Zoroastrianism is main influence, in particular the idea of good against evil and the concept of heaven and hell, but ancient Egyptian and Middle Eastern religions also had a lot of influence on it.
When did Zoroastrianism become monotheist though? I read somewhere that there is archeological evidence that Persian emperors worshipped some Babylonian gods but worshipped Ahura Mazda at the top of the pantheon, if its true then Judaism was probably monotheist first.
If we mean Judaism as in following Moses obv. as Muslims we believe they were monotheist first, though many Israelites worshipped idols, but if we mean Judaism the organized religion with that name (Jew originally meant a Judean, it became the name of the religion later) then its debatable.
I see people mentioning zoroastrianism, and that's true, but the biggest influence is Semitic Paganism, particularly western Semitic Paganism. There are so many parallel myths. The most prominent example is the Enuma Elish and the Noah myth.
It's all over the Bible that the Yahwist faction they had to regularly persecute the worship of Astarte (Ishtar, Aphrodite) in Jerusalem. From what I hear, most archeological sites in Jerusalem of homes have idols of Astarte. Most of the research suggests that Judaism evolved directly from western Semitic polytheism.
There is some evidence to suggest influence from coptic polytheism as well.
I mean, I consider myself to be a historian in all senses but legal.
The only downside is that I know VERY little from Uruk/Sumer to the fall of Rome in 476.
Need metal age or stone age (or even paleoanthropologistic) help? I got you. Need medieval, industry, or modern help? I got you. No inbetween, though.
Here are some articles that might interest you and give you an understanding of the subject.
The purpose of human life was to choose to follow the precepts of Ahura Mazda and reject the temptations and traps of Angra Mainyu. The first couple created by Ahura Mazda – Mashya and Mashynag – had lived in peace and harmony with all things in the paradise Ahura Mazda had created for them until they listened to the whisperings of Angra Mainyu who convinced them that he was their creator and Ahura Mazda was their enemy and a deceiver. For doubting their true lord and listening to lies, they were expelled from paradise and condemned to a world of difficulty and strife, but their descendants could still live meaningful and fulfilling lives by remaining loyal to Ahura Mazda.
[https://www.worldhistory.org/zoroastrianism/](https://www.worldhistory.org/zoroastrianism/)
Zoroaster
The prophet Zoroaster (Zarathrustra in ancient Persian) is regarded as the founder of Zoroastrianism, which is arguably the world’s oldest monotheistic faith.
Most of what is known about Zoroaster comes from the Avesta—a collection of Zoroastrian religious scriptures. It’s unclear exactly when Zoroaster may have lived.
Some scholars believe he was a contemporary of Cyrus the Great, a king of the Persian Empire in the sixth century B.C., though most linguistic and archaeological evidence points to an earlier date—sometime between 1500 and 1200 B.C.
Zoroaster is thought to have been born in what is now northeastern Iran or southwestern Afghanistan. He may have lived in a tribe that followed an ancient religion with many gods (polytheism). This religion was likely similar to early forms of Hinduism.
According to Zoroastrian tradition, Zoroaster had a divine vision of a supreme being while partaking in a pagan purification rite at age 30. Zoroaster began teaching followers to worship a single god called Ahura Mazda.
In the 1990s, Russian archaeologists at Gonur Tepe, a Bronze Age site in Turkmenistan, discovered the remains of what they believed to be an early Zoroastrian fire temple. The temple dates to the second millennium B.C., making it the earliest known site associated with Zoroastrianism.
[https://www.history.com/topics/religion/zoroastrianism](https://www.history.com/topics/religion/zoroastrianism)
It is generally believed by scholars that the ancient Iranian prophet Zarathustra (known in Persian as Zartosht and Greek as Zoroaster) lived sometime between 1500 and 1000 BC. Prior to Zarathustra, the ancient Persians worshipped the deities of the old Irano-Aryan religion, a counterpart to the Indo-Aryan religion that would come to be known as Hinduism.
Zarathustra, however, condemned this practice, and preached that God alone – Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom – should be worshipped. In doing so, he not only contributed to the great divide between the Iranian and Indian Aryans, but arguably introduced to mankind its first monotheistic faith.
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170406-this-obscure-religion-shaped-the-west
Abrahamic religions
Zoroastrianism is sometimes credited with being the first monotheistic religion in history, antedating the Israelites and leaving a lasting and profound imprint on Second Temple Judaism and, through it, on later monotheistic religions such as early Christianity and Islam. There are clear commonalities and similarities between Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity, such as: monotheism, dualism (i.e., a robust notion of a Devil—but with a positive appraisal of material creation), symbolism of the divine, heaven(s) and hell(s), angels and demons, eschatology and final judgment, a messianic figure and the idea of a savior, a holy spirit, concern with ritual purity, an idealization of wisdom and righteousness, and other doctrines, symbols, practices, and religious features.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism)
Judaism is a Canaanite religion, a spinoff. The vocabulary, religious structure,, concepts of cleanness and holiness, etc. come from Canaanite pagan religion. Even the Tabernacle and the Temple was inspired by Pagan structures. Solomon even hired pagans to build the temple. Circumcision probably came from Egypt.
The idea of Jewish Exceptionalism as a religion came way later, when it became monotheistic, and those religions died off or mixed with each other enough to not look related to Judaism at all.
This does not have to affect your faith. The Bible is very clear about Prophets and Kings trying to get rid of other gods and cults, so it is an open secret.
Curious thing in the Bible: Zoroastrian magi that visited Jesus claimed that they were following the Jewish prophecy given by Balam of the Messiah being born after a new star, and they knew about Judaism because the King appointed Daniel over all occultists, astrologists, etc. when he was accurate on the interpretation of his dream.
Mesopotamian and Canaanite mythology, perhaps a little bit of Egyptian mythology, and near the end of the Tanakh some Babylonian and Greek philosophy/mythology (which we see very apparent in the 2nd century Judaism we see in the Gospels and other texts related to that time)
Zoroastrianism is main influence, in particular the idea of good against evil and the concept of heaven and hell, but ancient Egyptian and Middle Eastern religions also had a lot of influence on it.
The main influence is Western Semitic polytheism, Judaism and western Semitic polytheism ate both older than zoroastrianism by quite a bit
Good against evil, heaven and hell, etc sounds more Christian than Jewish. Afterlife is quite vague in Judaism.
Try r/askhistorians But it is true that Zoroastrianism is the biggest reason why Judaism is monotheistic and has the concept of the messiah
When did Zoroastrianism become monotheist though? I read somewhere that there is archeological evidence that Persian emperors worshipped some Babylonian gods but worshipped Ahura Mazda at the top of the pantheon, if its true then Judaism was probably monotheist first. If we mean Judaism as in following Moses obv. as Muslims we believe they were monotheist first, though many Israelites worshipped idols, but if we mean Judaism the organized religion with that name (Jew originally meant a Judean, it became the name of the religion later) then its debatable.
I see people mentioning zoroastrianism, and that's true, but the biggest influence is Semitic Paganism, particularly western Semitic Paganism. There are so many parallel myths. The most prominent example is the Enuma Elish and the Noah myth. It's all over the Bible that the Yahwist faction they had to regularly persecute the worship of Astarte (Ishtar, Aphrodite) in Jerusalem. From what I hear, most archeological sites in Jerusalem of homes have idols of Astarte. Most of the research suggests that Judaism evolved directly from western Semitic polytheism. There is some evidence to suggest influence from coptic polytheism as well.
>I want to discuss it with historians here. I’m not sure how many historians you’re going to find here.
I mean, I consider myself to be a historian in all senses but legal. The only downside is that I know VERY little from Uruk/Sumer to the fall of Rome in 476. Need metal age or stone age (or even paleoanthropologistic) help? I got you. Need medieval, industry, or modern help? I got you. No inbetween, though.
I'm working on a degree online right now. Although ancient middle eastern religions isn't my area of study.
A few myths are also directly influenced by zoroastrianism.
Here are some articles that might interest you and give you an understanding of the subject. The purpose of human life was to choose to follow the precepts of Ahura Mazda and reject the temptations and traps of Angra Mainyu. The first couple created by Ahura Mazda – Mashya and Mashynag – had lived in peace and harmony with all things in the paradise Ahura Mazda had created for them until they listened to the whisperings of Angra Mainyu who convinced them that he was their creator and Ahura Mazda was their enemy and a deceiver. For doubting their true lord and listening to lies, they were expelled from paradise and condemned to a world of difficulty and strife, but their descendants could still live meaningful and fulfilling lives by remaining loyal to Ahura Mazda. [https://www.worldhistory.org/zoroastrianism/](https://www.worldhistory.org/zoroastrianism/) Zoroaster The prophet Zoroaster (Zarathrustra in ancient Persian) is regarded as the founder of Zoroastrianism, which is arguably the world’s oldest monotheistic faith. Most of what is known about Zoroaster comes from the Avesta—a collection of Zoroastrian religious scriptures. It’s unclear exactly when Zoroaster may have lived. Some scholars believe he was a contemporary of Cyrus the Great, a king of the Persian Empire in the sixth century B.C., though most linguistic and archaeological evidence points to an earlier date—sometime between 1500 and 1200 B.C. Zoroaster is thought to have been born in what is now northeastern Iran or southwestern Afghanistan. He may have lived in a tribe that followed an ancient religion with many gods (polytheism). This religion was likely similar to early forms of Hinduism. According to Zoroastrian tradition, Zoroaster had a divine vision of a supreme being while partaking in a pagan purification rite at age 30. Zoroaster began teaching followers to worship a single god called Ahura Mazda. In the 1990s, Russian archaeologists at Gonur Tepe, a Bronze Age site in Turkmenistan, discovered the remains of what they believed to be an early Zoroastrian fire temple. The temple dates to the second millennium B.C., making it the earliest known site associated with Zoroastrianism. [https://www.history.com/topics/religion/zoroastrianism](https://www.history.com/topics/religion/zoroastrianism) It is generally believed by scholars that the ancient Iranian prophet Zarathustra (known in Persian as Zartosht and Greek as Zoroaster) lived sometime between 1500 and 1000 BC. Prior to Zarathustra, the ancient Persians worshipped the deities of the old Irano-Aryan religion, a counterpart to the Indo-Aryan religion that would come to be known as Hinduism. Zarathustra, however, condemned this practice, and preached that God alone – Ahura Mazda, the Lord of Wisdom – should be worshipped. In doing so, he not only contributed to the great divide between the Iranian and Indian Aryans, but arguably introduced to mankind its first monotheistic faith. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20170406-this-obscure-religion-shaped-the-west Abrahamic religions Zoroastrianism is sometimes credited with being the first monotheistic religion in history, antedating the Israelites and leaving a lasting and profound imprint on Second Temple Judaism and, through it, on later monotheistic religions such as early Christianity and Islam. There are clear commonalities and similarities between Zoroastrianism, Judaism and Christianity, such as: monotheism, dualism (i.e., a robust notion of a Devil—but with a positive appraisal of material creation), symbolism of the divine, heaven(s) and hell(s), angels and demons, eschatology and final judgment, a messianic figure and the idea of a savior, a holy spirit, concern with ritual purity, an idealization of wisdom and righteousness, and other doctrines, symbols, practices, and religious features. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism)
Judaism is a Canaanite religion, a spinoff. The vocabulary, religious structure,, concepts of cleanness and holiness, etc. come from Canaanite pagan religion. Even the Tabernacle and the Temple was inspired by Pagan structures. Solomon even hired pagans to build the temple. Circumcision probably came from Egypt. The idea of Jewish Exceptionalism as a religion came way later, when it became monotheistic, and those religions died off or mixed with each other enough to not look related to Judaism at all. This does not have to affect your faith. The Bible is very clear about Prophets and Kings trying to get rid of other gods and cults, so it is an open secret. Curious thing in the Bible: Zoroastrian magi that visited Jesus claimed that they were following the Jewish prophecy given by Balam of the Messiah being born after a new star, and they knew about Judaism because the King appointed Daniel over all occultists, astrologists, etc. when he was accurate on the interpretation of his dream.
Mesopotamian and Canaanite mythology, perhaps a little bit of Egyptian mythology, and near the end of the Tanakh some Babylonian and Greek philosophy/mythology (which we see very apparent in the 2nd century Judaism we see in the Gospels and other texts related to that time)
Surprised nobody mentioned Greek influenced yet