A Goodreads user asked Tony Sunderland:

I always thought Monotheism was a slow development in Ancient Israel from a run of mill local polytheism of the ancient near east to henotheism where one God (Yahweh) became the head god of the Israelites and then just grew in prominence and exclusivity during the time of Kings of Israel took the logic of one god one king one people to its ultimate conclusion. I am I off in this assessment?

Tony Sunderland Agree Peter. My previous question concentrated on the promise and covenant made by Moses. In reality it is almost certain that the land that bridged the established empires of Egypt and Mesopotamia was both a busy trading route and the home of diverse and converging cultures. Historians call the civilisation in this area ‘Syria-Palestine’ or ‘Canaan’. From around 1900 BCE, there were three forms of emerging cultures here: nomadic tribes who wandered the desert and semi-arid areas, small farms and villages of about twenty to fifty people, and emerging cities that traded goods and acted as cultural centres for religious and political purposes. Early religious beliefs became blended with a polytheistic pantheon of gods that represented the interests of a particular tribe or social group. El, identified with the image of a bull, was regarded as a kind of chief god who was both a creator and a ruler of the natural world.

His son Ba’al was also a superior god and was linked to nature, fertility and war. Ba’al was also portrayed as a bull. Other lesser gods were worshiped on a tribal basis. The worship of El and Ba’al was popular among the coastal tribal communities of Canaan. I think that you are also correct in assuming that it was a long road to reaching a true form of monotheistic faith . Even the first commandment demands that Yahweh is placed first. This therefore assumes that other gods were still around but inferior.

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