Instruction 3-1

A Different Religion | The Israelite Journey

As we told you in our last two Lessons, Mesopotamia (the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers) is where civilization began.

Many different "people groups" arose in Mesopotamia (today's Iraq).

This included the ancient Hebrews (http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/ancient_hebrews/), who were later known as Israelites and eventually came to be called Jews (http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/ancient_hebrews/pages/landof.htm).

What we know of their early history comes from The Hebrew Bible, which roughly corresponds to The Old Testament in the Christian Bible. It includes: 

• The Laws (the Torah) -- the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

• The Prophets -- the Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and The Book of Twelve. 

• The Writings -- the Books of Psalms, Proverbs and Job, Five Scrolls, Daniel and The Chronicler's History.

Beginning in the 13th century BC, independent historical references to the ancient Hebrews can also be found. In 1220 BC, King Merneptah of Egypt included "the people of Israel, now living in Canaan" in a list of people he had defeated in a military campaign.

Mesopotamia / Canaan / Egypt 
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/HEBREWS/HEBREWS.HTM  

The word "Hebrew" can be translated as "the people from the other bank of the river," meaning the Euphrates. The Hebrews came from the eastern side of it near the Mesopotamian city of Ur.

They were a closely-knit group of nomadic herding tribes with a strict kinship structure. Their leaders were called Patriarchs ("father rulers"). The most important Patriarchs were Abraham, his son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob, and Moses.

In about 2000 BC, according to the Hebrew Bible, Abraham received a visitation from God, who told him that he and his people had been chosen to fulfill a special purpose of God. Abraham was also told that his people must leave Mesopotamia, which they did. They migrated west with their sheep and goats to a land called Canaan, which is now modern-day Israel and southern Lebanon. 

Once there, Abraham had another visitation in which he said that God told him that Canaan was to belong to him and his people – that Canaan was to be the Promised Land (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/heritage/episode1/).

Canaan eventually became known as Palestine. It was named for the people who lived there. These people were called Philistines – they are not related to today's Arabic-speaking Palestinians.

In about 1800 BC, a famine in Canaan forced many of the Hebrews to migrate to Egypt, where they became slaves (http://www.museum.upenn.edu/Canaan/index.html).

The Exodus
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/ancient_hebrews/pages/exodusfromegypt.htm  

The period in Egypt was hard, but it united the Jews as a people. In 1250 BC, they were led out of Egypt by Moses, their next great Patriarch (leader). This departure is known as The Exodus. 

For 40 years, the Jews wandered in the desert (the Sinai Peninsula). Many significant things happened to them during this time. It was only after Moses died that they actually re-entered Canaan and reclaimed the land they believed God had promised them. 

The Exodus was the single most important event in Jewish history because it gave them an identity, a nation, a founder and a name. The name was used for the first time in the Book of Exodus – bene yisra'el, which means the children of Israel. 

Jacob, Abraham's grandson, was the Hebrews' third great Patriarch. But God is said to have changed his name to Israel, which mean he who wrestles with God. So the children of the Jacob became the children of Israel.

It was Judah, Jacob’s son, who gave his name to the Hebrew religion, Judaism – and to its people, the Jews. 


The Kingdom of Israel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Israel  

By 1000 BC, the Hebrews had set up a thriving Kingdom of Israel in Canaan. 

Among its most dynamic leaders were King David and his son, King Solomon.

Although the Jews were a people, they still governed themselves in a tribal system. King David united them into a single nation. 

King Solomon turned their capital, Jerusalem, into an impressive city, where he built a magnificent temple dedicated to God. Solomon also tried to increase his country's influence by negotiating with the powerful empires in Egypt and Mesopotamia. His ambitions nearly wrecked the country and after his death in 930 BC, there was a general revolt.

Israel and Judah
http://www.keyway.ca/htm2001/20010604.htm 
map http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/map05isr.htm 

This revolt among the Hebrews split the Kingdom of Israel into two separate countries – Israel and Judah. 

Israel, in the north, was made up of 10 tribes. Judah, in the south, was composed of the two tribes. Because the Hebrews were again fractured, they were not able to fight the powerful armies that repeatedly invaded them.

In 722 BC, Israel fell to the Assyrians. In 586 BC, the Babylonians took Judah. Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the great temple in Jerusalem and forced many of the Hebrews into exile again – this time in Babylon. 

Years later, when Persia conquered Babylon, the Persian ruler (Cyrus) released the Jews from their captivity in Babylon. Many returned to Palestine (Canaan) again, where they built a Second Temple (http://www.snunit.k12.il/njeru/ec1.htm).

The Western Wall

Indisputably, King Herod's greatest and most magnificent project in Jerusalem was the platform of the Temple Mount and the Temple itself. During Herod's reign the area of the Temple Mount was enlarged and huge supporting walls were built. The Western Wall, part of his supporting system, in 486 meters long. Following the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans at the end of the Jew's revolt, the supporting wall and the platform remained. In the centuries that followed legends and commentaries sprang up about the Western Wall and its sanctity: "This is the Western Wall of the Temple, which is never destroyed for the shekhinah [the Divine presence] is in the west" (Talmud tractate Bamidbar Rabah 11:63). Over time the Western Wall became the central and most important place of worship for the Jews of Jerusalem (http://www.snunit.k12.il/njeru/ec21.htm). 

The Second Temple was destroyed again in 70 AD.

We'll tell you more about the continuing Israelite journey in our next Instruction. It is known as the Diaspora, or scattering, of the Jewish people.

One God

You have just read a very brief outline of the history of the Jewish people. For them, history and religion were always entwined. Events were always seen as part of God's plan.

In time, Hebrew beliefs evolved into the Judaism we know today, which was quite different from the beliefs of their neighbors. First, Judaism was monotheistic (http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/judaism/beliefs.html). This means belief in one God: an all-knowing, all-powerful God who was located not just in a temple or a shrine but everywhere. Most neighboring cultures worshipped a number of different gods. In addition, the Hebrews believed that they had a special relationship, or covenant, with this God.

A Covenant with God

As the Hebrew Bible tells us, Abraham led the ancient Hebrews out of Mesopotamia because God told him to.

Abraham also said that God told him that he and his descendants had been selected to be God's chosen people. 

God was also believed to have entered into a special covenant (agreement) with the Hebrews. 

In exchange for their obedience, God was said to have promised to protect them "as a lord protects his servants." This included helping them in their escape from Egypt.

Moses later renewed this covenant between the Hebrews and God telling the Hebrews that in exchange for their continued obedience, he would lead them back into Canaan, the Promised Land.

Moses & The Ten Commandments
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/judaism/commandments/tencomms.htm

At the heart of Judaism is the Decalogue. You may have heard them called the Ten Commandments. These are Laws that it is believed God told to Moses. Moses then took them to the people.

They are also the basic laws of conduct for Christianity, which evolved from Judaism.

There are many different ways to translate the Decalogue. Here is one version:

1. I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image -- any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal. 

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.

The Jews also observed other laws. Many of these laws dealt with everyday matters like cleanliness and food preparation. 

Many Jews still follow these laws today. Those who observe the food laws are said to be "keeping Kosher" (Kashrut). For an explanation of Kashrut, click http://www.cantbelieveitskosher.com/kashrut.htm.

Moses & Yahweh

Abraham was the father of the Judaism, while Moses was its most important unifying figure.

During their years in the desert, Moses taught the Jews a religion and a theology that unites them to this day. 

Scholars think that this theology was derived in part from the Cult of Yahweh. This cult was practiced by a people called the Midianites, who lived near Mt. Sinai in the Arabian Peninsula. 

In this religion, Yahweh was considered to be the most powerful of all the gods. When Moses and his people came to this area after the Exodus from Egypt, Moses learned of Yahweh from Jethro, a priest of that religion. 

Yahweh (sometimes also translated as Jehovah) was eventually incorporated into the Hebrew faith. 

In Hebrew, the name is spelled YHWH -- which means something like "he causes to be." 

The Prophets

In addition to strong Patriarchs and other leaders, the Jews were also blessed with a number of Prophets. 

Whenever the Jewish people encountered difficult times, a Prophet arose to remind them of what they had been taught. The first of these Prophets was Miriam, the sister of Moses. 

The Prophets preached a strong code of ethics (moral standards of behavior) based on the Ten Commandments.

They urged both morality and social justice. And they called on the rich and powerful to protect the poor and weak. All people, they said, were equal before God.

Unlike other ancient societies who thought of their rulers as gods, the Jews saw their leaders as human and bound to obey God's laws.

An Important Legacy 
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/heritage/index.html  

Judaism is honored for its unique contribution to religious thought, and for its influence on two later religions – Islam and Christianity. All three are monotheistic (they believe in one god). 

All three emerged in the Middle East, all honor Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets, and all three (at their core) share the same ethical worldview.