Section 6: The Origins of Judaism

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Section 6 The Origins of Judaism
I. The Hebrews
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A. Background
South of Phoenicia lay a strip of land called
Canaan
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A. Background
According to the Bible, Abraham led the Hebrew
people to Canaan from Sumer
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A. Background
Jews trace their heritage through Abrahams
grandson Jacob (Israel), whose sons established
the Twelve Tribes of Israel
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B. The Exodus
Abrahams descendants left Canaan and traveled to
Egypt, where they lived in peace until being
enslaved
Wall painting from a 15th century B.C. Egyptian
tomb - a farm overseer is thrashing a slave while
another slave begs for mercy.
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B. The Exodus
After 400 years of slavery, Moses led the
Hebrews escape from Egypt - the Exodus
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C. The Ten Commandments
During the Exodus, Moses climbed Mount Sinai and
returned with the Ten Commandments
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C. The Ten Commandments
The Hebrews agreed to the commandments and formed
a covenant with their god Yahweh, who promised
them the land of Canaan
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C. The Ten Commandments
They wandered in the desert for years before
finally entering the promised land
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D. The Founding of Israel
They joined those living north of Canaan and
formed a loose alliance of tribes
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D. The Founding of Israel
The tribes maintained a shrine for the Ark of the
Covenant the container for Moses tablets
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D. The Founding of Israel
Hebrews fought for more than 200 years against
the Canaanites and Philistines
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D. The Founding of Israel
Saul, the first king, was succeeded by David, who
formed a new dynasty
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D. The Founding of Israel
David occupied Jerusalem, making it the capital
and religious center of Israel
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D. The Founding of Israel
Solomon, Davids son, brought Israel to the
height of its power and built a magnificent
temple in Jerusalem
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D. The Founding of Israel
After Solomons death in the 900s BC, the
kingdom split into Israel in the north and Judah
in the south
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D. The Founding of Israel
722 BC - Israel was conquered by the Assyrians
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D. The Founding of Israel
587 BC - the Chaldeans conquered Judah and
destroyed Jerusalem and Solomons temple
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II. The Development of Judaism
The Old Testament contains Hebrew history, law,
poetry, prophecy, and religious instruction
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A. Law and Ethics
The first five books of the Old Testament - the
Torah - include the Hebrew code of law
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B. Religion
The Hebrews worshiped Yahweh as their only god
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B. Religion
The Hebrews viewed Yahweh as a spiritual force,
not a human being or a part of nature
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B. Religion
Their religion had only one god and emphasized
ethics often called ethical monotheism
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B. Religion
This became known as Judeo-Christian ethics one
of the Hebrews important contribution to Western
civilization