Hebrews

The Hebrews were among the many peoples who occupied the Fertile Crescent. Living at the crossroad of civilization, they came into contact with many people and ideas. Over time, the Hebrews developed their own ideas, which reflected a blend of many traditions.

The early Hebrews came to believe that God was taking a hand in their history. As a result, they recorded events and laws in the Torah their most sacred text. Like many Mesopotamian peoples, the Hebrews told of a great flood that devastated the land. They believed that God had sent the flood to punish the wicked.

According to the Torah, the Hebrews had lived near Ur in Mesopotamia. About 2000 B.C., they migrated, herding their flocks of sheep and goats into a region known as Canaan (later called Palestine).

The Book of Genesis tells that around 1800 B.C. a famine in Canaan forced many Hebrews to migrate to Egypt. There, they were eventually enslaved. In time, Moses, the adopted son of the pharaoh's daughter, led the Hebrews in their escape, or exodus, from Egypt. For 40 years, the Hebrews wandered in the Sinai Peninsula. After Moses died, they entered Canaan and defeated the people there, claiming for themselves the land they believed God had promised them.

By 1000 B.C., the Hebrews had set up the kingdom of Israel. Among the most skillful rulers of Israel were David and
Solomon. According to Hebrew tradition, David was a humble shepherd who defeated a huge Philistine warrior, Goliath. Later, David became a strong, shrewd king who united the feuding Hebrew tribes into a single nation.

David's son, Solomon, turned Jerusalem into an impressive capital. He built a splendid temple dedicated to God, as well as an enormous palace for himself. King Solomon won praise for his wisdom and understanding. He also tried to increase Israel's influence by negotiating with powerful empires in Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The kingdom of Israel paid heavy price for Solomon's ambitions. His building projects required such heavy taxes and so much fored labor that revolts erupted soon after his death about 930 B.C. The kingdom then split into Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

Weakened by this division, the Hebrews could not fight off invading armies. In 722 B.C., Israel fell to the Assyrians. In 586 B.C., the Babylonian armies captured Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the great temple in Jerusalem and forced many Hebrews into exile in Babylon. During their captivity, the Hebrews became known as the Jews.

Years later, when the Persia ruler Cyrus conquered Babylon, he released the Jews from captivity. Many Jews returned to Palestine, where they rebuilt King Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. Yet, like other small groups in the region, they continued to live under a series of foreign rulers, including Persians, Greeks, and Romans.

What you have just read is an outline of early Jewish history. To the Hebrews, history and religion were interconnected. Each event reflected God's plan for the Hebrew people. In time, Hebrew beliefs evolved into the religion we know today as Judaism. Judaism differed in fundamental ways from the beliefs of nearby peoples.

Judaism was monotheistic, teaching a belief in one God. At the time, most other people worshipped many gods & goddesses. A few religious leaders, like Zoroaster in Persia and the Egyptian ruler Akhenaton, believed in a powerful diety. However, their ideas did not have the world-wide impact that Hebrew beliefs did.

The ancient Hebrews prayed to God to save them from their enemies. Many other ancient people had also turned to particular gods or goddesses as their special protectors. But they thought of such gods as tied to certain places or people. The Hebrews believed in an all-knowing, all-powerful, male God who was present everywhere.

As you read, Jews believed that God had made a covenant,
or binding agreement, with Abraham. As a result, Jews considered themselves to be God's "chosen people." Moses later renewed this covenant. He told the Hebrews that God would lead them to Canaan, the "promised land," in exchange for their faithful obedience.

At the heart of Judaism are the Ten Commandments, laws that Jews believed God gave them through Moses. The laws set out both religious duties toward God and rules for moral conduct toward other people.

The Torah set out many other laws. Some dealt with everday matters such as cleanliness and food preparation. Others were criminal laws. Like Hammurabi's Code, many Hebrew laws required an eye for an eye. At the same time, preachers called on leaders to enforce laws with justice and mercy.

Some laws were meant to protect women. The Ten Commandments, for example, made respect for mothers a basic law. Still, as in many other religions, most laws treated women as subordinate to men. The male head of a family owned his wife, or wives, and his children. A father could sell his daughters into marriage, and only a husband had the right to seek a divorce.

Early in Hebrew history, a few women leaders, such as the judge Deborah, won honor and respect. Later on, however, women were not allowed to participate in many religious ceremonies.

Often in Jewish history, prophets, or spiritual leaders, emerged to interpret God's will. The prophets warned that failure to obey God's law would lead their people to disaster.

Prophets preached a strong code of ethics, or moral standards of behavior. They urged both personal morality and social justice, calling on the rich and powerful to protect the poor and weak. All people, they said, were equal before God. Unlike many ancient societies where the ruler was seen as a god, Jews saw their leaders as fully human and bound to obey God's law.

Judaism: The Religion of the Hebrews

The Jewish religion was unique in the ancient world because it was monotheistic.

Almost 2,000 years ago, many Jews were forced to leave their homeland in Palestine. This diaspora, or scattering of people, sent Jews to different parts of the world. Wherever they settled, Jews maintained their identity as a people by living in close-knit communities and obeying their religious laws and traditions. These traditions set Jews apart from other people. Yet they also helped them survive centuries of persecution.

Judaism is numbered among the world's major religions for its unique contribution to religious thought as well as its influence on two later religions, Christianity and Islam. Both these faiths, which also emerged in the Middle East, were monotheistic. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all honor Abraham, Moses, and the prophets, and they teach the ethical world view developed by the Hebrews.