Chapter 7 – The Hebrews and Judaism

Section NotesThe Early HebrewsJewish Beliefs and TextsJudaism over the Centuries

VideoJudaism throughout the World

History Close-upDestruction of the Second Temple

ImagesMoses and the Golden CalfThe Dead Sea ScrollsThe Tower of Babel

Quick FactsChapter 7 Visual Summary

MapsPossible Routes of Abraham and MosesKingdoms of Israel and Judah, c. 920 BCJewish Migration after AD 70

The Early Hebrews

The Big Idea

Originally desert nomads, the Hebrews established a great kingdom called Israel.

Main Ideas

• Abraham and Moses led the Hebrews to Canaan and to a new religion.

• Strong kings united the Israelites to fight off invaders.

• Invaders conquered and ruled the Hebrews after their kingdom broke apart.

• Some women in Hebrew society made great contributions to their history.

Main Idea 1:Abraham and Moses led the Hebrews to

Canaan and to a new religion.

• Accounts of the Hebrews describe the Hebrews’ early history and the laws of Judaism, the Hebrew religion.

• The Hebrew Bible traces the Hebrews back to Abraham, who was told by God to settle in Mesopotamia.

• After a famine struck Canaan, the Hebrews ended up in Egypt and lived well and increased in number, causing the pharaoh concern.

• The pharaoh of Egypt made the Hebrews slaves to stop them from taking over Egypt.

• A leader named Moses demanded that the pharaoh free his people.

• He refused, and plagues occurred, frightening the pharaoh.

• The Israelites were released, so they began their Exodus out of Egypt.

• They wandered the desert for 40 years.

• On Mt. Sanai God gave Moses the Ten Commandments by which to live. Examples?

The Exodus

• They included worshipping only one God (monotheism) and valuing human life.

• The Hebrews reached Canaan and settled there in small communities, as the Israelites.

Symbols of Judiasm

• Menorah

Main Idea 2: Strong kings united the Israelites to fight off

invaders.

• The new threat to the Israelites came from the Philistines.

• The Israelites united under Saul, who became the first king of Israel.

• The Israelites wanted a single ruler who could lead them in battle.

• David became king after Saul. He won many wars.

• Solomon became king next (David’s son), and expanded the kingdom and trade.

• He made allies with nearby kingdoms, including Egypt and Phoenicia. Trade with them made Israel (and Solomom) very rich.

• With the riches that came from this, he built a temple to God in Jerusalem. This became a religious center.

Main Idea 3:Invaders conquered and ruled the Hebrews

after their kingdom broke apart.

• After Solomon’s death, revolts broke out over who should be king.

• This split Israel into two kingdoms, called Israel and Judah. The people of Judah became known as the Jews.

• Both were conquered, and Judah fell to the Chaldeans.

Scattering and Conquest

• The Jews went through a period of enslavement called the Babylonian Captivity.

• The Persians took over and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Some did not return, however, and settled in other parts of the Persian Empire.

• Scholars call the scattering of the Jews outside Canaan the Diaspora.

• The Jews were conquered by the Romans, but made many advances in teaching and building temples.

• Despite these advances, the Jews were not happy, and called on people to rebel.

Main Idea 4: Some women in Hebrew society made great

contributions to their history.

• Hebrew society was governed by men. Women had few rights.

• They had to obey their fathers and husbands. They couldn’t choose their own husbands.

• A woman could not inherit property unless she had no brothers.

• Some of them, however, such as Queen Esther, the judge Deborah, and Miriam (the sister of Moses) made great contributions to society.

• Some women, such as Ruth and Naomi, were seen as examples of how women should behave. Ruth was devoted to her mother-in-law.

Jewish Beliefs and Texts

The Big Idea

The central ideas and laws of Judaism are contained in sacred texts such as the Torah.

Main Ideas

• Beliefs in God, education, justice, and obedience anchor Jewish society.

• Jewish beliefs are listed in the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, and the Commentaries.

• The Dead Sea Scrolls reveal many past Jewish beliefs.

• The ideas of Judaism have helped shape later cultures.

Main Idea 1: Belief in God, education, justice, and

obedience anchor Jewish society.

• Belief in one god– Judaism is the world’s oldest and possibly the first monotheistic

religion. Monotheism is the belief in only one god.

• Belief in education– Teaching children, mostly boys, has always been important to Jewish

society.

• Belief in justice and righteousness– Jews are expected to be kind and fair in dealing with other people, in a

display of justice.– They are also supposed to be righteous and do what is proper.

• Belief in obedience and law– They obey moral and religious laws such as the Ten Commandments.

The Torah

• This is a collection of five books that make up the most sacred text in Judaism.

• Nearly every synagogue has one.

The Hebrew Bible

• This is made up of the Torah, the Proverbs, and the Book of Psalms.

• It is also made up of eight books that describe the messages of the prophets.

Main Idea 2: Jewish beliefs are listed in the Torah, the

Hebrew Bible, and the Commentaries.

The Commentaries

• Because some laws are hard to understand, scholars wrote commentaries to explain them.

• They can be found in the Talmud.

Main Idea 3: The Dead Sea Scrolls reveal many

past Jewish beliefs.

• The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947.

• It is suspected that they were written between 100 BC and AD 50.

• The scrolls included prayers, commentaries, letters, and passages from the Hebrew Bible.

• Many people believe these were books left out of our current day Bible.

Main Idea 4: The ideas of Judaism have helped

shape later cultures.

• Judaism helped shape the largest religion of Western society today, Christianity, as well as Islam.

• Many people still look to the Ten Commandments as a guide and do not work on the weekends, to honor the Sabbath (holy day—Saturday for Judaism and Sunday for Christianity)

• People also give to charities, which is largely based on Jewish teachings.

Judaism over the Centuries

The Big Idea

Although they were forced out of Israel by the Romans, shared beliefs and customs helped Jews

maintain their religion.

Main Ideas

• Revolt, defeat, and migration led to great changes in Jewish culture.

• Because Jews settled in different parts of the world, two cultural traditions formed.

• Jewish traditions and holy days celebrate their history and religion.

Main Idea 1:Revolt, defeat, and migration led to great

changes in Jewish culture.

• The Zealots, a group of people who thought that Jews shouldn’t answer to anyone but God, refused to answer to the Romans and revolted.

• During the battles, the Second Temple (Solomon’s rebuilt temple) was destroyed. The Romans finally won in AD 73.

• The Romans killed much of the Jewish population as punishment.

A Second Revolt

• Jews in Jerusalem revolted against the Romans in the 130s.

• After winning the second revolt, the Romans declared that any Jew caught in or near the city would be killed. This increased Jewish migration to the Mediterranean region.

• Because the Jews no longer had a single temple in which to worship, local synagogues and rabbis became important in guiding their religious lives.

Main Idea 2:Because Jews settled in different parts of the

world, two cultural traditions formed.

• Jewish communities in various parts of the world developed different customs, including language and rituals.

• One of the two traditions, Ashkenazim, is made up of Jews who moved to France, Germany, and eastern Europe.

• They developed their own language called Yiddish.

• Another group of descendants, called the Sephardim, lived in what is now Spain and Portugal.

• They mixed with non-Jews, borrowing elements from their culture and producing a golden age of Jewish culture.

Hanukkah

• This holiday honors the rededication of the Second Temple.

• It is celebrated by lighting candles in a menorah.

• The eight days represent the amount of time the oil burned during the rededication.

Passover

• This is a time for Jews to remember the Exodus.

• They eat only flat bread and have a ritual meal called the seder.

Main Idea 3: Jewish traditions and holy days celebrate

their history and religion.

High Holy Days

• The first two days, Rosh Hashanah, celebrate the beginning of the Jewish new year.

• On Yom Kippur, the most holy day, they fast all day and ask God for forgiveness of their sins.

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