Description
Book SynopsisThe Bible says that YHWH alone is God and that there is none like him—but texts and artwork from antiquity show that many gods looked very similar. In this volume, scholars of the Hebrew Bible and its historical contexts address the problem of YHWH’s ancient look-alikes, providing recommendations for how Jews and Christians can think theologically about this challenge.
Sooner or later, whether in a religion class or a seminary course, students bump up against the fact that God—the biblical God—was one among other, comparable gods. The ancient world was full of gods, including great gods of conquering empires, dynastic gods of petty kingdoms, goddesses of fertility, and personal spirit guardians. And in various ways, these gods look like the biblical God. Like the God of the Bible, they, too, controlled the fates of nations, chose kings, bestowed fecundity and blessing, and cared for their individual human charges. They spoke and acted. They experienced wrath and delight. They inspired praise. All of this leaves Jews and Christians in a bind: how can they confess that the God named YHWH was (and is) the true and living God, in view of this God’s profound similarities to all these others?
The essays in this volume address the theological challenge these parallels create, providing reflections on how Jews and Christians can keep faith in YHWH as God while acknowledging the reality of YHWH’s divine doppelgängers. It will be welcomed by undergraduates studying religion; seminarians and graduate students of Bible, theology, and the ancient world; and adult education classes.
Trade Review“A thoughtful book that addresses the strong similarities and differences between Israel's main deity, Yahweh, and other deities in ancient Israel and beyond (especially the Moabite god Chemosh). Readers will benefit from glimpsing the volume's authors attempting to treat the fraught question of Yahweh's apparent lack of uniqueness. The volume additionally discusses a number of related theological problems, including Christian supersessionism. A rich work.”
—Mark S. Smith,Helena Professor of Old Testament Literature and Exegesis, Princeton Theological Seminary
Table of ContentsEditor’s Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Part 1. The Problem at Large
Chapter 1. God and the Gods: History of Religion as an Approach and Context for Biblical Theology
Patrick D. Miller Jr.
Chapter 2. Canaan—Israel—Christianity:The Case for a Vertical Ecumenism
Othmar Keel, translated by Armin Siedlecki
Chapter 3. More Than One God? Three Models for Construing the Relations Between YHWH and the Other Gods
Bob Becking
Chapter 4. Who Is Like You Among the Gods? Some Observations on Configuring YHWH in the Old Testament
J. Andrew Dearman
Chapter 5. Why Should the Look-Alikes Be a Problem?
Robert Goldenberg
Part 2. Chemosh as a Case Study
Chapter 6. Theological Approaches to the Problem of God’s Ancient Look-Alikes
Collin Cornell
Chapter 7. Chemosh Looks Like YHWH, but That’s Okay
Josey Bridges Snyder
Chapter 8. YHWH and Chemosh: An Investigation of Look-Alike Gods Using the Moral Foundations Theory
M. Patrick Graham
Chapter 9. YHWH, Chemosh, and the Rule of Faith
Brent A. Strawn
Chapter 10. Is There a Counterpart in the Hebrew Bible to New Testament Anti-Semitism?
Jon D. Levenson
Part 3. Other Case Studies
Chapter 11. Miqreh and YHWH: Fate, Chance, Simultaneity, and Providence
Stephen B. Chapman
Chapter 12. “Can a Woman Forget Her Nursing Child?” Divine Breastfeeding and the God of Israel
Christopher B. Hays
Chapter 13. Bulls and Horses, Gods and Goddesses: The Religious Iconography of Israel’s Neighbors
P. M. Michèle Daviau
List of Contributors
Index of Authors
Index of Scripture
Subject Index
