A Brief History of the Jewish People, and Judaism



A Brief History of the Jewish People, and Judaism

Jewish history began sometime between 1900 & 1750 bce, nearly 2000 years before the time of Jesus. At that time the Jews were simply part of a number of tribes collectively know as the Hebrews. Only later would these peoples take on the name Jews.

Their history begins with the religious experience of a man named Abraham; Jewish history starts here because he represents the first steps taken in the formation of Hebrew religious practice that would eventually evolve into Judaism.

*While reading through p. 217-224 of your text, answer the following:

1. Around 2000 bce, Abraham received a vision from God. What was different about this occurrence, which essentially guided how Hebrew faith came to be?

2. What two ideas emerged from God’s instructions to Abraham, and why are they significant to Judaism.

3. What was the reason the descendants of Abraham left Canaan? Where did they go?

4. Eventually the Egyptians enslaved the Hebrews, which set the stage for Moses to liberated them. The process of Moses leading the Hebrew (Israelites) peoples to freedom is historically known as the Exodus?

5. What was the purpose of the Ten Commandments?

The Passover, the Exodus, and the Ten Commandments served as a specific renewal of the covenant between God and the Hebrew people. Now the Hebrews could draw inspiration from the example of Moses and marvel at the wonder of God. They could also conduct their lives according to the absolute laws, established by god in the Commandments, in order to live as a peaceful and faithful people.

6. After being led by the Judges for sometime, the Hebrew people were looking to elect a king. Who was their first king? Who succeeded him?

7. David went down in history as the greatest of all the kings of Israel; his son succeeded him after his death. What happened to the kingdom after Solomon died?

8. Prophets predicted that the era of the kings was coming to an end. Define the word prophet, in the Jewish tradition.

9. Eventually Jewish independence and autonomy (political self-government) would be dramatically altered by two military conquests. What were they?

10. How did the period of the Exile effect the way in which Hebrew’s would worship?

11. In 515 bce, what were Jewish people able to do with the consent and help of the Persians?

12. Define, Diaspora

In 332 bce, Alexander the Great conquered much of the known world including Persia, Egypt, and India. This, the Jewish people, particularly those in the Diaspora, fell under the influence of Greek culture, a process called Hellenization. Eventually the Greek influence became too great. Antichus IV Epiphanes converted the temple into a shrine to the Greek God Zeus and installed his own candidate to the Jewish high priesthood.

By 164 BCE the Maccabees (a Jewish rebel group) had regained control of Jerusalem;they would rule until the Roman’s decided to expand their kingdom into the Jewish homeland. Once again Jews were subject to foreign domination.

By this time there were several distinct Jewish Sects that had emerged: Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and Samaritans.

13. The Jew’s endured tremendous hardship at the hands of the Romans: Heavy taxation, unfair administration of justice, and Roman control of the temple and the high priest. As a result, what did the Jews do?

14. What did the Roman’s do in retaliation?

Eventually the Jews convinced the Romans to allow the Sanhedrin (supreme judicial body of the Jews) to relocate to the town of Yavneh. This provided the Jews the opportunity to preserve their way of life and redefine themselves. Despite apparent destruction of the Jews, their will to survive prevailed.

The stage was set for the emergence of rabbinic Judaism. The priest of old were replaced by Rabbis. By the middle ages, Judaism had established deep intellectual and spiritual roots that would ensure its survival.

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