Origins of Judaism

Monotheism
Belief in only 1 God

Torah
Hebrew Bible Early history of the Hebrews

Fun facts about the Torah!

Torah means to teach Torah is written on parchment scrolls Fingers arent supposed to touch the Torah, so they use a pointer called a yad

Abraham
Shepherd in Ur around 1800 B.C. Covenant: Agreement with God Promised Abrahams descendants land if they remained faithful to God Shared their lands with Phoenicians

Egypt
Home of Hebrews after they escaped a famine in 1650 B.C. Later enslaved there

Exodus
Led by Moses Took the Israelites from slavery into Sinai Desert The Ten Commandments were announced during this time

St. Catherines Monastery built near the base of Mt. Sinai

 Moses with the Ten Commandments This painting was done in 1638

 Another painting of Moses done by Rembrandt

 A statue of Moses done by Michelangelo This appears in St. Peters Basilica in the Vatican City in Rome

Exodus
A map showing the possible routes taken by the Jews as they fled Egypt

 Moses in the House of Representatives as one of the law-givers

From The Ten Commandments

 Moses before the Pharaoh

 Another example of Moses before the Pharaoh done in the 16th Century

Charlton Heston parting the Red Sea

After wandering in the desert for 40 years the Hebrews settled in Canaan

Israelite Law
Ten Commandments Duty to worship God and live justly with each other Live a moral life

Sacred Writings

Contents

Hebrew Bible

Torah
1st five books of the Bible Recounts origins of humanity and Judaism Contains basic laws of Judaism

Prophets
Stories about and writings by Jewish teachers Recounts Jewish history and calls for justice, kindness, right conduct, and faithfulness to God

Writings
Various other writings Psalms, poetry, history, and proverbs

Talmud

Mishnah
Written record of Jewish oral law Explanations and interpretations of Mishnah

Gemara

Israel
New kingdom established from 1020 to 922 B.C. Ruled by 3 kings

Saul
1st king of Israel; military genius but prone to jealousy Dies in battle

The prophet Samuel anoints Saul as king. Eventually God rejects Saul as king and in the end, Saul takes his own life after being defeated in battle.

David playing the harp for Saul

David
Ruled for 40 years Set up a capital at Jerusalem Enjoyed peace and prosperity

 David and Goliath 1 Samuel, Chapter 17

Solomon
Davids son who built a temple to honor God Resented for high taxes and labor demands

Anointing of Solomon

The Kingdom Divides

Israel in the north Judah in the south (term Jew comes from this word)

Exile in Babylon
586 B.C. Temple is destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar Taken to Babylon from Jerusalem Ended in 539 B.C.

Rebuilding
Some stayed; others returned to Jerusalem Second temple was built Other empires would later control the region