Diopolis wrote:Sanctissima wrote:
Oh, well I... I guess I'm really off the mark on that count.
Still though, if not from the Caananites, where else did the Israelites and their religion originate from?
First off, the way hebrew records numbers would make accountants tear their hair out, because it's very ambiguous. But, bear in mind that the hebrew bible records a people who leave egypt to conquer, enslave, and forcibly convert the people living in southern canaan. Note that the actual numbers of them are not terribly well recorded because ancient hebrew is not a very good language at specific numbers.
So, in essence, a tribe leaving egypt is recorded conquering a new region and presumably forming their elite. This tribe is distinguished by monotheism and certain egyptian cultural practices taken to an extreme- the ancient egyptians had their own circumcision and food taboo practices- and left egypt after a period of enslavement that followed a time of religious turmoil in egypt over... monotheism.
Under this theory, the hebrews got their religion from Akhenaten, then were enslaved after his dynasty was overthrown. They were led out of country by a man named Moses, to a land they claim some sort of connection to, conquered the locals, and imposed their culture.
Ancient- Hebrew monotheism is interesting, as often in scripture the existence of other Gods isn't contested. The tribe is unique in that they only serve one God, but they acknowledge the existence of other God's who YHWH contests with. The plagues of Egypt are so provocative because YHWH enters Egypt and upsets their Gods on their own turf.