"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" () is one, or part of one depending on the numbering tradition used, of the Ten Commandments found in the Hebrew Bible at and .Ten Commandments, in HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, 1996, Achtemeier Paul J., ed., New York:HarperCollins Publishers, . LXX gives two slightly different renditions of the identical Hebrew verses: vs. According to the Bible, the commandment was originally given to the ancient Israelites by God at biblical Mount Sinai after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt, as described in the Book of Exodus.God: names of God, in Illustrated Dictionary & Concordance of the Bible, 1986. Wigoder, Geoffrey, ed., G.G. The Jerusalem Publishing House Moses, World Book Encyclopedia 1998, Chicago:World Book Inc., The passage mentioned is at Exodus 20:3 in the Bible.
Prohibition of idolatry is the central tenet of the Abrahamic religions. The sin of worshipping another god other than the Lord is called idolatry. Historically, the punishment for idolatry was often death.
The Bible describes how the ancient Israelites, despite being strictly warned not to do so, repeatedly engaged in idolatry and were therefore punished severely by the Lord.Deuteronomy 12:4,31; Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Commentary on Deuteronomy 12 Many of the stories in the Bible from the time of Moses to the Babylonian captivity are predicated on the choice between exclusive worship of the Lord and false gods.Idolatry, HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, 1996, Achtemeier Paul J., ed., New York:HarperCollins Publishers, The Babylonian exile, itself a punishment for idolatry, seems to have been a turning point after which the Jews became committed to monotheism, even when facing martyrdom before worshipping any other god.Idol: In the Exile and After, in HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, 1996, Achtemeier Paul J., ed., New York:HarperCollins Publishers,
The Jewish prayer Shema Yisrael and its accompanying blessing/curse reveals the intent of the commandment to include love for the Lord and not only recognition or outward observance.Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Wylen, Stephen M., Settings of Silver: an introduction to Judaism, 2000, Paulist Press, pp.104 In the Gospels, Jesus quotes the Shema as the first and Greatest Commandment,Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27; Shema, in HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, 1996, Achtemeier Paul J., ed., New York:HarperCollins Publishers, and the apostles after him preached that those who would follow Christ must turn from worshipping false gods.
Christian theologians teach that the commandment applies in modern times and prohibits the worship of physical idols, the seeking of spiritual activity or guidance from any other source (e.g. magical, astrological, etc.), and the focus on temporal priorities such as self (food, physical pleasures), work, and money, for example.Idolatry: Figurative, in The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, 2006. Unger, Merrill F., Harrison, R.K., ed., Chicago: Moody Publishers, The Catechism of the Catholic Church commends those who refuse even to simulate such worship in a cultural context, since “the duty to offer God authentic worship concerns man both as an individual and as a social being.”
Biblical narrative The Book of Exodus tells the story of how the Israelites escape from Egypt after having been kept as slaves for 400 years. While wandering the desert, the Lord appeared to their leader Moses and made an agreement or covenant with him. The Lord declared that the Israelites were his chosen people and that they must obey his laws. These laws were the Ten Commandments delivered to Moses on two stone tablets. The first and most important commandment was that they must not worship any god other than the Lord.Leviticus 19:28; Idol, Image, in The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, 2006. Unger, Merrill F., Harrison, R.K., ed., Chicago: Moody Publishers, Whoever violated this commandment should be killedExodus 22:20; Deuteronomy 13:6-10; Idolatry: Penalties, in The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, 2006. Unger, Merrill F., Harrison, R.K., ed., Chicago: Moody Publishers, and reads "Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the Lord must be destroyed."
Deuteronomy 13:6-10 specifically prescribes the method of execution to stoning:
God's interest in exclusive worship is portrayed as a strong jealousy, like that of a husband for his wife:
The Biblical prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Hosea referred to Israel's worship of other gods as spiritual adultery:Jeremiah 3:6-9, 5:7, Ezekiel 16:38, 23:37, Hosea 1:2; Adultery: OT Words, in Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Word studies for key English Bible words based on the Hebrew and Greek Texts, Renn, Stephen D., ed., 2005, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., “How I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols.”Ezekiel 6:9; Tuell, Steven, The New International Bible Commentary: Ezekiel, 2009, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., p. 33, This led to a broken covenant between the Lord and Israel,Jeremiah 3:8; Ryken P.G. and Hughes R.K., Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope, Chapter 3:God Files for Divorce, 2001, Crossway Publishers, manifested as defeat by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon followed by exile.
Elijah's challenge
The Bible describes how the Israelites until the Babylonian captivity repeatedly violated the first commandment's demand of exclusive worship. Not only did common people substitute Canaanite gods and worship for that of the Lord, polytheism and worship of foreign gods became official in both the northern and southern kingdoms despite repeated warnings from the prophets of God.God in the OT, The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol II, 1992. Freedman, David Noel, ed., New York: Doubleday.
For example, describes how the prophet Elijah tries to convince king Ahab whose land suffers from famine of abandoning worship of Baal and Asherah in favor of the Lord. He assembles all the prophets of Baal and Asherah on Mount Carmel and tells them: "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." He challenges the prophets to a duel. The prophets whose god can burn meat pieces from a bull is the true God. Baal's and Asherah's prophets fail to set fire to the meat, but Elijah's god succeed. But despite this victory for the Lord, Ahab refuses to change the official, polytheistic policy propelled by his wife Jezebel.
The story of Daniel The Bible presents Daniel and his companions as distinct, positive examples of individuals refusing to worship another god, even at the price of their lives. During the time of the exile, Nebuchadnezzar erects a gold statue of himself and commands all subjects to worship it. Three Jewish officials – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – who had been taken to Babylon as youths along with Daniel, refuse to bow to the statue. As they face being burned alive in a furnace, they communicate their faith as well as their resolve:
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."Daniel 3:17-18; Telushkin, Joseph, Jewish Literacy: The most important things to know about the Jewish religion, its people and its history, 1991, William Morrow, pp. 80-81
In the later reign of Darius, Daniel's refusal to give up private prayer to God and pray to the king instead results in him receiving a death sentence: being thrown into the lions’ den.Dan’iel, in The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, 2006. Unger, Merrill F., Harrison, R.K., ed. Chicago: Moody Publishers According to the Book of Daniel, an angel comes and shuts the mouths of the lions so that Daniel is spared and rescued by the king himself the following morning.Daniel 6; Walvoord J.F. and Zuck R. B.; The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, 1983, Colorado Springs:David C. Cook, p. 1349,
In Judaism The central prayer of Judaism is the Shema Yisrael in which the belief in a single god is reaffirmed:
The prayer is found in printed form in the mezuzah, the small, tubed case on the doorposts of homes of observant Jews (Most non-observant Jews also observe this command. In Israel, most public buildings have mezuzah on their main doorpost).Bernstein, Philip S., What the Jews Believe, 1951, New York: Farrar Straus and Young p. 11 This form was chosen to fulfill the mitzvah (biblical commandment) to inscribe the words of the Shema "on the doorposts of your house.”Deuteronomy 6:9; Kadden, Barbara Binder and Bruce, Teaching Mitzvot: Concepts, Values and Activities, 2003, Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, Inc., p. 71 “Thousands of martyrs did not go to their deaths muttering a numerical truism. When they said that God is one, they meant that … nothing in the universe is comparable to this God or can take the place of this God … that is why they are willing to die rather than abandon [these values].”Seeskin, Kenneth, No Other Gods: the modern struggle against idolatry, 1995, Behrman House, p. 111
The national resolve toward monotheism solidified during the experience of the Babylonian captivity. In the centuries that followed, Jews were willing to suffer death rather than pay the honor due God to any other man or god. During the early days of the Maccabean revolt, for example, many Jews were martyred because they refused to acknowledge the claims of Seleucid deities.Smith, Lacey Baldwin, Fools, Martyrs, Traitors: the story of martyrdom in the western world, Northwestern University Press, pp.49-50
Idolatry is one of three sins (along with adultery and murder) the Mishnah says must be resisted to the point of death.Sanhedrin 74a; Telushkin, Joseph, A Code of Jewish Ethics: You shall be holy, 2006, Harmony/Bell Tower pp 471-472 By the time the Talmud was written, the acceptance or rejection of idolatry was a litmus test for Jewish identity:Seeskin, Kenneth, No Other Gods: the modern struggle against idolatry, 1995, Behrman House, pp.14-15 “Whosoever denies idols is called a Jew."Talmud Megilah 13 "Whosoever recognizes idols has denied the entire Torah; and whosoever denies idols has recognized the entire Torah."Midrash Sifre, Deuteronomy 54 The Talmud discusses the subject of the worship of other gods in many passages. An entire tractate, the Avodah Zarah (“strange worship”) details practical guidelines for interacting with surrounding peoples so as to avoid practicing or even indirectly supporting such worship.Sicker, Martin, Between Man and God: Issues in Judaic thought, 2001, Praeger, pp.12-14 Although Jews are forbidden in general to mock at anything holy, it is meritorious to deride idols.Talmud Megilah 25b This apparently originated in ancient times, as some of the several Hebrew words from the Tanakh translated as “idol” are pejorative and even deliberately contemptuous, such as elilim, “powerless ones,” and gillulim, “pellets of dung.”Idol, in The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, 1996, Achtemeier Paul J., ed., New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. ; Idol, Image, in The New Unger's Bible Dictionary, 2006. Unger, Merrill F., Harrison, R.K., ed., Chicago: Moody Publishers,