Blurb:

Changes in the conception of the divine and household religion, religious festivals, and other practices discernible from textual and archaeological materials relating to the monarchic era of the kingdom of Judah (ca. 975–586 BCE) vs. what is being espoused by the writer of Deuteronomy and in subsequent additions to the book are examined. The new conception of Yhwh Elohim vs. Yhwh Ṣeba’ot and this deity’s assumption of the roles of other deities precedes a consideration of the suppression of the ancestors and family gods in household cult, Israel as a holy people but not a nation of priests, the endorsement of dietary restrictions, advocacy of a central place of worship, and the endorsement of three annual pilgrimage festivals to the latter site.