Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

Monotheism

There were some Jews who rejected this doctrine, but the data, both Jewish

and foreign, indicate that belief in one God was a defining characteristic of

Judaism. Jews confessed that God was one and that he was the creator and

sustainer of all, and non-Jews recognized monotheism as a trait that made

Jews different from most others. In obedience to the second command-

ment, Jews made no representation of the God they worshiped, and in this

regard, too, they were distinctive. The Temple in Jerusalem was unusual in

that it contained no visible representation of the deity; in the time of the

first Temple, he was thought to be enthroned upon the Ark of the Cov-

enant between the cherubim, but there was no object representing him.

Covenant

The one God had entered into a covenant with Abraham, the ancestor of

the Jews and, later, with his descendants, the people of Israel. The covenant

remained valid and binding; it not only defined a relationship between

YHWH and his people but also took the concrete form of stipulating the

way of life that the descendants of Abraham were to follow in order to re-

main in covenantal fellowship with him. The most specific form of that

definition was the Law of Moses, which therefore had to be obeyed and in-

terpreted as new situations arose. Among the laws that regulated the

covenantal behavior of Jewish people, several stood out as particularly im-

portant and known to non-Jews: an aniconic worship of the one God and

rejection of all other deities and idols associated with them, Sabbath ob-

servance, circumcision, food laws, festivals, and separation from others be-

cause of the theological danger of intermarriage and impurity.

The history of the covenantal relationship that obtained between God

and Israel took on special importance as evidence of divine election and

guidance and as a source of lessons to be learned about the consequences

of obedience or disobedience. Covenant violation was regarded as the root

cause for catastrophes such as the destruction of Jerusalem and the Tem-

ple; the wise could learn from such instances and act accordingly. Amid di-

saster, Jews entertained hopes for a restoration of grander times; one such

hope was for a messianic leader from David’s line.

With the loss of the center — Jerusalem and the Temple — in 70c.e.

and carnage and loss throughout the land, an era in Jewish history ended

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james c. vanderkam

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:03:55 PM