The Early History of God BOOK OVERVIEW

The Early History of God

The Early History of God is a book written by Mark S. Smith. The book was published in 2002 and is listed under the Religion category. For readers who want to quickly understand what this title offers, this page gives a clear overview of the book, including its description, author information, page count, ratings, and ISBN details.

The full title of the book is The Early History of God. When available, the subtitle is Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, which gives extra context about the theme, focus, or main idea behind the book. According to the available description, Foreword by Patrick D. Miller 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. This thoroughly revised second edition ofThe Early History of God includes a substantial new preface by the author and a foreword by Patrick D. Miller.

This book has 243 pages, making it useful for readers who want to know the approximate length before starting. It has an average rating of 4.06, based on 217 ratings, which can help readers understand how other people have responded to it.

For cataloging and reference purposes, the ISBN-13 is 9780802839725, while the ISBN-10 is 080283972X. These numbers are helpful when searching for the exact edition of the book online, in libraries, or in bookstores.

The book cover image can be viewed here: http://books.google.com/books/content?id=1yM3AuBh4AsC&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&edge=curl&source=gbs_api.

Overall, The Early History of God by Mark S. Smith is a title that may interest readers looking for books in Religion. Whether you are researching new books, comparing editions, or building a reading list, this page gives you the most important details in one place.