cover image The Invention of God

The Invention of God

Thomas Romer. Harvard, $35 (296p) ISBN 978-0-674-50497-4

R%C3%B6mer (Writing the Bible) deftly weaves together evidence from the Bible with extra-biblical archeological finds that mention Israel and Yhwh to outline the development of monotheism. Focusing on Yhwh, R%C3%B6mer traces Israel's god from the war gods of the Midianites, Edomites, and other nearby groups. Covering roughly a thousand years of history, starting circa 1,300 BCE, M%C3%B6ller documents that the Hebrews began by worshipping multiple gods, including the female deity Asherah, described in at least one extra-biblical inscription as the Yhwh's consort. In the ninth and eighth centuries, "Ywhw definitively became the head of the pantheon." Not until Jerusalem's destruction in 587 BCE did Yhwh become the universal, monotheistic god untied to place or particular monarch, the god who was later adopted by Christians and Muslims. R%C3%B6mer writes with clarity and accuracy and tells a compelling story. This book is a masterful work, tying together an enormous amount of information in a concise format. The level of detail may be daunting for the layperson, but scholars and interested readers will not be disappointed with this fine synopsis. (Dec.)