Mark S. Smith

God in Translation

Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World

Mohr Siebeck

Forschungen zum Alten Testament

Edited by

Bernd Janowski (Tübingen) · Mark S. Smith (New York)

Hermann Spieckermann (Göttingen)

57

Mark S. Smith, born 1955; 1985 Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures, Yale University; Skirball Professor of Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, New York University.

e-ISBN PDF 978-3-16-151098-4

ISBN 978-3-16-149543-4

ISSN 0940-4155 (Forschungen zum Alten Testament)

Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de.

© 2008 by Mohr Siebeck Tübingen, Germany.

This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher’s written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems.

To my wife, Liz Bloch-Smith,

always,

and to our children,

Benjamin,

Rachel,

and Shula,

stars shining within

Preface

As the new millennium unfolds, the world seems to be experiencing increasing religious conflict. Whether abroad or at home, religious extremism appears to be on the rise. From what we see in the news, it is sometimes difficult to escape the impression that the world is retreating into religious camps, each with its own religious and political absolutism justified by its own version of the truth sponsored by its own divinity. Several parts of the world appear intensely polarized along religious lines. Battle lines are being drawn across continents and within societies. The savage part of this conflict involves how religious intolerance translates into political and military violence.

It was not always so. The twentieth century, especially in the decades following the Second World War, witnessed a profound shift in the attitude of world religions towards one other. In fits and starts, the so-called major religions of the world engaged in serious dialogues over their religious differences and shared values.1 It may be said with justification that this period represented the greatest time of constructive inter-religious engagement since antiquity. Yet this seems to be passing. We now live at a point, perhaps a particularly dangerous flash-point, when the struggle over what major religions do and do not share is shifting towards a conviction that there is less and less basis or reason for discussing the matter. Indeed, reason seems to have little to do with what is presently transpiring among religions and cultures.

This study undertakes an exploration of intercultural contact over three major periods in what I am broadly calling the “biblical world” (both Hebrew Bible and New Testament). These are the ancient Near East during the Late Bronze Age (Chapter One); ancient Israel during the monarchy and afterwards (Chapters Two, Three and Four); and Judea and the other ...