Zone1 the first Commandment says: Thou shalt have no other Gods!

[Zebra]

How do you interpret this?

1 .... there are no other Gods
2 ..... there are other Gods, but you must not worship them

next question .... did the Israelites have several Gods at some time?

before they became monotheists?

I wonder about this

 

[shockedcanadian]

It means do not worship false idolatry. There is only one G-d.

 

[Zebra]

It means do not worship false idolatry. There is only one G-d.

Did the Israelites always think so?

 

[Hafar1014]

How do you interpret this?

1 .... there are no other Gods
2 ..... there are other Gods, but you must not worship them

next question .... did the Israelites have several Gods at some time?

before they became monotheists?

I wonder about this

Before Abraham they worshiped idols and were polytheists. Rome had a large influence since they dominated the cultures and thats what they believed. Polytheism creates a culture with no objective moral values. PIck a god that supports the behavior you want to justify. The Jews crated the most important change in moral values by advocating a single god with objective morals the 10 commandments

 

[shockedcanadian]

Did the Israelites always think so?

After Moses came down from Mount Sinai they did.

 

[Hafar1014]

After Moses came down from Mount Sinai they did.

It was Abraham not Moses who destroyed idolatry and polytheism. That lead to Moses and the 1o commandments.

 

[JGalt]

How do you interpret this?

1 .... there are no other Gods
2 ..... there are other Gods, but you must not worship them

next question .... did the Israelites have several Gods at some time?

before they became monotheists?

I wonder about this

That's "gods" with a lower-case "g". Other tribes of people worshiped false pagan "gods", the Lord didn't want His people following them.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me".

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth".

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain"

 

[alang1216]

How do you interpret this?

1 .... there are no other Gods
2 ..... there are other Gods, but you must not worship them

next question .... did the Israelites have several Gods at some time?

before they became monotheists?

I wonder about this

Judaism was originally a monolatry religion. Archeology and the OT show that the Jews accepted that other gods existed but had a covenant with only one.

One example is the golden calf in exodus. If Jews believed there was only one god, I'd expect them to give up religion completely if they lost faith in Yahweh. If they were polytheists I'd expect them to turn to other gods when times were tough.

 

[Hafar1014]

Judaism was originally a monolatry religion. Archeology and the OT show that the Jews accepted that other gods existed but had a covenant with only one.

One example is the golden calf in exodus. If Jews believed there was only one god, I'd expect them to give up religion completely if they lost faith in Yahweh. If they were polytheists I'd expect them to turn to other gods when times were tough.

Jews are absolute monotheists.

 

[Zebra]

Judaism was originally a monolatry religion. Archeology and the OT show that the Jews accepted that other gods existed but had a covenant with only one.

One example is the golden calf in exodus. If Jews believed there was only one god, I'd expect them to give up religion completely if they lost faith in Yahweh. If they were polytheists I'd expect them to turn to other gods when times were tough.

Monolatry is an interesting idea.

 

[Zebra]

the full sentence is ...

thou shalt no other Gods before me!

 

[alang1216]

Jews are absolute monotheists.

Jews today are but that was not always the case. The Jewish understanding of Yahweh has evolved over time.

 

[alang1216]

Monolatry is an interesting idea.

The whole subject of religion I find supremely interesting. For more:

The Evolution of God is a 2009 book by Robert Wright, in which the author explores the history of the concept of God in the three Abrahamic religions through a variety of means, including archaeology, history, theology, and evolutionary psychology. Wikipedia​

 

[Hafar1014]

Jews today are but that was not always the case. The Jewish understanding of Yahweh has evolved over time.

How the Jewish concept of God is abstract and always has been. Your looking at 5000 years so naturally ideas change

 

[alang1216]

How the Jewish concept of God is abstract and always has been. Your looking at 5000 years so naturally ideas change

I feel religions reflect the society at that point in time.

 

[Hafar1014]

I feel religions reflect the society at that point in time.

Religion changed society

 

[alang1216]

Religion changed society

The two changed each other in a feedback loop.

 

[hobelim]

It was Abraham not Moses who destroyed idolatry and polytheism. That lead to Moses and the 1o commandments.

Abraham was the first recorded atheist. It was only after he used rational thinking to reject the absurdity of the belief that a god can be made by human hands did the only living God in existence make himself known to him.

 

[hobelim]

The Jews crated the most important change in moral values by advocating a single god with objective morals the 10 commandments

It was actually Akhenaten, originally named Amenhotep IV who introduced monotheism.

 

[Hafar1014]

It was actually Akhenaten, originally named Amenhotep IV who introduced monotheism.

In Egypt after the Jews gave it to the world. He was run out of town by the Egyptians.