Early Hebrews

Our next blog is from Nnamdi Jogwe, He gives us a good historical background on the early Hebrews. A great refresher for one of the earliest ancient monotheistic religions. I hope you enjoy his insight.

Mrs. Jordan

Historical Context

            The early Hebrews correspond to Chapter 2, Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-European Migrations. This is because Mesopotamia was the most prominent civilization when the Hebrews arose around 1850 B.C.E.. The Mesopotamians had substantial influence on the Hebrews since Palestine was in constant contact with Mesopotamia. The early Hebrews even worshipped the same deities as the Mesopotamians. The account of an immense flood by the Hebrews also traces its roots to the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. Contrary to being enslaved by them, the early Israelites were also influenced by the thriving Egyptian civilization on the Nile Delta.

Summary:

Religion

Contrary to separate Middle Eastern religions of the time, the Hebrews practiced monotheism. The God the Hebrews worshipped was the omnipotent and omniscient Yahweh. The Torah is the book of worship for the Hebrews and the basis of their religion. The Torah is divided into five separate books which are the following: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Genesis begins with God creating the world in six days along with the first man and woman (Adam and Eve). Adam and Eve both sinned by listening to a demonic serpent and eat fruit from a forbidden tree. Since Adam and Eve were the first humans, sin descended to all later people. Although, humans began to excessively sin so God sent a deluge or great flood to wipe out the world’s population. Only Noah, his wife, and selected plants with animals were to survive. These were chosen for being the most pure and would repopulate the world after Noah built an arc to contain all of these. After numerous generations, God instructs Abram to venture to the land of Canaan. God then promises Abram a prosperous nation in the land of Canaan and has him change his name to Abraham. God also states that men should be circumcised. God also tests Abraham later to sacrifice his son Isaac to display his love for God. God then stops Abraham right before doing so. Exodus is the next book. Exodus begins with the Israelites escaping Egyptian slavery led by Moses and his brother Aaron. The Hebrews fled with the famous crossing of the Red Sea when the water is lifted for the people to cross. After that, the Hebrews reached Mount Sinai where God presents Moses with the Ten Commandments and the Torah orally. The Jews agree to follow God’s instructions and to be his people. At the end of Exodus, the Hebrews built the Tabernacle or first temple of worship. The third book Leviticus describes rules to the Jews pertaining to the Tabernacle. The laws of the clean and unclean also are rules explaining how to rightfully slaughter animals as a sacrifice and what food that should not be eaten. Jews follow a kosher diet which does not include pork. Yom Kippur (the most important Jewish holiday) or the Day of Atonement for sins is also established. Numbers initiates on Mount Sinai where the Jews are numbered and told by God to take the Promise Land. The Hebrews began complaining and losing faith, so God has them wander for forty years before reaching the Promise Land. Moses sins when God tells him to speak to a rock and defies Yahweh. God punishes Moses by stating that he will not live to see the Promise Land. Numbers ends with the Jews entering Jericho and planning how to overtake Canaan. The final book is Deuteronomy.  Deuteronomy begins with Moses establishing the Deuteronomic Code which was a set of laws to govern the Jews. Moses then chooses Joshua to be his successor and sees the Promise Land. Although, Moses vanished and is never seen again. Joshua then led the Jews to the successful conquer of Canaan. The Jews have several holidays which include Shabbat, the High Holy Days, Hanukah, and more. Jews also attend a Synagogue every Saturday to read the Torah. Jewish boys are converted to men at the age of thirteen with the Bar Mitzvah ceremony. Girls turn into women at the age of twelve with the Bat Mitzvah.  Once an adult, men and women are responsible for Jewish rituals that include tradition, prayers, law, ethics, and are allowed to partake in Jewish community events.

Technology

The Hebrews were very advanced when pertaining to technology during their time. The arc light is one of the most important inventions ever and was created by Ancient Hebrews. The arc light is an invention that allows light to pass from one side and project out through the other. The light occurs from ionized gas to create a spark. This is the earliest form of electricity in history. A picture could be placed on the side that the light goes through and project the image out through the other side. Early rabbis used the arc light in synagogues to display holy images of Moses and Abraham. The arc light also was used as a search light in the dark for stranded travelers. The most famous search lights were placed in King Solomon of Israel’s temple in the Torah. The Jews were extremely picky about cleanliness and hygiene. If a person was sick with a skin disease and touched by somebody else, the person touching the diseased person was deemed “unclean”. The new “unclean” person was forced to take a bath during the evening. The sick were also usually quarantined so the healthy people would not become “unclean.” Certain animals were considered unclean such as rats, lizards, moles, and more. A bath was required when touching these animals. Pigs were considered so unclean that the Hebrews weren’t allowed to eat or touch them. Anything that had mold growing on it was thrown out or abandoned. Anybody touching a dead body was considered unclean for seven days and was quarantined. They had to continuously bathe during that period. Carcasses were also burned during the first twenty four hours after death. When a person was sick, hyssop was used when popularized by King David. Hyssop is the main ingredient for the modern medicine penicillin. The Hebrews were the first to invent a stone cutter called the Shamir. The Shamir was a device with a large diamond utilized to cut other hard rocks or diamonds. This was used largely to build Solomon’s gold temple. Circumcision is the removal of foreskin in the male genital. Although this wasn’t as great as a feat compared to the day it was done on. Circumcision occurs on the eighth day of a child’s life during infancy. On this day prothrombin is at its highest level in a human’s entire life. Prothombin is at 110% and is what causes blood clotting, this would mean that there would be less bleeding than on any other day if performed on the eighth day of birth. The Jews were the first to determine food shelf life. After two days, meat was not to be eaten since it was considered unclean. Any animal that died of natural causes was not to be eaten. This was because the animal could have been infected. The diaphragm of an animal was also not eaten since it could be infested with worms and other unhealthy creatures.

Government

Hebrew law was very distinct. Abraham was the leader (patriarch) of the Hebrews for being granted land by God. He settled in Palestine after the city of Ur in Sumer had turmoil so he fled. The people followed Abraham’s wise and moral decisions. Since the Hebrews lived in Mesopotamia, they based some of their law under the current Mesopotamian law. This includes lex talionis translating to an eye for an eye as punishment. This literally means for whatever body part you damaged, you receive the same retribution. Although, the Hebrews followed instructions or laws from Yahweh who is the omnipotent and omniscient creator of the world, Yahweh would reward anybody who followed him but punish anybody or group that did not. The Hebrews followed the guidelines established by Yahweh because if they did, they could enter eternal salvation in heaven. Anybody not obeying the principles would be punished through eternal damnation in hell. Jewish law was strict since the possible consequence was eternal salvation, although Yahweh is merciful and can forgive you if you were truly sorry and wanted to repent. Hebrews did not really have structured laws, instead they followed individual moral values to be an honest enough person to enter heaven. Although, the Ten Commandments were the ten most vital decrees in the Jewish community. The Ten Commandments were sent by Yahweh to Moses on Mount Sinai during Exodus. The First Commandment pertains to idolatry or that separate deities besides Yahweh should not be worshipped. This was because at the beginning of the Hebrew religion, early Israelites still believed in Mesopotamian deities. God stated these were false imposters so should not be worshipped. The Second Commandment inferred that a sculptured image of yourself or any other object should not be built because there should only be holy sculptures. Since you or the separate object is not holy and only Yahweh is, graven images could not be built. The Third Commandment relates to the fact that the Lord’s name should not be used in vain. This is also known as blasphemy, and misusing the Lord’s name could be punishable by death. The Fourth Commandment in Jewish tradition meant that the Sabbath Day should be kept holy. This is because God created the world in six days and on the seventh day; it was set aside for his worship. The Sabbath in Jewish tradition is on Saturday unlike Sundays on many other Christian sects. Working on the Sabbath Day is disrespecting God and severe punishment can occur. The Fifth Commandment was the instruction to honor your father and mother. This is because you have three creators such as the following: your father, mother, and God. Although this also means to honor any peers such as older siblings or teachers. Not honoring these people is dishonoring God, which of course could be any severe retribution He decides. The Sixth Commandment meant that you shall not kill. Although the killing refers to any unjust and unlawful killing. To contradict this, certain killing is justified such as in war, self defense, or capital punishment. The Seventh Commandment refers to the fact that you shall not commit adultery. This means that if you are married, sexual relations should not occur with any other person because that means you are unfaithful to your spouse. Adultery is forbidden because sex is an act of procreation and love for your partner, having encounters with someone else would mean that you do not truly love your husband/wife.  Adultery at the time was a severe sin and could be punished by death on certain occasions. The Eighth Commandment is interpreted as you shall not steal. Not stealing relates to material possessions but people (through the form of kidnapping) and sex (rape) as well. Simply stealing material possessions as a punishment is demanded that the thief pays back the person with more than what they took. If the thief could not pay back what they sold, they were often sold into slavery for a short amount of time. Kidnapping or rape can result in execution. Amputation of limbs was common that they used to steal. The Ninth Commandment stood for not bearing false witnesses against somebody. This could be interpreted as not lying in general or not lying in a courtroom. Either way, punishment could be a death sentence or a lesser condemnation. The Tenth Commandment was you shall not covet. This means to not desire anything you cannot have such as another man’s wife or possessions. This does not really have a specific punishment, but natural consequences form God would usually occur. Not following the Ten Commandments was known as sin, and sinning without repentance or an excess of sin is followed by the worst penalty, eternal damnation. The Hebrews also followed any other decrees inscribed in the Torah. The Torah is known as the Old Testament for Christians and a compilation of stories occurring in the early Hebrew society spanning from Abraham, to Moses, and more. To the Jews, the Torah is fact and must be followed. Prophets usually carried out any Hebrew laws for being messengers of God, especially those of the Torah. For that reason, prophets were leaders of Hebrew society. Prophets made clear what the people should follow or oppose. Prophets usually encouraged studying scriptures and loving God. Prophets usually opposed greed, oppression, and more. For that reason, the Jews were obligated to assist anybody suffering from subjugation, injustice, or who was just unfortunate. After King Solomon died, the Hebrew land was split up between a diminutive kingdom named Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judea (or Judah) in the south. Assyria began expanding during the ninth century B.C.; by 722 B.C. the Assyrian Kingdom conquered the Kingdom of Israel. The Hebrews were forced out of Mesopotamia traveling even to Europe if they did not convert to the pagan polytheistic religion of the Assyrians. The Babylonian Empire then arose and conquered the former Israel and northern part of the Assyrian Empire. In 586 B.C., the Babylonians moved south to destroy Jerusalem and conquer Judah.

Questions to Ponder

What traces of Judaism are present in modern democracy and religion?

Did the early Hebrews hesitate to convert to monotheistic ways since the traditional religions present were polytheistic?

About the Blogger

My name is Nnamdi Jogwe. I come from Nigerian descent from my father’s side and Mexican heritage from my mother’s family. My father works as a physician at Yale University. I decided to compose an account of the early Hebrews since they drastically altered society with original concepts not just on religion. Being Catholic myself, I was fascinated by my ancestors who initiated the notions I pursue today. Hopefully the report on the archaic followers of Judaism has given you insight and you appreciate this revolutionary civilization in the midst of polytheistic Mesopotamia.