Hi wesr, regarding the origins of Yahweh, this is information well known to theologians, and corroborated by archaeological findings. I apologise for springing that on you; I merely brought it up as you queried my knowledge of the bible, and I assumed you knew all of this given you contested my understanding. My detailing of the Israelite polytheistic religious origins was primarily for the benefit of any other readers who were not aware and may find it interesting.
Given you're not asking me to prove something as in-depth as evolution, I can provide a few preliminary points to start researching this, and some books on the topic of the ancient Israelite religions incl. Persian era, and the origins of the Abrahamic god Yahweh:
If really dry reading isn't your thing, try Karen Armstrong's "A History of God": http://books.google.com.au/books?id=7J_vp4X28JAC There is also the following video on YouTube summarising some parts of the above book for anyone who doesn't have reading time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlnnWbkMlbg
Or Wikipedia (check ref sources, but given the contentious nature of these topics, they tend to be well policed): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaanite_religion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Semitic_religion
And I'm low on time again, so here's Wikipedia links about the stories adapted from other religions, and the nature of the books edited in the bible at different periods. Again, check Wikipedia refs if needed:
Info on the people who edited the biblical stories and modified those which already existed (or "discovered" lost books like Deuteronomy): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jahwist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestly_source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuteronomist
I will note that these inconsistencies continue forward into the New Testament in a variety of ways, but I don't think that much detail is necessary here. Let me know if you're interested in any of this. As previously stated, I tend to discuss these topics a lot, and that is very much due to my keen interest in the topic!
