Thomas Römer is Professor of the Hebrew Bible at the Collège de France and Professor at the University of Lausanne. Raymond Geuss is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge. His books include Changing the Subject, Reality and Its Dreams, and Who Needs a World View?
Römer, a distinguished scholar rather than an ideologue, seeks to
determine exactly what is historical and exactly what is not in the
depiction of God. This is a brilliant book.
*Times Higher Education*
Römer presents a scholarly and provocative account of how a minor
tribal deity likely grew to become—or revealed himself to be—Lord
of Creation.
*Philadelphia Inquirer*
Römer is interested in the emergence of a deity whose nature is
now so familiar that its startling originality no longer
startles.
*Maclean’s*
It reads very well, is well translated and has a bit of the
excitement of discovery for engaged readers.
*America*
Römer deftly weaves together evidence from the Bible with
extra-biblical archeological finds that mention Israel and Yhwh to
outline the development of monotheism… Not until Jerusalem’s
destruction in 587 BCE did Yhwh become the universal, monotheistic
god untied to place or particular monarch, the god who was later
adopted by Christians and Muslims. Römer writes with clarity and
accuracy and tells a compelling story. This book is a masterful
work, tying together an enormous amount of information in a concise
format.
*Publishers Weekly (starred review)*
There is nothing quite like this book in English. The Invention of
God traces the history of the God of Israel from the late Bronze
Age to the Hellenistic period, charting the rise of Yhwh as the
sole God. The period covered is vast, the thesis is provocative and
stimulating, and the scholarship is cutting-edge.
*Timothy Lim, University of Edinburgh*
Römer is a sure-footed guide to what is often a difficult
discussion. A learned and elegant book.
*Nathan MacDonald, University of Cambridge*
Römer is the first to have brought all the relevant material
together in such an accessible form, setting out both literary and
archaeological evidence clearly and readably.
*Church Times*
[An] excellent book…A masterly work of historical detection that
looks at the evolution of Jewish faith from the Bronze Age to the
Hellenic period. This is a superb work of scholarship.
*The Church of England Newspaper*
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