Polytheism to monotheism
The concept of gods predates Judaism. Early man invented gods to explain the inexplicable - lightning, earthquakes, the passing of the seasons, even the more mundane things like plants growing. Just look at what Greek and Roman gods were like to see how the ancient people used gods to explain. Life was precarious, and it made sense to make an offering to the god of fertility to ensure your crops grows - it is better than leaving it up to chance. Yahweh was just one of those gods originally, and you can see signs of polytheism in the Bible still. The Canaanite Pantheon The head of the Canaanite religion was El, a name that is in the Bible, as later Yahweh fused with El to become the head. However, in these verses we can see that Yahweh (the Lord) is still subordinate to El (the Most High). Deuteronomy 32:8 When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of I