Nuha (deity)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Nuha is a

Shams
was her equivalent.

Meaning

Nuha, from the triconsonantal Semitic root N-H-Y, may mean "the ultimate".[1] An early Akkadian inscription from the annals of the kings of Assyria mention Nuha with the epithet "the elevated sun".[1] While this reference can be read literally to mean that Nuha was associated with the sun, it can also be read metaphorically as a reference to special kind of wisdom.[1]

Worship

Dierk Lange writes that Nuha formed part of a

moon deity, and Atarsamain the main deity was associated with Venus.[2]

A trinity of gods representing the sun, moon and Venus is also found among the peoples of the South Arabian kingdoms of

Amm and Sin.[2]

Inscriptions

Inscriptions in a North Arabian dialect in the region of Najd referring to Nuha describe emotions as a gift from her and the other gods. For example, one reads, "by Nuha is the flying into a rage", while another reads, "by Nuha is the jealousy of a lover".[3] Other inscriptions indicate that all things good and bad were thought to come from the gods, such as in the inscription".[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Retsö, 2003, p. 602.
  2. ^ a b c d Lange, 2004, pp. 268-269.
  3. ^ a b Hoyland, 2001, p. 207.

Bibliography

  • Hoyland, Robert G. (2001), Arabia and the Arabs: from the Bronze Age to the coming of Islam (Illustrated, reprint ed.), Routledge,
  • Lange, Dierk (2004), Ancient kingdoms of West Africa: African-centred and Canaanite-Israelite perspectives : a collection of published and unpublished studies in English and French, J.H.Röll Verlag,
  • Retsö, Jan (2003), The Arabs in antiquity: their history from the Assyrians to the Umayyads (Illustrated ed.), Routledge,