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The term Jew is synonymous with the words Hebrew and Israelite though these words have two different meanings. In a wider historical context the term Hebrew is not descriptive of ones ethnicity but rather can be applied to any of the Nomadic Semitic peoples residing in the eastern region of the Mediterranean before 1300 BCE (Before the Common Era). In a narrower context of Jewish history the term Hebrew is descriptive of the peoples who in prehistory accepted Yahweh as their god, went on to reside in the land of Palestine, known then as Canaan, and in approximately the year 1020 BCE became united as a nation and a people under a single king. The term Israelite, in a historical context, refers to the Hebrew people from the time they became united as one nation in the land of Canaan to the time that kingdom was destroyed in 721 BCE by the Assyrian king Sargon the 2nd. In actuality the word Jew refers to the cultural descendents of both the Hebrews and the Israelites from the time they escaped their Babylonian captivity to today. The English word Jew comes directly from the Latin root word of Judaeus depicting those who reside in Judaea the Latin term for the Jewish State. One must be clear though in the realization that the term Jew does not refer to ones race but rather is a term depicting ones ethnicity in that the Jews share a common culture, religion, and language which they have managed to keep despite the fact they have not shared a common homeland since the Roman destruction of the city of Judaea in roughly 135 CE (Common Era) up until the year 1948. Although it would be impossible for one to fully depict nearly 4,000 years of Jewish history and tradition into only 3,000 words, the purpose of this term paper will be to attempt to disseminate an accurate portrayal of the Jewish people by focusing on specific key events throughout these interesting peoples past beginning with their prehistory traditions including the formation of the Jewish religion itself and leading up until the modern reemergence of a Jewish homeland including the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict and the road map to peace.
According to Jewish tradition and the book of Genesis which is found in both the Old Testament of the Christian Bible and in the Jewish Tanak, the Jewish people believe themselves to be the descendents of Abraham with whom god made his covenant. It is important to note that the Tanak is an acronym comprised of three separate compilations of books first of which is the Torah which includes the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the second is the Nevv’im which is comprised of the works of the prophets, and third the Kethuvim which includes the books of Psalms, Proverbs, Joeb, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles. Furthermore; when these books were compiled and edited in an attempt to tell a continuous detailed story it must be noted that the scribes most assuredly included legends which they past off as true historical events, however, there is enough historical accuracy in these biblical accounts that they should not be discredited off hand. Furthermore, the myth of God’s covenant to Abraham can give one incredible incite into the cultural intricacies of not only the Jewish people but of the Christian and Muslim peoples as well. With that in mind this covenant which was made can be found in the following passages from the books of Genesis:
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country,
from your family, and from
your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation; I will
bless you and make your name great; and you shall be
a blessing. I will bless those who
Bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all
The families of the earth
shall be blessed.” (Gen. 12:1-3)
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your
descendants I will give this land.”
And there he built an altar to the Lord,
who had appeared to him. (Gen. 12:7)
And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from
him: “Lift your eyes now and
look from the place where you are-northward, southward,
eastward and westward; for
all the land which you see I give to you and your
descendents forever as the dust of the earth; so that if a man
could number the dust of the
earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
Arise, walk in the land through
its length and its width, for I give it to you.” (Gen. 13:14)
“Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Gen. 15:5-6)
Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Gen. 15:13-16)
On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—
the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Gen. 15:18-20)
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant
between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face,
and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you
shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your
name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you
exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you
in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants
after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your
descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you
shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child
among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your
foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight
days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who
is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your
descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must
be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And
the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that
person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. (Gen. 17:1-15)
According to Jewish tradition and the book of Genesis which is found in both the Old Testament of the Christian Bible and in the Jewish Tanak, the Jewish people believe themselves to be the descendents of Abraham with whom god made his covenant. It is important to note that the Tanak is an acronym comprised of three separate compilations of books first of which is the Torah which includes the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the second is the Nevv’im which is comprised of the works of the prophets, and third the Kethuvim which includes the books of Psalms, Proverbs, Joeb, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles. Furthermore; when these books were compiled and edited in an attempt to tell a continuous detailed story it must be noted that the scribes most assuredly included legends which they past off as true historical events, however, there is enough historical accuracy in these biblical accounts that they should not be discredited off hand. Furthermore, the myth of God’s covenant to Abraham can give one incredible incite into the cultural intricacies of not only the Jewish people but of the Christian and Muslim peoples as well. With that in mind this covenant which was made can be found in the following passages from the books of Genesis:
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country,
from your family, and from
your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation; I will
bless you and make your name great; and you shall be
a blessing. I will bless those who
Bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all
The families of the earth
shall be blessed.” (Gen. 12:1-3)
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your
descendants I will give this land.”
And there he built an altar to the Lord,
who had appeared to him. (Gen. 12:7)
And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from
him: “Lift your eyes now and
look from the place where you are-northward, southward,
eastward and westward; for
all the land which you see I give to you and your
descendents forever as the dust of the earth; so that if a man
could number the dust of the
earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
Arise, walk in the land through
its length and its width, for I give it to you.” (Gen. 13:14)
“Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Gen. 15:5-6)
Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Gen. 15:13-16)
On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—
the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.” (Gen. 15:18-20)
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant
between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face,
and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you
shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your
name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you
exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.
And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you
in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants
after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a
stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
And God said to Abraham: “As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your
descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you
shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child
among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your
foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight
days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who
is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your
descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must
be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And
the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that
person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”
Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. (Gen. 17:1-15)