The Hebrews

The Hebrews
Dwarfed by the great empires of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Egyptians were the Hebrews. In everything that the Ancients valuedin war, diplomacy, inventions, literature and artthe Hebrews made but little splash in the stream of history. They didnt create a solar system They did not excel in sciences and arts They did not build pyramids They surely did not mummify their dead. But it were the Hebrews who would change the world. 1. They exerted perhaps the greatest influence on the formation of the western civilization and western intellectual tradition in two crucial areas: religion and ethics. 2. It is out of their experience that three major world religions sprang: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
EXODUS
The Hebrews were a small group of Semitic people who as many other peoples of that period first appeared in Mesopotamia. In fact, Abraham's family were natives of Sumer.
o Between 1900 and 1500 BC, the Hebrews migrated from Mesopotamia to Canaan (Palestine) and then into Egypt. It was at this time, when a tribe of Hebrews who claimed to be the descendants of Abraham began to call themselves Israelites ("soldiers of God"). They were later enslaved by Egyptian pharaohs and experienced very harsh life as slaves. In 1250 B.C. their leader, Moses, led them on an exodus out of Egypt to the Sinai Peninsula. In the course of this exodus, Moses persuaded his followers to become worshippers of only one god, Jehovah.
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Moses is persuading his followers to worship one God
The Promised Land
The Hebrews who wandered into the Sinai with Moses decided to return to Palestine. By the 10th century BC had created an Israelite Kingdom in Palestine. Israelites experienced great economic prosperity. One of many new cities they built was Jerusalem, built by David specifically to honor God. In the 4th century BC, Alexander the Great conquered nearly all of the Near East. Palestine was annexed to Egypt and fell under Greek control.
In the first centuries B.C. the Hebrews completely lost their independence under the Romans. They revolted and lost, their famous temple was destroyed, and they were gradually expelled from their native land to be dispersed all over the Roman empire. But under those harsh circumstance and persecution they never gave up their faith.
The Temple in Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans (Model)
Ancient Torah The fundamental teachings of Judaism have been grouped around the concept of ethical monotheism. Monotheism by its very nature ultimately brought about religious universalism. The Jews believed in only one godall-powerful, infinite and invisiblewho had created everything known to men. This notion was absolutely foreign to the ancients They claimed that all of them (some 6000 men and untold number of women and children) had miraculously escaped from slavery in Egypt, then the mightiest empire on Earth, through the intervention of their god.
They claimed that after this great escape they reached a mountain in the wilderness, Mount Sinai, where they all had an encounter with God. During that encounter and through their leader Moses, they received a code of behavior complied in a holy book Torah, which means teaching or instruction, which they began to scrupulously follow.
The Hebrews regarded God as fully sovereign. In his eternity God was the source of all creation in the universe and of moral laws that govern humanity. God was transcendent: he was above nature. Nature in fact was an example of God's work.
Six principles essential to building of a perfect world 1. Sanctity of life. Though shall not murder. Life was considered so precious, that it was close to impossible to sentence someone to death: He who saves one life saves the world entire. He who destroys one life destroys the world entire. Peace in the the world and in peoples personal lives. The everyday greeting of Jews became the word Shalom, which means Peace. Justice. Law was justice only when administered equally to all individuals regardless of their status in society. No one can be above the law. Education became the priority for the entire people. To teach his child the word of god each parent had to be literate. Jews became the only people in the ancient world with a virtual hundred percent rate of literacy.
The Hebrews were neither philosophers nor scientists. They were concerned only with God's will and not with man's capacity to explain or understand nature. Revelation, not Reason was the cornerstone of the Hebrew faith
In God the Hebrews developed an awareness of the Self, the "I" the individual was self-conscious and aware of his own moral autonomy and worth. They believed that man had the capacity to choose between right and wrong. Men and women were to fulfill their morality by making the choice to do good or evil. o Judaism was to bring about the reign of God on earth through divine or moral law that embraces all domains of life. Human conduct was to be placed in the service of God.
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New attitude toward women, marriage and family. Judaism taught that your spouse was your other half, your soul mate, the being to whom you dedicate your entire life.
The Jewish idea of righteousness included benevolence and charity. Torah requires every person (even a beggar) to contribute to the welfare of the poor, sick, orphans, and widows.
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The Hebrews

Moses is persuading his followers to worship one God

The Promised Land

The Temple in Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans (Model)

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