# Does God speak of other Gods? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 4, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214 "2009-03-04T00:07:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/41 "2009-03-04T23:55:26Z")
> [@tullsterx](#): > > the Devil is another god. . . Either a Fallen Angel according to Milton, or some rather vague Adversary according to the Torah. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/42 "2009-03-05T00:02:51Z")
If the Angels constitute the Board of Directors, perhaps the Devil and his minions are Human Resources. ---
**Author:** ![Grendel\_s\_Father](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grendel\_s\_Father](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grendel_s_Father)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/43 "2009-03-05T01:28:51Z")
Hereā€™s an interesting article on the topic, though he doesnā€™t seem to cite sourcesā€¦ > **[The Ancestry of Gods](http://3lbmonkeybrain.blogspot.com/2007/11/ancestry-of-gods.html)** > > (Fair warning: I'm still fairly early in my serious studies of this field, so beware the occasional mistake.) One of my "someday I'd like to... ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/44 "2009-03-05T05:04:53Z")
Diogenes alrady answered, but just to echo him. > [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](#): > > 1. How do you know they had the same pantheon as the rest of the Caananites? Is it in the Bible anywhere? Archaelogy mostly. You can try reading the following works which document the transition of the Jews from pantheon to monotheism, and the transition of Yawheh from a storm god to The Creator of Everything. > **[The Early History of God](https://books.google.com/books?id=1yM3AuBh4AsC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Early+History+of+God:+Yahweh+and+the+Other+Deities+in+Ancient+Israel)** > > Foreword by Patrick D. Miller In this remarkable, acclaimed history of the development of monotheism, Mark S. Smith explains how Israel's religion evolved from a cult of Yahweh as a primary deity among many to a fully defined monotheistic faith with... > **[The Storm-god in the Ancient Near East](https://books.google.com/books?id=ZGjcLBYTUUgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=storm+god#PPR7,M1)** > > In this comprehensive study of a common deity found in the ancient Near East as well as many other cultures, Green brings together evidence from the worlds of myth, iconography, and literature in an attempt to arrive at a new synthesis regarding the... > **[Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan](https://books.google.com/books?id=y-gfwlltlRwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Yahweh+and+the+Gods+and+Goddesses+of+Canaan#PPA5,M1)** > > This masterly book is the climax of over twenty-five years of study of the impact of Canaanite religion and mythology on ancient Israel and the Old Testament. It is John Day's magnum opus in which he sets forth all his main arguments and... > [@](#): > > 1. Does the Bible mention Asherah by name or grant her legitimacy at any point? Iā€™m guessing not or atheists would have made more of it, but if it does that would be crazyā€¦ The Bible mentions her, but does not give her legitimacy. However, Asherah poles have been found dating to the 6th centure BCE in digs of ancient Jewish villages. The Tanakh (Old Testament), as a reference point, is made from books ranging from the age of [950 BCE to 450 BCE](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_hypothesis). The Bible does say, though, that King Manasseh placed an Asherah Pole next to The Temple. This would have been sometime between 687 and 642 BCE. Moses on the mountainā€“i.e. where God commands that there are no other gods besides himselfā€“could have happened no later than 850 BCE (the oldest reference to Moses) and is generally said to have happened sometime between 1450 BCE and 1200 BCE. So theoretically there was at least about 600 years after God revealed himself to the Jewish people, performing lots of grandscale miracles before them, and said, ā€œThere can be only one! No worshiping idols!ā€, that the Jewish people continued to set up Asherah Poles, even the king himself. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/45 "2009-03-05T13:07:04Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Either a Fallen Angel according to Milton, or some rather vague Adversary according to the Torah. šŸ™‚ Really any other supernatural entity that has eternal life and unatural powers could be classified as a pagan god. And it seems obvious to me that the denial of other pagan gods is what the whole, ā€œno other gods before meā€ line is all about. But, I understand that many people think that angels are not other gods and that the Devil is a fallen angel, therefore the Devil is not another god. . . but, I donā€™t buy that. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/46 "2009-03-05T21:38:42Z")
Thereā€™s also [Deuteronomy 7:16](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%20Deuteronomy%207:16&version=47), variously translated; ā€œAnd you shall consume all the peoples that the LORD your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/47 "2009-03-06T00:30:16Z")
I learn much from this thread-- ā€˜henotheismā€™: great word I was not aware of. Glad to match concepts with words. Diogenes, Polycarp, Schindler, Sage Rat, especially-- great posts, the reason I luv teh Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/48 "2009-03-06T20:43:35Z")
_Obviously_ Elohim refers to the alien race that built our civilization and gave us guidance. Theyā€™re plural but their work is collective and unison. Like duh. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/49 "2009-03-06T23:11:34Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > I have a big problem with that idea. Iā€™m not disputing the similarities between the Sumerian and Hebrew stories, Iā€™m just saying that itā€™s impossible for me to believe the Hebrews would have changed the name of the deity and then forgotten to adjust the verbs and pronouns to fit. If they left it as ā€œusā€ and ā€œourā€ they meant ā€œusā€ and ā€œourā€ from their own monotheistic perspective. > > Even if you donā€™t think the texts are divinely inspired in any way, you have to admit that the early Hebrew writers and/or compilers are not going to make a mistake like that. But on the other hand, there are some pretty blatantly contradictory passages in the Bible. There are two creation stories in the first two chapters of Genesis, immediately after each other, which donā€™t really agree on any particular and actually contradict each other on several points. There are other fairly visible ā€œseamsā€ in Genesis, where at least two or three different sources were stitched together to form the text. (Not so much a disagreement about the specific issue raised about the verbs and pronouns as it is a caution about that particular ā€œWell, they surely would have noticed a problem as obvious as _that_ā€ line of argument".) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214/50 "2009-03-07T04:03:23Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Yahweh even once had a girlfriend named [Asherah](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah#In_Israel_and_Judah). Yea but he dumped her after she gave him the Meta-virus:) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-god-speak-of-other-gods/488214.md?page=2)