Ancient History
The beginings of Judaism go back a long time, over 4000 years. It all started in an area called the "Fertile Crescent". The Jewish religion began with Abraham. Abraham, who originally lived in the city of Ur, became a wandering shepherd or nomad who lived in the Near East about 2,000 BC. According to the Book of Genesis, God told Abraham to go to the land of Canaan, Palestine on the map, and gave him a remarkable promise. God promised to make Abraham’s descendants into a great nation and that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. Abraham trusted in God and set off with his family to Canaan, the Promised Land. Abraham’s descendants and their families inherited the promise. Abraham, his son Isaac, his grandson Jacob and his great grandson Joseph are known as the patriarchs or founders of Judaism.
Modern day Map
Modern day Map
Gods, Religions and Cities
If you look at the map, you will see that on his way to Canaan, Abraham travelled through an area of the Near East known as the Fertile Crescent. Three very important rivers water this area of fertile land: the Nile in Egypt, and the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia. The word Mesopotamia means the land “between the rivers” In Mesopotamia, important city-states developed. These were walled cities surrounded by small villages. Some of these city-states became very powerful and controlled empires. About the time of Abraham and the other patriarchs, Assyria and Babylonia were important empires in Mesopotamia. Another important empire in the Near East was Egypt.
The ancient Mesopotamians worshipped hundreds of gods, each with his/her own name and area of activity. Every city had its own patron god or goddess, and there were also gods connected with various professions - such as scribes and builders. But only a few gods - those who controlled major realms of the universe, such as the sky, the sun, and air - received attention as major deities. These gods were worshiped in temples known as ziggaurats. Anu was the father of the gods and the god of the sky; Enlil was the god of the air; Utu was the sun god and the lord of truth and justice; Nanna was the moon god; Inanna was the goddess of love and war; Ninhursag was the goddess of earth; and Enki was the god of fresh water as well as the lord of wisdom and magic. While they served and honoured the great gods, most people felt little connection with these distant beings.
Ordinary people depended on a relationship with their own personal god - a kind of guardian angel - who protected individuals and acted as a go between for them with the great deities. This kind of worship of many different gods is known as a polytheistic. Monotheistic is the belief in just one god.For the ancient Mesopotamians, their cities were the centers of life. When they looked back to the beginning of time, they did not see a Garden of Eden, but rather an ancient site called Eridu, which they believed was the first city ever to be created. Ancient Mesopotamia is where the world's first cities appeared around 4000 - 3500 BC.
No one knows for sure why urbanization began in Mesopotamia. The development of cities could have occurred due to environmental conditions. Lack of rainfall might have been the inspiration for people to organize themselves in a common effort to build canals for the irrigation of farmland. Another reason may have been the need for protection on the open plain, which could have led people to gather together to create walled enclaves. Whatever the reasons, this was the first time in history that humankind channeled its energies towards addressing the needs of a community as a whole.
Not everyone however lived in cities. It was still quite common for some people to live wandering lives. These people would travel around the country often with large herds of animals mainly sheep. They would move around looking for new pastures for thier animals and trading in the local villages towns and cities. They were known as Nomads.
Originally Abraham lived in the city of Ur in the south of Mesopotamia, where they worshiped the moon god Nana. However he came to belive that there was only one God. He decided that he should leave the city and go searching for this one God. He took his family and belongings and became a nomad.
Linking Egypt and Mesopotamia was a narrow strip of fertile land known as Canaan. This narrow strip of land between sea and desert, acted as a highway linking Egypt and the city-states of Mesopotamia. Along this highway passed merchants, visitors, and invaders in search of fertile land for themselves. In the centuries before Abraham, nomadic invaders destroyed city after city in Canaan. However, by the time of Abraham, many of these invaders had settled down and cities were rebuilt. Gradually, city-states developed and Canaan became prosperous. It was this land that God promised to Abraham.
The ancient Mesopotamians worshipped hundreds of gods, each with his/her own name and area of activity. Every city had its own patron god or goddess, and there were also gods connected with various professions - such as scribes and builders. But only a few gods - those who controlled major realms of the universe, such as the sky, the sun, and air - received attention as major deities. These gods were worshiped in temples known as ziggaurats. Anu was the father of the gods and the god of the sky; Enlil was the god of the air; Utu was the sun god and the lord of truth and justice; Nanna was the moon god; Inanna was the goddess of love and war; Ninhursag was the goddess of earth; and Enki was the god of fresh water as well as the lord of wisdom and magic. While they served and honoured the great gods, most people felt little connection with these distant beings.
Ordinary people depended on a relationship with their own personal god - a kind of guardian angel - who protected individuals and acted as a go between for them with the great deities. This kind of worship of many different gods is known as a polytheistic. Monotheistic is the belief in just one god.For the ancient Mesopotamians, their cities were the centers of life. When they looked back to the beginning of time, they did not see a Garden of Eden, but rather an ancient site called Eridu, which they believed was the first city ever to be created. Ancient Mesopotamia is where the world's first cities appeared around 4000 - 3500 BC.
No one knows for sure why urbanization began in Mesopotamia. The development of cities could have occurred due to environmental conditions. Lack of rainfall might have been the inspiration for people to organize themselves in a common effort to build canals for the irrigation of farmland. Another reason may have been the need for protection on the open plain, which could have led people to gather together to create walled enclaves. Whatever the reasons, this was the first time in history that humankind channeled its energies towards addressing the needs of a community as a whole.
Not everyone however lived in cities. It was still quite common for some people to live wandering lives. These people would travel around the country often with large herds of animals mainly sheep. They would move around looking for new pastures for thier animals and trading in the local villages towns and cities. They were known as Nomads.
Originally Abraham lived in the city of Ur in the south of Mesopotamia, where they worshiped the moon god Nana. However he came to belive that there was only one God. He decided that he should leave the city and go searching for this one God. He took his family and belongings and became a nomad.
Linking Egypt and Mesopotamia was a narrow strip of fertile land known as Canaan. This narrow strip of land between sea and desert, acted as a highway linking Egypt and the city-states of Mesopotamia. Along this highway passed merchants, visitors, and invaders in search of fertile land for themselves. In the centuries before Abraham, nomadic invaders destroyed city after city in Canaan. However, by the time of Abraham, many of these invaders had settled down and cities were rebuilt. Gradually, city-states developed and Canaan became prosperous. It was this land that God promised to Abraham.