The Fruits of Monotheism
HILR Fall 2018
SGL: B Ruml
2. Monothesim; Theodicy
Smith: Palestinian Parties, ch 1
What's the takeaway?
"in their present form, date from 500 to 100 BCE"
(no further intentional changes)
Primary consolidations:
D during Josiah's reign (610s)
Deuteronomic history: Judges, Samuel, Kings, Joshua
Ezra
Maccabeans (Daniel, etc.)
Pharasees (as rabbis): final canonization ~100 CE
"The partial preservation of the evidence may be explained by the partiality of those who preserved it."
Takeaways from week one:
The Hebrew Bible contains views from many periods
They often conflict (older views left in place)
Little concern for consistency
We can trace the evolution of ideas!
Monotheism:
What was distinctive about monolatry: the prohibition.
"idol worship"
pagan worship was cumulative;
2nd Isaiah (ch 40-56)
The consequence of religion as behavior and not belief is that it's hard to discern changes in belief on the ground.
Changes during the 300s and 200s:
diaspora;
canonization of Torah (by 250; Septuagint)
scribes: learned in the sacred traditions;
Job
conversion; ban on intermarriage;
Beginning of private worship:
study of scripture;
daily prayer;
synagogues;
Theodicy; Divine Justice:
reward the righteous (law abiding); punish the wicked;
pre-exile: consequences were collective; Israel or family; occured during lifetime;
post-exile: consequences were individual; unclear when they would occur;
change follows from notion of personal piety;
Divine Justice when?
"Second temple Judaism therefore elaborated complex schemes of reward and punishment after death or at the end time."
Escatology (concerning the end times)
outgrowth of sin, repent, redemption cycle;
Angels and Spirits; Divine Court
as YHWH becomes more transcendent and prophets fade, intermediaries are needed;
Kaufmann's monotheism
What was Kaufmann's distinction between polytheism and (Jewish) monotheism?
Kaufmann's monotheism 2
Does Kaufmann's monotheism make dualism more appealing?
Evil in Genesis 1
Is human-caused evil enough?