Pre-Mosaic religions

[jimtron]

I'm curious about religions that were popular before the Pentateuch was written, particularly in the Middle East. Which gods was god referring to when He said, "You shall have no other gods before me?"

And where's the Yahweh smiley icon--it seems to be missing...

 

[Jas]

There were quite a few. Babylonian, Egyptian...I can't recall the dates right now, but, from what I recall, in my sleep deprived state, that's one of the reastons that they started writing the OT, from what was previously an oral tradition.

 

[blutoski]

I'm curious about religions that were popular before the Pentateuch was written, particularly in the Middle East. Which gods was god referring to when He said, "You shall have no other gods before me?"

And where's the Yahweh smiley icon--it seems to be missing...

Isn't the Pentateuch greek, and therefore relatively recent?

Anyway, the commandments are a bit dicey to date, so it is just as likely that J was talking about other Israeli faiths, such as E. The monotheistic oral traditions probably competed with each other, as well as with polytheistic Israeli belief systems, and Israeli god-kings. Probably the E tradition refers to Israeli god-kings, adopted from the Egyptian model.

Neighbouring Zaroastrians, as well. Much of the Israeli theological model changed during the Babylonian Exile, adopting new elements, such as an explanation for misery in the form of a bickering pantheon (a forerunner of satan - a polytheistic god demoted to rebellious angel to reconcile with monotheism).

The Gilgamesh epic is worth exploring, to get context about one surviving competitor in the middle-east - a joint forerunner of Islam, as well.

 

[Dr Adequate]

Isn't the Pentateuch greek, and therefore relatively recent?

No, it's just Greek for "the five books", i.e. the Mosaic books of the Bible, which are written in Hebrew.

 

[blutoski]

No, it's just Greek for "the five books", i.e. the Mosaic books of the Bible, which are written in Hebrew.

Ah. I always assumed it referred to the greek translation of the Mosaic books.

I forgot to add that the religions of the surrounding non-Israeli tribes, such as the Philistines and of course the Egyptian pantheon.

 

[Iacchus]

I understand that Abraham is a derivative of the god Brahma, which stems from Brahmanism and indicative to the ultimate ground of all being in Hinduism. So, guess where monotheism seems to have originated?

 

[CapelDodger]

Ah. I always assumed it referred to the greek translation of the Mosaic books.

That's the Septuagint, produced in Alexandria.

 

[Bikewer]

I'm just reading "Don't Know Much About Mythology", and the author goes into considerable detail on the gods/myths of that general geographic area.

Quite a lot to choose from.

 

[David Swidler]

This takes us into a different area altogether, but does a set of gods and myths necessarily constitute a religion?

 

[hgc]

This takes us into a different area altogether, but does a set of gods and myths necessarily constitute a religion?

Throw in the adherents, and you've got all the ingredients.

 

[Meadmaker]

If you look up Canaanite mythology, you'll find some interesting stuff. If I recall, the passage in Isaiah that refers to throwing down Lucifer (the Morning Star) is lifted pretty directly from a Canaanite myth.

There isn't a lot of written material from the Canaanites. A few fragmentary tablets I think. I have read that a lot of passover traditions can be traced to earlier, Canaanite, festivals, but when I looked for more info, I couldn't find any that I considered credible.

If you find some easily accessible cool stuff, please let us know.

 

[Bikewer]

I think that in general, the presence of "gods" in a culture indicates some sort of organized ritual system or religion. Though the stories surrounding these gods may be myths to us, they were not thought of as such by the people living at that time. (not unlike the believers of similar myths today)