Judaism what is god

In fact, it seems that the ancient Israelites weren't even the first to worship Yhwh — they seem to have adopted Him from a mysterious, unknown tribe that lived somewhere in the deserts of the southern Levant and Arabia. The god of the southern deserts. The first mention of the Israelite tribe itself is a victory stele erected around BCE by the pharaoh Mernetpah sometimes called "the Israel stele".

These Israelites are described as a people inhabiting Canaan. So how did this group of Canaanite El-worshippers come in contact with the cult of Yhwh? The Bible is quite explicit about the geographical roots of the Yhwh deity, repeatedly linking his presence to the mountainous wilderness and the deserts of the southern Levant.

All these regions and locations can be identified with the territory that ranges from the Sinai and Negev to northern Arabia. Support for the theory that Yhwh originated in the deserts of Israel and Arabia can be found in Egyptian texts from the late second millennium, which list different tribes of nomads collectively called "Shasu" that populated this vast desert region.

The many faces of god. How exactly the Shasu merged with the Israelites or introduced them to the cult of Yhwh is not known, but by the early centuries of the first millennium, he was clearly being worshipped in both the northern kingdom of Israel and its smaller, southern neighbor, the kingdom of Judah.

As the Yhwh cult evolved and spread, he was worshipped in temples across the land. Nor, in ancient Israel, was Yhwh the invisible deity that Jews have refrained from depicting for the last two millennia or so. In the kingdom of Israel, as Hosea 8 and 1 Kings relate, he was often worshipped in the form of a calf, as the god Baal was. Ergo, in northern Israel at least, the calves were meant to represent Yhwh.

Such depictions may have even continued after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian Exile: a coin minted in Jerusalem during the Persian period shows a deity sitting on a wheeled throne and has been interpreted by some as a late anthropomorphic representation of Yhwh. Not all scholars agree that the iconography of Yhwh was so pronounced in Judah. The God of the Jews. In any case, many scholars agree that Yhwh became the main god of the Jews only after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians, around BCE.

How or why the Jews came to exalt Yhwh and reject the pagan gods they also adored is unclear. We do know that after the fall of Samaria, the population of Jerusalem increased as much as fifteenfold, likely due to the influx of refugees from the north.

That made it necessary for the kings of Judah to push a program that would unify the two populations and create a common narrative. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving.

Jewish beliefs Last updated This article looks at the Jewish faith, customs and identity and what Jews believe about God.

Jewish faith and God The relationship with God Jews believe that there is a single God who not only created the universe, but with whom every Jew can have an individual and personal relationship. They believe that God continues to work in the world, affecting everything that people do. The Jews keep God's laws The Jews seek to bring holiness into every aspect of their lives.

Judaism is the faith of a Community Jews believe that God appointed the Jews to be his chosen people in order to set an example of holiness and ethical behaviour to the world. Judaism is a family faith Judaism is very much a family faith and the ceremonies start early, when a Jewish boy baby is circumcised at eight days old, following the instructions that God gave to Abraham around 4, years ago.

Who is a Jew? Someone who isn't born a Jew can convert to Judaism, but it is not easy to do so. Judaism means living the faith Almost everything a Jewish person does can become an act of worship. It's what you do that counts The Jewish view of God A summary of what Jews believe about God God exists There is only one God There are no other gods God can't be subdivided into different persons unlike the Christian view of God Jews should worship only the one God God is Transcendent: God is above and beyond all earthly things.

God doesn't have a body Which means that God is neither female nor male. God created the universe without help God is omnipresent: God is everywhere, all the time. God is omnipotent: God can do anything at all. God is beyond time: God has always existed God will always exist.

God is just, but God is also merciful God punishes the bad God rewards the good God is forgiving towards those who mess things up. God is personal and accessible. God is interested in each individual God listens to each individual God sometimes speaks to individuals, but in unexpected ways.

The Jews brought new ideas about God The Jewish idea of God is particularly important to the world because it was the Jews who developed two new ideas about God: There is only one God God chooses to behave in a way that is both just and fair. The Jews found themselves with a God who was ethical and good. God in the Bible But how do Jews know this about God? God has been described, defined, and depicted in a variety of ways in different works of Jewish literature and at different historical moments.

About God God is beyond human comprehension, but that has not stopped Jewish thinkers from attempting to describe God. Nonetheless, some parts of the Torah seem less monotheistic than others. In addition, there are minor currents of thought within Judaism that play down the importance of belief in God.

The God of the Bible has a multitude of roles and attributes that often contrast sharply with each other. In this sense, God is like a person — experiencing a range of emotions, often torn between competing allegiances and values.

The God of the Bible communicates with people through prophets and is even open to critique. Classical rabbinic literature portrays God in a similar way.

However, in rabbinic writings, God no longer communicates with people through prophecy, and God is no longer considered a direct legal authority. One of the most radical Jewish descriptions of God can be found in the heikhalot literature, an early corpus of mystical texts, which actually describes the physical dimensions of God.