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Etude sur le monothéisme des Hébreux: son caractère, ses origines (1864) is a book by Henri Vuilleumier.

Abstract

In ostensibly the first study to apply historical-critical methods to the investigation of the origin and character of Jewish monotheism, Vuilleumier argues that this doctrine pervades the entire corpus of the Old Testament and already its earliest documents teach a rigorous monotheism. Even though he is quick to point out that we do not encounter explicit statements, such as ὁ θεὸς εἷς ἐστιν, as found in Galatians 6, or similar sentiments from the Koran, he suggests that ancient Israelites viewed their God as the only true אלהים to the exclusion of all others. Moreover, drawing upon the names of God, and the narrative in Exodus in particular, where God tells Moses that his name is אהיח, Vuilleumier anachronistically reads later Platonist thoughts into the texts. For instance, he suggests that the Old Testament portrays a God who is supreme, spiritual, independent, immutable, transcendent, and infinitely exalted above the world. Yet despite these claims, with an insight far ahead of his time, Vuilleumier demonstrates that the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6, does not explicitly articulate the doctrine of monotheism, but rather, it merely states that Jehovah is the God of the people of Israel and no one else can lay claim to that rank. In the end, he argues that though there were some developments in the idea of Israelite monotheism over time, this basic belief made them morally superior to others who were of a polytheistic or pantheistic persuasion. ~Deborah Forger _____________________________

One of the first critical studies on the origins and character of Jewish monotheism, Vuilleumier presented this thesis in order to obtain a degree in theology prior to his doctoral training in Göttingen, Berlin, and the University of Lausanne.

Editions

Published in Lausanne, Switzerland: Georges Bridel, 1864.

Contents

• CHAPITRE 1: La doctrine de l'unité de Dieu dans l'Ancien Testament

• CHAPITRE 2: Caractère du monothéisme hébreu

• CHAPITRE 3: Origine historique du monothéisme des Hébreux

External links

• [Google Books http://books.google.com/books?id=8gBbAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false]