Editing Openai/6928eb67-b638-8009-8ee6-91ff9471f4fb (section)

=== Key scholarship & starting points (read these next) ===
'' Mark S. Smith, ''The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel* — influential overview of Yahweh within the Canaanite/Near Eastern milieu (how storm/war imagery and other divine roles are shared and transformed). Good for your Yahweh → storm/war-god question. Internet Archive<ref>{{cite web|title=Internet Archive|url=https://archive.org/stream/mark-s.-smith-the-early-history-of-god-yahweh-and-the-other-deities-in-ancient-i_202012/Mark%20S.%20Smith%20-%20The%20Early%20History%20of%20God_%20Yahweh%20and%20the%20Other%20Deities%20in%20Ancient%20Israel%20%282002%2C%20Wm.%20B.%20Eerdmans%20Publishing%29_djvu.txt|publisher=Internet Archive|access-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>
* Ugaritic studies on Baal & Mot (Ugaritic texts; Cassuto and many others). Look for “Baal and Mot in the Ugaritic texts” and standard Ugaritic translations/commentaries. These are primary sources for Mot. JSTOR<ref>{{cite web|title=JSTOR|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27924890|publisher=jstor.org|access-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>
* J. M. Blair, “De-Demonising the Old Testament” (PhD / thesis / monograph material) — surveys debates on “demons” and transformations of pagan figures. Good historiography of the study of demons in OT scholarship. era.ed.ac.uk<ref>{{cite web|title=era.ed.ac.uk|url=https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/1842/3480/1/Blair2009.pdf|publisher=era.ed.ac.uk|access-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>
* Reference articles on Samael (Britannica, Jewish Encyclopedia) for how the figure develops across Second Temple, rabbinic, and mystical texts (shows the composite, late development of Samael). Encyclopedia Britannica<ref>{{cite web|title=Encyclopedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samael|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>
* Articles on Resheph in Biblical contexts (e.g., JBQ article and studies of Ugaritic/theophoric names) — shows how a Canaanite war/plague god is reflected in Hebrew poetic language. Jewish Bible Quarterly<ref>{{cite web|title=Jewish Bible Quarterly|url=https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/452/JBQ_452_Barreshef.pdf|publisher=Jewish Bible Quarterly|access-date=2025-11-28}}</ref>