Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Jonathan D. Safren" <yonsaf AT beitberl.beitberl.ac.il>]

Peter_Kirk AT SIL.ORG wrote:

>
> As for a monotheistic Moses, the presence in Egypt in the 5th century
> and in Judah in the 8th century of syncretistic polytheistic Jews is
> quite irrelevant. Here is a version without ifs: There were
> near-monotheists in Egypt in and around the time of Akhenaten. There
> exists a narrative stating that a (near-??)monotheist from Egypt
> (named Moses) led a group of slaves out of Egypt, at an uncertain time
> which may have been a little before or a little after the time of
> Akhenaten. This narrative is to this extent confirmed in its
> compatibility with the history of Egyptian religion.
> Peter

Akhenaten worshipped Aten, the sun-god, a corporeal body. He did not deny the
existence of other gods; he just did not worship them. This is henotheism, or
monolatry, and not monotheism, nor any thing near it. Monotheism means the 
belief in
one god and denying the existence of other gods. There is none of that in 
Akhenaten's
religion, nor in the Ten Commandments.
"You shall have no other gods besides me" means: There are other gods, but 
you shall
not worship them. This Commandment, and indeed, all the Law Codes of the 
Torah, can
best be understood by reference to suzerainty treaties of the second and first
millennium BCE, in which one common stipulation is : You shall serve only me 
and not
other sovereigns.
Whether the Ten Commandments are Mosaic or not, they are not monotheistic.
Sincerely,
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
Beit Berl Post Office 44905
Israel