When Did Monotheism Emerge in Ancient Israel?

Asking the Wrong Question

They really should be asking when polytheism emerged in ancient Israel.

Many biblical scholars and historians miss the point here and end up asking the wrong question. They really should be asking when polytheism emerged in ancient Israel. The biblical text makes clear that Abram (later Abraham) was called out of polytheism in Ur of the Chaldees (Joshua 24:2), that he worshipped God alone (Genesis 13:4, 14:22, 15:6, 21:33, 22:14, 24:7). And it is clear that even the servants in Abraham’s household had learned to fear the Lord (Genesis 24:48–52). The same can be said for Isaac (Genesis 25:21, 28:3, 31:42) and Jacob (Genesis 28:20–22, 32:9, 32:30, 35:14–15, 46:1), who also purged idols out of his family and told them to purify themselves (Genesis 35:2–4). It is clear from the biblical texts in Genesis that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (renamed Israel by God himself) were monotheists who worshipped the one true God. So to ask when Israel “became monotheistic” is to disavow the biblical text and to import polytheism into an already monotheistic family (and by the time Jacob/Israel died, a family of several tribes).

Furthermore, Joseph rightly admitted to Pharaoh that it was not he, but God who interpreted dreams (Genesis 41:16), and he showed faith in naming his two sons after God’s provision (Genesis 41:50–53). Later, he confessed that it was God who had made him the second ruler in all of Egypt (Genesis 45:9), and lastly, he told his brothers that their evil actions against him were overruled by God for good (Genesis 50:20).

Hebrew Monotheism While Slaves in Egypt?

Once we move from Genesis to Exodus, one might be tempted to think that, with all of the polytheism in Egypt, the Israelites forsook their monotheism and embraced the Egyptian pantheon of gods. But does this bear out in the biblical text? Exodus 1:17 and 1:21 tell us that “the midwives feared God” (as opposed to the self-proclaimed godhood of the Pharaoh) and did not follow Pharaoh’s commands to kill the Hebrew male babies. Since the midwives ministered to Israelite women, surely the thought here is that they learned to fear God from Hebrew women.

In Exodus 2:23, we read that “the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.” While it is acknowledged that the text doesn’t specifically state that they “cried out to God,” it can be assumed that this is the case. Would God have looked favorably upon them if they “cried out to Horus”? Furthermore, God seems to imply that the Israelites cried out to him, and he heard them in Exodus 3:7–9 and Deuteronomy 26:7.

Also, notice what God tells Moses when he begins to protest that he is “not the right man” for the job of convincing the Israelites that God has sent him or that he can stand before Pharaoh. God does not tell Moses to convince the Israelites that there is only one God and the gods of the Egyptians are false. He tells Moses to proclaim that “I am who I am” is the name of God, and he said, “The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” was sending Moses to them (Exodus 3:14–15). And what was the response of the Israelites when they heard Moses (and his brother Aaron)? “The people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped” (Exodus 4:31). Does this sound like a nation that needed to be convinced that there was only one God?2

Hebrew Monotheism in the Passover and the Exodus?

Yes, there were times during the period when Moses and Aaron were talking to Pharaoh on behalf of Israel when the Israelites grumbled. Most noticeably when they were required to gather their own straw for making bricks while being held to the same quota (Exodus 5:21), but even here, the people complained to Moses that “The Lord look on you and judge, because you have made us stink in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants” meaning that they were more inclined to believe that Moses was misrepresenting God.

After all the plagues had ravaged Egypt, Pharaoh still refused to let Israel go free, so the Lord promised to kill the firstborn of all the Egyptians and any of the Israelite firstborns who did not have the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. This plague would have been just as devastating to Israel as it was to the Egyptians had Israel put their trust in anyone but God. However, Scripture matter-of-factly states that “the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron” (Exodus 12:28, 50).

When Pharaoh recanted his decision to let Israel go and gathered his army and chariots to pursue them, the Israelites “cried out to the Lord” (Exodus 14:10). After the Red Sea was parted and the Israelites crossed and the Egyptian army was drowned, Scriptures tells us that “Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31). It is at this point that the song of the sea is sung (and recorded) in Exodus 15, which the author of the BAR article elaborates on.

In Exodus 15:11 and following, Moses sang, “Who is like You among the gods, O YHWH? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awe-inspiring in splendors, doer of miracles?”

At first sight, the text seems to be acknowledging the existence of other gods. In my view, that is only a tease, for both are rhetorical questions, with the clear answer that there is no one like Israel’s God, YHWH. None of the other gods is majestic in holiness, awe-inspiring in splendors, nor do they perform miracles. In other words, the other “gods” lack divine attributes, hence they are “non-gods.” So, what at first sight is an acknowledgment of other gods is actually a denial that the gods people worshipped actually existed! Only YHWH, unlike the supposed gods, is majestic in holiness, awe-inspiring in splendors, and a performer of miracles.3

It is evident that during the first part of the wilderness wandering, there were some key moments of crises, doubts, and grumblings. Lack of potable water (Exodus 15:24, 17:1–2) and food (Exodus 16:2–3) caused Israel to complain against Moses and Aaron. But in each case, there seemed to be more distrust of Moses misrepresenting God than against God himself.

Hebrew Polytheism in the Wilderness Wanderings?

For most students of the Bible, the above question, at first blush, seems easy to answer. Once Moses had gone up into Mt. Sinai and had been there for several days, the people of Israel became restless and discontent. Not knowing if Moses was alive or dead or when they would break camp and move to better pasturelands, they wanted something concrete to worship. It was here that the people asked Aaron to forge a golden calf for them (Exodus 32:1–4). Also, notice in verse 5 that Aaron tells the people, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord,” in which Aaron uses the YHWH designation of the true God. So what is actually occurring here is syncretism, merging idol worship with the worship of the true God. Technically, this was still not polytheism, although not worshipping God in the way he commands is still a very serious sin.

After 3,000 Israelites were killed for their false worship (Exodus 32:26–28, 35), God had Moses come back up the mountain, wrote the Ten Commandments again, and then established the rules for the construction of the tabernacle (Exodus 34–35). In fact, the people willingly gave so much to the workers charged with building the items and utensils (including the ark of the covenant) that they were asked to refrain from giving (Exodus 36:5–7). At this time, God instituted the sacrificial system (Leviticus 1–9), which was a prefiguring of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:12–14, 10:1–10).

God eventually led the people from Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai) to the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 10:11–12). It was from here that God commanded Moses to send out 12 spies, one spy from each tribe, to gather information about the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:1–16). We know how that turned out—10 of the spies agreed that the land was good, but Israel was too weak militarily to take it (Numbers 13:27–29). Only Caleb and Joshua reported that the Lord would enable them to conquer it (Numbers 13:30, 14:6–9). Even here, we see that the people are complaining against Caleb and Joshua, not the Lord, nor had they fallen into polytheism. It isn’t until the people are around Edom that they become discouraged and complain against God and his provision of manna (Numbers 21:5), and God sends fiery serpents into the camp (Numbers 21:6–9). So when did Israel turn to polytheism? The first sad account is related in Numbers 25:1–3:

While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

Like Solomon many years later, it was the sensual love of foreign women (1 Kings 11:4–8; Nehemiah 13:26) that caused some men of Israel to fall into idolatry and polytheism. But as we continue reading in Numbers, this seems like a one-time incident, and the perpetrators (24,000 in all) were killed either by sword or by plague. While this is an example of some people “converting” to polytheism, it was hardly the whole nation and appears to be mostly men who were more interested in immorality than any overt change into polytheism.

So, When Did Polytheism Emerge in Ancient Israel?

It isn’t until the Israelites enter the promised land that things go from monotheism to overt polytheism.

It isn’t until the Israelites enter the promised land that things go from monotheism to overt polytheism. Judges 2:7 tells us, “And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel.” So we have a boundary marker here, at least until after the times of the judges who knew Joshua. Unfortunately, we see a rapid descent into polytheism shortly thereafter:

And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the Lord to anger. They abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. (Judges 2:10–13)

Then we see the whole period of Judges summarized early on:

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. (Judges 2:16–19)

Conclusion

The god of self, luxury, sensuality, and humanism are snares to this present world and can even tempt Christians to become less effective in their witness and their personal lives.

It was not until after Joshua’s generation died out that the nation of Israel sold themselves to idolatry and polytheism. This lasted throughout the rest of Israel’s history (with brief interludes of biblical monotheism under David, the early reign of Solomon, and during temporary revivals under the kings of Judah). So to ask the question of when monotheism emerged in ancient Israel is definitely asking the wrong question. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph followed the Lord, as did the Israelites in captivity and throughout the life of Moses and Joshua (with the two notable exceptions at Sinai and Baal-Peor listed above). The author of the BAR article gets it partially right—the Israelites did worship the one true God early on, but it was much earlier than he realizes. It wasn’t until Israel had settled down in Canaan that they were influenced by the Canaanites that they couldn’t drive out. That was a snare to them into idolatry and polytheism (Deuteronomy 7:16; Judges 2:3).

And this is a warning to us as well. The god of self, luxury, sensuality, and humanism are snares to this present world and can even tempt Christians to become less effective in their witness and their personal lives. Just as the Apostle Paul warns against:

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:6–10)