Was the worship of Yahweh truly exclusive to Israel, or does the truth run deeper into the forgotten history of ancient African and Near Eastern civilizations? In this eye-opening documentary, we uncover compelling evidence and untold stories about the worship of Yahweh before the formation of the nation of Israel — with a special focus on Black and indigenous peoples often erased from mainstream biblical narratives.
Explore ancient texts, archaeological records, and cultural traditions that point to the early reverence of Yahweh in regions such as Nubia, Cush, and Kemet (Egypt). This powerful presentation challenges conventional theology and invites you to rediscover spiritual roots lost in time. The Shasu were ancient African-Semitic-speaking nomadic groups, primarily known from Egyptian sources, who inhabited the Southern Levant from the late Bronze Age - 3300 to the Early Iron Age 1200 BCE. The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory and progressing to protohistory. In this usage, it is preceded by the Stone Age and Bronze Age.
They were tent dwellers, organized in clans, and often described as brigands or mercenaries, particularly active in the areas between the Jezreel Valley and Ashkelon, in Transjordan, and the Sinai. The term "Shasu of Yahweh" appears in Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, suggesting a connection between the Shasu and the God Yahweh. Though their homeland seems to be in the Transjordan, the Shasu also appear in Canaan, Syria and even Egypt.
The term "Shasu" in ancient Egyptian is thought to mean "nomads" or "Bedouin," and they are linked to the Edomites, a Semitic people, closely related to the Israelites, who inhabited the region of Edom, located in present-day southwestern Jordan and parts of southern Israel. and the "land of the Shasu of Yahweh," which is the oldest known reference to the God Yahweh outside of the Old Testament.
Edomites were known for their frequent conflicts with the Israelites, particularly during the period of the Israelite kingdom. They were also known for their copper industry and the strategic location of their territory on trade routes. The Edomites first established a kingdom ("Edom") in the southern area of modern-day Jordan and later migrated into the southern parts of the Kingdom of Judah ("Idumea", modern-day Mount Hebron) when Judah was first weakened and then destroyed by the Babylonians in the 6th century BC.
The first occurrence of Shasu is in the biographical inscription of Admiral Ahmose found in Elkab, who claims to have taken Shasu prisoners while serving Pharaoh Aakheperenre Thutmose II. The Shasu were on his way as he led a punitive expedition north.
