Hebrews & Judaism

HEBREWS Small group of people who had a great influence on world history Their religion became known as Judaism, and is the “parent” religion of Christianity and Islam, which (together) are well over ½ of the world’s people!! The early part of this story can be viewed as fact or myth. Viewed as either, it is very important.

c. 2000BC: ABRAHAM/IBRAHIM-1 st Patriarch Abraham came to believe in one God, with no physical form At God’s command, he & wife Sarah left Sumer & settled in Canaan Canaan=Palestine & Israel * God made a covenant with Abraham: Abraham would obey God, and God would make him the father of many people who would be a blessing to the world.

ABRAHAM/ IBRAHIM Had two sons Ishmael – became ancestor of Arabs Isaac – became ancestor of the Hebrews. Isaac had a son Jacob who had 12 sons. Their descendants became the “12 Tribes of Israel”.

Slavery in Egypt c. 1700BC: There is a famine, so the Hebrews leave Canaan & go to Egypt. (story of Joseph) At first the pharaoh treats them well & lets them settle in Egypt. A later pharaoh turns against them and makes them slaves. c. 1200BC: Moses/Moshe/Musa frees the Hebrews from slavery & leads them out of Egypt, and into the desert of the Sinai peninsula. The journey out of Egypt is called the exodus. Egypt is the

RETURN TO CANAAN c. 1200: Moses climbs Mt. Sinai, gets the Ten Commandments, laws revealed by God, setting out the moral duty to God and other people. God renewed the covenant (sacred agreement) with the Hebrews: they would obey Him, and He would give them the land of Canaan as their home. Hebrews put the Ten Commandments in a special box called the “Ark of the Covenant”

RETURN TO CANAAN Hebrews returned to Canaan. Fought with the Canaanites and other local people. Defeated the Canaanites & settled. They were a loose confederation of tribes, but gradually became more united. The nation was called “Israel”. Their with leaders were called Judges. Prophets tried to warn the people when they did not keep the law.

1000 BC KINGS Hebrews eventually chose kings: – Saul-war leader – David-most famous king & war leader, who established Jerusalem as the capital – Solomon-known for wealth & wisdom (& many wives). Built the 1 st Temple in Jerusalem

DIVISION-about 900BC The leaders after Solomon could not agree. About 900BC, the original nation of Israel split into 2 parts – 10 northern tribes kept the name “Israel”, and established a capital at Samaria – 2 southern tribes took the name “Judah”, and kept the old capital at Jerusalem. They became known as the Jews.

DEFEAT 722BC- The fierce Assyrians attacked “Israel” (northern tribes), conquered them and annihilated most of their people Miraculously, the Assyrians did not attack & conquer “Judah” Later, 587BC – The Chaldeans (who had meanwhile defeated the Assyrians) attacked & conquered Judah. The Chaldeans destroyed the temple and took the people of Judah to Babylon as captives.

CYRUS TO THE RESCUE 539BC: Cyrus the Great of Persia defeated the Chaldeans. Cyrus proclaimed freedom to the people captured by the Chaldeans, including the Jews, allowed them to return home, and gave them assistance in rebuilding their temple.

DEVELOPMENT OF JUDAISM Hebrew Scriptures (Called the “Old Testament” by Christians): – Torah (1 st five books of the “Old Testament) – History of Jewish people – Writings that include poetry and prophesy

LAW Mosaic laws include the 10 Commandments. These are the broad principles. There are also about 600 other laws that fill many details, such as penalties for crimes, what they can and cannot eat, etc. – They are in similar to Hammurabi’s code. For instance, they include “an eye for an eye”. – However, they place a higher value on human life. Also, they include laws requiring charity to the poor and disadvantaged. For instance, part of the grain in every field had to be left to the poor.

ETHICAL MONOTHEISM Ethical monotheism: – Belief in a single God – Belief that God wants people to behave ethically, to treat other people fairly. – Ethical monotheism is the main contribution of Judaism to word civilization. They passed it on to Christianity and Islam.

Evolving view of God At first, the Hebrews regarded God as a force to be obeyed & feared. Began to believe in “free will”, that God gives a choice between good and evil. People have free will to choose. Gradually, they began to believe that people should love God and obey him out of love, not just fear.