The Hebrews: A Monotheistic Religion

The Hebrews served a monotheistic God, who they called Yahweh. He is an all-powerful and non human like being. They believed he made them in his image and gave them dominion over the earth. Their God was unlike any other gods at the time because he was friendly, compassionate, forgiving and all-powerful. God gave the Hebrews structure, a background, hope, and purpose. Every society needs rules to protect and keep the community in line. God gave Moses the ten commandments which they lived on.1 The Hebrews created the Bible a sacred book containing their lives and relationships with God. The Bible gave the Hebrews an understanding of how the world and humankind emerged. They also believed in an afterlife. Heaven for people who lived a righteous life and Hell for people who lived an unholy life in the eyes of God. So the Hebrews had a set of laws follow and hopes to believe in. This unified the Hebrews because they had the same goals, beliefs and obligation to suppress their desires for the well being of God and their society.

Judaism as well as its offshoot and formation into the Christian religion both place great emphasis on the notion of their monotheistic God as revealed in the early scriptures. To them God has revealed Himself as the one Lord of all. Evident in the first Commandment that was

Ancient polytheistic and Judaism are two of the most opposite beliefs possible. Polytheistic belief is the belief in more than just one god. Polytheism was brought to this world by the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Greeks. The Greek gods often took on the form of being humans while the Egyptian gods were the main cornerstone to their beliefs and religion. Judaism or the belief of Monotheism is the belief in one main god. Monotheism we brought to the world by the Jewish culture. It was originated from the Hebrew bible and is one of the oldest religions still living today. Judaism was a monotheistic religion of the Jews having its spiritual and ethical ideas embodied mainly in

The rise, development, and spread of monotheism (the belief in one God), is one of the most significant and fascinating dimensions of human civilization. The three major monotheistic faiths are Judaism, Christianity and Islam, these religions have spread to other kingdoms throughout the world by use of missionaries.

In modern times when one thinks of Monotheism, the first religion that comes to mind is Christianity. But what is Monotheism? Monotheism is the belief that there is only one god. But is Christianity the first group of people to believe in one god? The answer is no, monotheism comes a long way. Zoroastrianism was the first monotheistic religion approximately 3500 years ago. The religion was founded by Prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran. The second monotheistic religion known to man kind is Atenism founded by the Pharaoh Akhenaten. And the third Monotheistic religion is Judaism.

of the world and retreated into the heavens, leaving Shu to reign in his place.

The monotheistic belief of Judaism recognises that God is omnipotent, omnipresent and pure spirit. The concept of the oneness of God, is expressed through the Shema which is an affirmation of faith Jews proclaim, commencing with “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”- Deuteronomy 6:4. This

Monotheism: The basic definition of monotheism is the belief in one God. The opposite of polytheism, which is the belief in many Gods, who each serve a different purpose. However, for a monotheistic religion, the God is all-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful; this God would be the sole creator and provider. There are three major religions associated with monotheism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Both Jews and Christians belief there is one god whose name is Jehovah, thus describing them as monotheistic religions. Furthermore, both believe in the same god. However,

The creation myths of these religions indicates that they are all monotheistic. In the Judeo-Christian account of creation, God created heaven and earth and separated the light from the darkness, on the first day . On the second day, He separated the waters from the sky. On the third day, He created the land and vegetation. On the fourth day he made the Sun, Moon and stars. On the fifth day He created the creatures of the seas and the birds. On the sixth day

Moses: Like the other monotheistic faiths, my people believe in one God, and only one. The Greek, for example, believe in more than one God; this makes them polytheistic.

Studying the religion of the Ancient Israelite People must be done in a careful manner. The ways in which biblical scholars frame significant ideas can have a major effect on how their point is received. Today’s ideas about the religious lives of Canaanites have been drawn on primarily from The Hebrew Bible and archaeological evidence. In their respective works, biblical scholars Benjamin Sommer and Carol Meyers choose to interpret these pieces of religious evidence is varying ways; Meyers takes a more cultural approach while Sommer’s has a theological leaning. Recognizing these different perspectives, I prefer the approach that Meyers takes because of its focus in anthropology.

The Old Testament is the largest part of the bible nestled behind the leather binding in the front of the book. Unlike most books, told from one-person or even two this is comprised of multiple, some stories even having two different versions in another point of view; over time it has become a large collection of ancient texts written and re-written by different authors and editors over the many years. The stories show the ancient Israelites, they show the laws, and rituals, which make up their religion and the small embers, which will one day, turn to a flame that is Christianity. The Jewish people view these stories as collected in what they call the Torah, is the collection for what makes up their history and the promise that God gave to them, as well as their laws and what they worship today. For the Christians the Old Testament is still seen as sacred, but most place a stronger importance to the New Testament.

The term monotheism is significant to Islam, meaning that a belief in only one God. The first article of faith in Islam is the belief that there is no deity but

The Old Testament consisted of a set of documentations of religious scriptures, which were written by different people at various times for a different audience. Most of the Old Testament contains short stories of traditional stories and those stories of distinguished ways God established mankind. These stories are often told to the people in narrative form, which are guidelines often referred to as laws, songs, genealogies, and a list from these authors that composed the Old Testaments. The pressing of set documentation is essential because it is the framework for the lives of God 's followers. The term “Old Testament” originated as a means to express spoken traditions and God 's creation of that particular era. It is an method of philosophical investigation was designed to answer the why questions within these spiritual text documentations. These religious documentations consisted of four parts. These four sections retrieved from the Old Testaments are the laws, history, wisdom and prophecy. The laws are a rule of behavior enforced within the community. The rules are sometimes called “Torah.” When analyzing this Torah, these rules viewed within the first five spiritual books of the Bible. For example, in the first Torah in Genesis, it explains the creation, Noah’s Flood, Abraham and Isaac, and Joseph’s coats of many colors. However, the laws in Exodus were in regards to the going out. The going out took about 40 plus years, until the people led to