The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts

This is an impressive piece of scholarship to contribute to the study of the emergence of monotheism. What sets Smith apart is a sociological study on how Israel developed from a henotheistic society to monotheism during the period just prior to the exile. What I appreciate about Smith is that he defines his terms very carefully. He shows how scholars in the past have had different definitions of monotheism, and he strives for precision. What is a little confusing about his work is that some of it is very speculative. The vestiges of (orthodox) henotheistic belief in ancient Israel are very sparse (Ps 82, Deut 32:8, 9 LXX and DSS). And Israelite religion did not be come monotheistic for all Israelites everywhere at the same time. As he says, the prophets record the existence of polytheistic and ditheistic Israelite worship by their critique of it. Another thing I appreciate about it is the annotation. THis book is 200 pages of text and 100 pages of footnotes. If you are looking to dive into a topic (such as, YHWH and his asherah), this is a great place to start because he talks about it briefly, then cites about 20-30 source on the topic. The footnote are a goldmine. What is annoying about this book is the lack of editing and the print. First the print is not necessarily Smith's fault, but it is very poor. I would think Oxford University Press could do better, but maybe this is their way of punishing people for not buying their expensive hardbacks. The other problem is the editing. SMith's theory about Ps 82 and Deut 32 come up about 4 times in the book. There are grammatical mistakes and paragraphs that just go on....and on....and on. This book needs some serious editing. All in all it's a good work. I don't necessarily agree with all his theories, but I learn a lot from his work, and what fun is it if you agree with everything you read?

Well done essay on the origins of Yahwism in the HB and subsequent development monotheism. However, the author gave me the impression that he was attempting to write for the novice, or at least lay readers with an interest in the field but not much knowledge about the basics of biblical scholarship. It is not for the novice or basic level scholars! At times Smith delves into arcane technicalities of Ancient Near Eastern texts, while at others he gives very basic definitions and descriptions of terms etc. In my opinion, the actual target audience for this book is those individuals with more than an introductory knowledge of the history and development of HB studies and the historical, literary, and theological issues surrounding the Documentary Hypothesis. For those readers, this volume is worthy of careful attention. Smith's focus is to utilize the Ugaritic texts as a primary case study, calling upon other ANE texts through late Iron Age to develop a more nuanced and sensitive depiction of West Semitic (a term he argues for in contrast to the more ambiguous "Canaanite") polytheism than has been heretofore assumed in Western culture, including academe. Within that picture Smith then makes a case for the West Semitic polytheistic character of Yahwism and argues that Yahwist monotheism per se (i.e., Yahweh alone is god, and there is NO other god) is a post-exilic development. In the process Smith also smashes icons in his own right, such as dispensing with the notion that the death-resurreciton of a god can be traced to Baal myths. The reader with more than rudimentary knowledge of the field will find this a stimulating read and source of reflection.

This book is well researched, well referenced, well written, and is a great scholarly work. It provides a historical and theological overview of the area that was called by the Hebrew Bible "Canaan," which included Phoenicia, Palestine, Israel, and what is now western Jordan (generally: the Levant"). The author relies on the most accurate archaeological findings, and not speculation or dubious studies, to explain how the Hebrew theology had emerged, or evolved, from older traditions (including early Hebrew polytheistic traditions). Mark Smith is among the few authors on the subject whose scholarly work shows no influence, subtle or obvious, of Christian or Jewish faith, or even atheism.

I have yet to get much past the first couple of chapters. Yet already I am in awe of the copious amounts of information that can be gleaned from again and again. I chose Mark Smith's work my last research material for my own upcoming book. To call this work "epic" could be the understatement of the century. A must-have resource for any adept layman or scholars library. on second thought I may buy a curio to place it in alongside Bill Dever.

Wonderfully informative and detailed. This book is just full of information that's probably best read in small bits. Well researched. If you want to understand the origins of why three religions believe in just one god here is an excellent book to start your education.

Great book, well written. It will make you rethink your position on religion. Not for casual reading. I would have loved to see a section on how Hebrew monotheism affected the religions around Israel. This is not for light reading.

This is a well put together piece of academic scholarship on the development of Hebrew monotheism in the ancient world

Thorough and readable. Just what i was looking for when ordered it.

The type set is far to small and faint , making it very very difficult to read.. It looks like they took a much bigger book and by reduction photocopying they crammed it into a small book.. Quarts into pint pots.. A good book destroyed by the publisher .. I would not have bought it if I'd seen it in my hand in a bookshop..

technical but fascinating monotheism which tends to be fascistic ('everyone else is wrong and heretic' ) with its limited perception of everything (erm 'god made it all' ) wasn't inevitable but a product of a particular society at a particular time

Very good content. Very poor printing quality. In Italy it is available as a print-on-demand directly from Amazon, and it is so badly printed that it is very, very difficult to read... OUP should not allow such a low quality.

After only 2 chapters, I had learned so many things that the book could end there and I would consider it worth every penny. And I still have 8 more chapters to go !