The Rise of Judaism

Introduction

• Israelites = Hebrews = Jews

• Judaism stood apart from other religions because of monotheism (belief in one all-powerful god).

• Judaism shares many beliefs with two later religions: Christianity and Islam.

Introduction, cont.

• Abraham is regarded as the first Jew.

• He and his followers left Mesopotamia and settled in Canaan (now Lebanon, Israel and Jordan) at the commandment of God, in 1900 BC.

• Abraham’s grandson, Jacob (Israel), had 12 sons who each led his own tribe.

Abraham’s Journey to Canaan

Slavery and Exodus

• Famine caused the Israelites to migrate to Egypt, where Jacob’s son, Joseph, lived.– They were eventually

enslaved.

• Many of the monuments of Egypt’s New Kingdom were built by Israelite slaves.

Slavery and Exodus, cont.

• Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt in the 13th century BC, possibly when Ramses II ruled.– Ten Plagues

– Crossing of the Red Sea

• Shortly afterward, Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.

The Kingdom of Israel

• The Israelites fought for 200 years before successfully reclaiming Canaan.

• Saul became the first king of Israel, uniting the 12 tribes for the first time.

The Kingdom of Israel

The Kingdom of Israel, cont.

• Saul’s successor, David, ruled Israel from 1012 BC to 962 BC, and established Jerusalem as the capital.

The Kingdom of Israel, cont.

• David’s son, Solomon, built the magnificent temple in Jerusalem, at the cost of high taxes and intensive labor.

• After Solomon’s death (922 BC), the two southern tribes split from Israel to create the kingdom of Judah.

The Divided Kingdoms

Exile

• Israel was conquered in 722 BC by the Assyrians, who scattered the Israelites throughout their empire.

• Judah was conquered in 597 BC by the Chaldeans, under King Nebuchadnezzar.– In 586, after a rebellion, they destroyed the

Temple in Jerusalem and captured many Jews to be slaves in Babylon.

Exile, cont.

• Jews continued to maintain their religion while in exile.

• The Chaldeans were conquered in 539 BC by the Persians, under Cyrus the Great.– He allowed the Jews to

return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.

After Exile

• Judah/Israel would eventually be ruled by:– the Greeks (Alexander the Great)– the Romans– the Islamic Empire (when it became known as

Palestine)– the Ottoman Empire

• Israel would not be an independent state until 1948.

Important Aspects of Judaism

• The Torah: the Jewish holy book, believed to be written by Moses and inspired by God.

• The Torah and subsequent books (collectively known as the Old Testament by Christians ) record the history of the Jews through the Babylonian exile.

Important Aspects of Judaism, cont.

• Every human being is made in the image of God and has infinite worth.

• People work in partnership with God to strive to achieve a better world.