strengthened by the following observations:
1. The first mention of Yahweh (neither Elohim nor Yahweh–
Elohim) in the book of Genesis is related to the birth of Cain:
‘Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore
Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the LORD’
(Gen. 4.1). This may be a symbolic way to claim that the
‘discovery’ of Yahweh is concomitant to the discovery of
metallurgy.
2. Enosh is mentioned in Genesis as the first man who worshipped
Yahweh: ‘To Seth also a son was born, and he names him
Enosh. At that time people began to invoke the name of the
LORD’ (Gen. 4.26). Interestingly, Enosh is the father of Keynan
(= Cain). Again, the worship of Yahweh appears to have been
linked to the discovery of metallurgy.

25. This explains why metallurgists were generally considered as men with divine
powers. See Eliade, Forgerons et alchimistes, pp. 71-81; M. Martin, Magie et magiciens
dans l’Antiquité (Paris: Errance, 2005), pp. 17-54. See also Amzallag, The Copper
Revolution, pp. 46-63.
26. This initial meaning is mentioned in Gen. 14.19, where the verb qnh is used to
express the act of creation of the earth and the heaven by ‘El Elyon’.
27. See S. Abramsky, ‘The Kenites’, ErIs 3 (1953), pp. 116-24 (Hebrew). See also
M. Rosen and S. Bendor, The Origin of Kingdom in Israel: An Introduction to the Book
of Samuel (Tel Aviv: Sifryat Poalim, 1959 [Hebrew]).
28. See Abramsky, ‘The Kenites’.

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394 Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33.4 (2009)

3. The Kenites had a sign (taw) on their forehead. From Gen. 4.15,
it appears that this sign signalled that Yahweh protects Cain and
his sons. From Ezek. 9.4-6, it seems that, at the end of the First
Temple period, a similar sign remained the symbol of devotion
to Yahweh.
4. The book of Jeremiah confirms the existence of a Kenite wor-
ship of Yahweh as follows: ‘Jonadab son of Rechab shall not
lack a descendant to stand before me [Yahweh] for all time’ (Jer.
35.19).29
When considered together, these data suggest that Yahweh was inti-
mately related with the metallurgists from the very discovery of copper
smelting.

Yahweh and Copper Smelting

An essential link between Yahweh and copper is suggested in the book
of Zechariah, where the dwelling of the God of Israel is symbolized by
two mountains of copper (Zech. 6.1-6). In his prophecies, Ezekiel
describes a divine being as ‘a man was there, whose appearance shone
like copper’ (Ezek. 40.3), and in another part of this book, Yahweh is
even explicitly mentioned as being a smelter (Ezek. 22.20).30
In Isa. 54.16, Yahweh is explicitly mentioned as the creator of both
the copperworker and his work: ‘See it is I who have created the smith
who blows the fire of coals, and produces a weapon fit for its purposes’.
Such an involvement of Yahweh is never mentioned elsewhere for other
crafts or human activities.
Extensive use of copper is made in the construction of the ‘tabernacle
of Yahweh’ (Exod. 27) and the Jerusalem temple (1 Kgs 7). In the latter
case, the entrance to the temple is described as being flanked by two
large columns wholly made of copper (termed Boaz and Yakhin, 1 Kgs
7.15-22). These two bronze columns are not pillars supporting the roof
the Temple. Devoid of any architectural function, their presence should

29. This fidelity of smelters and smiths to the initial Yahwistic tradition may explain
why the liberators of Judah, Israel and Jerusalem are depicted as smiths in the book of
Zechariah (Zech. 2.3-4).
30. A similar association is encountered in the book of Zechariah (Zech. 13.9). It is
interesting to notice that these visions are not simple popular metaphors. Both Ezekiel
and Zechariah described processes of metal purification (fractionation through melting
for Ezekiel and cupellation for Zechariah), suggesting that the authors of these two books
had a deep knowledge not only of Yahwistic traditions, but also of metallurgy.

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 AMZALLAG Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy? 395

be considered as purely symbolic. By their outstanding dimensions

(about 9 meters height and 2 meters in circumference), they were the
most prominent symbol of the Temple.31
Interesting evidence of the essential link between Yahweh and copper
metallurgy is provided by the story of the first ‘encounter’ between
Moses and Yahweh on Mt Horeb, near the ‘burning bush’ (Exod. 3),
where it is related that Moses is involved in the mission to deliver the
sons of Israel from Egyptian tyranny. It is also stressed that Moses had to
perform a ‘prodigy’ in order to demonstrate that he acts in the name of
Yahweh (Exod. 4.5). This prodigy is depicted as the reversible transfor-
mation of a matteh into a nahash (Exod. 4.2-5).
The term matteh is generally understood as designating a wood-made
staff, but this meaning is probably secondary. From Isa. 10.15 and Ezek.
19.13-14 it appears that a matteh was formerly a copper scepter hung up
on a wooden staff.32
The term nahash is generally translated as ‘serpent’. However, the
closeness existing in Hebrew between the terms nahash (‘serpent’) and
nehoshet (‘copper’) suggests that nahash may also designate copper.33

31. Also the ‘sea of copper’, another unique masterpiece of art of metallurgy (1 Kgs
7.23-36), is especially reminiscent of the praise of a god of metallurgy. The central
importance of the bronze columns and the sea of bronze is also stressed in 2 Kgs 25:
among the seven verses relating the Temple’s destruction (vv. 9, 10, 13-17), three (vv.
13, 16, 17) are devoted to the removal of the bronze columns and the sea of bronze.
Apparently, this act was considered as the symbol of the Temple’s destruction.
32. The term matteh is explicitly used to designate the wooden staff in Exod. 17.16-
23. But the initial meaning is revealed in Isa. 10.15, when it is asked, ‘Shall the axe vaunt
itself over the one who wields it, or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles
it? As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up, or as of a staff should lift the one who
is not wood!’ If a matteh cannot be hung up without a wooden staff, it is clear that it is
not the wooden staff itself but something that is fitted with it. Furthermore, in his
lamentation about the destruction of Israel, Ezekiel mentions the fact that the staff
supporting the matteh will burn and will provoke a qeyna (Ezek. 19.13-14), a term
designating the smelting of copper (and by extension its melting). This strongly suggests
that the matteh is a copper-scepter. In some cases, traces of wood have been found in the
inner space of the scepter, confirming that such items were probably borne upon wooden
staffs. See P. Bar Adon, The Cave of the Treasure (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society,
1980).
33. The term nahash is also used to designate copper in languages closely related to
Hebrew (Ugaritic, Aramaic, Arabic). In the book of Chronicles, the term nahash is used
once to designate copper: Ir Nahash was a town founded by a descendant of Celoub
(Caleb), a clan of metalworkers (1 Chron. 4.11-12), so that it designates the town where

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396 Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33.4 (2009)

Accordingly, the prodigy performed ‘in the name of Yahweh’ becomes

the transformation of a copper artifact (matteh, the scepter) into melted
copper (nahash, the serpent). It is interesting to notice that such a
‘prodigy’ (occurring not so far from the camp of Jethro the Kenite)
happens after Moses threw his matteh on a hot source, the ‘burning
bush’, which may be a poetic evocation of live charcoal. If the reversible
matteh–nahash conversion is considered in the book of Exodus as a
specific sign of Yahweh, this implies that this deity was intimately asso-
ciated with copper melting,34 at least in the period prior to the Israelite
Alliance.

4. Homology between Yahweh and the Other Gods of Metallurgy

In his comparative study, Forgerons et alchimistes, Mircea Eliade
observed a high level of similarity in way of life and beliefs of metallur-
gists all over the ancient world.35 This singularity has been related to
their mode of organization as a guild of craftsmen travelling very long
distances for trade, copper smelting and mining survey.36 This over-
extended metallurgical network is, at least partly, the source of the broad
degree of homogeneity among the Bronze Age civilizations.37 Strong
similarities are observed between beliefs and traditions of metallurgists
from Bronze Age cultures of Africa, Asia and Europe. Accordingly, we
may expect to find affinities between the god of metallurgy from (among
other places) Egypt, Mesopotamia, Elam and Yahweh, in the event that
he is truly the Canaanite god of copper metallurgy.

copper was smelted or worked (see Abramsky, ‘Ir Nahash’, in Encyclopaedia Biblica, VI
[Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1971], pp. 218-19).
34. The production of molten copper occurs both during the smelting process and
after heating copper ingots for casting. Thus, it is not exclusively related to smelting.
Copper is molten not only during the smelting process (the production of metallic copper
from ore), but also during the re-melting (purification, alloying and casting of the
already-existing metal). However, these activities, being the late stages of production of
copper, may be also integrated into the smelting process.
35. See Eliade, Forgerons et alchimistes, pp. 14-20.
36. See J.D. Muhly, ‘Copper and Tin: The Distribution of Mineral Resources and the
Nature of the Metal Trade in the Bronze Age’ (unpublished PhD dissertation, Yale
University, 1969). See also K. Kristiannsen and T.B. Larsson, The Rise of the Bronze Age
Society: Travels, Transmissions and Transformations (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2005). See also Amzallag, The Copper Revolution, pp. 22-45.
37. See Kristianssen and Larsson, The Rise of the Bronze Age Society.

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 AMZALLAG Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy? 397

The Mysterious Great God

The god of metallurgy generally appears as an outstanding deity. He is
generally involved in the creation of the world and/or the creation of
humans. The overwhelming importance of the god of metallurgy reflects
the central role played by the copper smelters in the emergence of
civilizations throughout the ancient world.
Ptah, the Egyptian god of metallurgy, was considered to be the source
of the Ka, the vital principle dwelling both in gods38 and humans. He was
also contemplated as a mysterious deity devoid of any shape, vitalizing
the world as a whole.39
The Mesopotamian god of metallurgy, Ea/Enki, was one of the three
main deities of the Akkadian pantheon.40 Like Ptah in Egypt, he was
celebrated in Sumerian hymns as ‘the intelligent’, but also as the ‘lonely
god’.41 At Dilmun, he was worshipped as the god that both created the
world42 and opened a new era of prosperity. Ea/Enki was also the god
reigning over the domain of Apsou, through which he ensured a perma-
nent vitalization of the world. Undoubtedly, these attributes conferred on
Ea/Enki an outstanding position among the gods.43
Elam was termed ‘the country of copper’ in Mesopotamia, and archae-
ology has confirmed the central importance of copper metallurgy in the

38. This special status should not be related only to the fact that Ptah was the tutelary
god of Memphis. Amon-Re, the patron of Thebes, was also considered as the creator of
the universe. In order to make this association, the poets had first of all to identify him to
Ptah. In the Theban papyrus 1350, it is written: ‘You [Amon] self-transform in Ta-Tenen
(Ptah) to engender the first deities in the time of origins’ (S. Sauneron and J. Yoyote, ‘La
naissance du monde selon l’Egypte ancienne’, in A.M. Esnoul and P. Garelli (eds.), La
naissance du Monde [Paris: Seuil, 1959], p. 61).
39. See Sauneron and Yoyote, ‘La naissance’, pp. 73-74.
40. H. Koch, ‘Theology and Worship in Elam and Achemenid Iran’, in J.M. Sasson
(ed.), Civilizations of the Ancient Near East (New York: Macmillan, 1995), III, pp. 1959–
65. Ea/Enki was regarded as the ‘father’ of the gods who patronized crafts, but he was
also intimately related to metallurgy. Ea/Enki was the patron of Eridu (the town of Urud,
which means ‘copper’), and also dwelled at Dilmun, a very important centre of metal-
lurgy and copper working during the Bronze Age.
41. S.N. Kramer, ‘Enki and Ninhursag’, BASOR Supplement 1 (1945), vv. 65-66.
42. In the Dilmun myth of creation, Nintu, the earth-goddess, engendered the world
after being impregnated by Enki.
43. A parallel exists between Hayoum (the living), the name given to Ea in the Ebla
texts (see R.R. Stieglitz, ‘Ebla and the Gods of Canaan’, Eblaitica 2 [1990], pp. 79-89)
and Elohim Hayim (the ‘living god’) used to designate Yahweh in the Bible (see 1 Sam.
17.26, 36; Jer. 10.10, 23, 36). A similarity may be also noticed between the Akkadian Ea
and the Canaanite Ya or even Yahu.

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398 Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33.4 (2009)

development of the Elamite civilization.44 Akkadian scribes established a

parallel between Napir (the great deity of Elam) and Ea, confirming that
the Elamite religion is organized around metallurgy. However, beyond
this evidence, the Elamite religion is still poorly understood. 45 This
obscure situation is partly due to the lack of traces of any official cult in
Elam and the lack of representation of the gods. Even the names of the
deities worshiped were generally hidden and replaced by attributes, as
we see with Tempt (‘my lord’), Napir (‘the great’) or Kiririsha (‘the
great goddess’).46 A similar mystery is found in Elam and in South
Canaan concerning the cult related to metallurgy. This mystery features
the lack of figuration of the deity, which is common to Yahweh and to
the Elamite god of metallurgy.

The Bronze Serpent

Cultic bronze serpents are frequently encountered at Dilmun, the land
associated with metallurgy south of Sumer. Bronze serpents have also
been found at Elam, and it seems that Napir, the great god associated
with metallurgy, was symbolized by a human-headed bronze serpent. 47
Enki, the Sumerian homolog of Napir, was also intimately associated
with serpents. Athena, the Greek goddess of crafts, was from ancient
times represented as being associated with snakes. Her son Erechthonios
(also the son of the smith god Hephaestus) was symbolized by a bronze

44. See T.F. Potts. Mesopotamia and the East: An Archaeological and Historical
Study of Foreign Relations 3400–2000 BC (Archaeology Monograph, 37; Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1994).
45. R. Labat (‘Elam, c. 1600–1200 BC’, in The Cambridge Ancient History, II, Part 2
[Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975], pp. 379-416) concluded that ‘The
original bases of the native religion [of Elam] still escape our knowledge’ (p. 416).
Twenty years later, Koch (‘Theology and Worship’) opened his review paper on the
Elamite religion as follows: ‘It is very difficult to say anything certain about Elamite
religion’ (p. 1959).
46. The primordial importance of metallurgy is not restricted to the Near Eastern
traditions. Also in Chinese mythology, the first deities are described as a couple of
burning serpents (dragons, probably homolog to the Canaanite seraphim), Fu-Hi (male
dragon) and Niu-Kua (female dragon). The latter engendered humankind. She has also
instructed Yu the great, the first civilizing hero of China who was strongly associated to
the metal element (as one of the five basic elements of the world). See M. Kaltenmark,
‘La Naissance du monde en Chine’, in Esnoul and Garelli (eds.), La naissance du Monde,
pp. 457-61.
47. Labat, ‘Elam, c. 1600–1200 BC’.

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 AMZALLAG Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy? 399

serpent, and a sacred snake dwelled in the Erechtheum on the Acropolis

of Athens.48
Cultic bronze serpents are also frequently encountered in Canaan. 49
There association with metallurgy is suggested by the discovery of a
bronze serpent in the Midianite shrine of Timna (dating from the end of
the second millennium BCE), near the copper-ore mines.50
According to the books of Kings, a bronze serpent called Nehushtan
was worshipped at Jerusalem until the reign of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 18.4).
Since this cult of a bronze serpent is not explicitly condemned as idolatry
by the author of the book of Kings, it is likely that it was related to the
(former) cult of Yahweh. Furthermore, it is claimed in the book of
Numbers that this bronze serpent was made by Moses ‘in the name of
Yahweh’ (Num. 21.8-9).51
This Nehushtan is termed seraph (‘the burning’) in Num. 21.8. This
appellation may be related to the strong sensation of burning felt follow-
ing the bite of the saw-scaled viper (Echis coloratus), a snake widespread
in south Canaan, while Isaiah mentioned seraphim (‘burning snakes’)
lauding the Israelite deity around his throne (Isa. 6.2-3). In this context,
seraph probably does not evoke a dangerous snake.52 Naming a bronze

48. For testimonies about the serpent cult in the Erechtheum, see R. Parker, ‘Myths
of Early Athens’, in J. Bremmer (ed.), Interpretations of Greek Mythology (London:
Barnes & Noble, 1987), pp. 187-214. See also G. Ferrari, ‘The Ancient Temple on the
Acropolis at Athens’, AJA 106 (2002), pp. 11-35.
49. In Canaan, cultic bronze serpents have been found in cultic areas at Megiddo,
Gezer, Hazor, Tel Mevorakh and Shechem. At Hazor, the two bronze serpents have been
discovered in the holy of holies area of the Temple; see K.R. Joines, ‘The Bronze Serpent
in the Israelite Cult’, JBL 87 (1968), pp. 245-56. According to Mesnil du Buisson (Etude
sur les dieux phéniciens hérités par l’empire romain (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1970), pp. 131-
36, this profusion of cultic bronze serpents suggests that the snake was the symbol of
holiness in Canaan.
50. See B. Rothenberg, ‘The Alveolated Temple of the Timna Valley’, in Israel Am
Vehaaretz (Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv Museum, 1984), pp. 93-100. It seems that this Midianite
sanctuary replaced an Egyptian temple devoted to Hathor, the goddess protecting the
copper-ore mines.
51. This detail indicates that Moses is considered in the Bible both as the founding-
father of the public cult of Yahweh in Israel and as a coppersmith (see G. Garbini, ‘Le
serpent d’airain et Moise’, ZAW 100 [1988], pp. 264-67).
52. According to J. de Savignac (‘Les “seraphim” ’, VT 22 [1972], pp. 320-25), the
seraphim should be assimilated to the Uraeus, the symbol of sanctity in Egypt. A parallel
between the biblical Seraph and the Egyptian winged serpent (also being a symbol of
deity and power) is clearly established by O. Keel (Jahwe-Visionen und Siegelkunst
[Stuttgart: Verlag Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1977], pp. 70-79).

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400 Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33.4 (2009)

serpent ‘burning’ evokes rather the melted copper released from a fur-
nace, which winds on the ground before solidification. Again, in this
case, Yahweh can be seen as strongly related to metallurgy.

Fighting the Gods

Fighting the gods is a common feature in metallurgic traditions.53 In
Greece, the Cyclops (the creatures symbolizing the former metallur-
gists54) are mentioned as the first creatures that revolted against Ouranos,
the main god of the ancient pantheon, and against all the gods.55 Prome-
theus, the one that revealed metallurgy to humankind, was also the hero
that restricted forever the part devoted to the gods in sacrifices.56
The deity patronizing the metal crafts is frequently represented as a
limping god. Bes, an avatar of the Egyptian patron of the smiths, was
depicted with leg malformations. Hephaestus, the patron of the Greek
smiths, was called ‘the famous cripple’ by Homer. Vulcain, his roman
homolog, was also described as a limping god. A similar infirmity
affected Volund, the patron of the Scandinavian smiths.57 The meaning of
this singularity is revealed by the Greek mythology: Hephaestus limped
because Zeus threw him down from the Olympus after he challenged his
authority and that of all the other gods.58
According to the book of Genesis, Jacob had his name changed to
Israel after he successfully fought against a ‘divine being’.59 Here again,

53. Eliade, Forgerons et alchimistes, pp. 54-59.

54. The Cyclops are sometimes depicted as assistants of Hephaestus in his workshop
or as metallurgists dwelling in the volcano of Lipari. See R. Graves, Greek Myths (Paris:
Fayard, rev. French edn, 1967), section 22d, p. 132. See also C. Salles, Quand les dieux
parlaient aux hommes (Paris: Tallandier, 2003), p. 170.
55. Chuvin, La mythologie grecque (Paris: Fayard, 1992), p. 39.
56. This characteristic has been maintained for a long time. In the Dogon mythology
(Western Africa), the first metallurgist is considered as the hero who has challenged the
gods for the benefit of humans (see L. Levi Makarius, Le sacré et la violation des
interdits [Paris: Payot, 1974], p. 128).
57. See Martin, Magie et Magiciens, p. 19. Concerning the initiatory dimension of
the cult of Volund, see also R.L. Dieterle, ‘The Metallurgical Code of the Volundarkvida
and its Theoretical Import’, History of Religions 27 (1987), pp. 1-31.
58. According to Homer (Iliad 1.586-94), it is Zeus who threw him from Olympus.
Another interesting case of limping is reported by Apollodorus (1.6.3), who tells that
Typhon, the serpent god, cut off the leg sinews of Zeus during their fight, provoking his
limping.
59. ‘You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God
and with humans, and have prevailed’ (Gen. 32.28).

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 AMZALLAG Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy? 401

this victory was associated with a mutilation that caused him to limp:
‘When he [the divine being] saw that he did not prevail against him
[Jacob], he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of
joint, as he wrestled with him’ (Gen. 32.25).
This association between the transformation of Jacob into Israel (the
one who fights against gods) and his limping coincides with what is
known in other metallurgical traditions. This suggests that the exclusive-
ness of the cult of Yahweh in Israel is not a late development, which is
generally assumed. Rather, it appears to be rooted in the ancient tradi-
tions and way of thinking of metallurgists.

The Over-extended Domain of Yahweh

It is very interesting to observe that, in the Bible, Yahweh is not
exclusively linked to Israel.60 This point is clearly stressed in the book of
Amos, where it is claimed: ‘On that day…they may possess the remnant
of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name, says the LORD
who does this’ (Amos 9.11-12). Indeed, it appears from many biblical
sources that Yahweh also ‘protects’ the Canaanite alliances of Edom,
Moab and Amon, sometimes against the political interest of the Israelite
Alliance.61
Even more intriguing is the special attention, in the book of Jeremiah,
devoted to the far country of Elam:
I [Yahweh] will terrify Elam before their enemies, and before those who seek
their life; I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, says the LORD. I
will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them; and I will set my
throne in Elam, and destroy their king and officials, says the LORD. But in the
latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, says the LORD (Jer. 49.37-39).

This oracle is amazingly similar to those devoted to Judah and Israel.

Such a commitment concerning Elam suggests that the Elamites were

60. This reality is especially interesting considering that the south of Canaan is
considered to be one of the world’s most ancient centres for metallurgy. See J.D. Muhly,
‘The Beginnings of Metallurgy in the Old World’, in R. Maddin (ed.), The Beginnings of
the Use of Metals and Alloys (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1988), pp. 2-20.
61. It is especially mentioned that the Israelites cannot conquer the lands of Edom,
Moab and Ammon, since Yahweh has given them forever to the sons of Esau (Deut. 2.5)
and Lot (Deut. 2.9, 19). In Jer. 9.24-25, Edom, Moab and Ammon are considered together
with Judah as the circumcised, the peoples of Yahweh. The Amos oracles against Amon,
Moab, Damas or Edom (Amos 1 and 2) not only mention their ‘crimes’ against Judah and
Israel, but also all the ‘crimes’ perpetrated between and among them in regard to
Yahweh.

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402 Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33.4 (2009)

also regarded here as a ‘people of Yahweh’. In this case, however, one

has to assume a homology (if not an identity) between Yahweh and
Napir (‘the great god’), the main deity of Elam, who was also the god of
metallurgy.
A singular statement of commitment of Yahweh towards Egypt
appears in the book of Isaiah: ‘The Lord will strike Egypt, striking and
healing; they will return to the Lord, and he will listen to their supplicants
and heal them’ (Isa. 19.22). A similar promise concerning Yahweh’s
redemption of Egypt is also found in the book of Ezekiel. 62 Moreover,
Egyptians are considered as being circumcised (Jer. 9.24), a detail
generally mentioned in order to distinguish the people belonging to the
Alliance of Yahweh from others. This is mentioned especially con-
cerning the king of Egypt (Ezek. 31.18).63
Memphis was the symbol of unification of Egypt from the beginning
of the First Dynasty. Yet it was also the city of Ptah, the god of
metallurgy. This fact strongly suggests an intimate link between metal-
lurgy and the early kingdom in Egypt.64 A homology between Ptah and
Yahweh is suggested in the book of Isaiah. There (Isa. 19.13), Memphis
is qualified as the ‘city of wisdom’, the same expression used to describe
Edom in Jeremiah (see above). A parallel between Ptah and Yahweh is
clearly observed in the book of Ezekiel: ‘I [Yahweh] will destroy the
idols and put an end to the images in Noph’ (Ezek 30.13). Hence, if
Yahweh ‘intends’ to eliminate idolatry especially from Noph (Memphis),
this is probably in the name of a strong homology with Ptah, the god of
metallurgy intimately related to the city Memphis from its foundation.

62. ‘Further, thus says the Lord GOD. At the end of forty years I will gather the
Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered; and I will restore the
fortunes of Egypt, and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin; and
there they shall be a lowly kingdom’ (Ezek. 29.13-14).
63. It seems that the central importance of circumcision, for the Israelites, may also
be related to metallurgy. This link is revealed by the parallels observed between the
metallurgical traditions from antiquity and those from traditional societies of Africa;
see S. Blakely, Myth, Ritual, and Metallurgy in Ancient Greece and Recent Africa
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). In many of the African mythologies,
circumcision is introduced by the first smelter, and it is still practiced by smiths and
smelters in traditional African societies; see Blakely, Myth, Ritual, and Metallurgy, p. 4;
H. Tegnaeus, Le héros civilisateur (Upsala: Studia Ethnographica Upsaliensa, 1950), pp.
23-29, 50, 104; and Makarius, Le sacré et la violation des interdits, p. 143, and the
references cited there.
64. This may explain why the king of Egypt is depicted in the book of Ezekiel as the
nicest tree of the Garden of Eden (Ezek. 31.9).

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 AMZALLAG Yahweh, the Canaanite God of Metallurgy? 403

According to these considerations, the over-extended domain of

Yahweh should not be regarded as the consequence of a rapid diffusion
of the Israelite religion during the First Temple period. It is rather the
expression of a very ancient homology (if not identity) existing between
the gods of metallurgy during the Bronze Age.

5. Conclusion
The present study reveals a strong parallel existing between Yahweh, as
described in some of the biblical writings, and the gods of metallurgy
known from antiquity. The evidence enables us to challenge the current
paradigm depicting Yahweh as being formerly a tribal deity. While the
current view about the origins of Yahweh is quite unverifiable (naturally,
nothing may be known about the traditions of a small, nomadic Bronze
Age tribe), the assumption that Yahweh was formerly the Canaanite god
of metallurgy is open to testing.65
If confirmed by further investigations, the identification of Yahweh
as the Canaanite god of metallurgy may have significant implications
for the way we approach the history of Israel and the emergence of
monotheism.
First, the worship of Yahweh suddenly emerging with the Israelite
Alliance becomes an Iron Age movement, the popularization of the
beliefs of the Canaanite smelters. In this case, the novelty of the Israelite
Alliance consists of the transformation of the (initiatory) cult of the
Canaanite guild of copper smelters into a public cult.
Second, the uncompromising attitude observed in Israel towards
deities other than Yahweh becomes a resurgence of a very ancient tradi-
tion, that of the Canaanite smelters, challenging the current gradualist
view of emergence of monotheism from monolatry and henotheism.
Third, it seems that many of the biblical writings include traces of
very ancient traditions, including those of the Canaanite metallurgists
from the Bronze Age. Their identification and their comparison with
other metallurgical traditions may be a tool that can be used in the
identification of the various strata of redaction of the biblical texts.

65. The hypothesis of the Kenite origin of Yahwism had already been formulated in
earlier scholarship. However, the absence of reliable information about metallurgical
traditions in antiquity meant that this assumption was considered improvable; see R. de
Vaux, ‘Sur l’origine kenite ou madianite du Yahwisme’, ErIs 9 (1969), pp. 28-32.

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404 Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 33.4 (2009)

Today, metallurgy is considered only as a craft, making it difficult to

believe that Yahweh was formerly the god of metallurgy. In addition, our
ignorance of this reality results from the exclusion of almost all direct
evidence linking Yahweh to metallurgy in the biblical writings. How-
ever, as shown by the sources cited in this study, something about the
‘metallurgic roots’ of Yahwism was certainly known at least by the
authors of the book of Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Kings, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Obadiah, Habakkuk, Zechariah and Job. For
this reason, the hiatus existing in the Bible concerning the former
identity of Yahweh should be considered as intentional. Understanding
the source of this attitude may certainly help to elucidate many obscure
points in the emergence of monotheism in Israel.

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