|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
Product Description
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.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Early Israelite culture cannot be separated easily from the culture of "Canaan." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Early Israelite culture cannot be separated easily from the culture of "Canaan." Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Factual Overview Of The Religion Of Ancient Israel,
By
This review is from: The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel (Paperback)
This is one book on ancient Israel that actually delivers what its title promises. In "The Early History of God" Mark Smith systematically sifts through archaelogical and literary data from Bronze and Iron Age Palestine, the Mediterranean, and Mesopotamia to find the earliest evidence for YHWH, his cult, and his context. Chapters include discussions of YHWH and El, YHWH and Baal, Asherah and asherahs, cultic practices, such as communication with the dead and child sacrifice, at the sites where YHWH was worshiped, as well as a brief discussion of the beginnings of monotheism during the late monarchy. Refreshingly for me, Smith frames his argument on available evidence, not on wishful thinking, and the result is provocative and stimulating. The long introduction to this new edition covers the debate that has gone on since the book was originally published over ten years ago, and the extensive footnotes are a wealth of information on every side of the discussion. This is the kind of book that helps keep scholarship in good repute. Don't wait to read it!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent,
By
This review is from: The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel (Paperback)
This is an excellent book, very interesting information about the ancient Israel and the bible, one of the best books I have ever read.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Early Evidence for the Yahweh Cult.,
By New Age of Barbarism "zosimos" (EVROPA.) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel (Paperback)
_The Early History of God_ by Mark S. Smith traces the origins of the cult of Yahweh (YHWH) in ancient Israel based on archeological and textual material. Mark S. Smith focuses upon the rise of Yahweh and Israelite monotheism (monolatry) in ancient Israel. The cult of Yahweh is opposed to that of the cults of other Canaanite and Mesopotamian deities including El, Baal, and Asherah. Separate chapters are devoted to Yahweh and Baal and Yahweh and Asherah (an early Canaanite goddess, contrasted with YHWH). The origins of Yahweh are revealed in cultic practices as related to solar worship, family worship and cultic veneration of the dead ("feeding the dead" and "communing with the dead"), as well as with the asherah (symbolized by the sacred tree) and the moloch (MLK) sacrifice (a sacrifice of the children to appease the deity). The development of the Yahweh cult through the monarchic period and as mentioned in the prophets and exilic period is fully worked out. The book comes to reveal how Yahweh gained supremacy so as to be before all other deities (indeed, supreme deity and One as the Godhead of the entire universe). Whether the conclusions that are reached in this book can be trusted in the light of Holy Tradition is of course a different matter entirely. Nevertheless, the book is a useful look at the origins of Yahweh-supremacy within the religious millieu of ancient Israel (the ancient Near East) based on evidence from Stone Age and Iron Age material as well as from early textual (biblical) sources.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Christian Living Store > Reference
- Books > History > Middle East > Israel
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Religion
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Reference
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Theology
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > History
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Sociology
- Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Theology
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
