This in an almost unbelievably detailed and erudite study of the history of the worship of Yahweh in Israel from roughly the 12th century to the 6th century, B.C. It is very narrowly focused: it provides very little historical background, probably because there is very little reliable history to serve as background. It is very reliant on biblical texts -- the reader is advised to keep a Bible in hand while reading this book. It reaches only a few conclusions, and he acknowledges how tentative those conclusions are. One of the troubling -- but probably true -- subtexts of the book is how little we know about the subject due to the paucity of the material. Smith may have cited just about piece of evidence that currently exists within the ambit of his inquiry, and this in itself demonstrates how many gaps there are in that evidence.
Smith's primary thesis is that worship of Yahweh went from polytheism in the 12th century (Yahweh was already the most important God, but one of several acknowledged gods) through monolatry during the later monarchy (Yahweh was the only god to be worshipped, but other gods existed -- after about 800, all of them bad) to monotheism after the Babylonian exile (Yahweh was the only god that existed). His secondary thesis is that the characteristics of many of the gods of the pantheistic early Israelites -- El, Baal, Asherah, perhaps Astarte -- became incorporated into the person of Yahweh. He believes that much of this was due to the policy of the early ("Davidic") monarchy, which wanted a strong national god to compete with the national gods of Israel's troublesome neighbors. HIs tertiary thesis is that the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament in the Christian Bible) is a redaction of older sources complied during the pre-exile Southern kingdom period, and which hides the polytheistic elements in earlier Jewish worship, as it was compiled in large measure to support the Yahwist ideology of its monarchy. Smith does not have much to say about how the still-monolatrous Jews of Josiah's time became the post-exilic monotheists of Ezra's, because that promises to be the subject of a subsequent book.
Smith says almost nothing about the origin of Yahweh or Yahwist worship, largely I suspect because it arose before the 12th century and we have virtually no evidence of anything concerning Israelite worship before that date. He does accept that the early Israelites were essentially West Semitic peoples who inhabited the high country of what is now Israel (Canaanite hillbillies, as it were), and that their early practices contained disturbing elements -- such as child sacrifice -- which were later repudiated by the Hebrew people. He also accepts what is now majority scholarly opinion that Israelite penetration of the rest of Canaan was less a conquest than an integration. He offers no opinion on how this happened -- probably because we do not have the foggiest idea of how it did.
Smith has an irritating, but ultimately sound, policy of refusing to speculate much beyond the evidence. Of what little we know, we are reasonably sure. Of what we don't, Smith prefers to pass over in silence.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together
$28.60
Get it as soon as Tuesday, May 14
Only 13 left in stock (more on the way).
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Top reviews from other countries
pablorosser
Un sólo dios o la permeabilidad de las creencias
Reviewed in Spain on September 20, 2014Bruno Lumbroso
The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient...Mark S. Smith
Reviewed in France on January 14, 2013
jan rutger achterberg
Interesting introduction into the religion of Canaän and the Hebrews in ancient times.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2013kc
a bit dry in parts and overly footnoted - if the footnotes were put in the back of the book, the text would be about 60 pages
Reviewed in Canada on October 4, 2016