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Henotheism

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

Privileging one god while acknowledging others in the working definition used here; not automatically monotheism or a fixed social phase.

Modern comparison of working definitions. Terms overlap and vary across scholars; arrangement does not date three successive stages for everyone
Modern comparison of working definitions. Terms overlap and vary across scholars; arrangement does not date three successive stages for everyoneIL Archive · original diagram · CC BYImage source

Text

Usage varies: focus on one deity in worship or supremacy within a plural divine world. It sometimes overlaps with monolatryMonolatryWorship of one deity without necessarily denying others; variable analytical term, not one uniform doctrine of all Israelites.Glossary · Click to read the explanation; an author’s definition must precede historical dating. [1]

Greatest among all does not necessarily mean no other god. Heavenly beings alone do not automatically make a text polytheistic; their nature, independence and role also matter. [2]

References and notes

  1. Baruch A. Levine. Global Monotheism: The Contribution of the Israelite Prophets. In Melammu: The Ancient World in an Age of Globalization, 2014. DOI: 10.34663/9783945561003-04. Introduction, proposed phases/dating and expanded prophetic horizon read. Late eighth/early seventh in Levine’s model; imperial explanation attributed, not consensus or universal adoption. Return to the text ↑
  2. Benjamin D. Sommer. Appendix: Monotheism and Polytheism in Ancient Israel. The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel. Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 145–174. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511596568.009. Cambridge summary only, not appendix text: reports debate then states own case for biblical monotheism not unusual before exile and limits of term. Others’ views not substituted for his own. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 11 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

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IL Archive, «Henotheism», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/henotheism