The Named Gods of Deuteronomy

Abstract

This article serves to expand several points in the recently published “The Many Gods of Deuteronomy,” including noting a number of potential readings of Deuteronomy 32:1–43 which overtly indicate a polytheistic origin for the hymn. This includes several references to both named and unnamed deities, which have gone neglected in the discussions on whether or not the passage indicates Israel’s earlier phases of polytheism. Further, the works attempting to reread Deuteronomy 32 as non-polytheistic are critiqued for a number of other failings in their methods and specific data points.