How did the Bible become a book? Who wrote the books of the Bible and how is it the Bible was written at all? How did the Bible become a book? The social infrastructure necessary for the widespread use of writing in Israel would not begin to emerge until the late monarchy. Before this time, the beginnings of the Bible are to be found in oral literature and songs passed on from one generation to the next.
. As a West-Semitic language, Ugaritic is closely related to biblical Hebrew, sharing a good deal of vocabulary, as well as relating to forms of words, structures of sentences and the way the language is arranged. The Ugaritic divine council was led by El, the same word used in the Hebrew Bible for deity and as the proper name for the God of Israel. There are explicit references to a council or assembly of El, in some cases overlapping word for-word with those in the Hebrew Bible .
The relationship between the God of Israel (Elohim) and the Canaanite god El is widely contested among scholars. I will examine the Kinite position as the biblical account of Yahweh's origins. There's much discussion about the Ugaritic traditions, the Baal Cycle and the comparable material in the Bible related to the cosmic enemies. Ba’al confronts four enemies with basically the same names in the Ugaritic carried over into Biblical material.
What I’m seeking to do is to place the Hebrew Bible and the ancient Israelites in the context of its surrounding Mesopotamian and Canaanite culture. In doing so I hope to explain the lost worldview of an ancient civilization and how their worldview shaped the Israelites and influenced the Bible we read today. With that said, I want to be upfront and honest with you. Somethings you will learn will be surprising to you, to others, it may be shocking. However, the subject is a fascinating one! It is my belief that you will never approach the Bible the same way again.
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