The Origins of Judaism

So I discovered the menorah is

missing a couple of stems.
Sorry.
Objectives:
• Know how Israel’s location contributed to its history and
development.
• Know what the Torah is and why it’s important.
• Know what Abraham did and why he’s important
to Judaism.
• Realize in what ways Judaism differed from
most religions of the time.
• Know what Moses did and why he’s important.
• Know what the ark of the covenant is as well as why
the Ten Commandments are important (don’t need to
know each of the ten).
• Know how the Hebrews settled down, what the judges
and prophets were. Also know who the three main
The area known as Palestine. It’s around the modern day
state of Israel.
• Which is here:
It’s in a prime location.
• It’s the connection between Africa (specifically Egypt)
and Asia. If you want to go from to the other you
have to pass through this area. That means it’s good
for trade.
• It’s also between the Mediterranean and Red
Seas. There wasn’t a Suez Canal back then.
• On the downside, that sweet location also makes
it attractive to others.
• It was often a battle ground for the
surrounding powers.
We get most of the early Jewish history from Torah.
• This is the first five books of the Hebrew (and also
later the Christian) bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
• Also known as the Pentateuch, which is Greek for
‘five containers,’ referring to the cases in which
each of the five scrolls would be kept.
• Other sources from the time are scarce and we have
to fill in the archaeological details.
The founding patriarch of
the faith was
Abraham.
• Originated in the
Mesopotamian city of Ur
and migrated to the land
of Canaan around 1800
BC. God promised him
that he would be the
father of a great nation
there. He
moves around the area a
bit.
• He also takes his
wife Sarah with him.
• While there, he has
two sons, Isaac
and Ishmael
• Isaac was with his
wife Sarah.
Ishmael was with
his wife’s
handmaid, Hagar.
According to
legend, Isaac’s
branch is the
Jews and
Ishmael’s branch
is the Arabs.
• Abraham also
nearly kills Isaac
as a sacrifice.
All through the wanderings and the rest, God,
Yahweh, was with Abraham.
• Yahweh was not a localized deity.
• Moreover, he was singular. This was a monotheistic
religion, which was quite quaint for a mostly polytheistic
world.
• Some scholars argue early Judaism was henotheistic
– that it recognized other gods, but that one god
was far above them all and was worthy of devotion.
Yahweh was also not a physical god. This was also
unique.
Some Greeks even thought the Jews
philosophical because of it.
• God makes an agreement, a covenant, with Abraham
to be fulfilled through Isaac. If Abraham and his
descendants obey Him, then He will bless and protect
them.
Eventually the Hebrew people
who had settled in Canaan
migrate into Egypt because of
a famine.
They’re enslaved and forced
•
to labor under the pharaoh
working on his building
projects.
• Some scholars think the
Hebrews were actually a
mercenary force that
got tired of being given
building assignments
instead of war work.

• Under the leadership of

Moses, the Israelites escape
Egypt around 1300-1200 BC.
This is when Charlton Heston tries to get Ramses to let
his people go and God visits plagues on the Egyptians
for his intransigence.
• Burning bush, parting of the Red Sea,
etc.
 Flaming
shrubber
y

Boil water
befor
e
drinkin
g
He ain’t just
stretching.
After getting out of Egypt, the Hebrews spend a long time
wandering around the Sinai Peninsula.
While in the Sinai, Moses receives the Ten
Commandments… at the top of Mt. Sinai.
They are:
2. I am the Lord thy
God…Thou shalt have
no other gods before
me.
3. Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven
image or worship
one.
4. Thou shalt not take
the name of the Lord
in vain.
5. Remember the
sabbath day and keep
it holy.
1. Honor they father and mother.
2. Thou shalt not kill (murder).
3. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
4. Thou shalt no steal
5. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
6. Thou shalt not covet they neighbor’s possessions.
 15
command
- ments?

The Ten Commandments represent a new

covenant between God and the Hebrews. If they
follow the commandments, God will bless them.
The Ten Commandments served as the basis for
Jewish law.
• The full code was much more detailed and governed
all sorts of social and religious conventions.
• 613 total sub-commandments in the Torah
• Led to ethical monotheism: living justly in relation
to God and to other people.
The tablets were placed in the ark. It was carried before
the Israelites and a special tent was set up for it
whenever they camped.

• The outstretched wings of the cherubim was the

throne of God and the ark itself was His footstool.
• Said there was some eerie light that would hover there.
• Only Levites (one of the 12 tribes of Israel and the
priest class) were allowed to touch it. Everybody else
would get killed.
• The ark was placed in the Temple of Solomon
(which we’ll get to later).
• It eventually disappears at the time of Babylonian exile
when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem.
• We really have no idea what happened to it, which
is odd for something so important.
• Babylonians may have taken it and destroyed it,
but it wasn’t documented in their loot records.
• Priests may have spirited it out of Jerusalem
before the attack.
One church in Ethiopia claims to have
it.
The Hebrews finally get out of Sinai and invade Canaan.
• They proceed to attack Canaanite towns like Jericho.
• Interesting question about this account is whether
the Israelites engaged in what we would call
genocide.
• Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, but what
happened after it?
• Joshua 6:20-21 – “When the trumpets sounded, the
people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet,
when the people gave a loud shout, the wall
collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and
they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the
LORD and destroyed with the sword every
living thing in it—men and women, young and
old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.” (NIV)
• Actually this isn’t that troublesome for the time.
It wasn’t uncommon to eliminate a population (see
the Greeks and Romans).
• Event actually served as an example to other
Canaanite towns that there was a new power in the
region. Archaeology shows this and other cities
were destroyed around the same time (oddly this is
all at about the same time the Egyptians expel the
Hyksos).
Over time, the people in the region are conquered by
the Hebrews and the Hebrews settle down.
• Rule by judges
• Ad hoc leaders
• Often war leaders
• Examples: Deborah, Gideon, Samson, and others.
Prophets
• Don’t think of them as they type that predict the
future. Rather, they were God’s mouthpieces, His
spokesmen.
• God spoke to them and then they spoke to the
people. Also interpreted God’s laws.
• Examples are Isaiah, Ezekial, Jeremiah, Daniel
The Hebrews would come together every once in a
while under a judge to face a threat. Once the
threat was gone, however, they’d fall apart again.
• Eventually, they decided they needed a king
(hey, everybody else had one!)
• Saul is appointed as the first king. He was tall
and good-looking.
• This kingdom is called Israel.
• Saul, according to the Bible, falls out of favor with
God and David is appointed king.
Yes, the David of David and
Goliath.
About 962 BC, Solomon becomes king
• Proceeds to develop trade
• Also builds the grand temple in which the ark
was housed.
• On the downside, Solomon’s building projects nearly
bankrupted the country. They required high taxes
and a lot of labor from citizens.
• The kingdom divided into two: Israel in the north
and Judah in the south. Each had their own king.
The Babylonian Captivity
• Israel is conquered by the Babylonians. Judah holds
out for a while, but it too is conquered and many of the
Jewish people are held in Babylon.
• They’re treated well by the Babylonians, but aren’t
allowed to return to Judea until the Babylonians
are conquered by the Persians around 537 BC.