Origins of JudaismChapter 3, Section 4

Lay of the LandLay of the Land Palestine was cultural crossroads

due to location

Canaan (area of Palestine), ancient home of the Hebrews

Between Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea

Canaan was land promised to the Hebrews by God, according to Bible

Hebrews on the MoveHebrews on the Move The Torah, 1st 5 books of Bible, contains

most of what we know of early Hebrews

God chose Abraham as “father” of the Hebrews

Torah says that Abraham was shepherd from Ur, & that God commanded him to move his people and flocks to Canaan

Most likely happened around 2000 B.C.; his descendents than moved again around 1650 B.C. to Egypt

Abraham’s GodAbraham’s God Yahweh, Abraham and his descendant’s God,

travelled with them on their long journey

These people were unlike other groups of religions in this region, they prayed to only ONE god, known as Monotheism

They proclaimed Yahweh as the one and only God

God was not a physical being

God and Abraham made a covenant together, stating Yahweh promised to protect the Hebrews while Abraham promised to obey him

““Let My People Go”Let My People Go” Hebrews originally given places of honor in

Egyptian kingdom

Over time they were forced into slavery

“Exodus” occurred between 1300 – 1200 B.C., this was the Hebrews fleeing Egypt

Celebrate this flight every year during Passover

Moses is the one who led the Hebrews out of Egypt; considered greatest figure in Jewish history

The New CovenentThe New Covenent Moses climbed atop Mt. Sinai to pray

There he spoke with God and when he descended, he brought with him the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets

These became basis for civil and religious laws of Judaism

This was form of a new covenant between God and the Hebrew people

The Land & People of the The Land & People of the BibleBible

Hebrews wandered the Sinai Desert for 40 years

Returned to Canaan after Moses’ death

Frequently fought with their neighbors over the land

Difficult to settle in this area because they were used to a nomadic way of life with simple technologies

Hebrew Law & JudgesHebrew Law & Judges When settled in Canaan, organized 12 tribes

which lived in separate territories and were self-governing

God would raise up judges in times of emergency, who would unite the tribes and provide leadership

One of the most prominent of these judges was a woman, Deborah

10 Commandments were part of a larger code of laws delivered to Moses

Code resembled Hammurabi’s Code, but was softened by God’s mercy

Prophets then came and later interpreted the code

The ProphetsThe Prophets Constantly urged Hebrews to stay true to

their covenant with God

Taught Hebrews had duty both to worship God and to live justly with one another

Israel Rises to PowerIsrael Rises to Power Hebrew’s position in Palestine was

constantly threatened by the Philistines

Only tribe that remained after exile was the Judah, Hebrews later became called Jews and their religion Judaism

Between 1020-922 B.C., united under three able kings, Saul, David and Solomon

New kingdom was known as Israel

This 100 year period was Israel’s greatest period of power and independence

The Three KingsThe Three Kings Saul was the 1st of the three kings

Largely chosen because he was successful in driving out the Philistines

Bible portrays him as a tragic man

Saul was followed by David Son-in-law of Saul Extremely popular leader, united tribes, established

Jerusalem as capital

Solomon was the last of the three Son of David Most powerful of the 3 kings Beautified Jerusalem Built a great temple, to glorify God; this temple was

home of the Ark of the Covenant, contained the tablets of Moses’ s law

DivisionDivision Because of Solomon’s major building ideas,

cause the kingdom much financial strain

Men also forced into labor once every three months, which cause a lot of problems

Jews in north revolted after Solomon’s death; resulting in the kingdom dividing into two; Israel in the north and Judah in the south

Next 200 years saw a lot of confusing times for the two divisions

Babylonians Take Babylonians Take CaptivesCaptives

Both Israel and Judah were forced into paying tribute, money paid by a weaker power to a stronger power, to Assyria

Assyrians attacked the Jews anyway and the entire northern kingdom fell to the Assyrians by 722

It took another 150 years for the southern kingdom to fall

Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, ran Egyptians out of Syria and Palestine, and attacked Jerusalem twice

He destroyed Solomon’s temple; any survivors were deported to Babylon where they were held for about 50 years, The Babylonian Captivity

Persian king, Cyrus, conquered Babylon and allowed some 40,000 exiles to return to Jerusalem

First thing they did was rebuild their great Temple to Yahweh