Journal of Islamic Studies > Volume 26, No. 2, 2014

Dogma Evolution in Judaism: Specific Reference to Biblical Text & Concept of God / Suleiman Abdul-Aziz Alrrbai

This research deals with an important problem facing inquiry into Judaism, namely its eVol.utionary aspect at various levels,
particularly the level of beliefs. Evidently, the Biblical text has undergone several interferences due to source variations, absence of a fixed
reference, and the changing conditions in which the Jewish people have lived. The result is inconsistency and incoherence in form and
content, rendering Judaism a historicist status with respect to the influence of contextual conditions as well as acceptance of constant and
deep changes. The research deals with the problem in two sections. One section is theoretical, studying the eVol.ution of the Biblical text in
four main stages. Each stage represents a particular frame of general indicators for text language, for character procedural rules, for the
invention of methods of inscription and related inflections, and for the interference of text writers. The other section is concerned with the
content aspect of eVol.ution of beliefs in Judaism. It illustrates the concepts of God and lordship in terms of name, attributes and identity. The
variations in name and attributes, and the dualism of oneness of God vs. idolatry are presented under separate headings.