One God Or Many?: Concepts of Divinity in the Ancient World (Transactions of the Casco Bay Assyriological Institute, 1)

Porter, Barbara Nevling; Baines, John; Parpola, Simo; Geller, Stephen A.; Versnel, H. S.

ISBN 10: 096742500X / ISBN 13: 9780967425009

Published by CDL, 2018

About this Item

Small Scratch on front cover. No creases, internal markings

This book is the precipitate of a conference convened in 1997 to explore concepts of divinity as both one and many in ancient Assyria, Egypt, Greece, and Israel. The five original and provocative essays that resulted engage issues as diverse as the advantages and disadvantages of polytheism; different concepts of deity held by these closely related societies; the possibility that plural nouns may denote singular beings and vice versa; the many definitions of monotheism; and how to decide whether an ancient author in referring to a god as one was characterizing that god as numerically singular, best in quality, or simply first to appear on the cosmic stage.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1789849680014

Bibliographic Details

• Title: One God Or Many?: Concepts of Divinity in the Ancient World (Transactions of the Casco Bay Assyriological Institute, 1)
• Publisher: CDL
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 096742500X
• ISBN 13: 9780967425009
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: Fine
• Dimensions: 14.73W x 22.35H x 2.46D centimeters 14.73 centimeters width by 22.35 centimeters height by 2.46 centimeters depth
• Weight: 476.272 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This book is the precipitate of a conference convened in 1997 to explore concepts of divinity as both one and many in ancient Assyria, Egypt, Greece, and Israel. The five original and provocative essays that resulted engage issues as diverse as the advantages and disadvantages of polytheism; different concepts of deity held by these closely related societies; the possibility that plural nouns may denote singular beings and vice versa; the many definitions of monotheism; and how to decide whether an ancient author in referring to a god as one was characterizing that god as numerically singular, best in quality, or simply first to appear on the cosmic stage.

About the Author

John Baines is Professor of Egyptology at Oxford University; Stephen A. Geller is Professor of Bible at Jewish Theological Seminary of America; Simo Parpola is Professor of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki; H.S. Versnel is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Leiden; and Barbara Nevling Porter is a Research Associate at the Harvard Semitic Museum and Director of the Casco Bay Assyriological Institute.