Divine Plurality, Early Trinities, and the Elevation of Jehovah: Revisiting Moncure Daniel Conway’s Demonology and Devil-Lore

 

📝 Introductory Note to the Reader      I am not a theologian, nor do I pretend to be one. Yet there are mysteries within our inherited beliefs that I feel compelled to explore in order to understand the foundations of the tradition in which many of us were raised—Christian and Catholic.      The first time I encountered the provocative idea that Jehovah was originally part of a cohort of other gods was through a former partner and friend, Javier Fernández, who studied theology. My curiosity deepened when I read Moncure Daniel Conway’s Demonology and Devil-Lore (1879), a book that captivated me by the way it dissected myths and exposed how churches have systematically demonized earlier beliefs.      What follows is not the work of a professional theologian, but of a scholar in search of understanding, connecting Conway’s insights with broader historical and mythological patterns.

Divine Plurality, Early Trinities, and the Elevation of Jehovah: Revisiting Moncure Daniel Conway’s Demonology and Devil-Lore

	Abstract Christianity’s doctrine of the Trinity is traditionally perceived as a unique theological innovation. However, Moncure Daniel Conway’s Demonology and Devil-Lore (1879) reveals that trinitarian structures predate Christianity and appear across diverse ancient civilizations. This paper examines Conway’s thesis that Jehovah originated as one among the Elohim, situates this claim within modern biblical scholarship, and compares the Christian Trinity with analogous triads in Hinduism, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Arabia. The argument highlights that Christianity’s Trinity is less an isolated revelation than a crystallization of a universal religious archetype: the reconciliation of unity and plurality in the divine.	Keywords: Moncure Daniel Conway, Demonology and Devil-Lore, Elohim, Trinity, Comparative Religion, Mythological Archetypes
	Resumen La doctrina cristiana de la Trinidad suele entenderse como una innovación única. Sin embargo, Demonology and Devil-Lore (1879) de Moncure Daniel Conway demuestra que las estructuras trinitarias existen desde mucho antes del cristianismo y se encuentran en diversas civilizaciones antiguas. Este artículo examina la tesis de Conway según la cual Jehová fue originalmente uno de los Elohim, la relaciona con la investigación bíblica moderna y compara la Trinidad cristiana con tríadas análogas en el hinduismo, Egipto, Mesopotamia, Grecia y Arabia. El argumento resalta que la Trinidad cristiana no es una revelación aislada, sino la cristalización de un arquetipo religioso universal: la reconciliación entre unidad y pluralidad en lo divino.
	Resumo A doutrina cristã da Trindade é frequentemente vista como uma inovação exclusiva. No entanto, Demonology and Devil-Lore (1879) de Moncure Daniel Conway mostra que as estruturas trinitárias existiam muito antes do cristianismo e estavam presentes em várias civilizações antigas. Este artigo examina a tese de Conway de que Jeová foi originalmente um dos Elohim, relaciona essa ideia com estudos bíblicos modernos e compara a Trindade cristã com tríades análogas no hinduísmo, Egito, Mesopotâmia, Grécia e Arábia. O argumento enfatiza que a Trindade cristã não é uma revelação isolada, mas a cristalização de um arquétipo religioso universal: a busca por conciliar unidade e pluralidade no divino.

Introduction

Christianity’s doctrine of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is often regarded as a defining theological innovation and prescribed to those of us who were raised in this tradition. Yet the idea of a divine plurality, and specifically triadic configurations of divinity, appears across many ancient religions; the concept of a trinity is not a new, nor is it an innovative belief. This suggests that the Christian Trinity may be less an isolated revelation and more a refinement of an archetypal human attempt to reconcile unity and multiplicity in the divine (Eliade, 1996).

Moncure Daniel Conway’s book Demonology and Devil-Lore (1879) was one of the earliest works in the Anglophone world to systematically compare Judeo-Christian traditions with global mythologies. Conway’s thesis, though framed within nineteenth-century comparative philology and rationalism, was provocative: Jehovah, far from being a timeless singular deity, emerged historically from a pantheon of Elohim, who are not exclusively linked to Hebrew-Jewish tradition, but spread across Asian primeval societies and cultures. Furthermore, Based on Moncure Conway (1879), the Christian Trinity itself reflects older mythological triads found in India, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and elsewhere.

The purpose of this article is threefold: (a) to examine Conway’s argument about Jehovah among the Elohim, (b) to explore ancient examples of divine triads, and (c) to analyze the implications of these findings for understanding the Christian Trinity as part of a larger religious pattern.

Jehovah Among the Elohim

Conway highlights a critical textual feature of the Hebrew Bible: the plural noun Elohim, often rendered as “God,” is frequently used with singular verbs. Conway thus explains:

This observation situates Israelite religion within the broader context of ancient Near Eastern polytheism. Early texts such as Deuteronomy 32:8–9 (in its older Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls versions, not the biblical version we can now read) appear to describe Yahweh as receiving Israel as his allotted people, while other nations were assigned to other deities (Day, 2002; Smith, 2001). In this reading, Yahweh was initially one member of a divine family, later elevated to exclusive sovereignty over the Israelites.

Conway underscores this point by remarking on the “concentration which resulted in the enthronement of one supreme sovereign, Jehovah” (1879/Vol. I, p. 46). According to Dever (2005), this shift from polytheism to monolatry and eventually monotheism represents not a rupture but an evolutionary process. Archeological evidence, including inscriptions referring to “Yahweh and his Asherah,” (goddess of fertility or spouse) further supports the view that Israelite religion once acknowledged multiple divine figures (Hadley, 2000), an idea that is simply unheard of in this moment of religious evolution. Thus, Conway’s nineteenth-century insight aligns with later scholarship: Israelite monotheism was a product of gradual theological consolidation, and Jehovah’s “siblings” were once worshipped as fellow members of a divine council.

Trinitarian Structures in Ancient Religions

Conway’s (1879) comparative analysis shows that Christianity’s Trinity belongs to a broader human tendency: the structuring of divine powers in threes. The following examples illustrate this archetypal pattern, and these are found in Demonology and Devil-Lore (1879).

Hinduism: The Trimurti

The Hindu Trimurti (Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (destroyer)) encapsulates the cosmic cycle of existence based on this mythology. These functions correspond broadly to phases of birth, life, and death, suggesting that triads provide a symbolic structure for understanding totality. Conway noted the shifting meanings of divine terms in Indian religion (1879/Vol. I, p. 46), emphasizing that semantic and theological evolution parallels Hebrew developments. It needs to be noted that Hebrew religion was born in Central Asia probably allowing many cultures to be in contact with Hindi religious tradition.

Egypt: Divine Triads of Family and Cosmos

Egyptian theology revolved around triadic families, such as Osiris, Isis, and Horus, or Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. These units emphasized generational continuity, fertility, and cosmic balance (Frankfort, 1948). The death and resurrection of Osiris, mediated through Isis and embodied in Horus, provided a narrative echo to later Christian themes of divine sonship and renewal. Conway explicitly connected these Egyptian triads to Christianity’s later formulations in his studies of comparative theology (1879/Vol. I, p. 88).

Figure 2 - Egyptian Divine Triad

 

Mesopotamia: Cosmic Division

The Mesopotamian pantheon structured the universe into three domains: Anu (heaven), Enlil (air/command), and Ea/Enki (water/wisdom). Later, Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar formed a lunar-solar-planetary triad governing cosmic order (Kramer, 1961). Conway observed that the Hebrews inherited much of their mythic structure from their Mesopotamian neighbors (1879/Vol. II, p. 132). And it also needs to be borne in mind that Abraham came out of Ur, a Chaldean city in the heart of Mesopotamia, and he did not leave his religious ideas behind but took them with him.

Figure 3 - Mesopotamian Cosmic Structure

 

Greco-Roman and Celtic Patterns

Greek religion produced numerous triads: Hecate as triple goddess of maiden, mother, and crone; the Moirai (Fates); and Platonic philosophy’s triad of The One, Nous, and Psyche. Celtic traditions likewise emphasized triple goddesses, such as Brigid in her threefold functions (Graves, 1948/1997). Conway (1879/Vol. I, p. 122) regarded these as evidence of a recurring “instinct to symbolize phases of power and personhood in threes.”

Figure 4 - Hecate: Triple Goddess of Maiden, Mother, and Cron

 

Figure 5 - Platonic Triad: The One, Nous, and Psych

 

Figure 6 - The Threefold Functions of Brigid

 

Arabia: The Daughters of Allah

Pre-Islamic Arabian religion, based on Conway’s (1879) studies, featured a female triad (Al-Lāt, Al-‘Uzzá, and Manāt) worshiped as the “daughters of Allah” (Wellhausen, 1978). Conway (1879) did not cover this tradition in depth, but it exemplifies the widespread appeal of triadic structures across the Near East.

Figure 7 - Pre-Islamic Arabian Triad: Al-Lāt, Al-‘Uzzá, and Manā

 

Discussion: Archetype and Theological Evolution

What unites these examples is the perception that triads express completeness. Whether in creation-preservation-destruction, heaven-earth-underworld, or father-mother-son, divine threes embody wholeness. Eliade (1996) argued that such patterns represent a “metaphysical craving for unity-in-diversity.” Conway anticipated this by writing:

Modern theology often emphasizes the distinctiveness of the Christian Trinity. Yet placing it within the comparative framework shows it as a cultural crystallization of a universal motif, not a historical anomaly as some may believe. This recognition need not diminish the uniqueness of Christian theology but enriches it by demonstrating continuity with humanity’s broader symbolic imagination.

Conclusion

Conway’s Demonology and Devil-Lore remains a pioneering comparative study, remarkable for its recognition of divine plurality in Israelite religion and its tracing of trinitarian archetypes across civilizations. Subsequent research in biblical studies and archaeology has validated his central intuition: monotheism emerged through a process of theological consolidation, and triadic forms of divinity are universal.

By situating Jehovah among the Elohim and linking the Christian Trinity to older mythological patterns, Conway invites us to see Christian theology not as an isolated revelation but as part of humanity’s long quest to reconcile unity and diversity in the divine.

📚 References

Conway, M. D. (1879). Demonology and Devil-Lore (Vols. I & II). London: Chatto & Windus. (Reprint edition consulted, 2001).

Day, J. (2002). Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press.

Dever, W. G. (2005). Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Eliade, M. (1996). Patterns in Comparative Religion (R. Sheed, Trans.). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. (Original work published 1958).

Frankfort, H. (1948). Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society and Nature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Graves, R. (1997). The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth (Rev. ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (Original work published 1948).

Hadley, J. M. (2000). The Cult of Asherah in Ancient Israel and Judah: Evidence for a Hebrew Goddess. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kramer, S. N. (1961). Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium B.C. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Smith, M. S. (2001). The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel’s Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wellhausen, J. (1978). Reste arabischen Heidentums (R. C. Ostle & S. M. El-Said, Trans.). New York: AMS Press. (Original work published 1887).

Divine Plurality, Early Trinities, And the Elevation of Jehovah - Revisiting Moncure Daniel Conway’s Demono... by Jonathan Acuña