The Relationship Between God and the Jews

Ancient jews believed as much as their pagan contemporaries in the existence of numerous supernatural forces which affected human life. But they believed their god to be a jealous god who would react angrily to worship of other deities. One metaphor for the relations between god and israel to be found in biblical texts is that of marriage, with israel cast in the role of the faithless wife. Conversion to judaism was different because it involved rejecting the worship of all other gods.