Of God and Gods: Egypt, Israel, and the Rise of Monotheism (review)

This volume comes from the hand of one of the best-known figures in the field of Egyptology. The topic is "the relationship between God and the gods" (p. 1). It concerns what Assmann calls the "Mosaic distinction," which is "the idea of an exclusive and emphatic Truth that sets God apart from everything that is not God and therefore must not be worshipped" (p. 1). Exclusivity, though, is not exclusivity of divine existence, as the other gods exist; rather, it is the exclusivity of Israel's belonging to God and not to any other deity.

Chapter One surveys basic concepts of ancient polytheism, specifically three dimensions: "shapes" (cult images and representations of a deity in the temple cult); "transformations" (cosmic manifestations as sun, moon, and the like); and "names" (linguistic representations that include not only proper names, but also titles, pedigrees, genealogies, and myths). These categories suggest how polytheism made sense to ancient peoples, gave them meaning and shaped their identity.

Chapter Two addresses the relationship between violence and various forms of theism. Assmann points out that polytheistic cultures are hardly peaceful, tolerant, and non-violent and that their acts of violence may be sanctioned by deities, but that they do not promote religious intolerance. This distinction is not nearly as prominent in the corpus of biblical texts as Assmann's discussion would suggest. Assmann also raises the question of the intolerant monotheism of Akhenaten, which he sees reflected in some of the Seth traditions (pp. 44–48). In this respect Assmann shows an affinity for Freud's theory, expressed in his 1939 work Moses and Monotheism, that the monotheism of Moses can be connected with the alleged monotheism of Akhenaten in the Amarna Age. This theory has enjoyed wide currency since Freud, and it is not uncommon to hear it expressed in scholarly and non-scholarly circles alike. However, the impact of this influence has little to do with "monotheism" in Israel.

Chapter Three examines a number of ancient texts from across traditions and time periods for their "translation" of divinity. Deities from different cultures were equated or identified with one another. Assmann suggests that this intercultural discourse about deities led to the idea that various nations basically worshipped the same deities. Assmann cites the notion of "the Highest God" in the later period, a sort of super-god recognized across the Mediterranean world, as well as deities with multiple names ("hyphenating gods"), and various expressions of single gods whose characteristics are identified as the other deities. This series of stunning non-biblical texts is followed with a cursory contrast with biblical monotheism.

Chapter Four discusses the impact of "the Axial Age," a period around the middle of the first millennium when cultures from Rome to China questioned fundamental notions of reality. Assmann notes cases in ancient Egypt, which makes for fascinating reading, and ends with a brief consideration of ancient Israel. Unfortunately he does not address the story in ancient Israel. Assmann makes rather dramatic claims about biblical monotheism, how it operated and what it meant, but without sufficient discussion or documentation.

Chapter Five traces the path from tradition to Scripture: (1) codification of law; (2) the trauma experience of the exile; (3) the development of scribal collection of texts and a "culture of exegesis" in the Persian period; (4) the combination of "book culture" and "memory culture" in the Greco-Roman period; and (5) the biblical "concept of idolatry." In its recollection of an Israelite past, the Bible commemorates a linkage between Israel's god and divine violence and raises it to the level of revelation.

Chapter Six notes the proximity between Israelite monotheism and forms of monistic polytheism discussed in Chapter Three. He considers whether biblical monotheism is evolutionary or revolutionary. He states, "biblical monotheism may have slowly evolved out of polytheism" (p. 108), but he also characterizes...