Judaism

...

and in his name made a covenant with the people of Israel. This according to Albright was henotheism and not monotheism; it was a selection on one god out of several others for exclusive worship by a particular group as a whole. This depiction represented more of a move toward nationalism. It’s concluded in the article that in the time of Moses the Hebrew’s were just getting their first lesson in nationalism and could not possibly reach up to a world concept or a world god. Moses unquestionably layout the foundation of Monotheism, but the true acceptance of it did not come until many centuries later, in the time of Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, and Second Isaiah, who were the first people to claim Yahweh as the one and only god of the world and not of the Hebrews alone. It’s quite difficult to exactly pinpoint if monotheism really originated with Moses or if its origin came earlier in the time of the prophets. The stories of the Old Testament were initially passed down by word of mouth and may have been interpreted in different ways for centuries before they were written down and officially canonized. One cannot truly proclaim that an idea is a fact unless the individual was there to witness it. However, one can make logical assumptions or theories based on what’s readily available. The idea of monotheism existed before the time of Abraham where the concept was introduced but rejected by the people of that time; the idea of one supreme-being ruling over all was difficult to believe. As we’ve seen earlier that the concept was introduced did not have a strong following and did not create a strong foundation to carry on the idea. However during the time of Abraham when god came down to him and said that he should only worship one God the concept was able to carry on for centuries up to the time of Moses. But even then many historians and religious scholars have different views and arguments if true monotheism was practiced in the time of Moses or prior during the time of the prophets. I believe it’s really up to every individual to decide how to interpret what’s written both from a historic and religious standpoint.