This is a monumental volume of over 1,100 pages, including over 200 pages of endnotes and 100 pages of bibliography. It contains a comprehensive discussion of most of the issues surrounding the history of the God of Israel in the context of the ancient Near East. It clearly represents Lewis’s magnum opus. It explores the origin of Israel’s God Yahweh and his relationship to Canaanite El, the iconography of divinity, and the multifaceted character of Yahweh, as well as the nature of his cult. A splendid volume, with many interesting illustrations, this volume is unusually both encyclopedic and readable. The author presents issues clearly and sorts through them judiciously, thus providing an invaluable synthesis of texts and iconography. Readers of BAR will enjoy! –BAS Library

The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion through the Lens of DivinityTheodore J. Lewis(Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2020)