Explorations in Bible lands during the 19th century - H. V. Hilprecht

this
DURING l'JTH CENTURY: ARABIA 747
in the holiness of the "name Yahve " among the Hebrews
and of the name of the god Ya among the Babylonians,
who adopted this adoration from the Arabians of Ur.
It may now be regarded as certain that this surname for the
god of the earth and sea, viz., Ea, or rather Ya, is only
secondary, originally meaning rather " moon." No less certain
is it that in ancient times the Semitic moon-worship was
universal in Arabia, and that this country was its real home. 1
How vivid, especially in Kdom and the country east of
the Jordan, were the reminiscences of a former and far closer
connection between the Arab tribes extending from the
banks of the Euphrates through Central Arabia to the
Jordan, is
seen in the Book of Job, which in this respect is
unique among the books of the Old Testament, and which
Professor Sayce regards as really a Hebrew adaptation of a
remnant of Edomite literature. Its historic background, at
all events, is pictured with such remarkable fidelity as would
have been impossible to invent in the later period of the
Exile. Three kings (according to the Septuagint) appear
there as friends of the powerful Edomite chief Job 2 of the
land of Us c : Eliphaz from Teman (between Edom and
Midian), Bildad (Bir-Dadda) from Shukh (on the west bank
of the Euphrates, north of the Kaldu district), and Zophar
from Ma'an. 3 There is present a fourth person, Elihu from
1
This subject is discussed bv Hommel in " The Ancient Hebrew Tradition,"
pp. 65, seq. (Ea and Sin synonyms), and in "The Expository
Times," Oct., 1898 (Ea the same name as Ya, the basis for the Mosaic
name Yahve). Comp. G. Margoliouth, "The Earliest Religion of the
Ancient Hebrews: A New Theorv," in "The Contemporary Review,"
Oct., 1898 (the names of Ea and Yahve identical, and the next significant
step, Yahve also originallv Moon-god); and finallv the reader is referred to
Hommel' s article in "The Expository Times," Dec, 1898 ("Yahve, Ea,
and Sin "), now supplemented and confirmed bv the above statements.
2
Comp. the name Avab on one of the Tell el-'Amarna tablets (Hommel,
"The Ancient Hebrew Tradition," p. 261).
3
The Septuagint read Mivaios.