Old Ones in the Old Book, The
The ancient Israelite religion revealed in the early texts of the Old Testament is not monotheistic but a polytheistic paganism.
The ancient Israelite religion revealed in the early texts of the Old Testament is not monotheistic but a polytheistic paganism.
The ancient Israelite religion revealed in the early texts of the Old Testament is not monotheistic but a polytheistic paganism.
Old testament, Paganism & neo-paganism
The Hebrew Old Testament, which contains some of the world s most ancient religious texts, was written and repeatedly re-edited over the course of several centuries from about 1000 BCE. It reached its final form at the hands of editors who were monotheists. They believed that their god Yahweh was the only true God, and that he had been worshipped exclusively by their ancestors from the time of Abraham. They edited their sources to reflect this belief.
However we can strip away this veneer of later monotheism to view the ancient stories themselves. These bear witness to Israelite religion as practised before 600 BCE. Far from being monotheistic, this religion was a fascinating polytheistic paganism, close to the religion of the surrounding Canaanites. In this religion Yahweh, far from being God as understood by modern western monotheism, was a distinctive tribal deity.
This book will be of particular interest to the large numbers of western people who come from a broadly Christian or Jewish background but have left those faiths behind to explore paganism or New Age spirituality.
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W. argues that preexilic Israelite religion was largely polytheistic, with many similarities to Canaanite religion, as illustrated in the texts from Ugarit. By contrast, later Deuteronomistic texts reflect what became orthodox Israelite belief. W. devotes separate chapters to each major historical period from the patriarchs to the exile, contrasting the import of the ancient texts with the editorial framework at each stage. Special attention is paid to traces of magical practice in the Moses traditions, the Jerusalemite influence on royal ideology, and the Babylonian parallels to Genesis 1-11 W. provides his own translation of OT texts. Suggestions for further reading are appended. ~ P.W., The Pentateuch
Philip West has written a really useful book for anyone interested in some of the earliest recorded examples of Pagan ritual in western history. As the author points out, the Old Testament is one of the richest sources of material on earl yritual acts. It is a distillation of earlier Pagan traditions which,eventually (over the course of hundreds of years) became overlaid with the monotheistic outlook favoured by the Old Testament’s many and various editors. West takes us through the ritual, examines the monotheist overlay and looks back to what may have been the polytheistic basis behind the original ritual acts: written witness to Pagan belief before 600 BCE. The book offers an in-depth look at Genesis and other Bible myths. West argues that, far from being the devout monotheists later editors would have us believe, the early Israelites were polytheistic, were influenced by neighbouring religions such as that of the Canaanites and were regularly turning away from Yahweh back towards their Pagan roots. He points out the many contradictory parts of the Old Testament where biblical patriarchs are no sooner making binding commitments to Yahweh than they are being smited severly for having lapsed into their Pagan ways. This is a lively, exciting book, which highlights the central part Paganism played in early Western civilisation and how it was virtually excised by the OldTestament editors. Recommended ~ Sheena Morgan, Pagan Dawn
The old testament draws much of its legend from old pagan beliefs. "The Old Ones in the Old Book: Pagan Roots of the Hebrew Old Testament" discusses the origins the Hebrew old testaments, trying to find its inspiration and origins dating back to 1000 BCE, early paganism, and the parallels between Yahweh and many other tribal deities of the period. An intriguing study of faith and religion and the God of Abraham, "The Old Ones in the Old Book" is a strong and intriguing pick, not to be overlooked. ~ Paul T. Vogel , Midwest Book Review
The author of this study of biblical paganism studied theology at Cambridge and was formerly head of religious studies at the private Westminster School. As he points out in his book, rather than being the sacred 'Word of God' the Old Testament is a collection of religious texts written and then re-edited over a period of several centuries. Those who edited it were Yahwehist monotheists and they censored many of the references to the polytheistic beliefs of the early Hebrew religion. West's book describes these pagan beliefs and practices in ancient Israel that co-existed along side the worship of the tribal deity Yahweh. Recommended. ~ Mike Howard, The Cauldron
West has excelled in making academic standard research into a fascinating and exciting read. This book should be of interest to Jews, Christians, Pagans and readers generally interested in the development of spiritual paths, and become a handy reference source for years to come. ~ Pete Jennings, Past President of The Pagan Federation and author of Pagan Paths.
An important and timely book, which everyone concerned with spirituality in our time should read. ~ John Matthews, author of The Western Way
With a style that’s a pleasure to read, Philip West shares the best of Old Testament scholarship revealing what is common knowledge in academia but largely unknown in the public arena - the profound influence of the pagan Canaanite religion on the evolution, practices and sacred writings of Judaism and Christianity. Reasoned and revolutionary, an important book and a must read. ~ Phyllis Curott, Author of Book of Shadows, Wiccan Priestess, and Trustee of the Council for the Parliament of the World's Religions
Readers will find in Phil West’s very readable book a distillation of a century of scholarship on the different ways in which the beliefs of surrounding cultures played a key part in the emergence of what we now know as the Hebrew Bible. ~ Christopher Rowland, Dean, Ireland's Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture, University of Oxford
Much of what we thought we knew about the Old Testament is here challenged in a most interesting and provocative way ~ Richard Coggins, Formerly Senior Lecturer in Old Testament Studies at King's College London, and author of Introducing the Old Testament.