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 sizes, had wondered into the Sinai Peninsula. As the emigrants walked, they sang to keep up their spirits. One of the songs they sang may have been Akenaten's hymn to the Sun. Oral tradition could have perpetuated the elements of his hymn for 600 years.

For those who are unconvinced about the similarity of these two documents, Jacob's descent into Egypt, described in the Bible, recalls the Hyksos dynasties, where the Iron age Canaanites conquered Egypt and ruled for several generations as Pharaohs. When the descendants of the original rulers regrouped and repelled the Hyksos, both the conquerors and the large Semitic population that had entered as migrant workers before and during the foreign dynasty were either driven out or placed in bondage. This was the beginning of the 400 years of slavery. Through those who were driven out, Hymns to the Sun were introduced into Canaan. This may be why the worship of the Sun is forbidden in the Old Testament.

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[joie30303]

This is so weird. I've been dreaming of this exact sun ray image over and over since I was a little child. I thought it was Eygptian but I never knew who or what it represented until today. Could you advise me where to get the true information about the worship of Aten? I don't trust wiki.

[helvis213]

@joie30303

Hey there-the wiki article is short but pretty accurate. Google Aten or the Great hymn to the Aten for more information. Look for scholarly articles and books. Check out the Bible's Psalm 104 for the obvious similarities.

You'll be fascinated.

[LukasFyreFury]

Good job. As a believer of Aten you did pretty good but lol ouch now my eyes hurt. After all Aten is actaully the God of the Hebrews.

[helvis213]

@LukasFyreFury

I don't think so. The Israelites don't mention the sun disk. The common root is monotheism...not the Aten.

[ThePerfectashlar]

@helvis213 : The Israelites were not monotheistic. They were monolatrous ("You shall have no other god BEFORE Me" [Exodus 20:3]). In contrast, Atenism attempted true monotheism ("O Sole God beside whom there is none." [Great Hymn to Aten]), even though the people were not ready to surrender worship of other gods, e.g., Ma'at. There are remnants of the ancient Israelite monolatry still today in Christianity when Christians pray or give sacrifices to angels and saints to be intercessory.

[helvis213]

@ThePerfectashlar

True, but you've only got it half right. Archaeology makes it clear, ancient Israelites worshiped more than just one God, YHWH, but as the Old Testament also makes clear, there was a concerted effort to end the practice, like Josiah's reforms and as you know, eventually, those efforts took hold.

Check out my videos about the influence the Israelite's neighbors had on their culture.

[lifeguard212]

amazing monotone

[conejo1988]

@xxdiogenescynicxx

Psalm 104

[juneautt]

Please be more monotone. I would have fallen asleep except for the strobe light you call a video. WTF?!

[FTLsFINEST]

Ankhaten the first...know it's nut miss paled...lulz The aten is going to make a come back..All of the afro asiatic languages were written by blacks...hebrew arabic and a few now extinct others...Lulz

[knoxvilleguy2]

@xxdiogenescynicxx - Multi - cultural influence. Greek culture even adopted Egyptian gods & Egyptian ideas. Oh, yeah, next time you're near a cemetery or churchyard, look at the obelisks that look like Egyptian obelisks, capped w / small pyramids.

[xxdiogenescynicxx]

Sounds just like some of the hymns in the bible.

[juicearibe]

Haha you worship Black African GodS!!!

[Alusnovalotus]

i like the way it was cast in "the egyptian" in the 50's

[Alusnovalotus]

@juicearibe ???