From where did the Jews get the idea/concept of God? (Jehovah, believe)
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As a Christian, I am curious to see the theories or hypothesis on: How Jehovah/Yahwee got to be God. I keep reading here (C-D) that many atheists believe that the Jews were polytheistic and became monotheistic over time. This is a new concept to me.
I have no intention of debating, but others may feel free.
Links to back up ideas are useful, but not necessary.
It's not merely Atheists who believe that the jews were henotheists - it's the majority of Biblical scholars - , and it's not merely a belief on their part - they have very good biblical and extra-biblical evidence to back up their claims.
The country of Ugarit is a good place to start looking at some of the influences on the religion of Israel.
As for the evolution of Yahweh, that's a very deep subject, and you will find a plethora of information on it. I reccomend Albright's work "Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan", along with Cross' "Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic" for starters.
Another good source is.... the Bible itself. Close reading reveals various evolving concepts of God, the different gods worshipped, and their eventual amalgamation into "God is One"
Another good source is.... the Bible itself. Close reading reveals various evolving concepts of God, the different gods worshipped, and their eventual amalgamation into "God is One"
Thanks.
I am very familiar with the OT and the different gods worship both by Jews and gentiles.
The Hebrews were originally polytheistic, even animistic. They believed in spirits and, as pastoralists, were particularly devoted to cults of the bull, the sheep, and so on. Animal sacrifice was the tradition, mostly at local altars and wilderness sites. They performed divination using dice, something which they would continue to do for many centuries.
It should be noted that much of Genesis consists of the common myths of the region (and many other regions), such as the creation story, the fall of man, the flood, and so on.
Yahweh, possibly the Canaanite god Yehu or Yaw, became the "national" god of the Hebrews. With Solomon and the Temple, he was made into the greatest god of all. He retained, as the Bible demonstrates profusely, very human characteristics: Jealousy, regret, anger, love of the scent of burnt offerings, and openness to bribery were among his qualities.
Early beliefs did not involve the concept of hell as we now know it. There was instead Sheol, a land of darkness beneath the ground. But, like Hades among the Greeks and Hel among the Germans, it was home to nearly all who died, not just those who sinned. Unpleasant, it was not yet a place of eternal torture. But only a very few people went to heaven to live with the gods.
Henotheism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Judaism
Modern Rabbinical Judaism is monotheistic, but its Canaanite religion antecedent in ancient Israel and Judah (10th to 7th centuries BC) was henotheistic. For example, the Moabites worshipped the god Chemosh, the Edomites, Qaus, both of whom were part of the greater Canaanite pantheon, headed by the chief god, El. The Canaanite pantheon consisted of El and Asherat as the chief deities, with 70 sons who were said to rule over each of the nations of the earth. These sons were each worshiped within a specific region. K. L. Noll states that "the Bible preserves a tradition that Yahweh used to 'live' in the south, in the land of Edom" and that the original god of Israel was El Shaddai.[12]
Several Biblical stories allude to the belief that the Canaanite gods all existed and possessed the most power in the lands that worshiped them or in their sacred objects; their power was real and could be invoked by the people who patronised them. There are numerous accounts of surrounding nations of Israel showing fear or reverence for the Israelite God despite their continued polytheistic practices.[13] For instance, in 1 Samuel 4, the Philistines fret before the second battle of Aphek when they learn that the Israelites are bearing the Ark of the Covenant, and therefore Yahweh, into battle. In 2 Kings 5, the Aramean general Naaman insists on transporting Israelite soil back with him to Syria in the belief that only then will Yahweh have the power to heal him. The Israelites were forbidden to worship other deities, but according to some interpretations of the Bible, they were not fully monotheistic before the Babylonian Captivity. Mark S. Smith refers to this stage as a form of monolatry.[14] Smith argues that Yahweh underwent a process of merging with El and that acceptance of cults of Asherah was common in the period of the Judges.[14] 2 Kings 3:27 has been interpreted as describing a human sacrifice in Moab that led the invading Israelite army to fear the power of Chemosh.[15]
According to the Five Books of Moses, Abraham is revered as the one who overcame the idol worship of his family and surrounding people by recognizing the Hebrew God and establishing a covenant with him and creating the foundation of what has been called by scholars "Ethical Monotheism". The first of the Ten Commandments can be interpreted to forbid the Children of Israel from worshiping any other god but the one true God who had revealed himself at Mount Sinai and given them the Torah, however it can also be read as henotheistic, since it states that they should have "no other gods before me." The commandment itself does not affirm or deny the existence of other deities per se. Nevertheless, as recorded in the Tanakh ("Old Testament" Bible), in defiance of the Torah's teachings, the patron god YHWH was frequently worshipped in conjunction with other gods such as Baal, Asherah, and El. Over time, this tribal god may have assumed all the appellations of the other gods in the eyes of the people. The destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon was considered a divine reprimand and punishment for the mistaken worship of other deities. By the end of the Babylonian captivity of Judah in the Tanakh, Judaism is strictly monotheistic. There are nonetheless seeming elements of "polytheism" in certain biblical books, such as in Daniel's frequent use of the honorific "God of gods" and especially in the Psalms. Jewish scholars were aware of this, and expressed the opinion that although the verse can be understood wrongly, God was not afraid to write it in the Torah. However, the word God in Hebrew (Elohim) is also a plural, meaning "powerful ones" or "rulers". This is true in Hebrew as well as other related Canaanite languages. So "Elohim" could refer to any number of "rulers", such as angels, false gods (as defined by Torah), or even human holders of power including rulers or judges within Israel, as described in Exodus 21:6; 22:8-8, without violating the parameters of monotheism. Some scholars[who?] believe that Exodus 3:13-15 describes the moment when YHWH first tells Moses that he is the same god as El, the supreme being. This could be the recounting, in mythical form, of Israel's conversion to monotheism[citation needed].
I know it was a lot and back and forth here, but in this thread, I provided some information (links), one from an actual Christian author who does some extensive research on Israel's god (Yahweh)
I know it was a lot and back and forth here, but in this thread, I provided some information (links), one from an actual Christian author who does some extensive research on Israel's god (Yahweh)
Too bad I can't get UTube to work at my office. Doesn't want to load.
@ you and Boxcar
The OT says as much: the Jews went into Egypt monotheistic (worshiping God) and came out (Exodus) still monotheistic. They came into the land of Caanan-a land that was polytheistic. Sometime after King David most Jews became worshipers of the gods of the region-Baal being one of the more popular choices.
Later on the Jews returned to worshipping God. Not exactly hidden knowledge.
As a Christian, I am curious to see the theories or hypothesis on: How Jehovah/Yahwee got to be God. I keep reading here (C-D) that many atheists believe that the Jews were polytheistic and became monotheistic over time. This is a new concept to me.
I have no intention of debating, but others may feel free.
Links to back up ideas are useful, but not necessary.
Too bad I can't get UTube to work at my office. Doesn't want to load.
@ you and Boxcar
The OT says as much: the Jews went into Egypt monotheistic (worshiping God) and came out (Exodus) still monotheistic. They came into the land of Caanan-a land that was polytheistic. Sometime after King David most Jews became worshipers of the gods of the region-Baal being one of the more popular choices.
Later on the Jews returned to worshipping God. Not exactly hidden knowledge.
Worshipping one God, perhaps.
Believing that only one God existed, probably not.
When I say they were polytheist, I don't mean to imply they worshipped several different gods. I only mean that they assumed that other gods were real.
God created man, but He gave us free will, and He is letting us evolve. The evolutionary path of man to religion came from the predawn darkness of our ancient ancestors...born of fear, fear of lightning, thunder, floods, landslides, volcanoes and death. They ascribed supernatural beliefs to these phenomena and sought to appease them.
Mankind is a peculiar but intelligent species with many sub-concious "archetypes" that we all have (Carl Jung). The worship of primitive multiple gods and goddesses began with homo sapiens and God let it happen...He let us grow...and then the first tentative monotheisms began to appear. One Egyptian king insisted that Aton (the sun god) was the only god in polytheistic Egypt. It is not quite acknowledged where the ancient Hebrews came from but it is thought they came from the Hyksos who lived in Egypt at the time, and as Moses showed, they were always monotheistic. When they wandered in the desert, and when Moses went to the mountain, they started praying to any entity they thought could help their plight...the Golden Calf and etc., but God had other plans, and sent Moses to them with the Laws (commandments). Moses turned them around and put them right very quickly.
Evolution from mysticism, paganism and polytheism has been a long road, but a year to God is maybe 100,000 years on earth, maybe more. As homo sapiens has grown in intellect and understanding, many have become monotheistic. You can almost pin your spot or path on the evolutionary progress of mankind by your religious beliefs.
I have no quarrel with science...evolution is still a theory but I believe God knew, after he created our species, that we would have to evolve towards Him, and not have it imposed from without...that would counter free will. So I invite you all to shuck off the detritus of any superstition and pagan beliefs and see the One Creator. He knows exactly what He is doing. He always has known. We, who were blind, are just beginning to see, to understand His creation and ourselves.
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