Monotheism
Review of the previous post
The previous post, post number 7 of 22, was post number 5 of 7 posts discussing Yahwism and discussed the connection between the proto-Jews in the villages of Canaan and the practice of Yahweh-only religion.
Preview of this post
This post, post number 8 of 22, is post number 6 of 7 posts discussing Yahwism and continues the discussion of the connection between the proto-Jews in the villages of Canaan and the practice of Yahweh-only religion.
Whatever the connection,, be it a god so powerful that he could protect a peasant or the downtrodden fleeing oppression from the powerful people and the gods of the city, or simply a god in opposition to the gods of the city, it occurred. Yahweh-only religion developed.
An ancillary task for the authors of this exilic period was giving the exiled and scattered people a cogent reason to remain true to their heritage and not assimilate the cultures in which they now lived, and to provide a path back to that heritage and culture for those who may have strayed but who wish to return.
This they did by recasting the stories of the time in a light which showed that the Hebrew God was all powerful[1], and was really using the people who worshiped other gods as tools[2] to punish His people for their sins of failing to keep faith with Him, and failing to protect the innocent and abusing their power over others, etc; and He would get back to the other peoples after he had finished punishing His people for their sins and failings[3]. The stories being included in the Bible were written, and re-written, as were the references to God, in order to justify the fall of the country to peoples who did not believe that Yahweh was the only god yet also maintain Yahweh as the all-powerful god. Thus, the Hebrew God was shown as being all-powerful with power over other gods, but like a parent had to punish His people for their errors, which, coincidentally were the very errors that the prophets were alleging[4]. This representation of the God of Israel being all-powerful in essence denied the reality of other gods. The view that recognized the existence of other gods (monolatry) but expressed the exclusivity of one god for the Jews was thus changed to a view that actually denies the very existence of other gods – they are nothing. Monotheism thus does not even recognize that there are other gods. Certainly, this view would be emphasized during an exile from a homeland.
Preview of the next post
The next post, post Number 9 of 22 is post number 7 of 7 posts discussing Yahwism, and discusses changes in Yahwism.
[1] See, The Early History of God: “Through Elijah and Elisha, Yahweh works beyond Israel’s borders (1 Kings 17:14; 19:15; 2 Kings 5:1; 8:14). The story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 sets the stage for an expression that the action and plan of Yahweh extends beyond Israel’s national borders.”
[2] Of course, the prime example of the Hebrew God showing His power over other Gods is the plague story in Exodus, see also Isaiah 10:6.
[3] See, for example, Jeremiah 12:14-15, Isaiah 10:5, Jeremiah 26:6-7, Isaiah 14:26, 44:28 and 45 and 40:23. Perhaps the best known instance of a prophet stating that God has dominion over all nations is Isaiah 2:4 “Thus He will judge among the nations And arbitrate for the many peoples, And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks: Nations shall not take up sword against nation, they shall never again know war.” Also note that there is precedent for God exercising authority over all nations: the Flood destroyed all nations; however, see the essay “Who Were the Nephilim?” This occurrence may not be pertinent since no people had been chosen yet as the flood occurred long before Abraham. Of course the question must be asked regarding the nations other than Israel: what was their transgression for which they will be punished? As in the case with Nineveh, will they be given a warning and then an opportunity to repent before they are destroyed? It must be remembered, that as in the case with Nineveh, the nations other than Israel did not have a covenant with God and hence should be considered like the animals in Nineveh – innocent due to their ignorance and then only punished when they are no longer ignorant and after they have been given an opportunity to repent. Like Nineveh, their transgression was worshiping a god or gods other than the god of Israel.
[4] For a slightly contrary opinion, especially with specific regard to Amos, see Norman Podhoretz, “The Prophets” (The Free Press, New York, 2002), pages 123-135 “But were the children of Israel who lived before the advent of the classical prophets monolatrous in some such sense rather than monotheistic? Not according to Kaufmann, who, on this matter too, makes a strong case for the very early emergence of monotheism in Israel, not only among the elites but also among the people at large….I will do no more than state my emphatic agreement with it.” (pg. 123). However, most of the proof offered in support of this conclusion seems to come from the Bible; but, if the Bible was written by the prophets (or by their guilds, followers, students, etc), then, of course, the stories related in the Bible would support the monotheistic view as being present from the beginning. Specifically, as stated by Podhoretz at page 124: “But I would trace this tradition back to an even earlier time. From the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of the Second Book of Chronicles – that is, throughout the whole Hebrew Bible – God is the one true God, the creator of heaven and earth and the ruler of all creatures inhabiting them.” If the stories identified by Podhoretz had been written by the prophets, or later, of course they would present the Hebrew God as the one and only God. As such, identifying these stories as proof that monotheism existed before the prophets, and in particular, before Amos, is open to doubt.