From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends

A delightful, easy to digest, collection of 30 pithy chapters devoted to reading between the lines of narratives in the Hebrew Bible. The focus of the book is on elucidating complementary, contradictory, or controversial material that emerges in a careful reading of the text. The authors most usually do this by comparing different versions of the same tales in different locations of the Hebrew Bible. Their thesis is that “these traditions needed to be adapted and refined in order to make them suit the lofty ideals of monotheism, to elevate them to the morals and values system that the Bible sought to instill in its readers” (page 267).Examples of the topics covered include the “sons of God” who took human women as their mates, Ham’s violation of his father Noah, hints regarding an angelic nature of Samson’s father, and the expurgated sexual events that may have taken place, for example, between Jael and Sisera, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and David and Abigail.A pleasant surprise is the “Glossary of Extra-Biblical Sources” at the end of the book, in which the authors provide succinct yet rich summaries of their extra-Biblical sources, including the targums, midrash, medieval sources, Dead Sea Scrolls, apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, and so on.The only drawback to this book is not with any of the material within it, but the misleading translation of the book’s title, and the subtitling of the book, by JPS. The Hebrew title of the book fits its contents perfectly: “Lo kakh k’tuv b’Tanakh,” or “Not So Written in Tanakh.” Perhaps the marketing department at JPS believed that the title and subtitle they gave would appeal to those with an interest in “the history of God,” and ancient near eastern mythology. However, it must be noted that there is not a single entry discussing narrative tales that deal with the movement from polytheism to monotheism. In addition, as the authors write in their concluding words, “the most significant literary harvest came to us from home, from Jewish writings throughout the generations” (page 269). In other words, there are very few and relatively insignificant references to tales/mythology from ancient Israel’s pagan neighbors.This misrepresentation by JPS of the contents of their books is not limited to the example under discussion—for example, in their recent publication “The Gods are Broken” by Jeffrey Salkin, the summary of the book provided by the publisher has very little to do with the actual material and agenda of the author. Indeed, if the content and agenda were more honestly represented, one would think twice about buying it.Here, however, the opposite is true. One expects certain content—comparisons and contrasts between ancient near Eastern mythology and the Hebrew Bible—but instead, encounters a treasure trove of sophisticated, subtle, and insightful readings of the original text itself.

The authors' selection of subjects for this book was very good.What they do in this book is look at Scripture and compare a passage that occurs in more than one book and look at the differences. What is added or left out? Then research various traditions and sources outside the Bible itself. It's all very interesting. And it gets the reader to thinking.The "Serpent" in Genesis 3 being comparable to a "Seraph" was just one of those thought-provoking issues.I found the Danites idol theft another interesting subject.Their comparison of translational differences between Scripture was educational. Particularly the Masoretic vs Septuagint.I always enjoy reading about subtle differences in the texts and this book has plenty of that!They also investigate some differing viewpoints between the two kingdoms- Judah and Israel when it comes to heroes/villains in different books in Scripture.They include a "Glossary of Extra-Biblical Sources" in the book and that is educational also.For me this book was both educational and interesting.

This work of biblical scholarship uses "literary archaeology" to reconstruct glimpses into the deep past - the world and world views that predated and evolved into the Hebrew bible. With analytical precision that borders on obsessive-compulsive, the authors compare texts and deconstruct discourse to expose the roots of modern beliefs about G-d, the created world, and the putative events along the way. Not for the intellectually faint of heart nor the orthodox of belief and practice, this is a feast for the curious mind interested in the question of how we ended up here, with our modern conceptions of G-d and humankind. The appendices in themselves are worth the price of the book for those who want to wrestle with the puzzles of the evolution and promulgation of ideas. There are many delicious dialogues here, including a provocative discussion of the binei elohim (children of gods) who descended to find the daughters of man to be desirable. The book is no casual read, but it rewards the diligent (and open-minded) reader.

I was happy to see the chapter with Sheba and Solomon, but it is not quite what i was expecting. though it does have valuable information the average person wouldn't know, i thought there would be more information and more detailed historical comparisons and examples with the pre-Hebrew civilizations that influenced the Jewish texts and culture. It's still a good enough read however, the style is easy to read too.

If you are expecting to read about how all the Old Testament stories are revisions of pre-existing folk tales, you may feel a little frustrated.This is a work of rabbinical scholarship. The roots of key biblical [OT] events in folklore is thoroughly analysed, and is fascinating, but this is not a debunking of the Bible. More an exposition on how social conditions and prevailing dogmas refashioned early accounts, and how some versions lost out to others.I recommend having a Bible to hand - you'll need it.Otherwise, excellent.

it held little information I was not already aware of it was also at times heavy going at times but ok.