92 The Religions of Ancient Egypt and Babyloniathey spring into existence. There was no chaos of matter outside
and before him; he had created“that which was not,”and had
formed it all. He was not, therefore, a national or tribal god,
whose power and protection did not extend beyond the locality
in which he was acknowleged and the territory on which his
high places stood; on the contrary, he was the God of the whole
universe; not only Egypt, but“all lands”and all peoples are
called upon to adore him, and even the birds and the flowers
grow and live through him. For the first time in history, so far as
we know, the doctrine was proclaimed that the Supreme Being
was the God of all mankind.
The fact is remarkable from whatever point of view it may be
regarded. The date of Khu-n-Aten is about 1400B.C., a century
before the Exodus and the rise of Mosaism. More than once it
has been suggested that between Mosaism and the“doctrine”of
Aten there may have been a connection. But in Mosaism we
look in vain for any traces of pantheism. The Yahveh of the
Commandments stands as much outside His creation as the man
whom He had made in His own image; His outlines are sharply
defined, and He is the God of the Hebrews rather than of the
rest of the world. The first Commandment bears the fact on
its forefront: other nations have their gods whose existence is
admitted, but Yahveh is the God of Israel, and therefore Him
only may Israel serve.[100]