Francesca Stavrakopoulou

Other scholars, myself included, not so sure.

We don't know that this kind of prioritisation of Yahweh over and above all other deities within the local pantheons, we don't really know whether that happened or not.

In this particular period, we don't know that a form of the Book of Deuteronomy was written as early as the 7th century BCE.

What we are all agreed on is

is that by the time we get to the 6th century BCE, 587 BCE in particular, the Assyrians have been defeated by the Babylonians who now have the upper imperial hand.

And as a part of their expansion down towards Egypt, the Babylonians have destroyed Jerusalem and have taken off into exile the elites of Jerusalem, the monarchy, a lot of the priesthood, a lot of the scribes, the important people, technicians, the artisans, people that are useful to the empire.

Whilst they are in exile in Babylon, these elite group decide they have to figure out what the hell has just happened.

Has this happened because Yahweh has been defeated?

This warrior god, this father god, this patron of the people, this patron who is set to dwell literally in the temple in Jerusalem, how the hell has this happened?

Has he been defeated or was this all a part of Yahweh's plan to punish his people for some kind of religious malpractice?

And that's basically what those elites, those scribal elites in particular, the intelligentsia in Babylon decide has happened.

They said, no, no, the Babylonian gods aren't stronger than Yahweh.

Yahweh has used the Babylonians and their gods against us.

we worshipped other gods and we didn't realise that Yahweh got really upset about that.

I will not tolerate this because he is a jealous god.

So that's the beginnings of this religious ideology.

So how do you account for what's happened?

You say, right, Yahweh has to have some kind of universal reach.

He's not just a territorial god.

He can control the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Egyptians.