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

About this book

In this remarkable acclaimed history of the development of monotheism Mark S. Smith explains how Israels 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 of The Early Histoey of God includes a substantial new preface by the author and a foreword by Patrick D. Miller.