It is presented by some enthusiasts that the Jews were just materialists. That no Jew in the 1st century thought God was a being that transcending the physical world. But that isn’t actually true because various perspectives existed in 2nd temple Judaism. The late NT scholar Larry Hurtado said in one of his works:

Of course, once again, this draws on and reflects a developed Jewish view of the biblical deity, which has roots far back into prohibitions against making any image, in texts such as Deuteronomy 4:15-20, and in the dramatic account in Exodus 33:12-23 where God refuses Moses’ request to see God’s glory: “you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live” (v. 20). Also, in early Roman-era Jewish writers such as Philo of Alexandria, we certainly have an emphasis on God’s utter transcendence and ineffable nature.60 Likewise, in Greek philosophical tradition, there were voices that posited an ultimate deity transcending all things, including the named deities to which sacrifice was offered. But there are also some interesting differences that distinguish early Christian beliefs about their God, especially in comparison with the larger pagan traditions of the time. In the philosophical traditions, an ultimate and radically transcendent deity was often postulated, but you did not typically engage that transcendent deity directly. For example, you did not usually sacrifice to this deity or implore it directly. Instead, the same philosophers who posited the lofty views of a transcendent deity were content for the worship of the traditional, lesser deities to continue and, indeed, typically took part in this themselves.61 But the early Christian stance was that the one, true, and radically transcendent God was, nevertheless, also available to a direct relationship with people. Christians believed that you could pray directly to this God and hope to be heard. You could worship this God directly and know that it was welcome. Indeed, prayer and worship directly to this one God was typically urged as the only proper and legitimate worship in Christian circles. In contrast to the practice and views of the pagan world, including specifically philosophical traditions, Christians were to treat the many other deities of the time as unworthy beings, and the worship of them as idolatry. But there was a still more unusual and, in the eyes of pagan sophisticates, outlandish Christian notion: the one, true, august God who transcended all things and had no need of anything, nevertheless, had deigned to create this world and, a still more remarkable notion, also now actively sought the redemption and reconciliation of individuals.

Larry W. Hurtado. Destroyer of the gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World (Kindle Locations 1039-1057). Baylor University Press. Kindle Edition.