HEBREW culture

Setting They established a living in Canaan, in the ancient Middle East, now the territory of modern Israel, Lebanon and Syria They live on the Eastern coat of the Mediterranean Sea This was long ago, around 1400 BC, they were nomadic people.

Food, clothing, shelter The dietary staples were bread, wine, and olive oil. Legumes, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, fish and meat were foods they would also eat. People usually wore shawls with fringes. Homadic tents woven from goat hair; the front flap and side can be raised for fresh air were usually there shelter. The women would weave the clothes to sell or for them and there families.

Societal Grouping The twelve sons of Jacob were in charge of the twelve tribes of Isreal which is where the Hebrews lived. The Hebrews usually only interact with their tribe. The twelve sons of Jacob were the twelve tribes of Isreal were the Hebrews lived

Technology The Hebrew used weapons as some of their most important technology : daggers, spears, etc. to fight with their enemies which for a long time were the Egyptians. During the Hebrew times, tools used for writing were sticks, bones etc. Things like dirt and grass were used to build houses

Economic System The Hebrews were very religious people, so they have always used the Ten Commandments as the basis for their economy. They mostly made money by growing livestock, they also believed that the accumulation of wealth was a virtue. During the middle ages, Jews could not buy or own land, when Christian rulers saw the advantages of Jewish men, the money of western Europe fell into the hands of the Jews. Hebrews would trade their livestock for money or other goods

Political Organization The Hebrews of the early old testament times were governed by the leaders of the twelve tribes, with a central leader over all of the tribes. There were judges and Priests would bless there statement. Judges were successful individuals each from a different tribe in Isreal.

Religion/ Philosophy The Hebrew laws are some of the main points of the bible, due to the fact that they were some of the first people to believe in one solitary God. Judaism is the way of life of the Jewish people, Hebrews are the founding Jews There are a variety of movements within Judaism, most of which have emerged by the thought that God revealed his commandments to Moses in the form of both written and oral torah. Judaism is a monotheistic religion [belief in only one God] with Torah as its foundational text, which is part of the Hebrew bible the study of torah is in Judaism itself a sacred act of central importance

Communication They wrote on scrolls, from right to left They documented their history, laws, and beliefs in their sacred book called the “Torah” They speak one of the oldest languages still spoken

Aesthetic Values The Jewish have built many temples since the ancient times which they considered beautiful. Hebrews believed anything religious was beautiful; they would cover their bibles in precious stones and sheeets of gold Hebrews believed all animals and nature were beautiful , and took pride in their architecture The Hebrews considered their language and writing very beautiful Hebrew literature was usually very beautiful- poems , stories ,etc.

Recreation At meal times, the men would discuss past events, needs, locations and other details of working the camp. While women would get together to prepare foods, make clothing and fix tents. The older members were in charge of story telling of their history to pass to the next generation.

Bibliography http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior:Ancient_Civilizations/Hebrews http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/33_nomadic.html http://lang.syr.edu/languages/Hebrew/Hebrew-index.html http://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=ancient+hebrew+civilization http://www.actipon.org/pub/religion-library/volume-17-nember-1/jewish-theology-and-economic-theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/judaisum http://www.christianbiblereference.org/govern.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/isrealites http://www.jewishvirtuallibreary.org/source/judaisum/tribes.html