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Hebrew Studies 33 (1992) 158 Reviews of the Art ..." and to look into the journal Judaica Librarianship from time to time to 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 two topics: first, the relationship of the major Canaanite deities to Yahweh in Israelite religion-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 first chapter reviews the relations among the deities during the period of the judges. The following three chapters discuss respectively Yahweh and Baal, Yahweh and Asherah, and Yahweh and the Sun. A chapter on "Yahwistic Cultic Practices" treats the cult of the dead and the mlk sacrifice. Chapter 6 gives an account of the origins and development of Israelite monotheism in four stages: the period of the judges, the first half of the monarchy, the second half of the monarchy, and the exile. In the final chapter Smith comments on "processes leading to divine portraiture in Israel" and on the absence of some divine roles in the biblical record. Smith builds on recent archaeological discoveries and recent scholarly studies pertaining to the emergence and early history of Israelite religion. He identifies, in the introduction, several trends in recent scholarship which he embraces (p. 1). First, he describes the ascendant model of Israelite culture as something not essentially separate from and contrasting with Canaanite culture, but essentially continuous with and exhibiting increasing individuation within Canaanite culture. Second, what is true of Canaanite culture in general is true of its religion in particular. The process of individuation (my term) in religion involves two 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 recent emphasis on the significance of the monarchy in the shaping of Israelite religion (specifically the Jerusalem monarchy, since we know relatively little about the religion of the northern court). 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 current state of the questions. He has searched out virtually all possibly pertinent literary, epigraphic, and iconographic evidence , and a wide range of scholarly studies and discussions of this material. In relatively small compass he refers to an impressive amount of both data and opinion. The endnotes comprise almost half the book. These make it a valuable and convenient compilation of and reference work on the primary data and recent secondary literature on the subject. Unfortunately, despite these virtues, the book has several pervasive defects that limit its readability and value. The first problem is the author's language and style. He uses unidiomatic expressions, such as "the same 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 compound subject (last sentence of first paragraph on p. 54), "the Yahweh's people" (p. 147). Occasionally a sentence like this appears: "Here comparing the criticisms against the feast conducted by the well-to-do feast, called the marzeah, in Amos 6:1-7 and Jer 16:5-9 is illustrative" (p. 131). Smith's inattention to his language sometimes has substantive consequences, as when on p. 133 he writes of "the number of infant burials" at Carthage, when he means the percentage. There are several errors in the textual references. The second problem is the frequently confused character of the author's argument. The following 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 bottom...

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