For-Prophet Judaism?
The Hebrew prophets are often portrayed as the voices of justice and compassion in opposition to the corrupt kings of Judah and the Children of Israel. But is that really accurate? My reading (so far) detects no focus on justice and compassion. Yes, there is a rare sentence about widows, orphans, and poor people, but those read like something a later editor added. ("This could use a mention of widows and orphans here.") And I see no evidence that the prophets were disturbed by the fact the Ten Commandments say bupkis along this line: "Thou shalt look after widows, orphans, and poor people." (This is not to endorse altruist ethics or the commandment/submission framework of Judaism and its derivatives. I prefer instead the rational egoist Greek philosophical tradition.) So what are the prophets actually upset about? They are upset that the kings and the Children of Israel have consistently disobeyed Yahweh. How so? By worshiping other Canaanite gods, like Baal and Ash