Ancient Jewish prophets were innovators rather than restorers of past strictness

Evidence

The historical books of the Old Testament, which were mostly compiled after the captivity, give a misleading impression, since they suggest that the idolatrous practices against which the prophets protested were a falling-off from earlier strictness, whereas in fact the earlier strictness had never existed. The prophets were innovators to a much greater extent than appears in the Bible when read unhistorically. — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1216

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1216
• XREF: connects to: Rigid adherence to ritual law destroyed originality among ancient Jews — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1237; New Hebrew culture aimed to recreate identity and critique the past. — David Ohana, David Maisel , The Origins of Israeli…, 113

Library Connections

• Rigid adherence to ritual law destroyed originality among ancient Jews #contradicts (0.85) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 1237

Broader Connections

• New Hebrew culture aimed to recreate identity and critique the past. #expands (0.50) — David Ohana, David Maisel , The Origins of Israeli…, 113