The Early History of God Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel Review

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Hebrew Studies 33 (1992) 158 Reviews of the Art ..." and to look into the journal Judaica Librarianship from time to fourth dimension to nautical chart progress towards cooperation in automation. Herbert C. Zafren Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute ofReligion Cincinnati, OH 45220 THE EARLY HISTORY OF GOD: YAHWEH AND THE OTHER DEITIES IN ANCIENT ISRAEL. By Mark S. Smith. pp. xxxiv + 197. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990. Cloth. The full title is a fair description of the contents of this book. Smith addresses himself chiefly to 2 topics: first, the relationship of the major Canaanite deities to Yahweh in Israelite faith-their worship alongside Yahweh, their assimilation to Yahweh, or their repudiation; and second, the historical development of these relations between Yahweh and the other deities. The offset affiliate reviews the relations among the deities during the menstruation of the judges. The following three chapters discuss respectively Yahweh and Baal, Yahweh and Asherah, and Yahweh and the Sunday. A affiliate on "Yahwistic Cultic Practices" treats the cult of the dead and the mlk sacrifice. Affiliate vi gives an account of the origins and development of Israelite monotheism in 4 stages: the catamenia of the judges, the commencement half of the monarchy, the second one-half of the monarchy, and the exile. In the concluding chapter Smith comments on "processes leading to divine portraiture in Israel" and on the absence of some divine roles in the biblical tape. Smith builds on recent archaeological discoveries and recent scholarly studies pertaining to the emergence and early on history of Israelite organized religion. He identifies, in the introduction, several trends in contempo scholarship which he embraces (p. 1). Offset, he describes the ascendant model of Israelite civilisation equally something not essentially separate from and contrasting with Canaanite culture, but substantially continuous with and exhibiting increasing individuation within Canaanite culture. Second, what is true of Canaanite civilisation in full general is true of its religion in item. The process of individuation (my term) in religion involves 2 trends to which Smith refers from time to time through the book: convergence and differ- Hebrew Studies 33 (1992) 159 Reviews entiation. Third, Smith notes the contempo emphasis on the significance of the monarchy in the shaping of Israelite organized religion (specifically the Jerusalem monarchy, since we know relatively petty well-nigh the organized religion of the northern courtroom). The fourth trend that Smith notes and builds on is the recent interest in (and new data for) the investigation of goddesses in Israelite religion. Thus Smith is abreast of the latest developments in the field and his book addresses the electric current state of the questions. He has searched out about all maybe pertinent literary, epigraphic, and iconographic prove , and a wide range of scholarly studies and discussions of this material. In relatively pocket-sized compass he refers to an impressive amount of both data and opinion. The endnotes comprise near one-half the book. These brand information technology a valuable and user-friendly compilation of and reference piece of work on the primary information and recent secondary literature on the subject. Unfortunately, despite these virtues, the book has several pervasive defects that limit its readability and value. The showtime problem is the writer's language and mode. He uses unidiomatic expressions, such as "the aforementioned of' for "the same as" (p. xxix), "at expense to" for "at the expense of' (p. 13), "connect for" for "connect to" (p. 136), singular verb with chemical compound subject (last sentence of start paragraph on p. 54), "the Yahweh'southward people" (p. 147). Occasionally a sentence like this appears: "Here comparing the criticisms against the feast conducted past the well-to-do feast, called the marzeah, in Amos 6:1-vii and Jer 16:5-9 is illustrative" (p. 131). Smith'southward inattention to his linguistic communication sometimes has substantive consequences, as when on p. 133 he writes of "the number of infant burials" at Carthage, when he means the pct. There are several errors in the textual references. The second trouble is the frequently confused character of the author'due south argument. The post-obit examples are illustrative. Disorder and repetitiveness characterize the discussion of practices associated with the dead. Necromancy is discussed in a long paragraph on p. 127. Smith then moves on to other practices, then at the lesser...

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Source: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/436416

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