The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel

by Mark S. Smith

Overview

Foreword by Patrick D. Miller

In this remarkable, acclaimed history of the development of monotheism, Mark S. Smith explains how Israel's religion evolved from a cult of Yahweh as a primary deity among many to a fully defined monotheistic faith with Yahweh as sole god. Repudiating the traditional view that Israel was fundamentally different in culture and religion from its Canaanite neighbors, this provocative book argues that Israelite religion developed, at least in part, from the religion of Canaan. Drawing on epigraphic and archaeological sources, Smith cogently demonstrates that Israelite religion was not an outright rejection of foreign, pagan gods but, rather, was the result of the progressive establishment of a distinctly separate Israelite identity. This thoroughly revised second edition ofThe Early History of God includes a substantial new preface by the author and a foreword by Patrick D. Miller.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802839725
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	08/03/2002
Series:	The Biblical Resource Series (BRS)
Edition description:	2ND
Pages:	289
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.74(d)

About the Author

Mark S. Smith is Helena Professor of Old Testament Literature and Exegesis at Princeton Theological Seminary. His other books include The Memoirs of God: History, Memory, and the Experience of the Divine and Where the Gods Are: Spatial Dimensions of Anthropomorphism in the Biblical World.

Table of Contents

	Foreword to the Second Edition	x
	Preface to the Second Edition	xii
1.	Recent Research on Deities	xii
2.	Important Trends since 1990	xvi
3.	Theoretical Challenges	xxii
4.	Asherah/asherah Revisited	xxx
5.	In Retrospect	xxxvi
	Acknowledgments (First Edition)	xxxix
	Abbreviations and Sigla	xlii
	Introduction	1
1.	The Question of Understanding Israelite Religion	1
2.	Presuppositions in This Study	14
Chapter 1	Deities in Israel in the Period of the Judges	19
1.	Israel's "Canaanite" Heritage	19
2.	Yahweh and El	32
3.	Yahweh and Baal	43
4.	Yahweh and Asherah	47
5.	Convergence of Divine Imagery	54
6.	Convergence in Israelite Religion	57
7.	Israel and Its Neighbors	60
Chapter 2	Yahweh and Baal	65
1.	Baal Worship in Israel	65
2.	Imagery of Baal and Yahweh	80
3.	The Role of the Monarchy	91
4.	Excursus: Yahweh and Anat	101
Chapter 3	Yahweh and Asherah	108
1.	Distribution in the Biblical Record	108
2.	The Symbol of the Asherah	111
3.	The Inscriptional Evidence	118
4.	Asherah--An Israelite Goddess?	125
5.	The Assimilation of the Imagery of Asherah	133
6.	Excursus: Gender Language for Yahweh	137
Chapter 4	Yahweh and the Sun	148
1.	The Biblical Record	148
2.	The Role of the Monarchy	153
3.	The Assimilation of Solar Imagery	158
Chapter 5	Yahwistic Cultic Practices	160
1.	Yahwistic Cultic Symbols and Sites	160
2.	Practices Associated with the Dead	162
3.	The mlk Sacrifice	171
Chapter 6	The Origins and Development of Israelite Monotheism	182
1.	The Period of the Judges	184
2.	The First Half of the Monarchy	185
3.	The Second Half of the Monarchy	189
4.	The Exile	191
5.	Israelite Monotheism in Historical Perspective	195
Chapter 7	Postscript: Portraits of Yahweh	200
1.	Processes Leading to Divine Portraiture in Israel	200
2.	The Absence of Some Canaanite Divine Roles in the Biblical Record	202
	Indexes of Texts	208
	Biblical Citations	208
	Intertestamental Texts	219
	Post-Biblical Jewish References	219
	Texts from Ugarit	219
	Other Near Eastern Inscriptions	221
	Classical	223
	Index of Authors	225
	General Index	238

Editorial Reviews

Journal of Biblical Literature
"Smith deserves a very careful and appreciative hearing. . . This book provides a feast for the attentive reader and concerned scholar."

The Christian Century
"Smith assembles and analyzes a tremendous array of archaeological and textual evidence to challenge the notion of Israel's religious distinctiveness. . . The implications of this insight for theological reflection on Judaism are incalculable."

Catholic Biblical Quarterly
"It is rare to find a book so steeped in the primary evidence of texts and history and so thoroughly conversant with the nuances of recent scholarly discussion. . . Smith's admirable erudition and discerning judgment will make this book required reading for present and future generations of biblical scholars and students."

Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"The notes are a treasury of information and resources for scholars, yet the treatment is one that an informed reader can follow. . . One is left with both respect for Smith's contribution and also a clear awareness of how it cuts against the basic grain of the biblical text itself."

From the Publisher