Question and Answer classes Malachi York Segment 4

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The Birth of Monotheism: Great Hymn to the Aten

This ancient hymn is the first written record of monotheism in the world. This story begins in ancient Egypt with Amenhotep IV. (l350-1334 BC). He has been identified as uniquely the first "monotheist" worshiping his single god "Aten", the Sun. Aten, similar to the ancient Egyptian god "Ra", was represented by the sun-disk, was the creator of all life, and was a god of goodness and divine benevolence. Amenhotep was so sincere that he changed his name to Akenaten [also spelled Iknaten]. In each of the three divisions of the Egyptian empire Egypt, Kush, and Syria, he built a temple consecrated to Aten. He took up residence in a city he had built called Akhetaten, known today as the Tell el-Armarna in the southeastern part of Egypt. Aten represented a universal power that paralleled the Pharaoh's growing power over the known world. Akenaten actually paid individuals to proselytize his cult of Aten. However, the faith never became popular. During Akenaten's reign, Egypt's power significantly declined. When Akenaten died, his temples were destroyed. Among the few remains of his cult were hymns found written in the tombs of the proselytes at Amarna. The longest of these hymns to Aten is noted to be similar to the Psalm 104, written for the Bible hundreds of years later. The striking similarities are hard to miss. There are a few possibilities for how this might have come about. It is fairly certain that, even previous to the time of Moses, fleeing slaves in groups of various ...



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