Jews

History

Origins

Map of the Holy Land and the territories of the 12 tribes.

Main article: Hebrews

The Israelis have been, since before the time of Christ, the chosen people of God. When Abraham was 99 years old, God established a covenant with him, in which he was promised three things: descendants, a land of their own, and victory over God's enemies.Genesis 17 Abraham's wife (Sarah), subsequently gave birth to their first son in her old age, whereas before she had been declared barren.

Abraham's son was then given the name Isaac, which means 'laughter'. His name was derived from the time when two angels came to tell Abraham about their coming son, and Sara laughed, doubting the possibility of having a child when she was barren and had passed child-bearing age. Isaac then had a son named Jacob, who in turn had 12 sons: the 12 tribes of Israel.

Beginning of nation

Main article: Tribes of Israel

These tribes went on as the Chosen people of God, living in His favor and rule. Throughout the course of their journey to the promised land, they were given a prophecy of a savior who would come to restore them to the Kingdom of God. This Savior was believed to be a great king who would come from the line of one of their own, and take over their enemies.

The Canaanites from whom the land long took its name (Canaan). By c. 3000-2500 BC the inhabitants seem to have been largely Semitic speaking; they introduced the use of bronze and developed cities. The Bible mentions seven tribes which dominated the region. The Israelis stemmed from the 12 sons of Jacob (Abraham's grandson), each son becoming his own tribe. The sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Napthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph, and Benjamin all had an important role in the 'country' of Israel.

The long struggle for its control between the South (Egypt) and the North (Assyria), in varying political forms, was to dominate the local scene down to the 19th century. The country was divided into large numbers of warring city-states ruled over by petty "kings." A solid Jewish life continued to maintain itself based as formerly on agriculture and increasingly controlled by the intellectual leaders and the "Patriarchs" (presidents of the Sanhedrin) whose authority was in due course recognized by the Roman government.

Exodus from Egypt

Main article: Exodus of Israel

Main article: Israelites

Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt by David Roberts (1830).

The Exodus (Greek ex out of, outward and hodos a road or a way) is the abrupt embarkation of the people of Israel from Egypt. It is one of the key epochal events in the history of the nation of Israel.

For 400 years, the Israelis were "afflicted"; this "affliction" included enslavement by hard-hearted Egyptians. They cried out in repentance to the Lord, who heard them and sent a messenger. This messenger, Moses, was to deliver the Israelis from their slavery. Traveling to Egypt with his brother, Aaron, he delivered the message to Pharaoh that he was to let the people go. Nine times the Pharaoh refused, each followed by a destructive plague sent by the Lord. At the tenth, the death of all firstborn in Egypt, the Pharaoh relented. The Pharaoh quickly changed his mind, however, and followed the Israelis to the Red Sea. Much to his horror, the Israelis had not been trapped by the body of water, but instead, Moses had parted the sea to let his people pass through. The Egyptian army tried to follow, but once the last Israelite had cleared the path, it fell, killing all of the army.

For the duration of Moses' leadership, followed by Joshua as Moses died, the Israelis did well. Their one mistake was refusing to go into Canaan for fear of the large people who lived there. For their doubt, they were caused to live in the desert for 40 years until every last doubter had died.

Israel
The Tribes Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Dan Naphtali Gad Asher Issachar Zebulun Joseph Menasheh Ephraim Benjamin
Related topics United Kingdom of Israel Kingdom of Judah Kingdom of Israel Hasmonean kingdom Modern Israel

The Prophets

The people of Israel were governed by Prophets which were appointed by God. While the Prophets were in command of the nation, they did good in the Lord's sight, and were blessed. But as soon as the Prophet died, the people fell into godless chaos, doing whatever their flesh desired. The Lord would then deliver them to their enemies, until they repented, and were given a new prophet. This self-destructing cycle continued on into the land they received, Canaan.

The United Kingdom

Main Article: United Kingdom of Israel

The United Kingdom of Israel (1095-975 BC according to Ussher, or 1050-930 BC according to Thiele) was a regal government for all of national Israel that succeeded to the semi-direct rule over the Israelites by God through His appointed and raised-up Judges. It began with King Saul and ended with the death of Solomon and the subsequent division of the kingdom into Northern and Southern halves.

The Divided Kingdoms

Northern

Main Article: Kingdom of Israel

The Northern Kingdom, also called the "Kingdom of Israel" after the death of Solomon, was a monarchy consisting of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel who revolted against King Rehoboam, successor to Solomon. This revolt happened in 975 BC (according to James Ussher or 930 BC (according to Edwin R. Thiele). The Northern Kingdom lasted until 721-2 BC, at which time King Shalmaneser V of Assyria (or perhaps his successor Sargon II) conquered it and carried all of its people off to exile. That kingdom would never again re-assemble.

Southern

Main Article: Kingdom of Judah

The Kingdom of Judah was a monarchy, inclusive only of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, over which the House of David enjoyed an unbroken primacy. This kingdom, like its Northern counterpart, began with the Revolt of the Ten Tribes in either 975 BC (per James Ussher) or 930 BC (per Edwin R. Thiele). It ended with the Fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

The Roman period

There were a number of sects that developed between the times of the return from the exile in Babylon and the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD.

Pharisees

The Pharisees believed in the divine origin of a traditional or oral Torah, or law, meaning that it was given by the Almighty to Moses along with the written Torah, and it was handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation. According to historical sources, such as Josephus, an ancient historian, these traditions were not given by the Almighty to Moses, but were traditions from their elders or sages. Among these traditions were many laws that were added to the written code which either amplified it, such as washing hands before eating, or diminished its power, such as the laws and regulations that had to be adhered to for a murderer to be executed, making capital punishment very rare.

They have their origins during the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, hundreds of years before the destruction of the second temple, who sought to abrogate the Law of Moses and convert the Jews to a Greek lifestyle and philosophy, which was against the Law, such as eating or sacrificing pork and an aversion to circumcision. Since Greece was the supreme force in those days and had conquered Israel, they attempted to cause the world to adopt their ways. This caused a revolt amongst the Jews, amongst whom were a group of people called the "Perushim", the separatists, who sought to keep the people from such influences and help them to remain holy. It was the Pharisees that helped keep Judaism going after the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD, through a compromise with the Romans.

Although a lot can be said about the legalistic tendency of the Pharisees, and about the hypocrisy of some, as is exploited by its opponents, such as the early Christians, their ethical code of morality was remarkable. One of their great teachers, Hillel, showed a great openness to gentiles curious about the Jewish path. Being active between 30 BC-10AD, he first stated the Golden Rule to a prospective proselyte: "What is hateful to thee, do not unto thy fellow man: this is the whole Law; the rest is mere commentary" (Shab. 31a). Another example of the teachings of the Oral law is this: "Rabban Jochanan ben Zakai received from Hillel and from Shammai. He used to say, "If you have practiced Torah much, claim not merit to yourself, for you were created for that reason" (Avot 2:9)

Sadducees

Unfortunately, because the mainstay of the Sadducees is said to have disappeared after the destruction of the temple, a lot of what is known about them has to be derived from their enemies, Josephus, the Pharisees, and Christians, all of which would have had reason to write about them in a bad light since they all had fundamental disagreements with the Sadducees.

What is known about them is as follows: they rejected the claim of the Pharisees that the oral law, the traditional laws and teachings the Pharisees handed down from teacher to pupil orally, came from Mt. Sinai at the same time as the written Torah. They only accepted the Written Torah as coming from the Almighty. It is said that they rejected the ideas of a coming messianic figure, a future resurrection, the Pharisaic idea of the immortality of the soul, and the existence of angels or demons. Apparently, they also believed that Deity didn't intervene too much in the lives of men, as opposed to the predestination of the Pharisees.

The Sadducees, and a group that developed from before the time of the destruction of the second temple, the Boethusians, were always at odds with the Pharisees, who, through their traditions, appeared to alter the written law. They may have been more strict than the Pharisees on a number of points, but were generally more faithful to the text of the law than the Pharisees.

There are two controversial accusations leveled at the Sadducees that need a little attention. First, there is the claim that the Sadducees were Hellenistic and were normally on the side of the occupying forces, such as the Greeks or the Romans, and their adherents were mostly wealthy or priestly figures in the community and didn't have much popularity, whereas the Pharisees were the popular party, nationalistic, and mostly against the foreign occupation. There is circumstantial evidence in the writings of Josephus, that this is an oversimplification of matters that occurred in Judea in those days. In Josephus' writings, there are signs that it was the Sadducees who were strongly nationalistic as opposed to the Pharisees who collaborated with the occupying forces numerous times, such as in the way that they survived the destruction of the second temple. Also, the Sadducees were sometimes the popular party amongst the people, and were, on a number of occasions, pushed out of the Sanhedrin by the Pharisees and their powerful allies.

Second is the claim that the Sadducean party simply disappeared after the destruction of the second temple since their practices were based so much on it. There are signs that although the group diminished in size and ignored for a time in recorded history, they may have continued to survive and develop into a group later known as the Karaites.

Essenes

The Essenes were a monastic group who withdrew from larger Jewish society and practiced a form of communal living quite similar to that which the early Church practiced, as documented in Acts 4 . They do not appear to have participated to any significant degree in Jewish institutions of their day; for example, they did not offer sacrifices in the temple. The Bible is silent about them, but Josephus describes them in some detail in his Antiquities of the Jews. According to Josephus, they numbered four thousand at the time of the destruction of the second temple. They are the sect that compiled and stored the Dead Sea Scrolls at about this time.

Modern Sects

There are a number of sects that exist now.

Orthodox

These are the modern day descendants of the Pharisees. They hold the divine origins of both the Written and the Oral Torah, and that both Torahs are unchanged from when they were originally given.

Reform

They do not believe that the Torah was written by Deity, and accept the critical views of the authorship of the books of Moses and the rest of the Hebrew Scriptures, e.g., the documentary hypothesis. They do still retain a lot of the traditions of Judaism. It is considered to be liberal, as it accepts agnostic, non-practicing, and nominal Jews.

Conservative

They do accept some divine source to the Jewish Scriptures, but emphasize the human aspect, in that it was written and transmitted by humans, and thus can contain errors. They believe the laws of Judaism should adapt to the predominant culture. Another sect of Judaism calling itself reconstructionalist Judaism is closely linked to Conservative Judaism, but believes that Judaism is an evolving religious civilisation.

Karaite

Probably the modern day equivalent to the Sadducees, they uphold the divine origin of the Written Torah alone. They do not hold that the Oral Torah is from the Almighty, or that it was given to Moses. They do not reject all tradition out of hand, but only respect those that are in line with the plain understanding of scripture. Their main principle is that everyone should learn Torah for themselves and not put too much trust in teachers or traditions. Karaite Judaism is actually a relatively recent phenomenon which resulted from Judaization in Karaism, an Eastern Christian tradition which converted Abu Hanifa and Anan Ben David to its beliefs.