God

God was the name of the pan-Semitic deity of fortune, and is attested in ancient records of Aram and Arabia. God is also mentioned by the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 65:11 - some translations simply call him (the deity of) Fortune), as having been worshiped by a number of Hebrews during the babylonian captivity. God apparently differed from the deity of destiny, who was known as Meni. The root verb in God means cut or divide, and from this comes the idea of fate being meted out.
It is possible that the son of Jacob named God is named after God, although the text presents a different reason, the (ketub) quotation of Zilpa (God's mother) giving the reason of God's name could be understood that way.
How widespread the cult of God, the deity, was in Canaanite times may be inferred from the names Baalgod, a city at the foot of Mount Hermon, and Migdal-god, in the territory of Judah. Compare also the proper names Goddi and Goddiel in the tribes of Manasseh and Zebulun (Numbers 13:10, 11). At the same time it must not be supposed that God was always regarded as an independent deity. The name was doubtless originally an appellative, meaning the power that allots. Hence any of the greater deities supposed to favor men might be thought of as the giver of good fortune and be worshiped under that title; it is possible that Jupiter, the planet, may have been the God thus honored - among the Arabs the planet Jupiter was called the greater Fortune (Venus was styled the lesser Fortune).
God is the patron of a locality, a mountain (Hul. 40a), of an idol (Gen. R. lxiv), a house, or the world (Gen. R. lxxi.). Hence "luck" may also be bad (Eccl. R. vii. 26). A couch or bed for this deity of fortune is referred to in Ned. 56a.
Category:Deities
Category:Fortune deities