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Religious Traditions & Practices

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Religious Traditions & Practices Religious Traditions & Practices Yahweh (YHWY) Ancient Israel Monotheistic? • Abraham was and is considered the Father of the Hebrew faith. • Monotheistic religion, different from his father • The Hebrew people were not all monotheistic • In spite of the biblical premise that the Law of Moses predated the tribal and monarchic eras and that its laws should be regulative of Israelite politics, there is very little indication that these laws had significant effect on Israel's kings or even that most of the laws were known to them. - Norman Gottwald, “The Bible and Interpretation” https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2001/politics Polytheistic? • Worship of Baal and Asherah, either openly or in sublimated form in Yahwistic circles, frequently added to the Israelite religious melange. Prophets, variously aligned with diverse forms of Yahwism, sometimes supported but more often criticized the foreign and domestic policies of kings. It would not be amiss to speak in the plural of the religions of ancient Israel prior to the reforming monotheism of colonial times. • The frequent claim that somehow the covenant-based religion of Yahwism, stemming from Moses and associated with reforming kings such as Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah, was controlling or even influential in monarchic politics appears mistaken. - Norman Gottwald, “The Bible and Interpretation” https://bibleinterp.arizona.edu/articles/2001/politics Baal and Asherah • Baal, god worshipped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among the Canaanites, who apparently considered him a fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the pantheon. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baal's epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. - www.britannica.com › topic › Baal-ancient-deity • Asherah, a mother goddess figure of the sea. In some instances, it is suggested that Asherah was actually the consort (spouse or companion) of Yahweh--in Jeremiah, she is referred to as the ''queen of heaven.‘’ • “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool, inscribed with a flint point, on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars. 2 Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles (wooden poles with image of Asherah engraved in them) beside the spreading trees and on the high hills.” – Jeremiah 17:1-2 • Other mentions of Asherah: Deuteronomy 16:21, Judges 3:7, 1 Kings 14:23, 2 Chronicles 19:3 - https://study.com/academy/lesson/ancient-israel-religious-beliefs-figures-places.html Monolatry • Monolatry is the worship of a single god without denying the existence of other deities. Monolatrous views can be seen in places within the Bible, and may have been the view of at least some Israelites when the worship of Yahweh was the state religion of Israel and Judah during the Iron Age. - U of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, https://www.penn.museum/sites/canaan/Religion.html Family Religion • Before a centralized authority or state began to take formation around the 10th century BCE, people within Syria-Palestine practiced a form of family religion. Literature dating back to the 12th century BCE (1200 BCE; Amarna Letters) and various inscriptions throughout Syria-Palestine demonstrate this. • Family religion was the norm as Israel and Judah began forming a national identity. Thus, it is possible that "families honored their ancestors by verbal rites and the presentation of offerings, and focused their religious devotion on the 'god of the father' or the 'god of the house'. In so doing, they anchored their collective identity in their lineage and their place of origin“. - William Brown, “Ancient Israelite and Judean Religion”, 2017, https://www.ancient.eu/article/1097/ancient-israelite--judean-religion/ Monotheism • Biblical monotheism, the concept of a single god with universal authority, stands out as a unique development in Ancient Israel. In modern times, Christianity, Judaism and Islam are all monotheistic religions. - U of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, https://www.penn.museum/sites/canaan/Religion.html King Solomon Builds First Temple Construction of the Temple began in the year 957 B.C. during the 4th year of his reign. The Temple was built due east and west and was surrounded with high walls built of stone and timber. A vast retaining outer wall spanned 750 ft X 500 ft. The Bible's description of Solomon's Temple (also called The First Temple) suggests that the inside ceiling was 180 feet long, 90 feet wide, and 50 feet high. The highest point on the Temple that King Solomon built was actually 120 cubits tall (about 20 stories or about 207 feet). - Jewish Virtual Library, https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-temple-solomon-s-temple The Temple • Among the Israelites, the Temple was initially thought of as the literal residence of God, but God’s presence was intangible, at most a type of radiance called “kavod” in Hebrew. • As the conception of God changed from that of a neighborhood or national deity who had an address and needed to be placated, to being universal and omnipresent, the sanctuary evolved from being the place where God lived to being the place that the people visited so as to offer service to God, in the form of sacrifices. - https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-history-of-the-temple-in-jerusalem-1.5256337 Religious Roles • Priests • Religious leaders typically chosen by the Israelites. However, there were qualifications that had to be met: a priest had to be a Levite, meaning they were from the tribe of Levi. • The high priest who was responsible for making a yearly sacrifice for atonement also had to be, after the split of the united kingdom, a Zadokite. Zadok was the high priest during the ''Golden Age'' of Israel under King Solomon when Israel flourished. • Prophets • ‘’Messengers'', were also important religious figures--but they were typically described as being appointed by Yahweh. While they were sometimes Levites, like Moses, they did not have to be. • Prophets typically had traditional call narratives: they were called by Yahweh, objected to their call because they did not feel worthy or able, then accepted a quest or task after being reassured by Yahweh. The prophets were not really involved in predicting the future, as they are often understood today, but typically acted as a messenger or mediator between Yahweh and the people. - https://study.com/academy/lesson/ancient-israel-religious-beliefs-figures-places.html What is the difference between a Priest and Rabbi? • Rabbis and priests tended to have different theological beliefs. Most priests were members of the Sadducees, the aristocratic, priestly party in Jerusalem, while most rabbis were Pharisees. These groups had great theological hostility toward one another. One key point on which they disagreed was whether there would be a resurrection of the dead. Pharisees said there would be, while Sadducees said there was no afterlife (Acts 23:8). - https://study.com/academy/lesson/ancient-israel-religious-beliefs-figures-places.html • “Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” Acts 23:6 Follow The Law • Law embraces practically all domains of Jewish life, and it became the principle means by which Judaism was to bring about the reign of God on earth. It is a total guide to religious and ethical conduct, involving ritualistic observance as well as individual and social ethics. It is a liturgical and ethical way constantly expatiated on by the prophets and priests, by rabbinic sages, and by philosophers. • Jewish tradition recognizes 613 commandments in the Torah. • Laws regarding Temple service and festivals • Laws connected to Jewish civil and military government • Laws concerning produce of the land • Health laws emphasized purification processes and dress codes • Laws associated with the functions of the Sanhedrin - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Judaism Sacrificial Altar- Beersheva, Israel Sacrifices • Biblical texts tell us that God received the smoke of the burning sacrifice as a “pleasing odor” (see, for example, Lev 1:13). In so doing, God enjoyed a fellowship meal with human beings in God’s dwelling on earth—the temple. • 5 types of sacrifices/offerings • Burnt offering (Hebrew, ‘olah; literally, “ascending offering”; Lev 1, Lev 6:8- 13) could be a herd or flock animal (bull, sheep, or goat) or a bird (dove or pigeon). The whole animal was burned in the altar fire. It was the most extravagant sacrifice because the entirety was given to God. • Grain offering (Hebrew, minhah; literally, “gift”; Lev 2, Lev 6:14-23) was an offering of fine flour or unleavened baked goods, mixed with oil. A handful of the offering was burned (with incense) in the altar fire. The rest went to the priests. Sacrifices • Sacrifice of well-being/fellowship offering (Hebrew, zevah shelamim; Lev 3, Lev 7:11-35) could be a herd or flock animal. Innards (fat, kidneys, and part of the liver) were burned in the altar fire. Most of the animal was eaten, divided between the priests and the offerer. • Sin/purification offering (Hebrew, hatta’t; Lev 4:1-5:13, Lev 6:24-30) dealt with disruption in the relationship between human beings and God. The offering depended on the identity and status of the person required to make it. The chief priest, for example, had to bring a bull, whereas ordinary Israelites brought a female goat or lamb. Those who were too poor to afford a goat or sheep could offer birds, and an offering of grain flour was acceptable from the very poor. • Guilt offering (Hebrew, ’asham; literally, “responsibility”; Lev 5:14-6:7, Lev 7:1-10) dealt with distinct categories of wrongdoing that disrupted the divine-human relationship, such as unintentional desecration of sacred things.
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