I’m reading a book right now about the “Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible.” The main title of this work by John Walton is Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament. This post is not a recommendation, as I have only read about 100 pages so far. But there were a few statements in the chapter on “The Gods” that I thought might be of interest here.
“There is no such word as ‘religion ‘ in the languages of the ancient Near East. Likewise, there is no dichotomy between sacred and secular, or even between natural and supernatural. . . . Life was religion and religion could not be compartmentalized within life” (p. 87).
“The operative question in their minds, for instance, is not, ‘Is deity just? ‘ but, ‘Does the deity administer justice? ‘ It is not important whether the deity is inherently good—is the deity doing good for me?” (p. 106).
“It is very rare for the gods of the ancient Near East to be described as good, though the hope is commonly expressed that the god will do good to the worshiper, that is, act favorably or for their benefit” (p. 109).
“Faithfulness is one of the most frequently affirmed attributes of Yahweh because of his covenant relationship with Israel. In contrast, it is difficult to find any such affirmation for the gods of the ancient Near East. Words that convey loyalty are never used of gods in that way. The gods have no agreements or promises to be faithful to and no obligations or commitments to fulfill” (p. 109).
M. Dandamayev: “Dogmatism and intolerance toward the beliefs of others was alien to the ancient religions, since the complete absence of the concept of false faith or of any forms of heresy were typical of them” (p. 111).
I think that this is a wonderful text. I own it, and would recommend it hardily to anyone interest in ANE background study.