Abstract
A
A. here presents the culmination of many previous articles by drawing together his innovative theory that Yahweh was originally a metallurgical god with its consequences for understanding what he claims are the six forms of Yahwism now found in the Hebrew Bible. The archaeologically attested flourishing of the copper industry in the Arabah in the early Iron Age encourages him to find traces of its association with Yahweh in a remarkably wide range of biblical sources, some being more convincing than others; there is a danger of looking for evidence supporting a theory further than is always persuasive. Nonetheless, it affords an interesting spin on the older Kenite hypothesis. How this deity became the God of the people of Israel again involves far-reaching discussion of such topics as the Amorite dominance of the Levant in the Bronze Age, the relation between Yahweh and El, original readings of Exodus 15 and Judges 5, and so on. All this is based on impressively detailed familiarity with the primary sources as well as adequate, if hardly comprehensive, knowledge of relevant scholarship. Despite the suspicion that too many elements in the argument may rest on speculative choices between the available options, this book may be recommended as a learned discussion of elements in the history of Israelite religion which are too often overlooked or downplayed.