Yam (god) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Yam, from the Canaanite word Yam, (Hebrew ים) meaning "Sea", also written "Yaw", is one name of the Ugarit

Ugarit

Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...

ic god of Rivers and Sea. Also titled Judge Nahar
Nahar
Nahar may refer to:* Chechen nahar or naxar, a currency that Chechen separatists planned for Chechen Republic of Ichkeria* Lord Nahar, a character in The Echorium Sequence fantasy trilogy by Katherine Roberts...

("Judge River"), he is also one of the 'ilhm (Elohim) or sons of El, the name given to the Levant

Levant

The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...

ine pantheon

Pantheon (gods)

A pantheon is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a...

. Others dispute the existence of the alternative names, claiming it is a mistranslation of a damaged tablet. Despite linguistic overlap, theologically this god is not a part of the later subregional monotheistic theology, but rather is part of a broader and archaic Levantine polytheism

Polytheism

Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....

.

Yam is the deity of the primordial chaos

Chaos (mythology)

Chaos refers to the formless or void state preceding the creation of the universe or cosmos in the Greek creation myths, more specifically the initial "gap" created by the original separation of heaven and earth....

and represents the power of the sea untamed and raging; he is seen as ruling storms and the disasters they wreak. The gods cast out Yam from the heavenly mountain Sappan (modern Jebel Aqra; "Sappan" is cognate

Cognate

In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...

to Tsephon

Zephon (angel)

In the Book of Enoch, Zephon, also Zepho was an angel, sent by the archangel Gabriel together with Ithuriel, to find out the location of Satan after his Fall....

. The seven-headed dragon

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

Lotan

Lotan or Lawtan is the seven-headed sea serpent or dragon of Ugaritic myths. He is either a pet of the god Yamm or an aspect of Yamm himself; the cosmic ocean of myth is often known as a great stream. In the Hebrew analogue Lotan is who was also known as Yam the Leviathan. He represents the mass...

is associated closely with him and the serpent
Serpent (symbolism)
Serpent in Latin means: Rory Collins :&, in turn, from the Biblical Hebrew word of: "saraf" with root letters of: which refers to something burning-as, the pain of poisonous snake's bite was likened to internal burning.This word is commonly used in a specifically mythic or religious context,...

is frequently used to describe him. He is the Canaanite equivalent of the Sumerian Tiamat

Tiamat

In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû to produce younger gods. It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is 'creatrix', through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water,...

, the primordial mother goddess.

Of all the gods, despite being the champion of El

EL, El or el may refer to:* El , a Semitic word for "God"; also a senior god mentioned in the Ugarit and Ebla texts found in ancient Syria.* El , a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet* El , the letter L...

, Yam holds special hostility against Baal

Baal

Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...

Hadad

Haddad was a northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the Akkadian god Adad. Hadad was often called simply Ba‘al , but this title was also used for other gods. The bull was the symbolic animal of Hadad. He appeared as a bearded deity, often shown as holding a club and...

, son of Dagon

Dagon

Dagon was originally an Assyro-Babylonian fertility god who evolved into a major northwest Semitic god, reportedly of grain and fish and/or fishing...

. Yam is a deity of the sea and his palace is in the abyss

Tartarus

In classic mythology, below Uranus , Gaia , and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros . It is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld. In the Gorgias, Plato In classic mythology, below Uranus (sky), Gaia (earth), and Pontus...

associated with the depths, or Biblical tehwom, of the oceans. (This is not to be confused with the abode of Mot

Mot

In Ugaritic Mot 'Death' is personified as a god of death. The word is cognate with forms meaning 'death' in other Semitic and Afro-Asiatic languages: with Arabic موت mawt; with Hebrew מות ; with Maltese mewt; with Syriac mautā; with Ge'ez mot; with Canaanite, Egyptian Aramaic, Nabataean, and...

, the ruler of the netherworlds.) In Ugaritic texts, Yam's special enemy Hadad is also known as the "king of heaven" and the "first born son" of El

El (god)

is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "deity", cognate to Akkadian and then to Hebrew : Eli and Arabic )....

, whom ancient Greeks identified with their god Cronus

Cronus

In Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky...

, just as Baal was identified with Zeus

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

, Yam with Poseidon

Poseidon

Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...

and Mot with Hades

Hades

Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...

. Yam wished to become the Lord god in his place. In turns the two beings kill each other, yet Hadad is resurrected and Yam also returns. Some authors have suggested that these tales reflect the experience of seasonal cycles in the Levant.

Speculative similarities in other traditions

"Yam, Judge Nahar" also has similarities with Mesopotamian Tiamat

Tiamat

and Abzu

Abzu

The abzu also called engur, literally, ab='ocean' zu='to know' or 'deep' was the name for fresh water from underground aquifers that was given a religious quality in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology...

and the battle between Yam and Baal (the Storm God) resembles the battle in Hurrian and Hittite mythology

Hittite mythology

Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that would give a balanced view of Hittite religion are lacking among the tablets recovered at the Hittite capital Hattusa and other Hittite sites: "there are no canonical scriptures, no theological disquisitions or...

between the sky God Teshub

Teshub

Teshub was the Hurrian god of sky and storm. He was derived from the Hattian Taru. His Hittite and Luwian name was Tarhun , although this name is from the Hittite root *tarh- to defeat, conquer.- Depiction and myths :He is depicted holding a triple...

(or Tarhunt) with the serpent Illuyanka

Illuyanka

In Hittite mythology, Illuyanka was a serpentine dragon slain by Tarhunt , the Hittite incarnation of the Hurrian god of sky and storm. It is known from Hittite cuneiform tablets found at Çorum-Boğazköy, the former Hittite capital Hattusa...

. In this respect the battle with Baal resembles the battle between Tiamat

Tiamat

and Enlil

Enlil

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...

and Babylonian Marduk

Marduk

Marduk was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi , started to...

. In the case of Yam, however, there is no indication that he was slain, as it appears from the texts that he was put to sleep through the intervention of Baal's "sister" and wife, Anath.

Moreover, a comparison with the evil Jörmungandr

Jörmungandr

In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr , mostly known as Jormungand, orJörmungand , or Midgard Serpent , or World Serpent, is a sea serpent, and the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and the god Loki...

(Norse

Norsemen

Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...

world-serpent and deity of the sea

Sea

A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...

) is accurate, given his description. Like Yam and Hadad, he and Thor

Thor

In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...

(son of Odin

Odin

Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....

) slay each other at the end of the world (Ragnarök

Ragnarök

In Norse mythology, Ragnarök is a series of future events, including a great battle foretold to ultimately result in the death of a number of major figures , the occurrence of various natural disasters, and the subsequent submersion of the world in water...

or Twilight of the Gods).

There are also many similarities with the Egyptian chaos serpent, Apep

Apep

In Egyptian mythology, Apep was an evil god, the deification of darkness and chaos , and thus opponent of light and Ma'at , whose existence was believed from the 8th Dynasty onwards...

and his animosity with the sun god Ra

Ra is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...

. They are described as eternally slaying each other.

In addition, the serpent-Titan

Titan (mythology)

In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age....

Typhon

Typhon , also Typhoeus , Typhaon or Typhos was the last son of Gaia, fathered by Tartarus, and the most deadly monster of Greek mythology. He was known as the "Father of all monsters"; his wife Echidna was likewise the "Mother of All Monsters."Typhon was described in pseudo-Apollodorus,...

battled the god Zeus

Zeus

over Olympus and was cast into the pits of the Earth.

Yam shares many characteristics with Greco-Roman Ophion

Ophion

In some versions of Greek mythology, Ophion , also called Ophioneus ruled the world with Eurynome before the two of them were cast down by Cronus and Rhea.-Sources:...

, the serpentine Titan

Titan (mythology)

In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age....

of the sea whom Cronus

Cronus

In Greek mythology, Cronus or Kronos was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky...

cast out of the heavenly Mt. Olympus.

The story is also analogus to the war between the serpent Vritra

Vritra

In the early Vedic religion, Vritra , is an Asura and also a serpent or dragon, the personification of drought and enemy of Indra. Vritra was also known in the Vedas as Ahi...

and the god Indra

Indra

' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...

, son of the 'Sky Father' Dyaus Pita

Dyaus Pita

In the Vedic pantheon ' or ' or Dyaus Pitar is the Sky Father, divine consort of the Prithvi and father of Agni, Indra , and Ushas, the daughter representing dawn. In archaic Vedic lore, Dyauṣ Pitṛ and Prithivi Matṛ were one, single composite dvandva entity, named as the Dyavaprthivi...

"Yw" in the Baal Cycle

At least one writer has pointed out, regarding the occurrence of "Yw" in the Baal Cycle, that one possible vocalization is "Yaw", and thus may possibly have etymological ties to YHWH of the Hebrew Old Testament. In this case the struggle between Yam/Yaw and Baal, prefigures that mentioned between the priests of Baal and the priests of Yahweh, led by Elijah, at Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18.

In the Epic of Ba'al

In the Epic of Ba'al El

El (god)

is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "deity", cognate to Akkadian and then to Hebrew : Eli and Arabic )....

king of the Gods appoints Yam to fight Hadad

Hadad

, Baal of heaven. KTU

KTU

KTU may refer to:*The Korean Teachers & Education Workers' Union, a labor union of teachers in South Korea*Key Telephone Unit, a piece of telephone equipment*KTU , a Finnish band featuring members of King Crimson and Kluster...

1.2 iv reads:

"I, myself, Kindly `El the Beneficent, have taken you upon my hands.

I proclaim your name.

Yam is your name,

Your name is Beloved of `El, Yam."

"[Go against] the hand of the Mighty Baal Most High (´Aliyan

Elyon

Elyon is an epithet of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible. is usually rendered as English "God Most High"....

Ba´al

Baal

Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...

) —

Because he spoke ill to me —

[And] drive him from the throne of his kingship,

From the resting place,

the cushion on the seat of his dominion.

But if then you do not drive him from his throne of kingship,

from the seat of his dominion,

He will beat you like...

He slaughters oxen and sheep.

He fells bulls and fatted rams, yearling calves,

sheep by the flock, he sacrifices kids."

Now Mighty Baal, son of Dagon, desired the kingship of the Gods. He contended with Prince Yam-Nahar, the Son of El. But Kindly El, Father Shunem, decided the case in favour of His son; He gave the kingship to Prince Yam. He gave the power to Judge Nahar.

Fearsome Yam came to rule the Gods with an iron fist. He caused Them to labor and toil under His reign. They cried unto Their mother, Asherah, Lady of the Sea. They convinced Her to confront Yam, to interceed in Their behalf.

Asherah went into the presence of Prince Yam. She came before Judge Nahar. She begged that He release His grip upon the Gods Her sons. But Mighty Yam declined Her request. She offered favours to the Tyrant. But Powerful Nahar softened not His heart.

Finally, Kindly Asherah, who loves Her children, offered Herself to the God of the Sea. She offered Her own body to the Lord of Rivers.

Yam-Nahar agreed to this, and Asherah returned to the Source of the Two Rivers. She went home to the court of El. She came before the Divine Council, and spoke of Her plan to the Gods Her children.

Baal was infuriated by Her speech. He was angered at the Gods who would allow such a plot. He would not consent to surrendering Great Asherah to the Tyrant Yam-Nahar. He swore to the Gods that He would destroy Prince Yam.

He would lay to rest the tyranny of Judge Nahar.

Ba'al Hadad warns Yam that the gods will not allow him to usurp the throne of heaven. In KTU 1.2 iii, he warns:

"From your throne of kingship you shall be driven,

from the seat of your dominion cast out!

On your head be Ayamari (Driver) O Yam,

Between your shoulders Yagarish (Chaser), O Judge Nahar

May Horon split open, O Yam,

may Horon smash your head,

´Athtart-Name-of-the-Lord thy skull!

After a great war in heaven involving many of the gods, Yam is roundly defeated:

And the weapon springs from the hand of Baal,

Like a raptor from between his fingers.

It strikes the skull of Prince Yam,

between the eyes of Judge Nahar.

Yahm collapses, he falls to the earth;

His joints quiver, and his spine shakes.

Thereupon Baal drags out Yam and would rend him to pieces;

he would make an end of Judge Nahar.

However, Athtart pleads for Yam, who acknowledges the Lord as king of heaven:

Then up speaks Yam: "Lo, I am as good as dead! Surely, Baal now reigns as king!"

Hadad holds a great feast, but not long afterwards he battles Mot

Mot

(death) and through his mouth he descends to his realm

Hades

below the earth. Yet like Yam, Death too is defeated and in h. I AB iii the Lord arises from the dead:

For alive is Mighty Baal,

Revived is the Prince, Master of Earth."

'El calls to the Virgin Anat:

"Hearken, O maiden Anat

Anat

Anat, also ‘Anat is a major northwest Semitic goddess.-‘Anat in Ugarit:In the Ugaritic Ba‘al/Hadad cycle ‘Anat is a violent war-goddess, a virgin in Ugarit though the sister and lover of the great Ba‘al known as Hadad elsewhere. Ba‘al is usually called the son of Dagon and sometimes the son of El....

!"Lilinah biti-´Anat, The Myth of Baal, "Baal Battles Yahm" (1997). (Accessed 2006.2.15). This site has an unusually complete online text based on several scholarly versions cited.

Speculative similarities in other traditions

"Yw" in the Baal Cycle

In the Epic of Ba'al

See also

External links