How the God of Israel Was Born

# Summary Archaeological evidence and textual analysis of the Hebrew Bible reveal that monotheistic Judaism developed gradually through the merger of two distinct religious traditions: a northern Canaanite tradition centered on the deity El, and a southern Arabian desert nomadic tradition. Rather than emerging as a sudden revelation at Mount Sinai as traditionally portrayed, the faith resulted from a complex political and cultural process of convergence and harmonization between these rival theological systems over centuries.