Religious reform is always a tricky business. To challenge existing belief and practice is to do more than challenge an idea or set of ideas. It involves the potential disruption of social and political conventions, which, in turn, threatens groups and individuals with a stake in the status quo. When you try to define (or redefine) the relationship between the human and the divine, , you inevitably comment on the structure and purpose of human society.

Keep this in mind as you review the boxed features on page 28 (The Amarna Reform) and page 53 (The Covenant) of your textbook. When you're finished reviewing, take a look at a web site featuring detailed information on King Amenhotep IV's capital of Akhetaten and the city's tombs (royaltomb, north tombs, south tombs). Then, for a more complete sense of the place of the covenant in the Old Testament, read Exodus 19 - 24. When you're done, consider the questions below.

1. Compare and contrast the monotheism established by the Amarna reform and the monotheism exemplified by the passages you read from Exodus. Why did the Amarna reforms prove impossible to sustain?

2. What light do the buildings and tombs of Akhetaten shed on Amenhotep's vision of the relationship between the god Aten and the royal family? What similarities and differences do you note between Amenhotep's ideas about the religious role of the pharaoh and the role of patriarchs like Moses in Hebrew society?