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The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts » (1st Edition)

Book cover image of The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts by Mark S. Smith

Authors: Mark S. Smith
ISBN-13: 9780195167689, ISBN-10: 0195167686
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Date Published: September 2003
Edition: 1st Edition

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Author Biography: Mark S. Smith

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.

Book Synopsis

According to the Bible, ancient Israel's neighbors worshipped a wide variety of gods. In recent years, scholars have sought a better understanding of this early polytheistic mileu and its relation to Yahweh, the God of Israel. Drawing on ancient Ugaritic texts and looking closely at Ugaritic deities, Mark Smith examines the meaning of "divinity" in the ancient near East and considers how this concept applies to Yahweh.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations, Terms, and Sigla
Introduction3
Pt. IThe Structures of Divinity
1Anthropomorphic Deities and Divine Monsters27
2The Divine Council41
3The Divine Family54
4Pluralities, Pairings, and Other Divine Relations67
Pt. IICharacteristics of Divinity
5The Traits of Deities83
6The Life and Death of Baal104
Pt. IIIThe Origins of Monotheism in the Bible
7El, Yahweh, and the Original God of IsraEL and the Exodus135
8The Emergence of Monotheistic Rhetoric in Ancient Judah149
9The Formation of Monotheistic Theologies in Biblical Literature167
10Monotheism in Isaiah 40-55179
Notes195
Indexes of Texts303
Index of Subjects311

Subjects