The Early History of God <subTitle>Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel</subTitle> </titleInfo> <titleInfo> <title/> </titleInfo> <name type="personal"> <namePart>Smith, Mark S.</namePart> <role> <roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">creator</roleTerm> </role> </name> <name type="personal"> <namePart/> <role> <roleTerm authority="marcrelator" type="text">creator</roleTerm> </role> <role> <roleTerm type="text">Author</roleTerm> </role> </name> <typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource> <originInfo> <place> <placeTerm type="code" authority="marccountry">5:1</placeTerm> </place> <place> <placeTerm type="text">U.S.A</placeTerm> </place> <publisher>William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company</publisher> <dateIssued>2002</dateIssued> <edition>2 nd</edition> <issuance>monographic</issuance> </originInfo> <language> <languageTerm authority="iso639-2b" type="code">eng</languageTerm> </language> <physicalDescription> <extent>243tr.</extent> <extent>Paperback, Illustration</extent> </physicalDescription> <abstract>In this remarkable, acclaimed history of the development of monotheism, Mark S. Smith explains how Israel's 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.</abstract> <note type="statement of responsibility">Mark S. Smith</note> <subject> <topic>God (Christianity)</topic> </subject> <subject> <topic>Bible. -- Old Testament</topic> </subject> <subject> <topic>Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc</topic> </subject> <subject> <topic>Israel</topic> </subject> <classification authority="ddc">291.211</classification> <classification authority="ddc">S642-M35</classification> <identifier type="isbn">9780802839725</identifier> <identifier type="uri">https://data.thuviencodoc.org/books/15496/13.jpg</identifier> <location> <url displayLabel="Cover Image">https://data.thuviencodoc.org/books/15496/13.jpg</url> </location> <recordInfo> <recordCreationDate encoding="marc">2024-0</recordCreationDate> <recordChangeDate encoding="iso8601">20260119071503.0</recordChangeDate> </recordInfo> </mods>