# [Bible] Episode 315: Kent Sparks - The Beginnings of Israelite Religion

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bible-for-normal-people-743240/bible-episode-315-kent-sparks-the-beginnings-of-israelite-religion
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bible-for-normal-people-743240/bible-episode-315-kent-sparks-the-beginnings-of-israelite-religion.md
Podcast: [The Bible For Normal People](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-bible-for-normal-people-743240)
Published: 2025-11-24T05:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-315-kent-sparks-the-beginnings-of-israelite-religion/
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/swap.fm/track/JhoQDAATtO1l0y8tdKNa/traffic.megaphone.fm/ADL2522473162.mp3?updated=1763909512
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-bible-for-normal-people-743240/episodes/bible-episode-315-kent-sparks-the-beginnings-of-israelite-religion
Duration seconds: 2922

## Resource

On this week’s episode of The Bible for Normal People, Pete and Jared are joined by Kent Sparks to unpack the early religious history of ancient Israel. Kent explores how ancient Israelites first gave God the name Yahweh, how Israelites understood Yahweh in relation to other ancient Near Eastern deities, and how the roots of monotheism emerge from a far more diverse and evolving set of beliefs than many assume. Show Notes → https://thebiblefornormalpeople.com/episode-315-kent-sparks-the-beginnings-of-israelite-religion/ Watch this episode on YouTube → https://youtu.be/JsRPR59pX54 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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## Transcript

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