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Israelite Religion: From Tribal Beginnings to Scribal Legacy
A panoramic, thousand-year history of Israelite religion, from the Iron Age to the birth of Judaism, by a renowned biblical scholar
From its Iron Age beginnings to its aftermath in the Roman period, Israelite religion went through significant changes and transformations. As the Israelites responded to major historical events and political realities, their collective beliefs and practices evolved over time and developed new forms, even as earlier elements of religious culture remained an active substratum.
Weaving together biblical literature, archaeology, and comparative sources, award-winning author Karel van der Toorn tells the sweeping story of how Israelite religion evolved from a tribal cult honoring the ancestors and the “god of the fathers” to a scriptural religion practiced by an ethnic minority within the Roman Empire. He demonstrates how religion was integral to nation-building as Israel transitioned from a nomadic chiefdom to a monarchical state; how religious practices changed in response to the loss of political independence; and how in the final centuries before the Common Era, as Hellenistic culture permeated the Eastern Mediterranean, Israelite religion gave rise to a variety of reading communities committed to a body of sacred scripture, with the law of Moses at its core.
Combining literary studies, anthropology, linguistics, history, and more, this book tells the fascinating story of Israelite religion as it has never been told before.
From its Iron Age beginnings to its aftermath in the Roman period, Israelite religion went through significant changes and transformations. As the Israelites responded to major historical events and political realities, their collective beliefs and practices evolved over time and developed new forms, even as earlier elements of religious culture remained an active substratum.
Weaving together biblical literature, archaeology, and comparative sources, award-winning author Karel van der Toorn tells the sweeping story of how Israelite religion evolved from a tribal cult honoring the ancestors and the “god of the fathers” to a scriptural religion practiced by an ethnic minority within the Roman Empire. He demonstrates how religion was integral to nation-building as Israel transitioned from a nomadic chiefdom to a monarchical state; how religious practices changed in response to the loss of political independence; and how in the final centuries before the Common Era, as Hellenistic culture permeated the Eastern Mediterranean, Israelite religion gave rise to a variety of reading communities committed to a body of sacred scripture, with the law of Moses at its core.
Combining literary studies, anthropology, linguistics, history, and more, this book tells the fascinating story of Israelite religion as it has never been told before.
432 pages, Hardcover
Published April 15, 2025
About the author
Karel van der Toorn
12 books8 followersKarel van der Toorn is professor of religion and society at the University of Amsterdam. He is the author of the prizewinning Scribal Culture and the Making of the Hebrew Bible, among other publications.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 19, 2025
Heel leesbare beschrijving van de geschiedenis van de godsdienst in Israël. Interessant om de historische context bij bekende bijbelverhalen te leren kennen. Daardoor worden veel dogma's sterk gerelativeerd.
November 27, 2025
This is a good book covering the Hebrew religion from its origins until the destruction of the Second Temple. Van der Toorn notes than some scholars discuss modern Judiasm and the ancient Hebrew religion as is they are two separate things, but he counters that it's all a continual evolution. The religion isn't so much fixed or set by the end as it has reached a clear tipping/turning point without its main temple.
Early on, there was a belief in three layers of heaven by the tribes living in the Canaan area, some higher than others. People worshipped different types of dieties, too: nature gods, city gods, and deified ancestors. The dead went to an underworld. Demons and ghosts could exist in this realm.
There were different groups in the area. Canaanitse worshipped Baal, Arameans worshipped El, and Edmoites and Midianite nomads worshipped YHWH. There was an almost complete lack of places named in Palestine for YHWH, but plenty of others for the other gods. (The key town of Bethel was named for El, for instance. Jerusalem used to be for Baal). YHWH was from the South, apparently named for a mountain he was thought to dwell in.
Saul, the first king, was from the southern lands of the Hebrew, and supported YHWH. YHWH, Ball, and El were all worshipped, but all fused into one, and that fusion helped create a common identity. YHWH was promoted by Saul as well as future kings David and Solomon. The calf (bull) was a symbol for El. People would pray aloud back in those days.
The fall of Samaria helped lead to the creation of Deuteronomy, as van der Toorn detects a Samarian religoius influence there. In the Babylon period, the tradition of fasting began. They became much more calendar-conscious. It's doubtful, he thinks, that the Sabbath had been observed before. Jeremiah gains the status as martyr. Some fled to Egytp.
Religion and ethnicity became intertwined as the religion was no longer about a specific state. Persian changed the Judean view of how they related to god. Persian had ideas like seven archangeels. Persia also helped lead to a more universalistic outlook. There's a turn to monotheism. Persia defined groups by their religion, making it more ethnica/tribal. Persian policy was to respect their subjects religions. The idea of books as law came from Persia, as that's when the Hebrew started to refer to their texts as such. The Judean festival calendar spread across the area, and to Egypt. Jews became an ethnci community with festivals the #1 marker of their identity.
The encounter with the Hellenistic world made them Jews. It began as a counterpoint to Hellenism. It's now the religion of their ancestors. First widespread adhereance to the Torh is the 2nd century BC. The rise of currency helped them reconceptualize sin in terms of debt. Increased literacy allowed for the scripture to have more inluence and led to the early rabbinical commentary on the Holy Books. It's not just a record of the past by revelation for the present. Sadduces wanted to look to the Torah alone and so denied angels and ressurection. There's awareness the prophets are gone but still want new ones which leads to talk of Messiahs. Some could be political; some not. Rome wasn't going to take any chance. There were apocalyptic views.
Early on, there was a belief in three layers of heaven by the tribes living in the Canaan area, some higher than others. People worshipped different types of dieties, too: nature gods, city gods, and deified ancestors. The dead went to an underworld. Demons and ghosts could exist in this realm.
There were different groups in the area. Canaanitse worshipped Baal, Arameans worshipped El, and Edmoites and Midianite nomads worshipped YHWH. There was an almost complete lack of places named in Palestine for YHWH, but plenty of others for the other gods. (The key town of Bethel was named for El, for instance. Jerusalem used to be for Baal). YHWH was from the South, apparently named for a mountain he was thought to dwell in.
Saul, the first king, was from the southern lands of the Hebrew, and supported YHWH. YHWH, Ball, and El were all worshipped, but all fused into one, and that fusion helped create a common identity. YHWH was promoted by Saul as well as future kings David and Solomon. The calf (bull) was a symbol for El. People would pray aloud back in those days.
The fall of Samaria helped lead to the creation of Deuteronomy, as van der Toorn detects a Samarian religoius influence there. In the Babylon period, the tradition of fasting began. They became much more calendar-conscious. It's doubtful, he thinks, that the Sabbath had been observed before. Jeremiah gains the status as martyr. Some fled to Egytp.
Religion and ethnicity became intertwined as the religion was no longer about a specific state. Persian changed the Judean view of how they related to god. Persian had ideas like seven archangeels. Persia also helped lead to a more universalistic outlook. There's a turn to monotheism. Persia defined groups by their religion, making it more ethnica/tribal. Persian policy was to respect their subjects religions. The idea of books as law came from Persia, as that's when the Hebrew started to refer to their texts as such. The Judean festival calendar spread across the area, and to Egypt. Jews became an ethnci community with festivals the #1 marker of their identity.
The encounter with the Hellenistic world made them Jews. It began as a counterpoint to Hellenism. It's now the religion of their ancestors. First widespread adhereance to the Torh is the 2nd century BC. The rise of currency helped them reconceptualize sin in terms of debt. Increased literacy allowed for the scripture to have more inluence and led to the early rabbinical commentary on the Holy Books. It's not just a record of the past by revelation for the present. Sadduces wanted to look to the Torah alone and so denied angels and ressurection. There's awareness the prophets are gone but still want new ones which leads to talk of Messiahs. Some could be political; some not. Rome wasn't going to take any chance. There were apocalyptic views.
June 26, 2025
Religions change and develop across time. That is certainly true of Judaism, although it can be difficult to understand its earliest manifestations since they greatly differ from the religion practiced today. In his fascinating and complex “Israelite Religion: From Tribal Beginnings to Scribal Legacy” (Yale University Press), Karel van der Toorn discusses the history of Judaism from its origins as an Israelite religion in 1200 B.C.E. through the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. Readers should note that, while the work is not filled with academic jargon, it does begin with eight pages of abbreviations used in the text and concludes with more than 100 pages of footnotes. However, van der Toorn does an excellent job exploring the development of Judaism in a way that general readers should be able to understand.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews