Only One God?: Monotheism in Ancient Israel and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah

by Bob Becking; Meindert Dijkstra; Marjo C. A. Korpel; Karel J. H. Vriezen

Publisher:

Sheffield Academic Press

, 2001

Overview

The view of ancient Israelite religion as monotheistic has long been traditional in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, religions that have elaborated in their own way the biblical image of a single male deity. But recent archaeological findings of texts and images from the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah and their neighborhood offer a quite different impression.

Contents

Top Highlights

“A few scholars discovered in texts such as Ps. 82:1; 89:6–8 and Deut. 32:8–9 evidence for an older substratum in Israel’s religion, in which Yhwh as an outsider was adopted in the Canaanite pantheon of El.” (Page 94)

“The use of ‘Phoenician script’ suggests at the least once more the Northern Israelite origin of the occupation of this road station.” (Page 22)

“Ishtar of Arbela beside Ishtar of Nineveh, Baal of Ugarit beside Baal of Tyre” (Page 39)

“Ostraca are sherds inscribed with ink or incised with a stylus” (Page 17)

Product Details

• Title: Only One God?: Monotheism in Ancient Israel and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah
• Editors: Bob Becking, Meindert Dijkstra, Marjo C.A. Korpel, and Karel Vriezen
• Publisher: Sheffield
• Publication Date: 2002
• Pages: 180

About the Editors

Bob Becking is Professor for Old Testament Studies at Utrecht University, Netherlands.

Meindert Dijkstra is Senior Lecturer in Ancient Israelite Religion at Utrecht University, Netherlands.

Marjo C.A. Korpel is Lecturer in Old Testament Studies at Utrecht University, Netherlands.

Karel Vriezen is Lecturer in the Department of Old Testament Studies at Utrecht University, Netherlands.

Sample Pages from Only One God?: Monotheism in Ancient Israel and the Veneration of the Goddess Asherah