Roots of Judaism

Geography of the Levant (Canaan, Palestine)

Early History

• Nomadic herders left Mesopotamia around 1700-2000 BCE and settled in Canaan (Palestine)

• migrated to Egypt• semi-enslaved• returned to Canaan

God’s Covenant with Abraham

• Abraham originally from Ur in Mesopotamia

• God commanded Abraham to go to Canaan

• promised to make him father of nation of people in Canaan

• Stars symbolize God’s promise to Abraham

Abraham Sacrificing Isaac

• God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of faith

• Angel stops him• Abraham proves

his faith• Symbolize the end

of human sacrifice?

• Abraham's grandson Jacob - raised 12 sons – each son led a

separate tribe - family group

• Israelites migrated to

Egypt   • 1200s B.C. - Israelite

prophet Moses led his people out of Egypt – Exodus - departure

into the Sinai Desert – Passover - festival

that retells the story of the Exodus

“The Exodus”

The Exodus: Parting of the Red Sea

The 10 Commandments

• Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai

• man given free will to follow moral standards

• suffering and evil would follow if people ignored good

• also received hundreds of other laws and judgments

• worship • behavior • community life • (Example: If you steal

an oxen, you will repay with five oxen.)

Reclaiming the Land: Battle of Jericho

• Moses died before reaching Canaan

• Joshua led Israelites into Canaan – for 200 years Israelites fought

wars with • Philistines • Canaanites  • The Fighting Judges • Leaders known as Judges led

each tribe – served as military and

religious leaders – 12 tribes lacked unity

• Deborah - judge who led an army to defeat the Canaanites near Mount Tabor

Kingdom of Israel

• Hebrews & other Semitic groups came to dominate Canaan

• used warfare to displace native Canaanites & to defend against their powerful Philistine neighbors

• 1025 BCE, 12 independent tribes formed the kingdom of Israel

King David1000-961 BCE

• United the feuding tribes into single nation

• Set up a capital at Jerusalem

• organized a strong central government

• Enlarged Israel• Economic prosperity• acclaimed warrior,

musician and poet

• given credit for many

of the psalms

Solomon (961-922 BC)

• David's son• founded new cities • built temple in

Jerusalem • people resented

the high taxes and labor requirements

• died in 922 B.C. - Israel split – 10 northern

tribes - Israel • capital -

Samaria – 2 southern

tribes - Judah • origins of

the word Jew

• capital - Jerusalem

The Assyrians

• 722 B.C. - Assyrians conquered Israel and scattered the people of the 10 tribes

• The “diaspora”• 10 lost tribes • merged with people of

the Assyrian Empire • lost their identity

Destruction & Captivity

• In 586 BCE, Chaldeans captured Judah & occupied Jerusalem

• Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and forced skilled Jews into exile in Babylon

• Known as the Babylonian captivity

• Become known as the Jews

Psalm 137

By the Rivers of Babylon we sat and wept

When we remembered ZionThere on the poplarsWe hung our harps,For there our captors asked us for

songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?

Psalm 137

If we forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

If I do not remember you,If I do not consider

Jerusalem my highest joyRemember, O LORD, what

the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!”

Psalm 137

• O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,

• Happy is he who repays you

• For what you have done to us-

• He who seizes your infants

• And dashes them against the rocks.

Liberation & Return 538 BCE

• Persian king, Cyrus the Great, allowed them to return to Judah to rebuild their Temple

• Western Wall (Wailing Wall) is all that remains today

• For 200 years they lived under tolerant Persian rule

Ark of the Covenant

• The Israelites built a holy box called the Ark of the Covenant for the Ten Commandments and the holy relics of Israel's faith

• Archaeologists today search for the Ark of the Covenant

Hebrew BibleThe Torah

First Five Books of Christian Bible

• one of the main sources of ancient history in the Fertile Crescent 

• passed down as oral tradition until put into written form

• final form in the 5th century B.C.

Basic Doctrine: Monotheism

• a single, transcendent God created the universe and continues to govern it

• the world is intelligible and purposive, because a single divine intelligence stands behind it

• Nothing that humanity experiences is capricious; everything ultimately has meaning

Contributions of the Hebrews

• Monotheism

• Morality

• Covenant-God willing to bind himself to the people (mortals)

• God revealing himself through history-revelation

• Individual and collective responsibility

• Social justice