Israelite religion

Overview

Israelite religion is the worship of YHWH practiced by the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah, down to the Babylonian exile beginning in 586 BCE. Rather than monotheism from the outset, it moved only gradually toward the exclusive worship of one God, as some Israelites went on worshipping Baal and other gods alongside YHWH until the prophets pressed YHWH's sole supremacy.^{[1, 5]}

History

Origins within the Canaanite world c. 1200–1000 BCE

Israelite religion took shape among communities that shared the wider Canaanite religious culture, including reverence for the god El; by tradition, Moses later led the people out of slavery in Egypt and mediated their covenant with YHWH at Mount Sinai, in the thirteenth century BCE.^{[4, 6]}

From many gods to one c. 1000–586 BCE

Some Israelites continued to worship Baal and other gods even while bound to YHWH by covenant, and only the prophets — Elijah, Hosea and Second Isaiah among them — pressed the claim that YHWH alone held power over every sphere of life.^[5]

Key moments

1. c. 1208 BCE'Israel' on the Merneptah Stele · Thebes (Luxor), Egypt
2. c. 950 BCEThe First Temple · Jerusalem
3. c. 800 BCEYahweh and his asherah at Kuntillet Ajrud · Kuntillet Ajrud, north-eastern Sinai, Egypt
4. c. 622 BCEJosiah's reform and the book of the law · Jerusalem
5. c. 600 BCEThe silver amulets of Ketef Hinnom · Ketef Hinnom, Jerusalem
6. c. 587 BCEJerusalem falls; the Exile · Jerusalem and Babylon
7. 410 BCEA Jewish temple on the Nile · Elephantine (Yeb), near Aswan, Egypt

Art & objects

Public-domain objects from museum collections. Select one to see it at the museum.

Nude female figureIsraelite, Iron Age II, ca. 8th–7th century BCE

How we know

How we know

Israelite religion is known mainly through the Hebrew Bible, so even a central figure like Moses can be reconstructed only in broad outline, and the timing of Israel's shift to exclusive monotheism remains debated.^{[5, 7]}

Common misconceptions

Glossary

YHWH · יהוה

The four-letter Hebrew name of Israel's God (the Tetragrammaton), probably pronounced "Yahweh."^[2]

covenant · berit

A binding agreement, central to Israelite religion, between YHWH and Israel: divine protection in exchange for obedience to the law.^[8]

henotheism

Exclusive loyalty to one god without denying that other gods exist for other peoples; a stage scholars see in early Israelite religion before full monotheism.^[5]