Where the Gods Are: Spatial Dimensions of Anthropomorphism in the Biblical World

by Mark S. Smith

Publisher:

Yale University Press

, 2016

Overview

The issue of how to represent God is a concern both ancient and contemporary. In this wide-ranging and authoritative study, renowned biblical scholar Mark Smith investigates the symbols, meanings, and narratives in the Hebrew Bible, Ugaritic texts, and ancient iconography, which attempt to describe deities in relation to humans. Smith uses a novel approach to show how the Bible depicts God in human and animal forms—and sometimes both together. Mediating between the ancients’ theories and the work of modern thinkers, Smith’s boldly original work uncovers the foundational understandings of deities and space.

Product Details

• Title: Where the Gods Are: Spatial Dimensions of Anthropomorphism in the Biblical World
• Author: Mark S. Smith
• Series: Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Print Publication Date: 2016
• Logos Release Date: 2020
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. O.T. › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. O.T. › Criticism, Narrative; Anthropomorphism; Space › Religious aspects; Image of God; Gods, Ugaritic; Ugaritic literature › Relation to the Old Testament; Symbolism in the Bible; God › Biblical teaching; God › Attributes
• ISBNs: 9780300209228, 0300209223
• Resource ID: LLS:WHRGDSBBLCLWRLD
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T21:07:45Z

About Mark S. Smith

Mark S. Smith is Helena Professor of Old Testament Literature and Exegesis at Princeton Theological Seminary and Skirball Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at New York University. He has also served as visiting professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. An award-winning author, Smith has written sixteen books, including The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel; The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel’s Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts; God in Translation: Deities in Cross-Cultural Discourse in the Biblical World; How Human Is God? Seven Questions about God and Humanity in the Bible; and Where the Gods Are: Spatial Dimensions of Anthropomorphism in the Biblical World. His current research focuses on a commentary on the book of Judges, coauthored with archaeologist Elizabeth Bloch-Smith.