Were the Biblical Jews monotheistic?

[Nimrod]

Merriam-Webster online dictionary:
Monotheism: the doctrine or belief that there is but one God

Oxford English Dictionary:
Monotheism: the doctrine that there is only one God

The word "gods" appears many times in the Old Testament, the most obvious instance: "You shall have no other gods before me."

Would it more accurate to say the Jews worshipped only one God, rather than saying that they believed that only one God exists?

[themuzicman]

There were other religions around Israel, and the Jews were occasionally (frequently) seduced into worshipping other idols in addition to the one true God.

You see, the ANE religions believed in many gods, some bigger than others. One could have a personal god, a city god, a regional god, and a big overarching god, and worship them all.

Israel got into the habit of taking on these local gods in addition to Yahweh, so God instructed them specifically that HE was to be their personal, city, regional, and overarching God by saying that they were to have none of these other so called gods.

By saying this, God was squeezing out the possibility of other gods.

Michael

[Bill the Cat]

I'll cite an email I had with an OT scholar...

OK, I'll make two quick points. First, it seems to me that worship was the dividing line between 'God Most High', the 'one true God', and other beings. It is reasonably clear that the term 'god' was used by ancient Israel in a much broader sense - any concordance should demonstrate that quite clearly! Yahweh is referred to many times as the greatest among the gods. On the other hand, it is clear that there is within the Biblical literature no equality between the beings sometimes denoted using the words 'el' and 'elohim'. Yahweh is in a class by himself. The dividing line, again, was apparently worship: Israel is told to worship no other gods apart from Yahweh.

Thus it was not the term 'god' that distinguished Yahweh from other beings. The term 'Elohim', when applied to Yahweh, appears to mean 'deity'. In ancient Hebrew and other Semitic languages, the plural of a noun was often used where we would use an abstract noun. So 'prostitutes' sometimes means 'prostitution', and where 'Elohim' is used with a singular verb, it means something like 'the deity', 'the divine being'. Recent research has shown that Akkadian and other ancient languages used similar terminology. [See further www.facadenovel.com/ilanu.pdf and the book by Burnett reviewed at http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/reviews/review053.htm]

Ontologically, Yahweh was the creator, and Genesis 1 presents a picture which radically challenged the views of other polytheistic cultures, presenting Yahweh as one who creates sovereignly and without anyone to dispute him, who creates the sun, moon, stars and other things/beings worshipped by Israel's neighbors (and of course by some among ancient Israel/the ancient Hebrews). The question about a 'dividing line' between God and creation can be complicated. It was precisely the question of which side of the Logos (Word) the dividing line is to be drawn that was at the center of the Christological debates leading up to the council of Nicaea. If you asked the question before that, I imagine the answer would have been that the Logos is the dividing line. Philo of Alexandria wrote that the Logos is 'neither uncreated as God, nor created as you, but between the two extremes', which makes no sense to you and me today, but is presumably the view presupposed in John 1, when John says both 'the Word was with God' and 'the Word was God', and seems to find no difficulty in saying both. So on this question, we today are asking questions that post-date the Biblical literature, I think. I am going to be doing some more work on this question in the coming months, in preparation for presenting a paper at SBL in Atlanta in November, so I may have more information to share as my research progresses!

The question of how monotheism developed within Israel, and what was clear when, is a separate one, and probably not relevant to your current discussions. I'll gladly say more about it though, if you are interested!

Best wishes,

James McGrath

[Blake Reas]

It depends on what part of Israelite Religion you were talking about. We know from scripture the Israelites were always a rebellious lot.

There are really three types of monotheism that were in Israel (Patrick Miller notes these in his book The Religion of Ancient Israel I am going from memory so if anyone corrects me on an error it will be appreciated

1. Orthodox Yahwism- Belief in one creator God, but belief in lesser spiritual beings. rejected all other worship of other gods except YHWH.

2. Heterodox Yawhism- was a problem. I think it is also called the "popular religion" (although this may be the next category) these would have been your everyday Israelites who got sucked into paganism at times. Held YHWH as central but worshipped other deities.

3. The third I believe were Polytheist but I am not sure so I will not write anymore. The person to ask would probably be Gray Pilgrim he is going for a doctrate in OT.

I hope that helps. We must realize that we do not know a great deal about Israelite religion outside of the Bible and a few inscriptions. Also Israelite religion like Christianity today and in the past was not a homogenous entity woshipping the same God. There was "heresy"(at the risk of being anarchronistic[sp?])in ancient Israel also. Heresey presupposes Orthodoxy.
In Christ,
Blake Reas

[Blake Reas]

Yesterday @ 03:59 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=237521#post237521)
Bill the Cat:

I'll cite an email I had with an OT scholar...

OK, I'll make two quick points. First, it seems to me that worship was the dividing line between 'God Most High', the 'one true God', and other beings. It is reasonably clear that the term 'god' was used by ancient Israel in a much broader sense - any concordance should demonstrate that quite clearly! Yahweh is referred to many times as the greatest among the gods. On the other hand, it is clear that there is within the Biblical literature no equality between the beings sometimes denoted using the words 'el' and 'elohim'. Yahweh is in a class by himself. The dividing line, again, was apparently worship: Israel is told to worship no other gods apart from Yahweh.

Thus it was not the term 'god' that distinguished Yahweh from other beings. The term 'Elohim', when applied to Yahweh, appears to mean 'deity'. In ancient Hebrew and other Semitic languages, the plural of a noun was often used where we would use an abstract noun. So 'prostitutes' sometimes means 'prostitution', and where 'Elohim' is used with a singular verb, it means something like 'the deity', 'the divine being'. Recent research has shown that Akkadian and other ancient languages used similar terminology. [See further www.facadenovel.com/ilanu.pdf and the book by Burnett reviewed at http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/JHS/reviews/review053.htm]

Ontologically, Yahweh was the creator, and Genesis 1 presents a picture which radically challenged the views of other polytheistic cultures, presenting Yahweh as one who creates sovereignly and without anyone to dispute him, who creates the sun, moon, stars and other things/beings worshipped by Israel's neighbors (and of course by some among ancient Israel/the ancient Hebrews). The question about a 'dividing line' between God and creation can be complicated. It was precisely the question of which side of the Logos (Word) the dividing line is to be drawn that was at the center of the Christological debates leading up to the council of Nicaea. If you asked the question before that, I imagine the answer would have been that the Logos is the dividing line. Philo of Alexandria wrote that the Logos is 'neither uncreated as God, nor created as you, but between the two extremes', which makes no sense to you and me today, but is presumably the view presupposed in John 1, when John says both 'the Word was with God' and 'the Word was God', and seems to find no difficulty in saying both. So on this question, we today are asking questions that post-date the Biblical literature, I think. I am going to be doing some more work on this question in the coming months, in preparation for presenting a paper at SBL in Atlanta in November, so I may have more information to share as my research progresses!

The question of how monotheism developed within Israel, and what was clear when, is a separate one, and probably not relevant to your current discussions. I'll gladly say more about it though, if you are interested!

Best wishes,

James McGrath

Thanks Bill! I am going to be at ETS hopefully I will be able to check it out.

Blake

[Conductor42]

10-08-2003 @ 03:53 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=237515#post237515)
Nimrod:

Merriam-Webster online dictionary:
Monotheism: the doctrine or belief that there is but one God

Oxford English Dictionary:
Monotheism: the doctrine that there is only one God

The word "gods" appears many times in the Old Testament, the most obvious instance: "You shall have no other gods before me."

Would it more accurate to say the Jews worshipped only one God, rather than saying that they believed that only one God exists?

Depends on if you are talking about the Idoltarous Jews or the Faithful....

[Bill the Cat]

Yosiah, extremely well said. I debated a Mormon on this issue, and argued from the same point you just made. Pop religion was as rampant in early Judaism as it is today!! Archaeology confirms that the average Jew did believe in more than one God, but Isaiah shows that God did not.

[Nimrod]

I recently came across this:

Henotheism
The belief that, while others may exist, only one god is important in a particular place or to a particular people is called henotheism. Before true monotheism was common among Israelites they seem to have been henotheists (cf. Ps 82) in practice at least.

http://www.bible.gen.nz/amos/glossary/henotheism.htm

http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/henotheism.htm

http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism

[Conductor42]

Yesterday @ 11:04 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=318285#post318285)
Nimrod:

I recently came across this:

Henotheism
The belief that, while others may exist, only one god is important in a particular place or to a particular people is called henotheism. Before true monotheism was common among Israelites they seem to have been henotheists (cf. Ps 82) in practice at least.

http://www.bible.gen.nz/amos/glossary/henotheism.htm

http://www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/henotheism.htm

http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henotheism

Not neccessarily. The word "elohiym", commonly translated as God or Gods, does not always refer to God. It is a title that, in all cases, refers to persons or entities with authority.

A good scripture that shows this - and disproves the notion that 'elohiym' is a word that always refers to multiple beings - is Exodus 4:16, where it reads:


translation found in the Sapirstein Edition of Rashi's commentary to Exouds

He shall speak for you to the people; and it will be that he will be a mouth for you and you will be to him as a master.

The Legendary Rabbinic Sage Rashi, in his commentary to this verse, says " This means - as a master and as an authority."

p.s. Even though I am a Karaite, I have found Rashi's commentaries to show some helpful insights into the Torah, and would reccommend them to y'all
.

[geebob]

Henotheism
The belief that, while others may exist, only one god is important in a particular place or to a particular people is called henotheism. Before true monotheism was common among Israelites they seem to have been henotheists (cf. Ps 82) in practice at least.

never heard that term, (not that there's any significance to what I haven't heard) but the terminology I am familier with is that of "monolatry" which is the belief in many God's but one supreme God who is worshiped exclusively.

The ancient Jews were monolotrists.

The shema is often wrongfully read as saying "the Lord is one" and thus as a statement of monotheism.

This is innaccurate. It's supposed to read "Here O Israel, Yahweh is your God, Yahweh alone."

[Conductor42]

Do you have any evidence for the assumption that ancient Jews who were not idoltarus believed in many Dieties?


11-28-2003 @ 09:46 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=319852#post319852)
geebob:



never heard that term, (not that there's any significance to what I haven't heard) but the terminology I am familier with is that of "monolatry" which is the belief in many God's but one supreme God who is worshiped exclusively.

The ancient Jews were monolotrists.

The shema is often wrongfully read as saying "the Lord is one" and thus as a statement of monotheism.

This is innaccurate. It's supposed to read "Here O Israel, Yahweh is your God, Yahweh alone."

[Conductor42]

It can be translated either way.


11-28-2003 @ 09:46 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=319852#post319852)
geebob:



never heard that term, (not that there's any significance to what I haven't heard) but the terminology I am familier with is that of "monolatry" which is the belief in many God's but one supreme God who is worshiped exclusively.

The ancient Jews were monolotrists.

The shema is often wrongfully read as saying "the Lord is one" and thus as a statement of monotheism.

This is innaccurate. It's supposed to read "Here O Israel, Yahweh is your God, Yahweh alone."

[Nimrod]

2 Chronicles 2:5
The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods.

Psalm 86:8
Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord; no deeds can compare with yours.

Psalm 95:3
For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods.

Psalm 97:9
For you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

[Xmansmommy]

This thread is Q & A only and answers are to be addressed to the original poster. If you would like to engage in discussion between posters, please open another thread in the appropriate forum. Thanks.

[Nimrod]

I started this thread with:
The word "gods" appears many times in the Old Testament, the most obvious instance: "You shall have no other gods before me."
Would it more accurate to say the Jews worshipped only one God, rather than saying that they believed that only one God exists?
Some of the answers presented basically said that only idolatrous Jews believed in more than one god.

My previous post was an implicit follow-up question, which I will now state explicitly.

Given the four verses that I quoted (which suggest that Solomon and the Psalmist believed in the existence of other gods), how are these verses explained to be consistent with the viewpoint that "Faithful" Jews believed in only one God?

[Blake Reas]

Today @ 03:22 AM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=328382#post328382)
Nimrod:

I started this thread with:
Some of the answers presented basically said that only idolatrous Jews believed in more than one god.

My previous post was an implicit follow-up question, which I will now state explicitly.

Given the four verses that I quoted (which suggest that Solomon and the Psalmist believed in the existence of other gods), how are these verses explained to be consistent with the viewpoint that "Faithful" Jews believed in only one God?

The real question Nimrod is what did the Jews mean by "gods?" In many some of the Psalms God sets in judgement over his divine counsel. The interesting thing about this is that in the ancient near east Baal and El had a divine counsel also. In these "counsels" the gods would fight among one another, it was your basic polytheism were the gods are so much like the humans you cannot really distinguish! In the Hebrew scriptures God actually sets in judgement on them!This is not to say that they believed in different gods who did different things but that the existence of other "spiritual beings"/angels was acknowledged but this does not mean that these other "gods" had any power what so ever. I believe that this was a polemic against the other religions of the region as Walter Brueggemann(who, I should note would disagree with my belief the Jews were always monotheist) points out


The Israelite Version of this imagery(divine counsel) organizes the gods into an ordered community over which YHWH, the Lord of Israel, presides over the assembly with full and unquestioned sovereignty.

The question arises who are these heavenly beings? Well oddly enough the writers of the Hebrew Bible never give these lesser "gods"/angels names! They in fact have no say in the decisions YHWH makes! Here is a Biblical example(check Job also)
Psalm 82

1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

2 "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? (Selah)

3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 I say, "You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you;

7 nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince."

[i]8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!

Yhwh in these passages actually Judges these "gods" and sentences them to death! He says that they shall die like mere mortals. This is emphasizing the sovereignty of God! This is not a polytheism nor a henotheism this is the belief in other "spiritual beings" which does not conflict with Monotheism (worship of one God). Just because the Bible uses imagery that seems pagan like the "divine counsel" is in fact reflecting the cultural situation in which it was reared. It is much like the early church using greek philosophical terms but giving them new meaning. This is what the Hebrews did just like Genesis 1 the Divine Counsel motif is a challenge to the pagan religions surrounding her!

v.1 is the image of God as divine Judge. This is no light matter God is about ready to judge these beings
v2-5 It is a plea that God act in his righteousness that his act of dikaisouna would be in acted.
v.7-8 is the judgement God sets in judgement and declares his "sons" (those he created?) to be put to death! So what we have here is a theological point that YHWH has absolutley no rivals that is why in v.8 it says all the nations is YHWH's! He shares his glory with no one! This is significant because in the ANE the peoples believed in tribal gods that only ruled a certain area. This Psalm asserts the reveloutianary Idea that there is one God who rules the world and all that is in them.
Soli deo Gloria
BLR

[Blake Reas]

would someone explain to me how to use the greek font? just send me a private message

Blake

[Nimrod]

Thank you, Blake Reas.

I wondering, though, if you would explain 2 Chronicles 2:5:
"The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. "

Doesn't this verse suggest that Solomon believed in the existence of other gods, although he worshipped only one God?

[Blake Reas]

Yesterday @ 03:53 PM post located here (http://www.theologyweb.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=332072#post332072)
Nimrod:

Thank you, Blake Reas.

I wondering, though, if you would explain 2 Chronicles 2:5:
"The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. "

Doesn't this verse suggest that Solomon believed in the existence of other gods, although he worshipped only one God?

I think that "monotheism" per se is a post-enlightenment concept. The Biblical Jews were more like Mono-Yhwhist. I would not deny that Solomon may have believed in other "gods" but what were these other gods? It is blatantly obvious that whatever they were seen as they were always subordinate to Yhwh. In other parts of the OT the "gods" are nothing but idols because they have no power. (Isaiah and the other prophets are adamant about this). I would never say that the Israelites rejected other supernatural beings. It is just that they were all created by the Creator God YHWH.

Blake