Law of Hammurabi and Jewish Polytheism

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There is a Time Life series on Youtube that claims that much of the Old Testament scriptures are adapted from Babylonian captivity. The documentary matter-of-factly sites the Laws of Hammurabi as being the origin of the Ten Commandments. I would love to be directed to some resources that talk about the relationship between Babylon (and Sumer) and the forming Jewish faith from a scholarly Orthodox viewpoint.

In addition, a text book my wife is studying with for her class on the history of Western Civilization claims that the Jews were originally a polytheistic group that eventually developed into a monotheistic religion. I would love the same sort of resources I requested about the topic in the previous paragraph.

Thanks so much for all of your precious time!

Frank Pearson
 
Hi Frank,

For awhile, theologians God chose the Jews because they were the only monotheistic people. But then found that there were other peoples as well that believed in only one God.

That area of Mesopotamia was the origin of many people. I read the Code of Hammurabi and found it very circular. It pertained a number of times to not taking another person’s property. There were other reflections from the 10 commandments found in it…And the Jewish people most likely drew on the local myths to explain their own existence.

It is said that in myths, there is truth.

I also think brilliance is found in that which is most simple. I find the 10 commandments most brilliant…God fingered the commandments with His finger…and each consisted of a character…not written out as we would recognize through the use of language. The commandments gave a certain degree of revelation on God, Who He is, and the demands He made of His people.

Moses threw down the tablets of the Law when the people were worshipping the Golden Calf…before they even entered the Holy Land. And thus, the only restorer to the Law was not tablets and books, but Christ, the New Covenant.

I do not recall, however, in the Code references to God…I tended to look at parts related to neighbor. Can you share more?
 
Another point…my pastor was sharing with us that the person of Adam and Eve were probably representing the human condition…did they actually exist?

I remember a report that our DNA was also traced to one African woman, so this science is implying there was Eve…

There was the original man and woman, with names similar to Adam and Eve…who had sons…

And it is disputed whether or not Noah existed…but it is fact that there was a catastrophic flood in that part of the world…in those days people didn’t travel more than 20 miles or so, so a great flood to them would seem to cover the entire world.

But beyond these beginning stories of the Bible, the rest is recorded history of the Jewish people.
 
I have not seen the Youtube series that you are mentioning, but I have seen many Discovery/History channel “shows” on the subject of the composition of the Hebrew Bible and on the theory that the Old Testament was produced by the exiled Jewish scholars in Babylon during the Babylonian exile, and that they used pagan mystery religion material as a major source to this production. These shows usually air on History/Discovery/TLC during Lent & Easter.

My observations are that these theologians and historians don’t tend to see the forest from the trees. For example most of the decalogue is altruistic in nature (e.g. don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t commit adultary, don’t covet, etc.) even the Sabbath has a general human dimension that we all tend to (i.e. to take a break once in a while). Is it reasonable that we would find commonalities between Old Testament revalation and other pagan documents? Certainly! So we don’t need to draw conclusions here.

Was there something specific about the claims that were made that you are concerned about?

God Bless,
Derek
 
I would go to your local library, or a university library if one is available, and ask the librarian. You want to look for information on the effects of the Babylonian captivity and pre-Mosaic Hebrew religion.

Everything that you learned is, as far as I know, correct. The Babylonian captivity was indeed very influential in the thought of the Hebrews (which is what one would expect really) and the early Hebrews were polytheistic. There are some echoes of this in some of the very early material from the OT.
 
Last night after posting, I considered the Code as an attempt to bring moral order to society…and the Jews indeed drew on their surrounding culture to learn who they were and where they were going…Seeing good moral order in the Code of Hammurabi is another example that you do not have to be Judeo Christian to perceive the presence of God and spirit in the world, and this connection between the Divine and mankind.

But I do literally believe that the 10 commandments were given them by God…and the brilliance of simplicity covering all aspects of life speaks to me as the fullness of truth.

The other sign of divinely inspired is the duration of the 10 commandments that are still practiced today…whereas the Code passed away.
 
frankpearson said:
There is a Time Life series on Youtube that claims that much of the Old Testament scriptures are adapted from Babylonian captivity. The documentary matter-of-factly sites the Laws of Hammurabi as being the origin of the Ten Commandments. I would love to be directed to some resources that talk about the relationship between Babylon (and Sumer) and the forming Jewish faith from a scholarly Orthodox viewpoint.

In addition, a text book my wife is studying with for her class on the history of Western Civilization claims that the Jews were originally a polytheistic group that eventually developed into a monotheistic religion. I would love the same sort of resources I requested about the topic in the previous paragraph.

Thanks so much for all of your precious time!

Frank Pearson
Click to expand...
The Pentatuch took it’s present form after the Captivity ended. I believe it was Ezra who “found” the Law after the Exile and through his ministry…as well as some of the other prophets, Judaism took it’s form as firm monothiest faith…The Code existed long before the Exile and Return…portions of the Law were recorded…but the “Five Books of Moses” wasn’t yet compiled in it’s finished form.

The Code of Hammurabi certainly was an influence throughout the Semetic world in one form or another.
 
Thank you all so much for your help. One thing I guess that concerns me is the way in which we, as orthodox Christians can reconcile the concept that the scripture are not really the scripture in a concrete sense, rather good teaching fables derived from a pagan culture. One point in particular, Kathleen, you mentioned the original two parent ancestry of the human race. Belief in a literal Adam and Eve (one man and one woman) are required by our faith. I hope that the most plausible reason for similarities are:
  1. Natural Law ( as derekohachey had mentioned)
  2. Physical placement of the Jews in relationship to the Babylonians (where The Babylonians could have taken some information from Jewish history to supplement their own, there were trade routes and communication between the peoples after all.).
I really appreciate a lot of the similarities/differences presented by many of you, and the links to information. I don’t have enough time to study this in an exhaustive way but really appreciate the layout of contentious items and objective reasons for and against the belief in Jewish origins for scripture stories. I think it would be a lamentable thing if it were clear that The Bible (particularly the Pentatuch) were not ultimately derived from events in Jewish history. Concrete points that talk to these similarities/differences are very much appreciated.

The concept of a polytheistic origin (not deviation) of the Jews could be very troubling. We are given genealogies (Genesis) wherein we are led to believe that we have a consistent line of many righteous individuals before The Lord. The idea that they had God as only one of their pantheon, in general, goes clearly against the spirit of the scripture which presents a relationship between God Himself and no other god and His people from the earliest generations.

Thank you all again so much.

Frank Pearson
 
Thanks, Frank…

I have always been taught that the Jews were monotheistic. And I am somewhat dubious of current ‘new’ discoveries…,if in time proven correct, well then, I would comply…

But science is continual discovery.

There is a so called Christian site…and now they are discovering the real gospels…they are believing gnosticism…

We are living in a time of so much information. But as they say, we have to be cautious to what we are reading on the internet…

My conscience tells me to always seek the truth and not jump on everything I read…I am still learning to discern truth from false via the internet. I will get back to yours and others’ post this busy week…garden harvests…
 
No problem, but just a word of advice when moving forward on this issue. Don’t just blindly accept a historian or theologian’s opinion, but make a critical examination of the evidence available (both the stuff they present and the stuff they might omit). It’s also possible to conclude that there is too little evidence to assess certain theories advanced by historians. One classic example is that historians once held that the Patriachs were pure myth and that the Isrealites never really existed before the Babylonian exile. There is now archeological evidence to suggest that Abraham & Melchezedek existed, some Isrealites migrated to Egypt around 1800BC, and we have recently discovered the footprint of Solomon’s temple. Is all this concrete & complete proof of the historicity of the Hebrew Bible? Not really, but it is sure does prove that all of this was not a myth either. The answer is that we don’t factualluy know yet and that we are gathering more evidence.

On the Polytheism issue. There are a few people (not sure if any of them are actually scholars) who take a superficial look at the Old Testament (particularly Genesis) and conclude that because God speaks in the first person plural sometimes that this automatically means polytheism… There are several problems with this.
  1. Speaking of one’s self in the plurality can be used to emphasized one’s royal stature (think of Kings and Queens of the middle ages)
  2. The plurality can denote the 1st & 2nd persons of the Trinity or the whole Trinity is speaking
  3. The plurality can denote that God is speaking with His angels
There are a few other cases such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24 -And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven) where there appear to be multiple Gods at play, but these passage need to be taken in light of God’s omni-presence and the Trinity. In fact Justin Martyr regarded this event as a collabortation between the Father and Jesus.

Anyway, I hope this helps. God Bless,
Derek
 
frankpearson said:
The concept of a polytheistic origin (not deviation) of the Jews could be very troubling. We are given genealogies (Genesis) wherein we are led to believe that we have a consistent line of many righteous individuals before The Lord. The idea that they had God as only one of their pantheon, in general, goes clearly against the spirit of the scripture which presents a relationship between God Himself and no other god and His people from the earliest generations.

Thank you all again so much.

Frank Pearson
Click to expand...
I am a bit unsure why this troubles you. Although Scripture suggests that individuals had special, personal relationships with God, I don’t see anything that says the Hebrew people were always monotheistic, and much to suggest they were not. In fact, the seem continually inclined in the OT to revert to polytheism! Much of the point of the early OT stories are that God picked out the Hebrews from those around them, and that HE differentiates them by giving them the Law. Really, why would he need to tell them not to worship other Gods if there were already strict monotheists?

I think you are worrying about something that is really not a difficulty.

As far as I am aware Catholic scholars don’t dispute the early polytheism of the Hebrews and don’t see it as troubling or contradictory to Scripture or Tradition.
 
frankpearson said:
There is a Time Life series on Youtube that claims that much of the Old Testament scriptures are adapted from Babylonian captivity. The documentary matter-of-factly sites the Laws of Hammurabi as being the origin of the Ten Commandments. I would love to be directed to some resources that talk about the relationship between Babylon (and Sumer) and the forming Jewish faith from a scholarly Orthodox viewpoint.

In addition, a text book my wife is studying with for her class on the history of Western Civilization claims that the Jews were originally a polytheistic group that eventually developed into a monotheistic religion. I would love the same sort of resources I requested about the topic in the previous paragraph.

Thanks so much for all of your precious time!

Frank Pearson
Click to expand...
I think you may be missing the point. The laws of Hammurabi were indeed Babylonian laws. The concept of laws already existed in different societies. What was unique about Judaism was to have religion deal not only with man’s relationship to God but with man’s relationship to man. Laws that were not only to be obeyed but were given the status of Divine commandments. The Babylonian had a law that you should not kill. The Jew made this same law a Divine moral religious imperative, a guidepost for an ethical life, and the pathway to salvation and redemption. A religion of the intellect and literacy. A religion for adults, in which each person can have an authentic relationship with God through conscious behaviour of obeying God’s will. This is the story of free will, of the good inclination and the bad inclination. This is the basis for the story of Adam and Eve. The first people being given the first commandment, not to eat of the fruit of a certain tree, the ability to freely chose whether to obey, the consequences of breaking the commandment and the ability to seek redemption. The Jews did not invent laws. Rather they gave the concept of Deuteronomy 16:18 - that all peoples are required by God to set up a court system. That there is a concept not only of of judging people but of judging with “righteous judgement”.
 
Chosen People…

Good point…but the code made multiple references about respecting other peoples’ property and earnings…
 
KathleenGee said:
Chosen People…

Good point…but the code made multiple references about respecting other peoples’ property and earnings…
Click to expand...
As do all legal codes and as does the Torah - the Torah deals not only in simple universal rules - it is the basis for an entire legal system - it even includes - again as a Divine imperative - for instance, rules concerning physical damage or property damage by an ox - it differentiates whether the ox was being held under care for consideration or whether there was past known unruly behavior by the animal. Such rules require thought and questioning, the development of the law to various circumstances, orally accepted guiding principles and later flexible codification. It requires education and intelligence and of course, literacy. We can only begin to fathom the uniqueness of this when we examine how over one thousand two hundred and fifty years later, Roman pagans began their journey toward their version of ethical monotheism and begin to become Roman Catholics. The system so perfectly attuned to the Jewish people is inverted to allow Catholicism to take hold among the general pagan population. In place of intellectual reasoning and questioning, we have a series of dogmatic absolute principles to be learned by rote, an hierarchy with a central authority to set those dogmas and to give them the required authority, the necessity for an intermediary between the adherent and God. Torah, in its wider sense, requiring literacy, is rejected through the dogmatic assertion that “it has been fulfilled”. Even the relationship between God and His adherents is made fundamentally different. The adult relationship of Judaism to God- consciously accepting the will of God and accepting His commandments -is changed to an emotional parental figure bestowing unconditional love to the child, who will always be forgiven whether deserving or not but will suffer permanent and unbearable punishment if the existence of the father-child relationship is questioned.

These inherent differences can be viewed daily on this forum. The dogmatic rules of Catholicism with their absolutes are often debated, and often compared, with the Jewish ethical position. The Jew has no problem intellectually with the concept that while abortion is not permissible it is allowed to save the mother’s life, or that telling a lie to save the life of another is the morally proper path. Judaism requires the ability to intellectually balance circumstances and to grasp equal and conflicting interests. This is the basis of law and justice and Torah is the basis of Judaism.
 
Chosen People,

As you stated, you see people here upholding dogmas…although there are really not that many…but there is also at work pastoral administration – that brings humanity to daily life problems. We are always told to bring complicated issues to our pastors. And they are chosen pastors because they are very grounded in daily life and earning a living.

Our understanding of fulfillment comes from Christ Who said He came to fulfill the Law…and we also see our worship as Christ, Atonement for sin, as fulfillment of ancient priestly Jewish liturgy.

Have you come to Hebrewcatholic.org? I would like you to see it and comment on it if you haven’t. I am an associate of them. They are having a conference in St. Louis first part of October and wish I could come.

Knowing what I do about initial conversions by pagans to Christianity in Ancient Rome were anything dogmatic. The entires peoples themselves were in bondage to the flesh and violence…being forced to attend the daily slaughters at the Coliseum to keep people occupied…afterall, the slaves did all their work, and the Roman citizens stood in lines to get their food. Many times a teen slave was wasted by the time they were a young adult.

Their conversions were intense and remarkable and very freeing.

Do a search and read the entire diary of SS Perpetua and Felicity and their conversion and eventual martyrdom. They died in Carthage around 200 AD, but their story must reflect those who converted in Rome.

During times of religious freedom, Roman Christians worshipped in the courtyards of wealthier members, a sacred banquet…the Jewish custom of breaking bread Roman style.

I think the first 300 years of Christianity were very liberating and giving the people who converted a most profound sense of the sacred in their daily gatherings of the Eucharist.
I read their conversions and liturgical practices that go out beyond what we read in the Epistles…

There were the invasions by the barbarians during the Dark Ages…and Christians were enduring continual plundering and violence, and so it took more time to become established.

CAF here has Catholics addressing the ongoing issues people have with dogmas. I have read and experienced a greater spirituality with Jews I work with than with Protestants…with the Jews I share the same way of relating to God that allows identifying with God’s creation. I identify with the Holy Spirit and devotion to Scripture with Protestants but there is always that ongoing rejection of Catholicism I live with.

I was taught that Jews and Catholics see God as the center of their lives, and that we revolve our lives around God. Both Jews and Catholics have use of the circular calendar, ours the liturgical year.

The Protestants look up to God to see His will and are inclined to remain in singular interpretation that can slide into fundamentalism or other interpretations that further cause confusion and error. And what confusion and error does is divide our common unity and facilitate prejudice and misrepresentation—this going both ways.

We have the greatest number of different Protestant denominations in the world, the USA having a very fractured Christianity and active prosletyzing of Christians vs Christians. So we are not the powerful block we should be.

Dogmas aren’t causing that. The problem is not believing essentially in the Eucharist, the summit of 2,000 years of aposotlic worship, and the integrity of this Eucharistic faith protected and nurtured by Christ appointed authority. And I find Catholicism, based on Eucharistic spirituality most holy and very liberating.
 
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