There is controversy as to where the first Israelites settled, whether in Mesopotamia or Canaan, but there is no doubt that their religion began with the practice of polytheism. It was the practice of worshiping more than one God. Over time, they were encouraged to practice monotheism by Abraham, who is said to have had an encounter with Yahweh. This meeting was about creating a covenant between God and the Israelites, which included rules, laws, and restrictions that both parties had to follow. Yahweh's covenant with the Israelites was that if they would worship Him only as their God, He would make them a great nation. A nation is made up of many elements that come together, including geography, culture, religion and ethnicity. The covenant was an effective way to ensure that the Israelites practiced monotheism, created unity and structure within the community, and helped establish personal connections with God. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Being semi-nomadic, we have no way of telling where the early Israelites first lived, but we do know it was somewhere in the Middle East in Iraq/Israel of today. They began their religious practices with polytheism, where temples were the abodes of idols of each worshiped God. Abraham, the son of the temple priest, considered polytheism and the idea of ​​worshiping idols absurd. Abraham believed that God had no face and could not be made into a statue to be worshipped. Polytheism also created no sense of harmony among people because religious views and culture were not structured or specified. Abraham began the monotheism movement after God revealed himself to him and proposed the idea of ​​the covenant. It is recorded that “The LORD said to Abram, “Go out from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you (Novak 180).' » Ordered by Yahweh, Abraham led the Israelites to Canaan, where if they kept the rules of the covenant, they would be treasured by God and begin their great nation. When the Hebrews decided to settle in Egypt, they became prisoners of the country for approximately 400 years. During the Exodus, Yahweh reestablished the covenant with Moses on Mount Sinai to remind his people of their previous vows to God. According to Fisher, "God also gave a set of social norms, prescribed religious holidays, and detailed instructions for building a tabernacle with a holy ark, the Ark of the Covenant, in which to keep the stone tablets on which God inscribed the sacred Ark. commandments (Fisher 139). » This gives people the feeling that Judaism was slowly beginning to become a religion, with its own set of rules, laws and beliefs. In exchange for the Israelites' compliance, Yahweh unleashed 10 plagues on the Egyptians after which Moses led the people back to Canaan. This is when they become a “united monarchy” under the rule of a single king. The covenant was a way to ensure that the Israelites practiced monotheism and worshiped only Yahweh in order to get what they wanted. What they wanted was to become a united people sharing the same religious views in order to create community and be protected by God. Monotheism and alliance have created a sense of “doing” and “not doing” within their community that did not exist before. Fisher explains that "this was to be a permanent home for the Ark, which was housed in the innermost sanctuary, and a..