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Name__________________________________________Date___________Class_______Period_____Quaestio:HowsimilarordifferentweretheIsraelitesfromtheirregionalneighbors?
The Israelites and the Roots of Judaism Directions:Readandannotatethearticlebelow,andasyouread,answerthequestionsthatfollow.Keepinmind
thatyouareresponsibleforknowingalltheimportantinformationinthearticle,andnotjustthepartsthatareusedtoanswerthequestions.
Disclaimer: Religion as History WhileJudaismisthefirstmajorworldreligionwearestudying,thisdisclaimerappliestoallthereligionswecoverinthiscourse.Ashistorians,westudyreligionintermsof(1)BeliefsandPractices,(2)OriginandDevelopment,and(3)InfluenceonHistory.Ashistorians,weneitheraffirmnordenytheexistenceofgods,miracles,ordivinerevelationbecausetheyarebeyondthescopeofhistoricalinquiry.However,westudywhatpeoplebelievedandbelievebecauseithelpsusunderstandtheirperspective,aswellashowthosebeliefsinfluencedtheirdecisionmakingandculturaldevelopment.
1. Whataspectsofreligiondohistoriansstudy,andwhataspectsareoff-limits?
The Sources of Hebrew History
WhilethereligionofJudaismasitexiststodaydidnotfullydevelopuntilmuchlater,theearliestbeginningsofJewishreligionoriginatedwithapeoplecalledtheHebrews,pastoralnomads(herders)whosettledintheFertile
Crescentbetween2000and1500BCE.ThemainsourceforthehistoryoftheHebrewsistheholytextofJudaism,theHebrewBible(TanakhinHebrew),acollectionofreligioustextscompiledovermanycenturiesandfinishedaround100CE.TheoldestandmostimportantpartoftheTanakhiscalledtheTorah,whichmeans“Law”or“Teaching.”Inadditiontomoralteachings,theTorahalsorecordedtraditionalstories,suchasthestoryofCreationandthestoryofNoahandtheGreatFlood(whichsharesmanyfeatureswithMesopotamianfloodmyths).HistoriansdonotgenerallytaketheHebrewBibleasaprimarysource,asitwaswrittenlateraboutpastevents.Also,asareligioustextandnotaworkofhistory,itishighlysubjecttoreligiousbias.However,outsidetheBible,thehistoricalsourcesabouttheHebrews,areverylimited,sosometimestheBibleistheonlyinformationwehave.HistorianstodaydebateoverhowmuchoftheBiblicalstorycanbeconsideredhistory.
2. WhatwastheoriginallifestyleoftheHebrews,andwheredidtheylive?
Monotheism
OnemajorcharacteristicthatsettheHebrewsapartfromtheirneighborsintheAncientMiddleEastwasMonotheism,thebeliefinonlyOneGod.ThenameforGodinHebrewisYahweh,whichmeans“TheAlwaysExistingOne.”However,evenaccordingtotheBiblicalstory,theHebrewsandtheirdescendantswerenotalwaysmonotheistic,oftenworshippingthegodsofneighboringpeoples.Also,therewereexamplesofproto-monotheisminotherpartsoftheAncientWorld.InNewKingdomEgypt,thePharaohAkhenatenstartedthereligionofAtenism,
worshipofonlyAten,theSunDisc,overallothergods.InPersia,theProphetZoroasterfoundedthereligionofZoroastrianism,whichtaughtbeliefinsupremegodofgood,AhuraMazda,thoughtherewasalsoagodofevil,Ahriman.
3. WeretheHebrewstheonlymonotheistsintheancientworld?Explain.
Traditional Narrative of Abraham and the Covenant
AccordingtoJewishtradition,aHebrewmannamedAbraham,wholivedinSouthernMesopotamia,waschosenbyGodtobeaprophet,someonewhocommunicateswithGodandpreachesGod’smessagetoothers.GodinstructedAbrahamtoleavehishomeandmadeacovenant,oragreement,withAbraham:aslongasAbrahamobeyedGod’scommands,GodwouldblesshimandhisdescendantsandgivethemthelandofCanaan,intheSouthernLevant,asanewhome.OutsidetheBible,thereisnohistoricalevidenceforAbrahamhimself,buttherearereferencesinSumerian,Akkadian,Hittite,andEgyptiantextsofapeoplecalledthe“Habiru,”whoareidentifiedasnomadsoftheFertileCrescentregion,sometimesdescribedasmigrantlaborers,rebels,oroutlaws.
4. AccordingtoJewishtradition,whatisaprophet?
Traditional Narrative of Israelites in Egypt
AccordingtoJewishtradition,Abraham’sgrandsonJacobandhistwelvesonsmigratedtoNewKingdomEgypttoescapefamineinCanaan.JacobwasalsoknownbythenameIsrael,sohisdescendantswerecalledtheIsraelites.AstheirpopulationinEgyptgrew,thePharaohsawtheIsraelitesasathreatandenslavedthem.JewsbelievethatanewprophetnamedMoseswaschosentofreetheIsraelites.Asababy,Moseswassaidtohavebeenleftinabasketanddroppedintheriver(whichisverysimilartoastoryabouttheAkkadianrulerSargon).WithGod’shelp,MosesledtheIsraelitesoutofEgypt,amigrationknownastheExodus,celebratedbyJewstodayduringtheholiday
Passover.PerhapsthemostmemorablepartofthestoryiswhenMoses,withGod’smiraculoushelp,issaidtohavepartedtheRedSeainorderfortheIsraelitestocrossoutofEgypt.TheIsraelitesarethensaidtohavewanderedthedesertfor40yearsbeforereachingCanaan.Duringthistime,GodspoketoMosesandtaughthimtheTorah.ThisincludedtheTenCommandments,thefirstbeingthatnogodbeworshippedexceptYahweh.SomeoftheIsraelitesdisobeyedthecommandmentbyprayingtoagoldenidolstatueofabullinsteadofGod(thebullwasacommonobjectofworshipinEgypt),buttheyrepentedfortheirsinsandGodforgavethem.TheholidayofYomKippur,theDayofAtonement,isbasedonthisstory.
Zoroaster
OutsidetheBible,thereisnodirectevidenceforMosesandtheExodusasdescribedintheBible,butmoregenerally,itisunderstoodthatthereweremanywavesofmigrationintoandoutofEgyptbyavariousgroupsfromtheLevant,knowncollectivelyastheHyksos,whoalsocameintoconflictwiththeEgyptians,soitisentirelypossiblethattheIsraeliteswereoneofthosegroups.
5. WhyisMosessuchanimportantfigureinJudaism?Giveasmanyexamplesasyoucan.
TraditionalNarrativeofKingdomandConquestAccordingtoJewishTradition,theIsraelitesmigratedtoCanaanandfoughtwithotherCanaanitestoconquertheland.TheyeventuallycreatedtheKingdomofIsraelinthe900sBCE.Thetwomostfamouskingsfromthetraditionwerealsoseenasprophets:David,whomadetheholycityofJerusalemhiscapital,andhissonSolomon,whobuilttheFirstTempleofJerusalem,wherepriestsmadesacrificestoYahweh.Thisisthefirstperiodforwhichhistorianshavesomesolidevidence,withrecordsofdiplomatic(government)andcommercial(trade)relationsbetweenIsraelandotherkingdomsintheregion.However,theshort-livedkingdomdividedintothelargerNorthernKingdomofIsraelandthesmaller
SouthernKingdomofJudah.ThepeopleofJudahwerelaterknownasJews,whichwasoriginallyawordfortheethnicityornationality,andonlylatercametobeusedtodescribethereligionoftheJewishpeople.Soon,thepowerfulAssyrianEmpireconqueredtheMiddleEast,andwhentheNorthernKingdomofIsraelfellundertheirrulein772BCE,theAssyrianskickedmanyoftheIsraelitesoutoftheland.In586BCE,theNeo-Babylonians(akaChaldeans)conqueredtheKingdomofJudah,destroyingtheHolyTempleandtakingthousandsofJewstoBabylontouprootthemfromtheirhistoryandpreventrebellions.About50yearslater,thePersiansunderKingCyrusconqueredtheregion,andbecauseoftheirreligioustolerance,theyallowedtheJewstoreturntoJudahandbeginrebuildingtheTemple.HistoriansbelievethattheTorahastaughtbyMosesisrecordedasthefirstfivebooksoftheHebrewBible,whichhistoriansbelievewaswrittendownduringthisperiod.
6. WhatfactorscontributedtothedeclineoftheKingdomofIsrael?
Summary Questions 7. Drawingonevidencefromtheentirereading,inwhatwaysweretheHebrews/Israelitessimilartotheir
neighborsintheancientworld?Inwhatwaysweretheydifferent?
8. Drawingonevidencefromtheentirereading,howmuchhistoricalevidenceexistsoutsidetheBibletosupporttheBiblicalstories?Explainwithspecificexamplesfromthetext.
9. Consideringtheabove,howmuchofthesestoriesdoyouthinkshouldbeacceptedaspartofhistory?