THE INVENTION OF GOD T H E I N V E N T I O N O F G O D T HOM A S RÖMER TRANSLATED BY RAYMOND GEUSS HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS LONDON, ENGLAND 2015 Copyright © 2015 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America First printing Originally published in French as L'Invention de Dieu by Th omas Römer, illustrations by Fabian Pfi tzmann, copyright © Éditions du Seuil, 2014. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Römer, Th omas, 1955– [Invention de Dieu. En glish] Th e invention of God / Th omas Römer ; translated by Raymond Geuss. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-674-50497-4 (alk. paper) 1. Bible. 2. Mono the ism. 3. God (Judaism) 4. Gods in the Bible. I. Title. BS680.G57R6613 2015 296.3'11— dc23 2015012161 CONTENTS Translator’s Note vii System of Hebrew Transcription viii Introduction 1 1. Th e God of Israel and His Name 24 2. Th e Geographic Origin of Yhwh 35 3. Moses and the Midianites 51 4. How Did Yhwh Become the God of Israel? 71 5. Th e Entrance of Yhwh into Jerusalem 86 6. Th e Cult of Yhwh in Israel 104 7. Th e Cult of Yhwh in Judah 124 8. Th e Statue of Yhwh in Judah 141 9. Yhwh and His Asherah 160 10. Th e Fall of Samaria and the Rise of Judah 173 11. Th e Reform of Josiah 191 12. F rom One God to the Only God 210 Conclusion 242 Notes 255 Index 295 TRANSLATOR’S NOTE Names of persons and places have been standardized to those used in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. For those that do not occur in the NRSV, the relevant volume of Cambridge History has been used. All dates are BC (or BCE) except where otherwise specifi ed. Given that Th omas Römer oft en wishes to make substantive points that de- pend on part icu l ar readings, translations are always of Römer’s French versions of biblical texts, although I have usually consulted the King James version and the NRSV for phrasing. SYSTEM OF HEBREW TRANSCRIPTION THE CONSONANTS Letter Name Transliteration Pronunciation א alef ʾ silent or glottal stop ב beth b /b/ or /v/ ג gimel g /g/ (gourd) ד daleth d /d/ ה he h /h/ ו waw w /w/ ז zayin z /z/ ח ḥeth ḥ /ḥ/ (German Bach) ט ṭeth ṭ /t/ י yod y /y/ ך כ kaf k /k/ or /kh/ (kh like Bach) ל lamed l /l/ מ ם mem m /m/ ן נ nun n /n/ ס samekh s /s/ SYSTEM OF HEBREW TRANSCRIPTION ix Letter Name Transliteration Pronunciation ע ayin ʿ voiced guttural (no En glish equivalent) ף פ pe p /p/ or /f/ ץ צ ṣade ṣ /ts/ ק qof q /k/ ר reš r /r/ שׁ šin š /sh/ שׂ śin ś /s/ ת taw t /t/ THE VOWELS Sign Name Transliteration Pronunciation 9 pataḥ a /a/ (father) 8 ḥatef pataḥ ă /a/ (father) 7 qameṣ ā /a/ (father) 7 qameṣ ḥatuf o /o/ (off ) 6 ḥatef qameṣ ŏ /o/ (off ) 4 segol e /e/ (end) 5 ḥatef segol ĕ /e/ (end) י4 segol yod ê /e/ (end) 3 ṣere ē /a/ (fate) י3 ṣere yod ê /a/ (fate) 2 ḥireq i /ee/ (meet) ֹ ḥolem ō /o/ (zone) 1 qibbuṣ u /oo/ (boot) וֹ full ḥolem ô /o/ (zone) וּ šureq û /oo/ (boot) 0 vocal shewa ĕ /a/ (about)
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