Reddit reviews History of God: The 4000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam

A History of God by Karen Armstrong would be a great start. It is pretty comprehensive/thorough and not hugely biased.

A History of God by Karen Armstrong

The Bible Unearthed by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman

Oh Morb - I was trying to give you something interesting to think about and debate, not ideas that are already fully formed. It was ideas from my head, not an article that I had read, but I didn't want to say it all myself and leave nothing for anyone else to say...

Anyway - seeing as you asked so nicely:

Here is a history of religion:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Of-God-Karen-Armstrong/dp/0099273675

and here is an article for you to read:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/is-religion-man-made/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

There is plenty more out there if you want it?

Yahweh was once one of many gods within the Hebrew pantheon, which included gods like Asherah and Ba'al. At some point, the relevant books of Old Testament went through a period of editing by Yahwists who were intent on cementing their particular god's supremacy. Yahweh absorbed some of the other gods in the bible, which explains why he seems to have multiple conflicting personalities at times, and explains why he was jealous. The first commandment is a good example of this jealousy.

Karen Armstrong's book A history of God is a really interesting read, for those interested. You can find a decent video/animation summary of parts of the book here.