re: #91 freetoken

Most of the OT dates from the time of the Babylonian Captivity (6th century BC) and thereafter, according to scholars. The Jewish community of the time was fractured after the fall of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and the leaders needed to pull everyone back together, psychologically and politically. Some older traditions were recounted, others were invented, and others were partly based on historical events. Sprinkle liberally with prophesies, psalms and proverbs, and you have what Christians call the Old Testament.

It’s been a while since I read up on all this, but I recall reading that the Jews who were not exiled to Babylon did not immediately take to the Babylonian Jews’ reconstruction of their history and traditions. Jews of lesser means ended up in Egypt, or stayed in the former kingdoms. It was the upper classes who got deported to Babylon. I imagine that why the OT condemns worship of Baal and Asherah in so many places. A lot of Jews probably “strayed” from monotheism after their kingdoms were conquered.