Download Ten Commandments

The Ancient Hebrews &
Judaism
The Chosen People &
the Rise of Monotheism
The First Patriarch:
Abraham
• According to Torah tradition, lived
around 2000-1750 B.C.
• Moved from Ur to Canaan
• Book of Genesis account says that
Abraham was the father (patriarch) of
the Hebrew nation
• Father of Isaac and grandfather of
Jacob (Israel)
• Jacob’s 12 sons became the founders
of the “twelve tribes of Israel”;
migrated to Egypt
Moses: Leader & Lawgiver
• According to Torah tradition, lived
between 1500-1200 B.C.
• Born in Egypt; fled to Midian and
returned to…
• Lead the Hebrew slaves of Egypt to
freedom in the Exodus
• Presented the Ten Commandments and
led the Hebrews to the “Promised Land”
of Canaan
• Traditionally
considered as the
author of the Torah
Judaism’s View of Creation
Genesis 1-3 presents a positive
view of Creation
Major concepts:
*God brings about Creation
*man created in God’s image
*Eden = paradise on earth
*man’s stewardship over nature
*Adam and Eve tempted by Satan
*The Fall – disobedience leads to
sin and separation from God
The Covenant of Abraham
• Genesis 12
• Abraham left Mesopotamia
based on God’s command
• Moved from a polytheistic
culture to a monotheistic belief
system
• God rewards Abraham’s
obedience with blessing
• Abraham’s descendants = the
chosen ones, who will lead
humanity back into fellowship
with God
The Ten Commandments
• Exodus 20
• Ethical code of conduct
• Reflects monotheistic
beliefs: commands 1-4 =
respect for God
• Emphasis on social
morality: commands 5-10
= respect for others
Atonement for Sin
Leviticus 17
Blood sacrifice required to pay the price of
sin
Restores right relationship with God
Yom Kippur = Day of Atonement
Sacrifices offered in the tabernacle, later
the Temple of Jerusalem
Confession of Faith
*Deuteronomy 6
*“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is
one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
*The Shema emphasizes a personal relationship
between the believer and God
*Equality of all before God
*God is ONE – emphasis on monotheism
Foundation of the
Kingdom of Israel
• By 1000 B.C., King David defeated
the Philistines and established
Jerusalem as the capital of the
Kingdom of Israel
• David’s son, Solomon, built the
first Temple as the religious
center of Jewish life
• The Jewish people split into two
kingdoms (Israel & Judah) after
Solomon’s death around 920 B.C.
Israel Falls to the
Assyrians
• Based in their capital of Nineveh,
the Assyrians swiftly conquered
much of the Middle East starting
around 850 B.C.
• Assyrian military might was based
on the use of iron weapons and
armor, advanced siege tactics, and
sheer brutality
• In 722 B.C., the Assyrians
destroyed the Kingdom of Israel
• By 650 B.C., they controlled
Mesopotamia, Syria, Phoenicia,
Palestine, and Egypt
The Babylonian Captivity
• In 612 B.C, the Chaldeans and their
allies, the Medes, destroyed Nineveh
• The Chaldeans restored Babylon as the
capital of their new empire, which
occupied much of Assyria’s former
territories
• Nebuchadnezzar created a powerful
Neo-Babylonian Empire by 600 B.C.
• Jerusalem (Kingdom of Judah) fell and
the Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C.
• Many Jews were taken into captivity by
the Chaldeans and removed to the
region around Babylon for 70 years
Hanging
Gardens of
Babylon
(depicted
above);
Fall of
Jerusalem
(left)