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Chapter 11
The Ancient Hebrews and
the Origins of Judaism
11.1: Introduction
• Hebrews were the founders of Judaism
o Basic laws are recorded in the Torah
• The first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Old
Testament)
o Four major Hebrew leaders
• Abraham
• Moses
• David
• Solomon
11.2: What We Know About
the Ancient Hebrews
• Torah
o Used to understand the history of the Jewish
people and the development of Judaism
• Early History
o Abraham
• Lived in Ur
• Around 1950 BCE, migrated with his clan to
Caanan
o 1800 BCE: Hebrews moved to Egypt
• Left because of famine
• Eventually became slaves
o Moses
• Led the Hebrews in their escape from Egypt
o Wandered the wilderness for 40 years
o Israel
• By 1000 BCE, kingdom of Israel set up under
King David’s rule and his son’s, King Solomon
• David forged Hebrews into one united nation
• Solomon built a temple in Jerusalem
11.3: Important Hebrew
Leaders
• Abraham
o “Father
of the Hebrews”
o Introduced the central belief that there is only
one God
• New idea at the time
o Was told by God to move his family from
Mesopotamia to Caanan
o He was promised by God that he would father a
great nation
• His descendants became known as the Jewish
people
• Moses
o Considered the greatest leader of the Hebrews
o Lead his people out of slavery in Egypt
o Told the Hebrews that God would lead them to
the “promised land” in exchange for their faithful
obedience
o Gave Judaism its fundamental laws
• Ten Commandments
o Laws engraved on two stone tablets
o Became the foundation for Judaism
• Kings David and Solomon
o King David created an united kingdom
• Established Jerusalem as a holy city
o King Solomon built Jerusalem’s first great temple
• Known for great wisdom
o Jerusalem and its temple became powerful
symbols to the Hebrews
11.4: The Life of Abraham:
Father of the Hebrews
• Abraham
o Originally called Abram
o Was born about 2000 BCE in Ur in Mesopotamia
• Where people worshipped many gods
o Came to believe that there was only one true
God
• This belief set Judaism apart from other
ancient religions
o Covenant with God
• Began the faith that would become Judaism
• When Abram was 99 years old God made a
covenant with him that he would favor and
protect Abram’s descendants in return for
their devotion to him.
• As a symbol of the covenant, God gave
Abram a new name, Abraham
• Promised the land of Canaan to Abraham’s
people
o Abraham’s Sacrifice
• Normal sacrifices were made such as sheep
• Torah states that God tested Abraham by
telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac (born late
in Abraham’s life).
o Even though Abraham loved his son, his
devotion to God was complete
o At the last minute, God sent an angel to
stop Abraham from killing his son
o Abraham proved his faith and obedience
• According to the Torah, God kept his promise
which led to the 12 tribes descended from
Abraham’s grandson, Jacob (named Israel by
an angel of God).
11.5 The Life Moses: Leader
and Prophet
• Exodus from Egypt
o By 1250 BCE, a large group of Abraham’s
descendants were living in Egypt.
o The Torah says that the Hebrews “increased in
number and became very powerful”.
o The pharaoh feared their power and turned
them into slaves.
o God heard the cries of the enslaved Hebrews
and sent Moses to the pharaoh.
o Moses went before the pharaoh and told him to
free the Hebrews.
o The pharaoh refused and God punished Egypt
with 10 terrible plagues.
• One plague: locusts devoured their crops
• Another plague: the waters of the Nile turned
to blood
• Last plague: God sent an angel to kill the first
born son in each Egyptian family
o After the plagues, the pharaoh gave in and let
the Hebrews go.
o After the Hebrews left, the pharaoh changed his
mind and followed them to the Red Sea with his
army.
• Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea with
his walking stick.
• The Hebrews were able to make it safely to
the other side.
• The Egyptians tried to follow, but were caught
by the falling waters; the soldiers drowned.
o The Torah refers to this time period as, the Exodus,
which means “departure”.
• Ten Commandments
o After the Hebrews wandered through the
wilderness for 40 years, God gave Moses the laws
that became the foundation of Judaism; the Ten
Commandments
o Moses received the Ten Commandments on
Mount Sinai, the “Mountain of God”.
• He went up the mountain to pray, but came
back carrying two tablets with the Ten
Commandments engraved on them.
o Some of the commandments spelled out the
Hebrew’s duties to God.
• “You shall not have no other God before me”
• This was in response to the Hebrews beginning
to worship other gods during their wanderings.
• The commandment reminded them of their
promise to worship only one God.
o Another commandment told them to set aside
one day a week for rest and worship; the
Sabbath
o Other commandments laid down basic moral
laws (laws about right and wrong)
• “You shall honor your father and mother”.
11.6: The Lives of David and
Solomon: Kings of Israel
• King David
o Around 1000 BCE the Hebrews were at war with a
rival tribe, the Philistines.
o According to the Hebrew Bible, the Philistines
promised to be the Hebrews’ slaves if someone
could beat their fiercest warrior, Goliath
o David was young but he bravely stepped
forward with only a slingshot as a weapon
o David felled Goliath with one stone
o David’s courage and faith was awarded by God
when he made him king.
o As King he:
• completed the defeat of the Philistines and
other enemies
• united Israel and Judah into a single kingdom
known as Israel.
• created a strong central government
• gave the new kingdom its own army, courts,
and government officials
• served as the nation’s chief priest
• chose Jerusalem as the capital
o became the center of Israel’s political and
religious life
• brought the Hebrews’ most sacred object, the
Ark of the Covenant, to Jerusalem, making it a
holy city
o a wood an gold chest that held the Ten
Commandments.
• King Solomon
o Became king after the death of King David
o Built a magnificent temple in Jerusalem to house
the Ark of the Covenant and to be the center of
Jewish worship
• Was very expensive to build
o Forced his people to work on the construction of
the temple.
• More than 3000 officials were needed to
oversee the project
o Taxed his people heavily to buy gold, cedar
wood, copper, and other materials
o King Solomon’s methods angered many of the
Hebrews
o In 931 BCE, the northern tribes broke away to
become the separate kingdom of Israel
o David and Solomon’s descendants ruled the
southern kingdom of Judah