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Page 1: The Israelites and the Roots of Judaism Reading · PDF fileThe Israelites and the Roots of Judaism ... , known collectively as the Hyksos ... The Israelites and the Roots of Judaism

Name__________________________________________Date___________Class_______Period_____

Quaestio:________________________________________________________________________________

The Israelites and the Roots of Judaism Directions:Readthearticlebelow,andasyouread,answerthequestionsonaseparatesheetofpaper.

Quaestio:HowdifferentweretheIsraelitesfromtheirneighbors?

Disclaimer: Religion as History WhileJudaismisthefirstmajorworldreligionwearestudying,thisdisclaimerappliestoallthereligionswecoverinthiscourse.Ashistorians,westudyreligionintermsof(1)BeliefsandPractices,(2)OriginandDevelopment,and(3)InfluenceonHistory.Ashistorians,weneitheraffirmnordenytheexistenceofgods,miracles,ordivinerevelationbecausetheyarebeyondthescopeofhistoricalinquiry.However,westudywhatpeoplebelievedandbelievebecauseithelpsusunderstandtheirperspective,aswellashowthosebeliefsinfluencedtheirdecisionmakingandculturaldevelopment.

1. Whataspectsofreligiondothescreensstudy,andwhataspectsareoff-limits?

The Sources of Hebrew History

WhilethereligionofJudaismasitexiststodaydidnotfullydevelopuntilmuchlater,theearliestbeginningsofJewishreligionoriginatedwithapeoplecalledtheHebrews,pastoralnomads(herders)whosettledintheFertile

Crescentbetween2000and1500BCE.ThemainsourceforthehistoryoftheHebrewsistheholytextofJudaism,theHebrewBible(TanakhinHebrew),acollectionofreligioustextscompiledovermanycenturiesandfinishedaround100CE.TheoldestandmostimportantpartoftheTanakhiscalledtheTorah,whichmeans“Law”or“Teaching.”Inadditiontomoralteachings,theTorahalsorecordedtraditionalstories,suchasthestoryofCreationandthestoryofNoahandtheGreatFlood(whichsharesmanyfeatureswithMesopotamianfloodmyths).HistoriansdonotgenerallytaketheHebrewBibleasaprimarysource,asitwaswrittenlateraboutpastevents.Also,asareligioustextandnotaworkofhistory,itishighlysubjecttoreligiousbias.However,outsidetheBible,thehistoricalsourcesabouttheHebrews,areverylimited,sosometimestheBibleistheonlyinformationwehave.HistorianstodaydebateoverhowmuchoftheBiblicalstorycanbeconsidered

history.

2. WhatwastheoriginallifestyleoftheHebrews,andwheredidtheylive?

Monotheism

OnemajorcharacteristicthatsettheHebrewsapartfromtheirneighborsintheAncientMiddleEastwasMonotheism,thebeliefinonlyOneGod.ThenameforGodinHebrewisYahweh,whichmeans“TheAlwaysExistingOne.”However,evenaccordingtotheBiblicalstory,theHebrewsandtheirdescendantswerenotalwaysmonotheistic,oftenworshippingthegodsofneighboringpeoples.Also,therewereexamplesofproto-monotheisminotherpartsoftheAncientWorld.InNewKingdomEgypt,thePharaohAkhenatenstartedthereligionofAtenism,worshipofonlyAten,theSunDisc,overallothergods.InPersia,theProphetZoroasterfoundedthereligionofZoroastrianism,whichtaughtbeliefinsupremegodofgood,AhuraMazda,thoughtherewasalsoagodofevil,Ahriman.

3. WeretheHebrewstheonlymonotheistsintheancientworld?Explain.

Zoroaster

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Traditional Narrative of Abraham and the Covenant

AccordingtoJewishtradition,aHebrewmannamedAbraham,wholivedinSouthernMesopotamia,waschosenbyGodtobeaprophet,someonewhocommunicateswithGodandpreachesGod’smessagetoothers.GodinstructedAbrahamtoleavehishomeandmadeacovenant,oragreement,withAbraham:aslongasAbrahamobeyedGod’scommands,GodwouldblesshimandhisdescendantsandgivethemthelandofCanaan,intheSouthernLevant,asanewhome.OutsidetheBible,thereisnohistoricalevidenceforAbrahamhimself,buttherearereferencesinSumerian,Akkadian,Hittite,andEgyptiantextsofapeoplecalledthe“Habiru,”whoareidentifiedasnomadsoftheFertileCrescentregion,sometimesdescribedasmigrantlaborers,rebels,oroutlaws.

4. AccordingtoJewishtradition,whatisaprophet?

Traditional Narrative of Israelites in Egypt

AccordingtoJewishtradition,Abraham’sgrandsonJacobandhistwelvesonsmigratedtoNewKingdomEgypttoescapefamineinCanaan.JacobwasalsoknownbythenameIsrael,sohisdescendantswerecalledtheIsraelites.AstheirpopulationinEgyptgrew,thePharaohsawtheIsraelitesasathreatandenslavedthem.JewsbelievethatanewprophetnamedMoseswaschosentofreetheIsraelites.Asababy,Moseswassaidtohavebeenleftinabasketanddroppedintheriver(whichisverysimilartoastoryabouttheAkkadianrulerSargon).WithGod’shelp,MosesledtheIsraelitesoutofEgypt,amigrationknownastheExodus,celebratedbyJewstodayduringtheholiday

Passover.TheIsraelitesarethensaidtohavewanderedthedesertfor40yearsbeforereachingCanaan.Duringthistime,GodspoketoMosesandtaughthimtheTorah.ThisincludedtheTenCommandments,thefirstbeingthatnogodbeworshippedexceptYahweh.SomeoftheIsraelitesdisobeyedthecommandmentbyprayingtoanEgyptianbullgodinsteadofGod,buttheyrepentedfortheirsinsandGodforgavethem.TheholidayofYomKippur,theDayofAtonement,isbasedonthisstory.OutsidetheBible,thereisnodirectevidenceforMosesandtheExodusasdescribedintheBible,butmoregenerally,itisunderstoodthatthereweremanywavesofmigrationintoandout

ofEgyptbyavariousgroupsfromtheLevant,knowncollectivelyastheHyksos,whoalsocameintoconflictwiththeEgyptians,soitisentirelypossiblethattheIsraeliteswereoneofthosegroups.

5. WhyisMosessuchanimportantfigureinJudaism?Giveasmanyexamplesasyoucan.

TraditionalNarrativeofKingdomandConquestAccordingtoJewishTradition,theIsraelitesmigratedtoCanaanandfoughtwithotherCanaanitestoconquertheland.TheyeventuallycreatedtheKingdomofIsraelinthe900sBCE.Thetwomostfamouskingsfromthetraditionwerealsoseenasprophets:David,whomadetheholycityofJerusalemhiscapital,andhissonSolomon,whobuilttheFirstTempleofJerusalem,wherepriestsmadesacrificestoYahweh.Thisisthefirstperiodforwhichhistorianshavesomesolidevidence,withrecordsofdiplomatic(government)andcommercial(trade)relationsbetweenIsraelandotherkingdomsintheregion.However,theshort-livedkingdom

Page 3: The Israelites and the Roots of Judaism Reading · PDF fileThe Israelites and the Roots of Judaism ... , known collectively as the Hyksos ... The Israelites and the Roots of Judaism

dividedintothelargerNorthernKingdomofIsraelandthesmallerSouthernKingdomofJudah.ThepeopleofJudahwerelaterknownasJews,whichwasoriginallyawordfortheethnicityornationality,andonlylatercametobeusedtodescribethereligionoftheJewishpeople.Soon,thepowerfulAssyrianEmpireconqueredtheMiddleEast,andwhentheNorthernKingdomofIsraelfellundertheirrulein772BCE,theAssyrianskickedmanyoftheIsraelitesoutoftheland.In586BCE,theNeo-Babylonians(akaChaldeans)conqueredtheKingdomofJudah,destroyingtheHolyTempleandtakingthousandsofJewstoBabylontouprootthemfromtheirhistoryandpreventrebellions.About50yearslater,thePersiansunderKingCyrusconqueredtheregion,andbecauseoftheirreligioustolerance,theyallowedtheJewstoreturntoJudahandbeginrebuildingtheTemple.HistoriansbelievethattheTorahastaughtbyMosesisrecordedasthefirstfivebooksoftheHebrewBible,whichhistoriansbelievewaswrittendownduringthisperiod.

6. WhatfactorscontributedtothedeclineoftheKingdomofIsrael?

Summary Questions 7. Drawingonevidencefromtheentirereading,inwhatwaysweretheHebrews/Israelitessimilartotheir

neighborsintheancientworld?Inwhatwaysweretheydifferent?8. Drawingonevidencefromtheentirereading,howmuchhistoricalevidenceexistsoutsidetheBibleto

supporttheBiblicalstories?Explain.


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