The Ancient Hebrews and the Origins of Judaism Chapter 11 The Ancient Hebrews and the Origins of Judaism

11.1: Introduction Hebrews were the founders of Judaism Basic laws are recorded in the Torah The first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) Four major Hebrew leaders Abraham Moses David Solomon

11.2: What We Know About the Ancient Hebrews Torah Used to understand the history of the Jewish people and the development of Judaism Early History Abraham Lived in Ur Around 1950 BCE, migrated with his clan to Caanan

1800 BCE: Hebrews moved to Egypt Left because of famine Eventually became slaves Moses Led the Hebrews in their escape from Egypt Wandered the wilderness for 40 years Israel By 1000 BCE, kingdom of Israel set up under King David’s rule and his son’s, King Solomon David forged Hebrews into one united nation Solomon built a temple in Jerusalem

11.3: Important Hebrew Leaders Abraham “Father of the Hebrews” Introduced the central belief that there is only one God New idea at the time Was told by God to move his family from Mesopotamia to Caanan He was promised by God that he would father a great nation His descendants became known as the Jewish people

Moses Considered the greatest leader of the Hebrews Lead his people out of slavery in Egypt Told the Hebrews that God would lead them to the “promised land” in exchange for their faithful obedience Gave Judaism its fundamental laws Ten Commandments Laws engraved on two stone tablets Became the foundation for Judaism

Kings David and Solomon King David created an united kingdom Established Jerusalem as a holy city King Solomon built Jerusalem’s first great temple Known for great wisdom Jerusalem and its temple became powerful symbols to the Hebrews

11.4: The Life of Abraham: Father of the Hebrews Originally called Abram Was born about 2000 BCE in Ur in Mesopotamia Where people worshipped many gods Came to believe that there was only one true God This belief set Judaism apart from other ancient religions

Covenant with God Began the faith that would become Judaism When Abram was 99 years old God made a covenant with him that he would favor and protect Abram’s descendants in return for their devotion to him. As a symbol of the covenant, God gave Abram a new name, Abraham Promised the land of Canaan to Abraham’s people

Abraham’s Sacrifice Normal sacrifices were made such as sheep Torah states that God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac (born late in Abraham’s life). Even though Abraham loved his son, his devotion to God was complete At the last minute, God sent an angel to stop Abraham from killing his son Abraham proved his faith and obedience According to the Torah, God kept his promise which led to the 12 tribes descended from Abraham’s grandson, Jacob (named Israel by an angel of God).

11.5 The Life Moses: Leader and Prophet Exodus from Egypt By 1250 BCE, a large group of Abraham’s descendants were living in Egypt. The Torah says that the Hebrews “increased in number and became very powerful”. The pharaoh feared their power and turned them into slaves. God heard the cries of the enslaved Hebrews and sent Moses to the pharaoh.

Moses went before the pharaoh and told him to free the Hebrews. The pharaoh refused and God punished Egypt with 10 terrible plagues. One plague: locusts devoured their crops Another plague: the waters of the Nile turned to blood Last plague: God sent an angel to kill the first born son in each Egyptian family After the plagues, the pharaoh gave in and let the Hebrews go.

After the Hebrews left, the pharaoh changed his mind and followed them to the Red Sea with his army. Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea with his walking stick. The Hebrews were able to make it safely to the other side. The Egyptians tried to follow, but were caught by the falling waters; the soldiers drowned. The Torah refers to this time period as, the Exodus, which means “departure”.

Ten Commandments After the Hebrews wandered through the wilderness for 40 years, God gave Moses the laws that became the foundation of Judaism; the Ten Commandments Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, the “Mountain of God”. He went up the mountain to pray, but came back carrying two tablets with the Ten Commandments engraved on them.

Some of the commandments spelled out the Hebrew’s duties to God. “You shall not have no other God before me” This was in response to the Hebrews beginning to worship other gods during their wanderings. The commandment reminded them of their promise to worship only one God. Another commandment told them to set aside one day a week for rest and worship; the Sabbath Other commandments laid down basic moral laws (laws about right and wrong) “You shall honor your father and mother”.

11.6: The Lives of David and Solomon: Kings of Israel King David Around 1000 BCE the Hebrews were at war with a rival tribe, the Philistines. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Philistines promised to be the Hebrews’ slaves if someone could beat their fiercest warrior, Goliath David was young but he bravely stepped forward with only a slingshot as a weapon David felled Goliath with one stone

David’s courage and faith was awarded by God when he made him king. As King he: completed the defeat of the Philistines and other enemies united Israel and Judah into a single kingdom known as Israel. created a strong central government gave the new kingdom its own army, courts, and government officials served as the nation’s chief priest

chose Jerusalem as the capital became the center of Israel’s political and religious life brought the Hebrews’ most sacred object, the Ark of the Covenant, to Jerusalem, making it a holy city a wood an gold chest that held the Ten Commandments.

King Solomon Became king after the death of King David Built a magnificent temple in Jerusalem to house the Ark of the Covenant and to be the center of Jewish worship Was very expensive to build Forced his people to work on the construction of the temple. More than 3000 officials were needed to oversee the project Taxed his people heavily to buy gold, cedar wood, copper, and other materials

King Solomon’s methods angered many of the Hebrews In 931 BCE, the northern tribes broke away to become the separate kingdom of Israel David and Solomon’s descendants ruled the southern kingdom of Judah