Edited by
Barbara Nevling Porter. ISBN: 0-967425-))x; 350 pp. Softcover.
Publisher: The Casco Bay Assyriological Institute. $25 + $5 S & H.
Orders should be sent to:
CDL Press
PO Box 34454
Bethesda MD 20854
or email: CDLPress@erols.com
or fax: 253-484-5542
Phone: 301-762-2066
This book is the precipitate of a conference convened in 1997 to explore
concepts of divinity as both one and many in ancient Assyria, Egypt,
Greece, and Israel. The five original and provocative essays that resulted
engage issues as diverse as the advantages and disadvantages of polytheism;
different concepts of deity held by these closely related societies; the
possibility that plural nouns may denote singular beings and vice versa;
the many definitions of "monotheism"; and how to decide whether an ancient
author in referring to a god as "one" was characterizing that god as
numerically singular, best in quality, or simply first to appear on the
cosmic stage. The idea was to provoke a lively exchange among four fields
that currently deal with such issues in almost complete isolation from one
another; the resulting discussions at the conference, often intense, are
summarized in the concluding chapter.
The volume includes essays by:
John Baines, "Egyptian Deities in Context: Multiplicity, Unity, and the
Problem of Change"
H.S. Versnel, "Thrice One: Three Greek Experiments in Oneness"
Simo Parpola, "Monotheism in Ancient Assyria"
Barbara N. Porter, "The Anxiety of Multiplicity: Concepts of Divinity as
One and Many in Ancient Assyria"
Stephen A. Geller, "The One and the Many: An Essay on the God of the
Covenant."