Monotheism
This series examines the concept of monotheism as practiced by Jews. The series will begin with an introduction into the topic then will trace the origins of modern monotheism, its development by the authors of the Bible and its change from ancient Yahwism to today’s monotheism.
Preview of this post
This post, post number 1 of 22, introduces the topic.
- Introduction
This essay speculates on the origins of monotheism then speculates on its connection with the biblical authors. Before going any further, it should be noted that the origins of monotheism are much debated, with some scholars viewing monotheism as an original feature of Israel, at least from Sinai onward, while others view monotheism as a feature of Israelite religion throughout the period of the monarchy with monotheism being implied in the Bible. However, other scholars associate monotheism with the form of Israelite polytheism that knew only the Supreme Ruler and various “minor” divine figures who serve the One (see citation to C.Seitz in footnote below). Still others (T. J. Meek) date the origins of monotheism from the Babylonian Exile. A full discussion of the origins of monotheism is far beyond the scope of this essay. Instead, this essay will adopt the view that monotheism as we understand it today, which may have begun at various times and developed at various rates in different geographic areas[1], most significantly emerged in the Bible. Since the Bible as we have it today was a product of the Babylonian Exilic period and the main authorship and redacting may have been done in and around that time period, this essay will adopt the view that the monotheism of interest to this essay dates from the Babylonian Exilic period and is attributable to the authors of the Babylonian exile[2].
For the purpose of this essay, the term “monotheism” will be defined to refer to the belief that there is only one god, and no others and the reality of other deities is denied. This differs from monolatry (henotheism) which accepts one god from among many others as “your” god, but acknowledges that there may be others. Obviously, monotheism is of utmost importance as the drafters of the Hebrew Scriptures adopted a worldview that was monotheistic and this worldview was imported into their writings and imposed on the stories that they were drafting and editing for inclusion into the work. The monotheistic view of the authors and editors of the Bible was projected back and onto stories that supposedly took place before the lives of these authors and editors. This monotheistic view was used to shape the stories of the early patriarchs and matriarchs as well as the stories of the nation as it exited Egypt. In some cases, a well-known story (such as the flood story of Gilgamish, even the Babylonian Euma Elish story[3] for the first creation story in Chapter 1 of Genesis) was reshaped to be consistent with a monotheistic view, in other cases, a story was made up out of whole cloth to be consistent with a monotheistic view. In some cases, a legend was modified and enhanced to make a point or teach a lesson. For example, there is no solid archeological proof that a person named David ruled the kingdom. The best that can be proved is a mention of a king named David in the Tel Dan Stele[4]. However, there are numerous stories concerning David, in the manner of King Arthur, and all the stories have a moral point or lesson to them[5]. Thus, it appears that David, like many other persons and characters and stories in the Bible is either totally made up out of whole cloth or legends or stories are modified and enhanced to accommodate monotheism as well as the other lessons of the Bible[6]. No matter what, however, it is the belief in monotheism which overarches the stories and themes of the Hebrew Bible. For that reason, this essay explores this concept. Of course, the leading example of this is the story of Exodus. This story clearly shows the monotheistic view, yet ther is little, if any, archaeological or other evidence of such a rapid and disruptive mass exodus from Egypt at that time.
Preview of the next post
The next post, post number 2 of 22, presents a discussion of the origins of monotheism.
[1] See, for example, C. Seitz (Seitz, Word Without End, page 255) who asserted that monotheism was “henotheism of a particularly potent stripe” in which only YHWH exists.
[2] In addition to finding support from scholars such as the just-mentioned T.J. Meek, it might be noted that the Bible begins with an assumption of monotheism. In Genesis 1:1, God creates the heaven and earth clearly implying that everything after this is subordinate to this creative god; hence, this god is the Supreme Being and all others are not to be considered – monotheism.
[3] In this example, the difference between the myth and the story in the Bible is quite evident. For example, in the myth there is a detailed account of how the deity came about, in the Bible, God simply is.
[4] See The Renewed Excavations at Tel Dan, Investigating the ancient peoples of Tel Dan” by David Ilan, Yifat Thareani and Jonathan Greer • Bible History Daily, Biblical Archeological Society electronic publication 07/29/2016.
[5] One primary lesson being that the true ruler of Israel was God and the physical ruler, i.e., the king was merely God’s instrument. If the King did not follow God’s wishes, he would be deposed and destroyed (see Saul’s fate); whereas, if he followed Israel’s God, was faithful to Him and trusted Him, he would be successful and revered (see David).
[6] It is for these reasons that the Bible should not be viewed as attempting to be historically accurate or ignored or dismissed for not being provable archeologically or by other means of modern scientific inquiry. Many of the stories in the Bible were not intended to be recordings of actual occurrences, but were placed there to make a point to the biblical audience.