Jews as a chosen people

In Judaism, chosenness is the belief that the Jews are a chosen people: chosen to be in a covenant with God. This idea is first found in the Torah (five books of Moses) and is elaborated on in later books of the Hebrew Bible. Much is written about this topic in rabbinic literature.

Chosenness in the Hebrew Bible

According to the Hebrew Bible, Israel's character as the chosen people is conditioned by obedience to God's commandments. "Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people. For all the earth is mine: and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5, 6). "The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people; but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your ancestors." (Deuteronomy 7:7, .

The obligation imposed upon the Israelites is emphasized by the prophet Amos (Book of Amos 3:2): "You only have I singled out of all the families of the earth: therefore will I visit upon you all your iniquities." This idea is also expressed in Deuteronomy 14:2: "You are a holy people unto the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth."