Polytheism in pre-Captivity Judah and Israel

The myth is that Israel was established by Abraham, a man who worshipped one God, and later saved from slavery in Egypt by Moses, who also worshipped this one God.

But what if these were stories made up later, after the Israelites became monotheistic. And perhaps David was an anomaly, like Akhenaten in Egypt...

The reality is that Yahweh was originally considered a part of the Canaanite pantheon, which was headed by El. Traces of this are still present in the Bible. For example, here we read about El, the Most High, assigning the various tribes to his sons, with the Israelites assigned to Yahweh, the Lord.

Deut 32:8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,​

when he divided all mankind,​

he set up boundaries for the peoples​

according to the number of the sons of Israel.​

9 For the Lord’s portion is his people,​

Jacob his allotted inheritance.​

The Bible was written by the priests of Yahweh. They wanted the people to worship Yahweh, not the other gods. How many kings of Israel did evil in the eyes of Yahweh? That evil was to worship other gods

1 Kings 11:6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.​

1 Kings 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes. 9 You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have aroused my anger and turned your back on me.​

Jeroboam's great sin of making idols to other gods is referenced a lot later!

1 Kings 14:22 Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree.​

High places means alters or temples to other gods. Asherah poles were for worshiping the goddess Asherah, El's consort.

1 Kings 16:25 But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and sinned more than all those before him. 26 He followed completely the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, so that they aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, by their worthless idols.​

​1 Kings 16:30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.​

​1 Kings 21:25 There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife.​

Jezebel was foreign; she urged her husband to worship other gods.

1 Kings 22:52 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he followed the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.​

​2 Kings 3:2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made.​

​2 Kings 8:18 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.​

​2 Kings 8:27 He followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab’s family.​

​2 Kings 13:2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them.​

​2 Kings 13:11 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.​

​2 Kings 14:24 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.​

​2 Kings 15:9 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.​

​2 Kings 15:18 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. During his entire reign he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.​

​2 Kings 15:24 Pekahiah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.​

​2 Kings 15:28 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit.​

A lot of kings doing like Jeroboam, that is, worshiping other gods, and causing Israel to do likewise.

This is a long history of polytheism. It was only with the captivity, when the priesthood and ruling class were separated from the people, that monotheism started to get traction.

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