The study of the awareness of monotheism was the study of Israelites who went from a henotheistic culture to a monotheistic culture. The Israelites were a henotheistic culture from the Exodus of the people from Egypt and gradually changed over their history and settlement in the land of Canaan to become a monotheistic nation at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple in 586 B.C.E. During this time as well as the exile of the Jews, the Pentateuch was written as four documents. This is known as documentary hypothesis which is considered the basis of all biblical scholarship and was first suggested by Julius Wellhausen. Documentary hypothesis has proven that there is more than one author to the first five books of the Old Testament.
…show more content…
The people changed their lifestyle from pastoralism and tribal organization to farming and urban life (Hexter, 1995, “Israel,” The Judaeo-Christian Tradition, 13). Kings like Josiah got rid of shrines for other gods and made sure that Yahweh was the God his people prayed to. Prophets also help to drive the Israelites from henotheism to monotheism. An example of this is the story of Elijah and the Priests of Ba’al. It was known as the first incidence of the One-God Movement where according to the story, Ba’al was not able to set fire to the sacrifice his priests brought forth, but the Israelite God was able to accept the sacrifice. As the prophets of Israel came and went and as the monarchs ruled, the One-God Movement became normal am this helped to change the religion to a purely monotheistic …show more content…
The Old Testament was not written by one author as stated previously, but it had a purpose to teach and provide instruction to the Jews in Babylonian captivity (Hexter, 18). The work of the prophets and the writings, though they were not written at the same times was set down before the fall of Babylonian conquerors (Hexter, 18-19). The works as described earlier provided laws for worship and conduct of life in order to set them apart from the other cultures and to make it easier to relate to other Jews. The Jews were reminded of their duty and their need to obey the will of their God and the consequences for failing to do as well as the rewards the Jews would receive for following God’s
The people changed their lifestyle from pastoralism and tribal organization to farming and urban life (Hexter, 1995, “Israel,” The Judaeo-Christian Tradition, 13). Kings like Josiah got rid of shrines for other gods and made sure that Yahweh was the God his people prayed to. Prophets also help to drive the Israelites from henotheism to monotheism. An example of this is the story of Elijah and the Priests of Ba’al. It was known as the first incidence of the One-God Movement where according to the story, Ba’al was not able to set fire to the sacrifice his priests brought forth, but the Israelite God was able to accept the sacrifice. As the prophets of Israel came and went and as the monarchs ruled, the One-God Movement became normal am this helped to change the religion to a purely monotheistic …show more content…
The Old Testament was not written by one author as stated previously, but it had a purpose to teach and provide instruction to the Jews in Babylonian captivity (Hexter, 18). The work of the prophets and the writings, though they were not written at the same times was set down before the fall of Babylonian conquerors (Hexter, 18-19). The works as described earlier provided laws for worship and conduct of life in order to set them apart from the other cultures and to make it easier to relate to other Jews. The Jews were reminded of their duty and their need to obey the will of their God and the consequences for failing to do as well as the rewards the Jews would receive for following God’s