In The Hebrew Bible
The first of the Ten Commandments prohibits the Israelites from holding any other god before God, nor to make any "graven image". (Exodus 20:2-3, Deut 5:6-7) Some scholars have argued that the commandment should be viewed in the context of pagan practices and beliefs at the time that the commandment was given. Specifically, the prohibition should be viewed as a rejection of the religious practices of ancient Egypt from where the Israelites were coming, as well as the Canaanites to where the Isralites were heading.
Read more about this topic: Idolatry In Judaism
Famous quotes containing the word hebrew:
“The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy
soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”
—Bible: Hebrew Psalm CXXI (l. CXXI, 5–8)