How do scholars distinguish monotheism from monolatry in discussions of Abraham’s religion?

Scholars distinguish between monotheism and monolatry by examining how a religious tradition conceptualizes the existence of other deities.12

• Monotheism is defined as the belief in a singular God, often involving the explicit denial of the existence of any other gods. In its strict sense, it affirms one God for all people everywhere.31
• Monolatry refers to the worship of one god as the supreme and sole object of a group's devotion, while not necessarily denying the existence of deities belonging to other groups.2

In discussions of the religion of the patriarchs and early Israel, scholars often note that the Hebrew Scriptures frequently acknowledge the existence of other gods rather than explicitly denying them. Consequently, some historians argue that early Israelite faith is better characterized as monolatry—a conscious, exclusive commitment to Yahweh as the one god who counts for Israel—rather than strict monotheism. This distinction emphasizes that for the Israelites, the ethical demand for exclusive worship was paramount, even before the development of a philosophical, strictly monotheistic framework in later centuries.1