Who Invented the God of the Jews


As the work of critical Bible scholars, those who read the Bible as just another piece of literature instead of something more special or important, progresses new bits in the Bible are highlighted and examined in historical context. Archeologists keep coming up with artifacts that fill in a little more of the tale. They also put dampers on theories that were popular before. An interesting question is who were the very first people recorded as worshipping the mythical God now part of Christianity?

From day one it is clear that was not just one god. There were many. If there was just one, he/she would not need a name. Since there were many the prized on needed a name to separate him/her from the others. We humans each have a name.

It is commonly believed ancient Israelis worshipped one god, Yhwh. Modern information tells us the monolithic god concept is relatively modern. Ancients worshipped several of them.

The word Israel was used first about 3,000 years ago and does not refer to Yhwh but to a god named El. El was the chief among many gods and was worshipped across a wide area. 

The Yhwh appears not to be an indigenous god to the Jews but was brought in by a tribe that still has not been identified for certain. The Israelis were first identified on a stone installed about 1,250 years ago. They were referred as a people who live in Caanan.  

The Bible and artifacts leads to the current view ancients believed Yhwh first existed in the mountains and desert area between the Sinai and northern Arabia. Nomadic tribes worshiped Yhwh and introduced the god to the Jews. Yhwh is often referred to as living in the mountains.  

Scholars admit there are several layers of evidence about that ancient period. There is a popular view the monolithic god concept came from a population increase. This was not from high births and low death rates but from other groups joining the Jews. To govern such disparate groups it was advantageous to stamp out the other gods and have only one. 

Just as the origin of God is complicated so is the story of Jews and Egypt. There seem to have been at least some slaves in Egypt who were Jews. But how they got there is not clear. Some may have been owned previously and sold by other Jews. Some may have been captured and taken to Egypt. It has always been thought many Jews went in and out of Egypt during that period. 

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