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The relationship between Jesus’ teachings and the portrayal of Yahweh in the Hebrew Scriptures has long been a topic of theological debate.
A closer look reveals a striking absence of explicit references to Yahweh in Jesus’ teachings. Instead, Jesus consistently refers to God as “Abba” (Father), which raises the question: Did Jesus recognize Yahweh as the God he referred to as his Father?
Yahweh was deliberately inserted
In the 6th century BCE, during the Babylonian exile, the name Yahweh was deliberately inserted throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. This editorial decision blurred distinctions between different entities mentioned in these texts.
Elohim, for instance, originally denoted a plurality of divine beings, yet later interpretations equated Elohim with Yahweh. By overlaying Yahweh’s name across various narratives, the Hebrew Scriptures gave the impression of a singular deity responsible for all actions—benevolent or wrathful—across the biblical timeline.
This conflation made it challenging for later readers to discern the original context of these texts.
Distinctions between various divine figures, including Elohim, El Elyon, and Yahweh, were effectively erased.
This editorial maneuvering may explain why Jesus, centuries later, distanced his teachings from the Yahweh-centric narratives of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Jesus’ Concept of God: Abba, the Father
Unlike the Yahweh of the Hebrew Scriptures, often depicted as wrathful and punitive, Jesus’ depiction of God is one of compassion and intimacy. He frequently refers to God as “Abba,” an Aramaic term for “Father” that conveys a sense of closeness and trust.
In a striking contrast to Yahweh’s actions in the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus describes a God who is inherently good, loving, and nurturing.
For example, in Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus asks, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
This teaching directly challenges the portrayal of Yahweh as a deity who tested his followers with harsh trials and punishments.
For instance, in Exodus 17:6-7, Yahweh tests the Israelites by denying them water until Moses strikes the rock at Horeb.
Similarly, Numbers 21:6 describes Yahweh sending venomous snakes to punish the Israelites. By emphasizing God’s goodness, Jesus implicitly critiques the harshness associated with Yahweh and redefines the concept of divine fatherhood.
When I go to the teachings of Jesus, I see a great difference. Yahweh was all about: “You worship me and nobody else because I’m a jealous God.” And Jesus said: “I didn’t come to be served; I came to help you.”
Yahweh believes that he can micromanage us to the point of telling us what we can eat and not eat, whereas in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus declares all foods clean.
Yahweh is unforgiving and will not be reasoned with, and Jesus says: “Your sins are forgiven.”
Yahweh is all about: “You follow my orders to the letter even if they don’t make sense to you.” And there comes a moment when his king, King David, is nearing the point where he might question Yahweh’s orders. What he does is he counts his armies because he’s now old enough that he only wants to fight winnable wars. So he counts his troops—a very sensible thing to do. But for Yahweh, that’s just too close to weighing up his instructions. You do not think for yourself; you do not use your own mind; you do not trust in your own judgment; you trust in Yahweh with all your heart. And as a punishment for thinking for himself, Yahweh slaughters 70,000 of David’s troops.
Now contrast that with what Jesus says, because in his first message that he toured with for a year—according to the Gospel of Matthew—Jesus not only encourages us to use our own minds, but he says: “Go beyond the mind”—the root meaning says this: “go beyond the mind because the whole cosmic realm is available to you.” That’s the Kingdom of Heaven: the whole cosmic realm is available to you.
Elsewhere in the Gospel of Matthew—and you can find it in the Gospel of Thomas as well, the earliest Christian source according to many scholars—he says: “The whole of the cosmic realm is within you.” Now can you imagine a more profound invitation to explore what’s possible than that?
So on the one hand, you have Yahwism, where your role and my role is only to obey and worship and do what we’re told. And Jesus here is saying: “Explore what’s possible. The things you’ve seen me do—these and even greater things will you do—because the whole of the cosmic realm is available to you.” One is demeaning, diminishing, disempowering; and the other is empowering, invitational, and inspiring.
Paul Wallis
The Elohim and the Separation from Yahweh
Jesus’ silence on Yahweh and the Elohim offers further insight. If Jesus had intended to align himself with the Yahweh-centric narrative, he would have invoked Yahweh’s name or referenced the Elohim explicitly.
Instead, his teachings focus on a universal and loving Father, distinct from the tribal deity depicted in many Yahweh stories.
Consider Jesus’ statement in John 8:44:
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.”
John 8:44
This remark, when interpreted in the context of Yahweh’s violent actions in the Hebrew Scriptures—such as commanding the slaughter of entire populations (e.g., 1 Samuel 15:3) or sending venomous snakes to punish the Israelites (Numbers 21:6)—raises the possibility that Jesus implicitly associated Yahweh’s actions with a malevolent force.
By contrasting Yahweh’s punitive nature with his concept of a loving and forgiving Father, Jesus may have been pointing to a fundamental separation, suggesting that Yahweh was not the God he identified as “Abba,” but rather an entity with characteristics akin to those he attributed to the devil.
The two covenants
In Galatians 4, Paul provides a striking contrast between two covenants, which can be interpreted as an implicit critique of Yahweh’s role in the Hebrew Scriptures. He writes about the allegory of Hagar and Sarah, stating, “Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother” (Galatians 4:25-26). By associating Mount Sinai—the site where Yahweh gave the Law—with slavery, Paul subtly critiques the harsh, legalistic framework associated with Yahweh.
Paul’s emphasis on freedom in Christ contrasts with the bondage of the Law, symbolized by Hagar. This contrast aligns with Jesus’ teachings, which focus on a loving Father rather than a strict enforcer of legal codes. The “Jerusalem above” represents a divine, spiritual relationship—one that resonates with Jesus’ concept of God as Abba. Paul’s allegory underscores the fundamental separation between the punitive covenant of Yahweh and the liberating message of Jesus and his Father.
Reclaiming the Original Message
Understanding Jesus’ teachings in this context sheds light on the deliberate confusion introduced into the Hebrew Scriptures. By conflating Yahweh with Elohim and other divine figures, editors of the 6th century BCE created a monolithic narrative that Jesus’ teachings later challenged. Jesus’ concept of God—a loving, compassionate Father—starkly contrasts the punitive and often capricious nature of Yahweh as depicted in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Jesus’ refusal to recognize Yahweh as his Father suggests he sought to redirect humanity’s understanding of the divine.
By emphasizing love, forgiveness, and compassion, he offered a vision of God that transcended the limitations of the Yahweh-centric narratives. This shift invites modern readers to reexamine the Scriptures with fresh eyes and question long-held assumptions about the nature of God.
In doing so, we may uncover a richer, more nuanced understanding of Jesus’ teachings and their implications for spirituality today.
The Good Sheperd vs the Benevolent Sheperd
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:11
Is Jesus pointing a finger here? When did shepherds not take good care of their flock, we find the answer in the Old Testament.
“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.”
Ezekiel 34:2–4
Here, the “shepherds” are Israel’s leaders (kings, priests, prophets) who exploited the people instead of protecting them. Another interesting observation about the characteristics of these gods or leaders is the following:
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! declares Yahweh. Therefore, this is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done.”
Jeremiah 23:1–2
