Israel & the Judean Religion

I. Stage One: Judean Identity & SacrificeII. Stage Two: Judaism as an Ethical Religion

IDs: Torah, covenant, Canaan/Israel/Palestine

Argument

Through the covenant, the Judean religion provided a united identity for the Hebrews as a group. It began as a tribal faith which emphasized sacrifice and changed over time into an ethical religion - Judaism – around 500 BCE.

Why did this change occur?

Torah

“Teaching”

Originally oral tradition

Written down between 600 and 400 BCE

I. Stage One: Judean Religion

HebrewsIsraelites

A. Beginnings

1. Abram (ca. 1600 BCE)

PalestineCanaanAbrahamUr (Babylonia)

2. “Tribal” Religion – Gives Identity to a group

CovenantChosen peopleCanaancircumcision

Monotheism??

3. Emphasis on Sacrifice

AltarRitualAnimals (birds,

sheep, cows)AbrahamIsaac

B. Egyptian Exile Moses (ca. 1300 BCE)

covenantchosen peoplepromised land –

Canaan, Palestine, Israel, Judah, Judea

Ten Commandments (oral tradition)

C. Kingdom of Israel, 1025-928 BCE

State: Union of kingship & religion

SaulDavidSolomonFirst TempleJerusalem

Split Israel & Judah

Religion: Rituals of elite priests & kings

12 TribesPriestsKingsRitualsSacrifices of animals in

temple

II. Stage Two: Judaism as an Ethical Religion

A. Babylonian Captivity, 722-516 BCE

Neo-AssyriansNebuchadnezzar

1. Begins Pattern of Exile and Return

2. Torah written down

3. Monotheism EstablishedTorah & Laws written

downGod - not

anthropomorphic (like humans)

No afterlifeEmphasis on morality

rather than sacrificeJudean Religion

Judaism

B. Return to Palestine as Subject People516 BCE – 70 CE

Second Temple built (516 BCE)

Ruled by empires: Persians, Hellenistic

states, & RomeJews

C. Exile Diaspora (70 CE)

• Expulsion of Jews from Palestine in 70 CE

• Temple destroyed

• diaspora

Judaism

*Exile and diaspora*Rabbis*Social & religious identity fused

Argument

Through the covenant, the Judean religion provided a united identity for the Hebrews as a group. It began as a tribal faith which emphasized sacrifice and changed over time into an ethical religion - Judaism – around 500 BCE.

Why did this change occur?

1. Adam & Eve & The Fall (pp. 1-3): How does this account justify patriarchy?

2. Adam & Eve & The Fall of Man (pp. 1-3): What does this account explain about the world & human condition?

3. The Call of Abram & Covenant of Circumcision (pp. 3-4): How did God change Abram’s identity? How did the covenant create an identity for Abraham’s descendants (the Israelites)?

4. The Covenant of Circumcision & Abraham Tested (pp. 4-5): How do the beliefs and practices emphasized in this section reflect the historical context (from lecture)?

5. Moses and the Burning Bush and the Ten Commandments (pp. 5-7): How was the relationship between God and Moses different from the relationship between the Mesopotamian gods & Hammurabi or Gilgamesh?

6. Moses and the Burning Bush and the Ten Commandments (pp. 5-7): How do the beliefs and practices emphasized in this section reflect the historical context (from lecture)?