Lecture by Mark S. Smith, Skirball Professor of Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University.

Until relatively recently, most scholars of the Bible assumed that beginning at Mount Sinai and the giving of the Ten Commandments, Israel believed in only one god. This presentation will first examine some of the problems with the evidence for this idea. Then we will take a look at the development of ideas about polytheism and monotheism beginning with the Ugaritic texts in the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1400-1200 BCE) down to the sixth century BCE, the time of the Bible’s clearest expressions of belief in only one god.

This lecture is made possible through the generous support of:

• The Department of Philosophy and Liberal Studies
• The Socratic Society
• The Department of History
• The Donaghey Scholars Program
• The College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
• The Middle East Studies Program
• Richard and Mary Frothingham