This paper is taken from Chapter 4 of Genesis II: Recovering Its Original: Reading Genesis II Again For The First Time.
The Hebrew Bible seldom provides us with clear, unambiguous definitions of “polytheism” or “monotheism.” This observation is no better exemplified than the Israelites’ adoption of monotheism. More specifically, how the biblical authors addressed the adoption of monotheism amid the ANE’s universal acceptance of polytheism. To make sense of the biblical texts historically, we need to understand how ancient Near Eastern religions actually worked—and how Israel’s religion changed over time.
Key Terms
- Polytheism: Belief in and worship of many gods, each with real power.
- Henotheism / Monolatry: Worship of one god as supreme and exclusive, while still acknowledging that other gods exist and have some reality (though they are not to be worshipped).
- Monotheism: Belief that only one god exists; all other so-called gods are powerless idols or do not exist at all.
The Historical Context
Pre-10th century BCE (pre-monarchy, Late Bronze / Early Iron Age)
The ancestors of Israel shared the typical West Semitic /Canaanite polytheistic system. The high god of the pantheon was El; other major deities included Baal, Asherah, Anat, Mot, etc. In this period, a warrior/storm god named Yahweh enters the region (probably from the south—Edom/Midian). At first he is simply one more deity, perhaps a divine warrior in El’s larger pantheon.
Monarchic period (ca. 1000–587 BCE)
Yahweh rapidly becomes the national god of Israel (and later Judah). Most scholars believe the decisive shift happens under the early monarchy (Saul, Solomon).
By this time, the vast majority of the population now gives exclusive (or nearly exclusive) cultic loyalty to Yahweh. This form is monolatry, or often called henotheism.
But the texts also show that many people continued to worship other gods alongside Yahweh (e.g., Baal, Asherah, the “host of heaven,” local deities, etc.). Kings such as Ahab, Ahaz, and Manasseh are portrayed as encouraging or tolerating this broader worship.
Inscriptions from Kuntillet ʿAjrud and Khirbet el-Qom (ca. 800 BCE) mention “Yahweh and his Asherah,” showing that at least some circles still imagined Yahweh as having a female consort.
Late monarchy – prophetic critique (8th–7th centuries BCE)
The great prophetic writers (Hosea, Amos, First Isaiah, Jeremiah) and the Deuteronomic movement fiercely condemn the worship of any deity besides Yahweh. The core demand “You shall have no other gods before/besides me” (Exod 20:3; Deut 5:7) is understood as a call for exclusive loyalty, not merely for ranking Yahweh first.
Babylonian Exile and after (587–400 BCE)
The experience of exile is the crucible in which explicit monotheism emerges. Second Isaiah (Isa 40–55) repeatedly declares that no other god exists or has power: “I am the LORD, and there is no other” (Isa 45:5, 6, 18, 22, etc.). Other divine beings are demythologized (turned into angels, “sons of God” under Yahweh’s authority, or dismissed as mere wood and stone).
Why This Matters for Reading Genesis 1–3
Genesis 2–3 (usually assigned to the older “J” source, 10th–8th century) preserves older mythic language:
- A talking serpent (in Canaanite myth, a divine or semi-divine being)
- The plural “us” in Gen 1:26, 3:22, and 11:7 (is held by some scholars to imply a divine council or Jesus, the second Godhead)
- References elsewhere in the Torah to other “gods” as real entities can be found in Exod 15:11; Deut 32:8-9.
Genesis 1 (usually assigned to the Priestly writer, 6th–5th century) is deliberately anti-mythic:
- No divine council1.
- No combat with chaos monsters, no other gods at all.
- The sun and moon are demoted to mere “lights” without names.
- Humanity is created in God’s “image” rather than from the blood of a slain god (see, for example, the story of the creation of mankind in the Enuma Elish).
These three observations reflect the strict monotheism that became dominant only after the exile. The table below summarizes these concepts.
| Period | Typical Religious Practice | Key Biblical Evidence / Inscriptions |
| Pre-monarchy | Canaanite-style polytheism; Yahweh, one god among many | Early poetry (Exod 15; Judg 5); Kuntillet ʿAjrud (later echo) |
| Monarchic period | Official monolatry/henotheism; popular practice often polytheistic | Most narrative books (Judges–Kings), prophetic complaints |
| Late monarchy / Deuteronomic reform | Insistence on exclusive worship of Yahweh | Deuteronomy; reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah |
| Exilic / Post-exilic | Explicit monotheism | Second Isaiah; Priestly writing (Gen 1); Ezra–Nehemiah |
The Hebrew Bible is therefore not the product of a single unchanging faith. It is a library that preserves traces of Israel’s long journey from the polytheism of its Canaanite roots, through a monarchic period of (often imperfect) exclusive Yahweh-worship, to the full-blown monotheism of the Persian period and beyond.