QuAesTio: How different were the Israelites from their neighbors?

Nunc AgEnda: Go immediately to your second groups from yesterday (in which everyone read a different article) and finish

sharing your findings. Decide whether Ancient Egypt experienced

more continuity or change.

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.”(Exodus 20:2–3)

Based on this quote from the Hebrew Bible, how are the beliefs of the Jews different from most other ancient peoples?

Monotheism- Belief in One God

• Examples of possible non-Jewish monotheism in the Ancient World– Zoroastrianism: Persian religion,

founded by Zoraster, which taught belief in supreme god of good, Ahura Mazda, but may have given equal power to a god of evil, Ahriman

– Atenism: Religion created by Pharaoh Akhenaten, worship of Aten, the Sun Disc, to the exclusion of all other gods, but may still have believed in other gods

Religion in History• As historians, we study the beliefs, practices,

origins, and development of religions, and the way history influences and is influenced by religion

• As historians, we do not affirm or reject the idea of divine revelation, but we do not take it as a source

• Hebrew Bible as a Source of History– Given no special status– Subject to the same criticism/bias as any source– Tradition teaches the Torah was given to Moses– Scholars believe it was written at a later date– Two positions not necessarily in conflict

Basics of Modern Judaism

• Monotheism- Belief in One God• Prophets- Chosen people who speak to God and

receive teachings to communicate to their peoples• Holy Book = Hebrew Bible (aka Tanakh), the first

part of which is called the Torah (meaning “Instruction”), which Jews believe God taught to the Prophet Moses– Talmud: Collection of explanations of the Tanakh,

written by Jewish Scholars, finished around 500 CE

• Jews try to live according to the laws of Judaism• Rabbis = Religious leaders, teachers

Hebrews Israelites Jews

• Abraham (according to Torah)– Prophet from Ur in Mesopotamia– Rejected polytheism and affirmed belief in One God– God commanded him to move to Canaan in the

Levant– Grandson Jacob (aka Israel) became father of

Israelites– Family moved to Egypt

• Historical evidence outside the Torah– No direct evidence of individual people mentioned–We do know that waves of people migrated from the

Levant migrated to Egypt and eventually ruled (Hyksos)

Hebrews Israelites Jews

• Moses (according to Torah)– New Pharaohs mistreated the Hebrews, made slaves– God chose Moses as a Prophet to lead people to Canaan– God gave Moses the Torah (Instruction) to teach his

people how to live according to God’s will– After 40 years in the desert, they arrived in Canaan and

started the Kingdom of Israel

• Historical evidence outside the Bible– Jewish historian Josephus (1 CE) quotes from Egyptian

Historian Manetho a story of an Egyptian priest who rebelled against the Pharaoh together with the Hyksos and was expelled from Egypt… sound similar but no proof

Hebrews Israelites Jews

• Kingdom of Israel under King David and Solomon

• Built Holy Temple to God (Elohim/Yahweh)• Later split into Israel (North) and Judah (South)– This is where the term “Jew” comes from

• Israel conquered by Assyrians• Judah conquered by Neo-Babylonians– Temple Destroyed, many Jews exiled to Babylon

• Persians conquer Middle East, Cyrus frees Jews• Jews rebuild Holy Temple in Jerusalem

Code of Hammurabi VS Law of the Torah

• In pairs, read the excerpts from the Code of Hammurabi and the Law of the Torah

• Compare and contrast each pair of laws, and explain their similarities and differences in the column on the right

• At the end, discuss the Quaestio with your partner and write a paragraph answering it

PENSAStudents will read Chapter 3 Section 1 in the textbook and

complete the “Indus and Aryan Civilizations” worksheet