There Were Other Gods In Ancient Times?

[Vomit Comet]

In the Hebrew scriptures, did it say...

 

...that YWHW is the only real god and all the other gods don't exist at all?

 

...that the other gods aren't gods but evil demons/fallen angels working for the devil? (This seems to be Paul's position.)

 

...or that other gods did exist but that the Israelites weren't allowed to worship them or give them any props, however indirectly?

[Kuroikaze]

In the Hebrew scriptures, did it say...

 

...that YWHW is the only real god and all the other gods don't exist at all?

 

...that the other gods aren't gods but evil demons/fallen angels working for the devil? (This seems to be Paul's position.)

 

...or that other gods did exist but that the Israelites weren't allowed to worship them or give them any props, however indirectly?

 

If you are only talking about the old testament then the answer is 1 and 3 depending on the book you look at. And perhaps a bit of 2 in a few of the very late OT books.

 

It is a common misconception my Christians that there is any common message on the bible on anything. The books in the OT were written over a period of about 500 years, with oral traditions tracing back even further. Early Judaism generally held to position 3. This was Judaism before the Babylonian exile. Early books include most of the first five books (though they likely were redacted and edited during exile) 1 and 2 kings and chronicles.

 

During and after exile the theology changed, in part as a result of picking up Babylonian theology. The notion of demons and angles, and the notion of the afterlife were both borrowed from Babylon. so position one developed during and just after exile, most of the Prophets, both major and minor are examples of this view.

 

The 2nd view you speak of began to develop slowly during this period as well, and the best example of this view in the OT is the book of Daniel. However, Daniel was written in about 300 B.C.E., by the the NT era the idea was much more developed.