Monotheism: An Islamic Gift to Judaism

Mother of Monotheism

Judaism is often regarded as the first monotheistic faith, frequently referred to as the “Mother of Monotheism.” This perspective traditionally views Christianity and Islam as having adapted elements of Jewish monotheism. Moreover, there's a viewpoint that Islamic law, theology, philosophy, mysticism, and legal theories have incorporated numerous aspects of Jewish thought. However, a thorough historical and critical analysis presents a different picture. Indeed, Judaism, as the oldest Semitic religion with a history spanning thousands of years, has developed its unique theological, legal, and mystical traditions, which have influenced the subsequent religions of Christianity and Islam in varying degrees.

The early and Rabbinic Jewish theological, legal, and mystical structures were complex and rudimentary in many respects, particularly when compared to the more developed, universal, and moral aspects of modern Judaism. Interestingly, it was the Islamic approach to monotheism—characterized by its universality, morality, rationality, and transcendence—along with its advanced legal theories and philosophical thought, that had a profound influence on Jewish theology, philosophy, law, and mysticism throughout the medieval period. This led to the evolution of a more refined and developed form of modern Judaism. This revelation may be surprising to those who are more familiar with the notion of Judaism's biblical contribution to monotheism, law, philosophy, science, and morality, both in general human history and specifically within Semitic traditions.

Jewish Monotheism?

The concept of Jewish monotheism and its global impact warrants a nuanced discussion.

The unity of God or monotheism is the belief in “one unique god to the exclusion of any other divinity. Its absolute and exclusive character distinguishes it [monotheism] from monolatry which is the belief of a group of men in god, recognized as the only legitimate god of the group, but who concede the existence of other divinities adored by other peoples.” Historically, monotheism as the belief in a singular, universal, absolute, sovereign, transcendent, and moral God, distinct from all other deities, is not explicitly outlined in the Hebrew Bible or in pre-Islamic Rabbinic texts like the Talmud and Midrash. In these scriptures, the portrayal of God (YHWH) is more akin to a tribal, localized deity with human-like (anthropomorphic) qualities, including emotions and physical attributes, albeit without sexual characteristics. This depiction includes God engaging in human-like actions and appearing in human forms.

One of the immense statements made in the Bible about God’s oneness is the first of the Ten Commandments taught by God to Moses, one of the great figures of the Hebrew Bible, for him to convey them to the Hebrews. Moses is additionally required to make sure that the Israelites put them into practice. The first and foremost Commandment reads, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thine heart: These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children...” (Deuteronomy 6:4–7).

Nothing, says Abraham J. Heschel, “in Jewish life is more hallowed than the saying of the Shema: Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” He further argues that this monotheism was not “attained by means of numerical reduction, by bringing down the multitude of deities to the smallest possible number. One means unique. The minimum of knowledge is the knowledge of God’s uniqueness. His being unique is an aspect of His being ineffable.”

No Jewish Monotheism

Contrary to these explanations, some modern scholars do not see in the First Commandment the affirmation of God’s unity, uniqueness and transcendence. Following methods of biblical criticism, they date this commandment far later than Moses’ times. They also argue that it may prove monolatry or mono-Yahwism rather than strict monotheism.

Robin Lane Fox

Robin Lane Fox, for instance, contends: “Before we find early monotheism in the first commandment, we have to date it (it might be as late as the seventh or sixth century) and also be sure that we can translate it. Its dating is extremely difficult, although Hosea might seem to presuppose it too: chapter 8 of his book appears to connect idolatry and foreign worship with a blindness to God’s law (8:1, 8:12). However, this law seems to be something more general than our First Commandment, and Hosea himself does not deny that other gods exist.”

 Furthermore, there is no consensus among scholars about the exact translation of the First Commandment. Many biblical scholars argue that this Commandment is neither historically authentic nor categorical or precisely directed in its meanings. Fox states: “As for the First Commandment, the translation of its Hebrew is also not certain. Perhaps originally it meant ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before my face’ (no idols in Yahweh’s temple), or ‘before me’, in preference to me, but on any view, ‘the claim for Yahweh’s exclusiveness, that Yahweh alone has existence, is not contained in the First Commandment’. The text need only have been saying that Yahweh is Israel’s Number One among other lesser divinities. Monotheism, the much stronger belief that only one god exists anywhere, was not revealed on Sinai’s peaks.”  

T. J. Meek

T. J. Meek asserts: “There is no certainty of course that this command originated with Moses or that it was known in his day...However, the most we can claim for Moses in it is monolatry. Neither here nor anywhere else does he deny the existence of gods other than Yahweh, nor does he assert the sole existence of Yahweh, and not having done that, he cannot be called a monotheist. Even O. E. James, who is an anthropologist as well as an Old Testament scholar, with decided leaning towards the theory of primitive monotheism, has to acknowledge that the command asserts nothing more than monolatry and not pure monotheism, and so conservative a churchman as late Bishop Gore has to concede that it neither proves nor disproves either monolatry or monotheism.”

G. Von Rad

G. Von Rad observes: “The problem of monotheism in ancient Israel is admittedly connected with the first commandment, in so far as Israel’s monotheism was to some extent a realization which was not granted to her without the long discipline of the first commandment. Still, it is necessary to keep the two questions as far as possible distinct, for the first commandment has initially nothing to do with monotheism: on the contrary, as the way it is formulated shows, it is only comprehensible in the light of a background which the historian of religion designates as polytheism. Even the way in which Jahweh introduces himself, “I am Jahweh, your God,” presupposes a situation of polytheism. For many a generation there existed in Israel a worship of Jahweh which, from the point of view of the first commandment, must undoubtedly be taken as legitimate, though it was not monotheistic. It is therefore called henotheism or monolatry.”

Karen Armstrong

K. Armstrong states: “When they recite the Shema today, Jews give it a monotheistic interpretation: Yahweh our God is One and unique. The Deuteronomist had not yet reached this perspective. “Yahweh ehad” did not mean God is One, but that Yahweh was the only deity whom it was permitted to worship. Other gods were still a threat: their cults were attractive and could lure Israelites from Yahweh, who was a jealous God.” She further observes: “The Israelites did not believe that Yahweh, the God of Sinai, was the only God, but promised, in their covenant, that they will ignore all other deities and worship him alone. It is very difficult to find a single monotheistic statement in the whole of the Pentateuch. Even the Ten Commandments delivered on Mount Sinai take the existence of other gods for granted: “There shall be no strange gods for you before my face.”

Such an interpretation of the First Commandment seems more in line with the biblical data. It is sufficient to quote the work of Cristoph Uehlinger who has shown that “With regard to the situation in the kingdom of Israel, we have …archaeological, inscriptional and iconographical evidence which clearly points to the use of anthropomorphic cultic statuary by Israelites to a degree similar to their neighbors.” Yehweh was “worshipped in the form of an anthropomorphic cult statue both in the central state temples of Israel (Samaria) and Judah (Jerusalem).” The strong emphasis upon Yahweh’s jealousy also implies belief in monolatry. One cannot be jealous of people being devoted to a non-existent entity. Jealousy implies a rival for one’s affections and goes well with the idea that Israel ought to be loyal to Yahweh and not to the gods of other nations.”

Polytheism of Patriarchs

The Hebrew Bible also suggests that early patriarchs such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob acknowledged and worshipped gods other than YHWH. Hans Kung views patriarchal religion as henotheism: “Thus nowadays there is agreement among the critical exegetes that neither the exalted ethic of Bible nor strict monotheism will have prevailed as early as the time of patriarchs. From a historical perspective, Abraham was certainly a henotheist, someone who presupposed the existence of a number of gods but who accepted only the one God, his God, as the supreme and binding authority.”

In light of the available biblical data, polytheism, or in the extreme case henotheism, rather than monotheism, would appear to be a better alternative to the patriarch’s understanding of God. The Biblical text portrays patriarchs as worshipping other gods besides Yahweh. “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors – Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor – lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods” (Joshua 24:3). It also says: Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)

Early biblical narrative, while acknowledging the existence and relevance of the other gods, emphasizes YHWH as the special deity of the Jewish people, forbidding the worship of other gods in YHWH's presence and condemning the creation of graven images.

Moses' Henotheism

Even the conception of God that Moses introduces is portrayed primarily as the chief deity of the Israelites rather than a singular, universal deity. This God is described with human-like qualities and limitations.

In light of these issues, it becomes evident that there are different narrative strands regarding the biblical Deity that occur side by side in the Hebrew Bible. Not surprisingly, the existence of so many polar strands has left biblical scholarship divided and confused. Scholars have drawn widely varying and contradictory conclusions vis-à-vis the original Hebrew concept of God, with some biblical scholars, given the many passages that delineate Yahweh (God) in relatively transcendental categories, arguing that the Israelites were originally a monotheistic nation and their monotheism was authentic and original, not something secondary but a fundamental expression of Hebrew culture. Y. Kaufmann contends that the “Israelite religion was an original creation of the people of Israel. It was absolutely different from anything the pagan world ever knew; its monotheistic worldview had no antecedents in paganism. Nor was it a theological doctrine conceived and nurtured in limited circles or schools: nor a concept that finds occasional expression in this or that passage or stratum of the Bible. It was the fundamental idea of a national culture and informed every aspect of the culture from its very beginning.” H. Cohen maintains that “Monotheism is not the thought of one man, but the whole Jewish national spirit...” According to Leo Baeck: “Only in Israel did an ethical monotheism exist, and wherever else it is found later, it has been derived directly or indirectly from Israel. The nature of this religion was conditioned by the existence of the people of Israel, and so it became one of the nations that have a mission to fulfill.”

Hans Kung, on the other hand, rightly observes that “Yehezkel Kaufmann, who ignores the results of historical-critical research, does not answer one question. Was it like this from the beginning?”

Whilst we may agree that Moses played a significant role in putting the Israelites on the track of monotheism, we may disagree as to labeling him the hero of Hebraic monotheism as far as the biblical data is concerned. Our concern here is not a comparison of the Mosaic concept of the deity with that of the Canaanite’s or indeed other primitive societies of that time, but rather to focus on monotheism as the term itself currently denotes. Moses, according to available biblical data, does not seem to deny the existence of other gods. Further, his portrayals of God are corporeal and anthropomorphic through and through. This representation of God as well as lack of stand against other gods, does not sit well with the notion of a transcendent, monotheistic God.

All things considered, this context, as well as the issues outlined concerning the historicity and translation of the First Commandment, leave a great many issues unresolved in terms of Moses being a monotheist. Therefore, in light of the biblical data, Moses’ monolatry is more evident than his leaning towards monotheism in the strict sense of the term. Monolatry, on the other hand, is an idea detrimental to the Unity, Oneness and Transcendence of God as the terms are understood today. Therefore we conclude this section with the observation that the Hebrew Bible’s early concept of God is neither monotheistic nor transcendental in the developed sense of these terms. Furthermore, ethical monotheism and the transcendence of God are vaguely stated but not well defined or protected against violations and compromises, and the depiction of the deity is anthropomorphic (manlike) and corporeal (bodily). Finally, this tendency is as pervasive in the later prophets as it is in the early writings, though with a relative degree of sophistication and refinement.

Babylonian Exile and Jewish Monotheism

Notably, post-Babylonian Exile texts in the Hebrew Bible begin to shift towards a more universal monotheism, portraying YHWH as the sole deity of the universe. However, even in these later texts, God retains human-like attributes and characteristics. This evolution in the depiction of God reflects a gradual shift from a more anthropomorphic and tribal concept of divinity towards a more universal and abstract monotheism.

The early centuries of the Common Era, particularly the first two, saw Rabbinic literature intensifying the complexities, ambiguities, and contradictions present in the biblical narrative. The Rabbis of this period often diminished the distinction between the divine and the earthly by depicting a transcendent God deeply involved in the mundanities of human life and excessively intertwined with humanity and other creatures. In these texts, aspects of God are portrayed as manifesting in physical forms, and various entities like humans, angels, stars, and other creatures are depicted with divine attributes, leading to a blurred line between God and man and a multiplicity of divinities of various statures and hierarchies. The Hebrew God seems to be at the top of a pyramid of lesser divinities who are created and not uncreated like YAWH.   

Pre-medieval Jews were never monotheists

This portrayal has led some biblical scholars to argue that the ancient and Rabbinic eras were distant from the more refined monotheism that characterized the medieval and post-medieval Jewish communities.

Peter Hayman writes: “It will be my contention that it is hardly ever appropriate to use the term monotheism to describe the Jewish idea of God, that no progress beyond the simple formulas of the Book of Deuteronomy can be discerned in Judaism before the philosophers of the Middle Ages, and that Judaism never escapes the legacy of the battles for supremacy between Yahweh, Ba’al and El from which it emerged.”

Hayman and subsequent scholars contend that the concept of monotheism, as we commonly associate it with the modern religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, did not exist during the Second Temple Period. According to Margaret Barker, the distinct separation between El Elyon (the high God) and his son Yahweh from ancient Israelite religion was never completely eliminated from the religious tradition of Israel. Instead, these ideas were preserved in the Second Temple Period through intermediary angelic figures like the Son of Man, Sophia, and the Logos. As a result, she perceives Christianity's formulation of Jesus as God incarnate as an extension of how Israel's religious tradition initially divided the godhead.

James McGrath suggests that “monotheism in early Judaism and Christianity meant something other than what it means to many today.” While he acknowledges that early Jews did possess a “fervent, almost fanatical adherence to the worship of the only God Most High, the one true God,” he also demonstrates that the literature from this era provides evidence of a particular ambiguity between God and creation, a nuance often overlooked or undervalued in today's discussions on this subject.

M. M. Kaplan

M. M. Kaplan observes that: “The traditional belief that the Jewish religion has remained the same since it was promulgated at Sinai is quite untenable and is being superseded by the evolutionary conception of its origin and growth. According to that conception, the complex of ideas and practices centering about the belief in God underwent gradual but thorough-going changes.” Following this evolutionary approach, Kaplan, a well-known modern Jewish thinker, concludes that the Hebrews, like other primitive people, were originally polytheists worshipping multiple anthropomorphic and corporeal deities. In the second stage of the developmental process, they reached the belief in a national God, Yahweh, worthy of worship and all other acts of obedience, but still conceived of in anthropomorphic terms. “They retained the survivals of animism.” Yahweh would fight their battles, take care of all their needs, and in turn they would conform to His laws and be loyal to Him. At this stage, there existed no thought of denying the validity of other gods for other nations. It is in the third stage, especially with the victories of David, that Yahweh’s oneness is achieved: By this time the God of Israel is no longer conceived merely as a god, or as the principal god, but as God, the creator of the world and of all that it contains, the one Being who is sui generis, whose power is manifest both in the ordinary and in the extraordinary manifestations of nature and whose will governs the life of every created being.” In the final and fourth stage, real monotheism and transcendence were achieved by denying the ascription to God of human corporeal and anthropomorphic terms and the negation of those attributes and qualities which were thought as unworthy of His being. The Jewish religion passed through this stage “of its existence from about the beginning of the common era down to modern times.”

Therefore, argues Kaplan, “to ascribe to traditional Jewish religion the urge to teach the nations the formal truth of monotheism is to convey an entirely wrong impression of what the Jews conceived to be their place in the world.” The concept of such a transcendent Deity was forced upon Jewish thought by the circumstances in which they found themselves: “Until Judaism was compelled to reckon with the challenge of Aristotelian philosophy, the philosophic difficulty of ascribing form to God in no way disturbed rabbinic thought. Even the question of Gods’ omnipresence did not trouble them greatly. Although they assumed that God was omnipresent, they nevertheless held the idea of God as moving from place to place, and of heaven as his principal abode. Certain as it was that God was a being perceptible not merely to the mind but also to the senses, traditional Jewish religion could, for practical purposes, afford to leave unsolved the question about the form and substance of the divine nature and its relationship to the visible world. Hence the vagueness and the contradictions which abound in the traditional conception of God with regard to his spatial relationship to the physical universe.”

Islamic influences on Judaism

It was the emergence of Islam, with its emphasis on strict, Unitarian, ethical, and transcendental monotheism, that presented significant challenges to the Jewish conceptualization of God. This confrontation compelled the Jewish community to re-examine and ultimately reconcile its own theological ambiguities, anthropomorphisms, corporeal interpretations, and contradictions.

The pressure exerted by the predominance of Muslim thought during the medieval era, especially on the Jewish minorities living in Muslim-majority regions, catalyzed a transformation in Jewish theology. This process involved addressing and resolving various theological inconsistencies within Judaism. As a result, the strict, developed, ethical, and transcendental form of monotheism that emerged in Judaism can be seen as significantly influenced by Islamic thought, marking a departure from the earlier, more complex, and less defined representations of divinity in Jewish tradition. The strict, ethical monotheism is an Islamic gift to the Jewish people and civilization rather than vice versa.

See details in my book "Concept of God in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic Traditions", chapter 2