From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780827609082)

The ancient Israelites believed things that the writers of the Bible wanted them to forget: myths and legends from a pre-biblical world that the new monotheist order needed to bury, hide, or reinterpret. Ancient Israel was rich in such literary traditions before the Bible reached the final form that we have today. These traditions were not lost but continued, passed down through the ages. Many managed to reach us in post-biblical sources: rabbinic literature, Jewish Hellenistic writings, the writings of the Dead Sea sect, the Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and other ancient translations of the Bible, and even outside the ancient Jewish world in Christian and Islamic texts. The Bible itself sometimes alludes to these traditions, often in surprising contexts. Written in clear and accessible language, this volume presents thirty such traditions. It voyages behind the veil of the written Bible to reconstruct what was told and retold among the ancient Israelites, even if it is "not what the Bible tells us."


Author: Avigdor Shinan, Yair Zakovitch
ISBN-10: 0827609086
ISBN-13: 9780827609082
Publisher: Jewish Publication Society
Language: English
Published: 12/01/2012
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.96lbs
Size: 8.99h x 6.08w x 0.70d

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 11/15/2012 pg. 12
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2012