Binitarian monotheism?

A review of "Does Divine Plurality in the Hebrew Bible Demonstrate an Evolution From Polytheism to Monotheism in Israelite Religion? A Conference Paper" 

This is a short theological tract by Michael Heiser, arguing against the secular consensus view that ancient Israelite religion was originally polytheist (or perhaps “henotheist”) and evolved into monotheism during the exile in Babylon. Heiser insists on Israel's religion being monotheist from the start. This case really cannot be argued in a short pamphlet, either way, so this material should be regarded as an “opening statement” by the author.

Much hinges on how one chooses to date various Biblical books, or even chapters of the same (modern scholars believe that many books of the “Old Testament” have a composite character). One of Heiser's points is that Yahweh sounds sovereign and incomparable even in material usually regarded as pre-exilic. Conversely, the idea of a “divine council” populated by “elohim” can be found in post-exilic works. The author's comments on the inscriptions pairing Yahweh and Asherah are ingenious. Universally regarded as pre-exilic and often taken as evidence of polytheism, the inscription also proves that Yahweh was identified with the Canaanite high god El already before the exile. But if so, Yahweh was not a subordinate deity to El, he was the actual master of the cosmos! As a Bible-believing Christian, Heiser cannot accept the idea that he had a female consort, arguing that *this* must be an apostate notion.

Personally, I think that this e-book is too apologetic (in the theological sense). Heiser's book “The Unseen Realm” is more nuanced. There, he argues that ancient Israel, while not polytheist in our sense of the term, nevertheless believed in a pluriform deity. The most important aspect of this pluriformity was a kind of “binitarianism”, according to which the invisible Yahweh was represented on Earth by a visible Yahweh or Angel of the Lord, who shared the invisible Yahweh's essence, hence being both identical and distinct from him. This idea later evolved into the Christian trinitarianism and the idea of God's incarnation as Jesus. In this work, Heiser's actual view is only mentioned in a footnote. While Heiser's Israelite binitarianism is connected to his theological perspective, it doesn't seem prima facie impossible. Why should we expect all monotheisms to be identical to each other? Why should we expect the current Judeo-Christian-Muslim dichotomy between monotheism and polytheism to be meaningful during the Bronze Age or Early Iron Age? Let's be honest: the Christian Trinity isn't “monotheist” in the sense usually understood by the “post-exilic” term...

I will give this short stump speech three stars, while directing the reader's attention to “The Unseen Realm” by the same author, and “The Great Angel” by Margaret Barker. While Barker's perspective differs from Heiser's in many ways, there are nevertheless interesting overlaps. Heiser himself recommends a book I haven't read (yet), “Two Powers in Heaven” by Alan Segal. Happy hunting!