Since Akhenaton's worship of Aton as "sole god" is earlier than the date
commonly ascribed to Moses (_ca._ 1280 B.C.), historians have puzzled
over possible relationships between the monotheism of Akhenaton and the
Biblical concept of one God. Sigmund Freud in his _Moses and Monotheism_
sought to trace the Hebrew-Christian faith to the Amarna revolt of
Akhenaton.
The principal reason for associating Moses with Atonism is the fact of
his birth and education in Egypt. The Scriptures assert, however, that
the religious impetus of Moses did not come from Egyptian sources, which
he completely disavowed (cf. Exod. 18:10-11). It was in the wilderness
that Moses had the religious experiences which prepared him to become
the leader of the Exodus (Exod. 3:1-6). Jethro, Moses' Midianite
father-in-law, worshiped Yahweh (Exod. 18:10-12) and Moses may have
learned much from him. Yahwism and the religion of Egypt were completely
and self-consciously opposed to one another. Israel firmly believed that
Yahweh, their God, had defeated Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt in the
experience of the Exodus.