The identity of the emissary of YHWH

The emissary of YHWH is such an enigmatic figure that even his theological reality has been questioned. However, comparative mythol-ogy reveals his affinity with the Ugaritic Koshar, the Tyrian Melqart, and the Greek figures of Heracles and Melikertes. All these deities display an essen-tial link to copper metallurgy, a feature revealing that their interrelation with the emissary of YHWH is not incidental. Rather, such a common linkage, to-gether with few Biblical indications, enables to identify him as the smith-god. It is concluded that the emissary of YHWH is an independent divine figure of the Israelite theology, who was not officially worshipped though he inter-vened frequently towards the Israelites. This discovery enables us to recon-sider the singularity of the Israelite religion. While the neighbor peoples wor-shipped the divine emissary, it appears here that the Israelites elaborated a theological utopia in which the people as a whole, and not only a small elite of kings, priests and smelters, were assumed to turn directly to the supreme deity.