The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts - Hardcover

Smith, Mark S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 019513480X ISBN 13: 9780195134803

Publisher: OUP USA, 2001

Synopsis

As the Bible tells us, ancient Israel's neighbours worshipped a wide variety of Gods. It is now widely accepted that the Israelites' God, Yahweh, must have originated as among these many, before assuming the role of the one true God of monotheism. Mark Smith here seeks to discover more precisely what was meant by 'divinity' in the ancient near-East, and how these concepts apply to Yahweh. Part One of the book offers a detailed examination of the deities of ancient Ugarit, known to us from the large surviving group of relevant extra-biblical texts. In Part Two, Smith looks closely at four classic problems associated with four Ugaritic deities, and considers how they affect our understanding of Yahweh. At the end of the book he returns to the question of Israelite monotheism, seeking to discover what religious issues it addressed, and why it made sense at the time of its emergence. He argues that within the Bible, monotheism is not a separate 'stage' of religion but rather represents a kind of rhetoric reinforcing Israel's exclusive relation with its deity.

About this title

About the Author

Mark S. Smith is Skirball Professor of Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at New York University. His publications include The Pilgrimage Pattern in Exodus (1997), The Ugaritic Baal Cycle (1994), The Early History of God (1990), as well as several other books on the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and West Semitic mythology and literature.

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP USA
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 019513480X
• ISBN 13: 9780195134803
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352