Final answer:
Yahweh was considered unseen and transcendent, differing from neighboring cultures' gods. The Hebrews initially practiced henotheism, which gradually evolved into monotheism, particularly after traumatic geopolitical events that reshaped their beliefs. option(b)
Step-by-step explanation:
The god of the Hebrews, Yahweh, was unlike the gods of their neighboring cultures because Yahweh was seen as unseen and transcendent, rather than a human-like figure or one with multiple forms. This perception of God as a single, unique, and all-powerful deity was a gradual development within Hebrew culture, evolving significantly after the Assyrians destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE. The exclusive worship of Yahweh started to be emphasized, and His characteristics were increasingly associated with omnipotence and omnipresence. The transformative period following the conquest of Judah by the Neo-Babylonians in 586 BCE led to the belief that Yahweh was not restricted to one temple or territory but was universally accessible and powerful.
In the development of the Yahwist religion, initially, the Hebrews practiced a form of henotheism—they worshiped Yahweh as their chief deity while acknowledging the existence of other gods. Over time, the belief system shifted towards true monotheism—the belief in one god and the dismissal of all others as illusory. This was cemented in the Hebrew psyche after the Babylonian exile, when Yahweh was understood to be boundless.