Introduction

The Hebrews were an ancient community that briefly established a kingdom in an area known as Canaan almost three thousand years ago. Canaan is in the Middle East, between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. The Hebrews were a small community, and they were politically unimportant compared to neighbors like Egypt and the Babylonian Empire. Nonetheless, their unique culture has had a long and impactful history.

The Hebrews were one of the first communities to create a written record of their culture. They began writing in the late 600s BCE. They wrote down their traditions, religious beliefs, history, and laws, which were ultimately edited and brought together in the five books known as the Torah. Over time, more history and traditions were added, as well as advice literature, prayers, hymns, and prophecies, ultimately forming the Hebrew Bible.

The Hebrew Bible was the core of the Hebrews’ religion, Judaism. Judaism is a monotheistic religion, built around the idea of a single all-powerful god. The word Judaism comes from the Kingdom of Judah, the southern of the two Hebrew kingdoms. It played a larger role in development of religious traditions.

Most of what we know about the early Hebrews comes from the Hebrew Bible. For centuries, researchers have searched for records and remains of biblical stories. They have found some supporting archaeological evidence and other written documents, but scholars and believers have often disagreed about how to interpret these findings.

Religious ideas

A central idea in Judaism is the idea of the Covenant, the agreement that Hebrews believed existed between themselves and God. According to the Hebrew Bible, the agreement was made when God first appeared to Abraham, a Hebrew tribal leader. God promised that Abraham and his descendants would be blessed if they followed and were loyal to him.

God next appeared to a Hebrew leader named Moses. At the time, the Hebrews were enslaved by the Egyptians. God helped Moses lead the Hebrews out of slavery and made another agreement with them: if they worshipped him as their only god, he would consider them his chosen people and protect them from their enemies. Abraham and Moses were the first prophets, delivering the word of God to the Hebrew people. After them came the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. Much of the Hebrew Bible consists of writings in their voices, understood as messages from God.

According to the Hebrew Bible, God also gave the Hebrews a series of rules of behavior: the Ten Commandments. The Commandments have to do with both ethics and religion. They command people to be loyal and observe religious customs. They forbid things like stealing, lying, killing, swearing, and jealousy.

A complex system of laws were developed from the Ten Commandments and shaped life in ancient Hebrew communities. These laws had to do with holy days, eating and food preparation, sex, marriage, and many other aspects of life.

Ancient Jews practiced various religious ceremonies to show their devotion. These included prayer, group worship, the study of sacred texts, and the performance of household rituals. They also believed that, in order to please God, they had to live up to high moral standards and treat others fairly. Religious leaders were important in Judaism, but religion was also personal. The central task for observant Jews in the ancient world was to follow the instructions of God, as recorded in sacred texts.

Society and family life

The Hebrews were originally wanderers, following their herds of sheep and goats from place to place. They were organized into tribes, with each tribe consisting of numerous families who thought of themselves as related to one another. Eventually, some tribes settled in Canaan and began farming and building cities. Over time, the shared traditions of Judaism replaced unified Hebrew tribes as a single culture.

The development of city life created new economic opportunities. People began specializing in crafts and trade, often passing down their expertise to their children. In the country, women worked in the fields alongside their husbands. In the city, they often worked in shops.

Marriage and the family were centrally important in Jewish life. People were expected to get married and have children. As in other ancient cultures, marriage was a family matter, too important to be left solely to the feelings and desires of young people. The bearing of children was seen in some ways as a religious function, and family property was passed down to the firstborn son. Mothers oversaw the early education of the children, but as boys grew older, their fathers provided more of their education. Later, as formal schooling developed, boys might also study religious texts in schools or synagogues, places for study and prayer.

Political developments and the spread of Judaism

When the Hebrews settled in Canaan, they faced many grave challenges. In times of drought or famine, they sometimes worshipped the agricultural gods of their neighbors, despite warnings from the prophets that they were not to do this. In this they followed the common historical pattern of newcomers by adapting the culture of an older, well-established people.

The greatest challenge came from a group known as the Philistines, a competing kingdom in Canaan. Faced with the threat of war, the Hebrews unified under the leadership of King Saul. The kingdom was led next by David of Bethlehem, who captured the city of Jerusalem and made it the religious and political center of the realm.

In the tenth century BCE., David’s son Solomon is said to have launched a large-scale building program, creating cities, palaces, fortresses, and roads. The most symbolic of these projects was the Temple of Jerusalem. It was intended to be the religious heart of the kingdom, a symbol of Hebrew unity and of God’s approval of the Hebrew state.

This state did not last much longer, however. After Solomon’s death, his kingdom split in two, becoming Israel in the north and Judah in the south. War soon broke out between them, weakening both and making them vulnerable to neighboring kingdoms. In the coming years, many of the Hebrews were forced from the area, and Israel and Judah were taken over by a series of empires. Jews did not again have their own state until the foundation of Israel in the twentieth century.

Political and military developments led the Hebrews to scatter widely, first throughout the Mediterranean and then beyond. Jews stayed together as a community, however, through intermarriage, shared rituals, and devotion to a sacred text. They rarely tried to convert other people to Judaism, so their religion became widespread geographically but never very large in number. Today the Jewish population of the world is estimated at about 15 million.

Primary source: The book of Psalms

Ancient Hebrews believed that God punished people, but they also believed he was a loving and forgiving god who would protect and reward all those who obeyed his commandments.

A hymn recorded in the book of Psalms of the Hebrew Bible captures this idea:

Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Lo, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord. The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life! May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel! (Psalms 128:1–6)