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The Origins of Judaism

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The Origins of Judaism 072-77-0103s4 10/11/02 3:30 PM Page 72 TERMS & NAMES 4 • Palestine The Origins of Judaism • Canaan •Torah • Abraham • monotheism • covenant • Moses MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW • Israel The Hebrews maintained monotheistic From this tradition, Judaism, the • Judah religious beliefs that were unique in religion of the Jews, evolved. Judaism • tribute the ancient world. is one of the world’s major religions. SETTING THE STAGE The Phoenicians lived in a region at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea that was later called Palestine. The Phoenicians were not the only ancient people to live in Palestine. Nor were they the only Palestinian people to make a great contribution to world civilization. The area of Palestine called Canaan (KAY•nuhn) was the ancient home of the Hebrews, later called the Jews. Their history, Background legends, and moral laws are a major influence on Western culture, and they began a Many scholars use the name Israelite, tradition also shared by Christianity and Islam. instead of Hebrew. The Search for a Promised Land Ancient Palestine’s location made it a cultural crossroads of the ancient world. By land, it connected Asia and Africa and two great empires, both eager to expand. To the east lay Assyria and Babylonia and to the west Egypt. Palestine’s seaports opened onto the two most important waterways of that time: the Mediterranean, which con- nected to the Atlantic Ocean, and the Red Sea, which flowed into SPOTLIGHTON the Indian Ocean. The Hebrews settled in Canaan, the part of ancient Palestine that lay between the Jordan River and the Mediter- Philistines ranean Sea. In fact, Hebrews often used the word Canaan to refer to The Philistines were another all of ancient Palestine. According to the Bible, Canaan was the land ancient people who settled in God had promised to the Hebrew people. Canaan. The Greeks called the area where they lived “Palestine” after From Ur to Egypt Most of what we know about the early history of Vocabulary the Philistines. Much of what we the Hebrews is contained in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Bible: the name know about the Philistines comes given to the sacred Jews call these books the Torah (TAWR•uh) and consider them the from their neighbors, the Hebrews, books of Judaism, as who disliked them and fought with most sacred writings in their tradition. Christians respect them as well as to those of them over control of the land. part of the Old Testament. As in other sacred literatures, the books Christianity. The Philistines enjoyed definite of the Torah describe some events that actually happened. However, military advantages over the those books also contain stories told to teach important lessons. Hebrews. They had a fleet of ships and swift chariots. More import- In the Torah, God chose Abraham (AY•bruh•ham) to be the antly, they knew how to forge iron “father,” or first, of the Hebrew people. God’s first words to Abraham into swords and shields. Over time, expressed a promise of land and a pledge: “Go from your country Hebrews learned the secret of and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show smelting iron and were able to fight the Philistines on more even terms. you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great. .” (Genesis 12:1–2) Background The Torah says that Abraham was a shepherd who lived in the city of The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Ur, in Mesopotamia. The Torah tells that God commanded him to move his people and Bible. Genesis means their flocks to Canaan. This would have occurred around 2000 b.c. The story of how and “beginning.” why he moved to Canaan is told in the Book of Genesis. Abraham, his family, and their herds made their way from the lower Tigris and Euphrates region to Canaan. Then, pos- sibly around 1650 b.c., the descendants of Abraham moved again—this time to Egypt. The God of Abraham The Bible tells how Abraham and his family roamed for many years from Mesopotamia to Canaan to Egypt and back to Canaan. All the while, their 72 Chapter 3 072-77-0103s4 10/11/02 3:31 PM Page 73 Background God, whose name was Yahweh, went with them. Gods The name Yahweh worshiped by other people at that time were often local, later became Jehovah to some Christians. associated with a specific place. Because the God of the Hebrews did not belong to any one place, the Hebrews could carry their worship of him wherever they went. Unlike the other groups around them, who were poly- theists, the Hebrews were monotheists. They prayed only to one God. Monotheism (MAHN•uh•thee•ihz•uhm), a belief in a single god, comes from the Greek words mono, meaning “one” and theism, meaning “god-worship.” The Hebrews had made a startling leap. They proclaimed Yahweh as the one and only God. In their eyes, Yahweh had power not only over the Hebrews, but over all peo- ples, everywhere. To the Hebrews, God was not a physical being, and no physical images were to be made of him. The Hebrews asked Yahweh for protection from their enemies, just as other people prayed to their gods to defend them. According to the Bible, Yahweh looked after the Hebrews not so much because of ritual ceremonies and sacrifices, but because Abraham had promised to obey him. In return, Yahweh had promised to protect Abraham and his descendants. This On Moses’ return mutual promise between God and the founder of the Hebrew people is called a from Mount Sinai, he saw the Hebrews covenant (KUHV•uh•nuhnt). This was the first of a series of covenants that Yahweh worshiping a and the Hebrews would make together. golden calf and angrily broke the Background “Let My People Go.” The Bible says the Hebrews migrated to Egypt because of a tablets of the Law. In the Book of Exodus, drought and threat of a famine. At first, the Hebrews were given places of honor in The 17th-century God strikes down the Egyptian kingdom. Later, however, they were forced into slavery, their lives made Italian painter the first-born of the Guido Reni depicts Egyptians, but he “bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field.” this dramatic “passes over” the (Exodus 1:14) moment. homes of the Hebrews. B C Passover celebrates The Hebrews fled Egypt—perhaps between 1300 and 1200 . Jews call this event this episode. “the Exodus,” and they remember it every year during the festival of Passover. The Torah says that the man who led the Hebrews out of slavery was named Moses. At Passover, it is told that at the time of Moses’ birth, the Egyptian A 35°N I C I pharaoh felt threatened by the number of Hebrews in Egypt. E N CYPRUS ° SYRIA E 35 O He thus ordered all Hebrew male babies to be killed. Moses’ H P Damascus Mediterranean Sidon Sea Tyre ISRAEL Samaria Jordan Jerusalem Raamses River Canaan, the Crossroads, Dead Sea 2000–600 B.C. E Black Sea ° C a JUDAH ° 40 . 30 N s R p Kingdom of Judah, 980 B.C. i Ezion-geber a e l n Kingdom of Israel, 980 B.C. i Mt. Sinai 0 100 Miles 40°N N S e Assyrian Empire, 650 B.C. ANATOLIA a 0 ° 200 Kilometers Babylonian Empire, 600 B.C. 0 Nineveh M Wanderings of Abraham e Ashur T d E i Route of Hebrews out of Egypt i u g t e p r ASSYRIA r h i r a ra s n tes R e . AFRICA a n R S CANAAN . ASIA e a Babylon Jerusalem Raamses BABYLONIA Uruk 0 500 Miles Ur GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER: Memphis Ezion-geber P 0 1,000 Kilometers e Interpreting Maps r s ia 1. Movement Along what waterway did Abraham N n i R G le e ARABIA u begin his wanderings away from his native city? EGYPT R d lf . Thebes 2. Location How did Canaan’s location make it a S e a true crossroads of the eastern Mediterranean? Tropic of Cancer 73 20°N 072-77-0103s4 10/11/02 3:31 PM Page 74 mother hid her baby in the reeds along the banks of the Nile. There, an Egyptian princess found and adopted him. Though raised in luxury, he did not forget his Hebrew birth. When God commanded him to lead the Jews out of Egypt, he obeyed. From that time on, Moses has been considered the greatest figure in Jewish history. A New Covenant While the Hebrews were The Ten Commandments* traveling across the Sinai (SY•ny) Peninsula, Moses climbed to the top of a mountain—Mount The first four commandments The last six commandments concerned the Hebrews’ rela- concerned the Hebrews’ rela- Sinai—to pray. The Bible says he spoke with tionship with God: tionship with one another: God. When Moses came down from Mount •I am the Lord thy God. • Honor thy father and thy Sinai, he brought down two stone tablets on Thou shalt have no other mother. which Yahweh had written ten laws, the Ten gods before me. • Thou shalt not kill. Commandments of the Bible. Background • Thou shalt not make unto • Thou shalt not commit These commandments and the other teachings The Hebrew word for thee any graven image. adultery. these ten laws, • Thou shalt not take the name • Thou shalt not steal.
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