The worship of one primary deity while acknowledging the existence of other gods. Henotheistic traditions focus devotion on a single god without denying that other deities exist for other peoples or purposes.
Coined by German scholar Max Müller in 1860 from Greek 'henos' (one) + 'theos' (god) + '-ism' (doctrine). Müller used it to describe what he saw as an evolutionary stage between polytheism and monotheism.
Henotheism might explain how ancient Israel transitioned from 'our God is the strongest' to 'our God is the only one!' Early biblical texts suggest Israelites acknowledged other gods existed but chose to worship Yahweh exclusively, gradually developing full monotheism.
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