What is the significance of hebrew monotheism

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Public Authority. Rebuke and Reproof. Remnant of Israel. Reward and Punishment. Only in one area can Yhwh be thwarted: by human free will. This single limitation is self-imposed, whereas the limitations on gods in polytheistic texts often result from forces beyond themselves.

There may be some exceptions to these generalizations. Some interpreters understand Ps 82 to suggest that Yhwh became king of the universe at a particular moment, and Gen could imply that Yhwh was genuinely worried by potential adversaries.

In Gen , Yhwh seems anxious that humans might claim divine power for themselves, which differs, however, from the power Yhwh voluntarily cedes to humans. But there are no unambiguously polytheistic texts anywhere in Hebrew Scripture, whereas polytheistic elements are ever-present in ancient Near Eastern and Greek literature.

What modern scholarship shows most of all, however, is that the question of monotheism is much more complex, and much more interesting, than most people suppose. Benjamin Sommer, "Monotheism in the Hebrew Bible", n. We tend to imagine angels as human beings with white wings clothed in white robes—but in the Bible, angels could be flying heavenly snakes or winged bulls with human faces. Knowing something about ancient Near Eastern history and culture will deepen the historical understanding of the documents that compose the Hebrew Bible.

The Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten may have been the first monotheist, but his espousal of the sun-god Aten was atypical of ancient Egyptian religion. Place is of central concern in the Hebrew Bible, and biblical authors used place to make sense of the past, present, and future as well as their relationship to God and neighbor. The word monotheism was coined in the 17th century and is often understood as the belief in one god with a denial of the existence of other deities.

Hebrew is regarded as the spoken language of ancient Israel but is largely replaced by Aramaic in the Persian period. The ability to act without outside constraint; within theology, the idea that humans can choose their actions freely, despite an omnipotent God. The set of Biblical books shared by Jews and Christians.

A more neutral alternative to "Old Testament. Associated with a deity; exhibiting religious importance; set apart from ordinary i. The religion and culture of Jews. A Babylonian deity who becomes the chief god of the Babylonian pantheon, as recounted in the Babylonian creation story Enuma Elish. Of or related to a religious system characterized by belief in the existence of a single deity. Of or belonging to any of several branches of Christianity, especially from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, whose adherents trace their tradition back to the earliest Christian communities.

Lowercase "orthodox" , this term means conforming with the dominant, sanctioned ideas or belief system. The name of Israel's god, but with only the consonants of the name, as spelled in the Hebrew Bible. In antiquity, Jews stopped saying the name as a sign of reverence. Some scholars today use only the consonants to recognize the lost original pronunciation or to respect religious tradition. Attack on Job's Character 6One day the heavenly beings came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.

View more. Israel's Redemption 1On that day the Lord with his cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, a Awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago! Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced th Archaeological evidence of polytheism is also scant: few, if any, representations of male deities have ever been found in clearly Israelite contexts, and most of the figurines of females found at Israelite sites represent humans, not goddesses.

Israelite inscriptions with religious content rarely mention other gods, and of Israelite personal names that refer to a deity, only six percent refer to deities other than YHVH; the other ninety-four percent mention YHVH. That most Israelites ignored not only the gods of foreign nations, but even the gods of natural phenomena on which all humans depend, can only mean that they did not consider these phenomena to be divine or independently effective.

So far as our evidence goes, therefore, ever since the time of Moses most Israelites seem to have regarded only YHVH as an independently effective divine power, and that belief is most simply explained as due to the teachings of Moses himself. The belief that only YHVH is an independently effective divine power is de facto monotheistic. It reduces all other supernatural beings to the level of angels, spirits, and the like. The author presents both views, but seems to agree with the former.

Though the author does not present the latter view in as much depth, it has scholarly approval as well. Early Jewish literature was not concerned with proving God's existence or categorically defining God's nature.

Surprisingly enough, gender-sensitive critiques of the Jewish God can create problems for notions of masculinity. We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and bring you ads that might interest you. Join Our Newsletter Empower your Jewish discovery, daily. Sign Up. Discover More.