The Origins of Judiasm

The Search for a Promised Land  Canaan (Palestine) was the ancient home of the Hebrews.  Ancient Palestine’s location made it a crossroads of the ancient world, because it was located between Asia and Africa – Assyria and Babylonia to the east and Egypt to the west.  According to the Bible, Canaan was the land that God had promised to the Hebrew People.

From Ur to Egypt  The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or Torah, contain most of what people know of Hebrew history.  In the Torah, God chose Abraham to be the father of the Hebrew people. He was a shepherd who lived in Ur, and God commanded him to move his people to Canaan around 1800 BC. Around 1650 BC, his descendants moved to Egypt. Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great. - Genesis 12:1-2

The God of Abraham  The Bible tells how Abraham roamed for many years from Mesopotamia to Canaan to Egypt and back to Canaan. All the while, their God watched over them.  The Hebrews were monotheists, or only believed in one God. God was not a physical being, and no images were to be made of him, nor was his name to be written or spoken.  They asked God to watch over them, which God did because Abraham promised to honor Him. This promise between God and the Jews is called the Covenant.

Moses and the Exodus  The Hebrews migrated to Egypt because of a drought and famine. At first, they had positions of honor… later the pharaoh forced them into slavery.  Between BC, the Jews fled Egypt in the Exodus, which is remembered yearly in the festival of Passover.  The man who led the Jews out of Egypt was Moses. While he was leading the Jews out of the desert, he went to the top of Mt. Sinai to pray. While up there, he spoke with God, who gave His Commandments to him – God promised to protect the Hebrews if they promised to keep his Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments  I. I am the Lord thy God… Thou shalt have no other gods before me  II. Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image  III. Though shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain  IV. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy  V. Honor thy father and thy mother…  VI. Thou shalt not kill  VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery  VIII. Thou shalt not steal  XI. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor  X Thou shall not covet… anything that is thy neighbor’s. - Deuteronomy 5:6-22

The Land and People of the Bible  The Torah states that the Hebrews wandered for 40 years in the Sinai Desert. After Moses’ death they returned to Canaan and became city dwellers. They were loosely organized into twelve tribes, who lived in separate areas and were self-governing.  In times of emergency, God would raise up judges from these tribes. One of these, unusually, was a woman: Deborah.

Hebrew Law  Deborah’s role was rare in Hebrew times. The roles of men & women were separate in Hebrew society – the woman’s most important role was to raise her children and to provide moral leadership for them.  The prophets taught that the Hebrews had a duty to worship God and live justly with one another – the goal was a moral life.  The emphasis on right conduct and one god is called “ethical monotheism” and laid the foundations for Christianity and Islam.

The Kingdom of Israel  Canaan was a harsh region, with little water and arid desert. The Jews expanded south and north out of necessity.  From BC, the Jews were united under three able kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. This new kingdom was called Israel, and for 100 years enjoyed a period of power and independence. King David was extremely popular and established a dynasty.

Solomon Builds the Kingdom  Around 962 BC, David was succeeded by his son Solomon. He was the most powerful of the kings, who built a trading empire with Phoenicia. He was responsible for the beautification of Jerusalem, and built the Temple on the Mount, which was to be home to the Ark of the Covenant – this contained the Ten Commandments.  These building projects required high taxes and strained finances. Also, men were forced to spend 1 of 3 months working on the Temple. This discontent caused a revolt in the northern part of the kingdom after Solomon’s death. By 922, Israel had divided in two – Israel to the north and Judah in the south.

The Babylonian Captivity  In 738, both kingdoms began paying tribute, or peace money, to Assyria. By 725 the Assyrians attacked Israel anyway, and by 722 Israel had fallen.  A hundred and fifty years later, Judah fell to the Babylonians. Solomon’s temple was destroyed in the Babylonian victory, and many survivors were forced to keep their faith alive in Mesopotamia.  In 539 BC, the Persian king Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and he allowed 40,000 exiles to return and rebuild the temple.  Work on the 2 nd temple was completed in 515 BC, and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt in 445 BC.