Mon., 11/18

Do Now—Exercise 20B—Model answer: In the process of establishing an exclusive cult around the sun disk, Aten, Amenhotep IV adapted the name Akhenaten. Amun, the primordial first cause, was a plastic deity who could take on the attributes of other Egyptian gods. Aten, however, was the sun itself, a force of nature, and, in the eyes of Akhenaten, outshone all other deities. “I am”, the Hebrew God, had a personality and speech, but was a creator and not a created being. For the Hebrews, identifying “I am” as a created object such as the sun or moon amounted to idol worship and violated the first two of the Ten Commandments. Read: p. 239, ¶ 1 – p. 241, ¶ 7 HW—Exercise 20C: Annotate Exodus 3:1-15—Moses and the Burning Bush