RELI 1710 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Henotheism, Habiru, Asherah
18 Dec 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
RELI1710
September 19th, 2016
Jewish History
WORDS, DEFINITIONS, CLARITY
- Who is a Jew?
- Is Religion different from Ethnicity?
- Do Jewish history + history of the Jewish People + History of Judaism all mean the same
thing?
Terminology
- Avoiding Christian-centric terminology ◦
o BC-AD vs BCE-CE
▪ 1438 AH (Oct 1, 2016)
▪ 5777 (Oct 2, 2016)
o Old Testament vs Hebrew Bible/Tanakh
BIBLICAL MYTH
- Genesis 1-11
- Adam and Eve; Garden of Eden; Creation
- The Flood
- Tower of Babel 4
Biblical Legend (18th century BCE??)
- Starts at Genesis 12
- Abram / Abraham and Sarah
o First founder figure – responds to call from God
- Ur
- c. 1900-1700 BCE
- 1st Patriarch
Biblical Legend
- Abraham and his crew move to an island called Canaan
o Abraham impregnates their slave (maid) with Ishmael
▪ Late God allows Sarah in her old age to bear a child, Isaac
▪ Now two heirs are competing (blood heir [Isaac])
▪ Sarah kicks Hagar and Ishmael out so Isaac is the only heir
- Isaac → Jacob / Israel
o Jacobs name is changed to Israel (one who struggles with God)
- “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”
o The three patriarchs
- The Israelites in Egypt
o (Geopolitical Jostling) Coming under suspicion from the Pharaoh
o 1300-1400 BCE – Jews possibly in Egypt – does the word Hapiru actually mean
Hebrews? This would give evidence of Jews in Egypt
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- Moses – the idea of the Pharaoh was to kill every first born Jewish son, but one family
puts Moses in a basket and he is saved by a Egyptian women, and when he realizes he is
Jewish he stands up for his people who are being oppressed
- Moses in Egypt
- “I am who I am”
Exodus: C. 1250 BCE (13th Century BCE)
- Getting out – in the narrative they are fleeing and run into a body of water and Moses
parts the water then closes it behind him, killing the Pharaoh and Egyptians that were
following
- Pinnacle theological event that showed the Jewish people that God led them out of
slavery
Biblical Legend (11th Century BCE)
- Canaanite gods: Ba’al and Asherah
o Henotheism vs Monotheism
▪ Henotheism is acknowledging other gods exist but only worshiping one
god always
▪ Monotheism is to not acknowledge that other gods exist and solely
worship their own god
- Joshua
- 12 Tribes ruled over by “judges”
Biblical History (10th Century BCE)
- Monarchy / Kingdom
- Saul – started with Saul but didn’t last long
- David (ruled c. 1000-960 BCE)
o Most famous king
o Most loved king
o Most well-known king in Jewish history
Monarchy
- !David (ruled c. 1000-960 BCE)
o Model king
▪ Consolidation of the kingdom = Israel
▪ Peace and prosperity
▪ Jerusalem – captured this city outside of the tribal areas and established as
the capital so that he didn’t have to choose one city between the tribal
areas
- Solomon (ruled 960-21 BCE)
o Builds first Temple (completed c. 931 BCE)
▪ Temple represents centrality because now the Jewish world is going to
revolve around the center (Jerusalem – the temple)
o Solomon renowned for his
▪ wealth, wisdom, and international power
Monarchy Breaks Down (8th Century BCE)
- 12 Tribes – united monarchy – divided into two kingdoms
o Judah in the south
o Israel in the north (north of the dead sea)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Do jewish history + history of the jewish people + history of judaism all mean the same. Avoiding christian-centric terminology : bc-ad vs bce-ce, 1438 ah (oct 1, 2016, 5777 (oct 2, 2016, old testament vs hebrew bible/tanakh. Adam and eve; garden of eden; creation. Abram / abraham and sarah: first founder figure responds to call from god. Isaac jacob / israel: jacobs name is changed to israel (one who struggles with god) God of abraham, isaac and jacob : the three patriarchs. The israelites in egypt: (geopolitical jostling) coming under suspicion from the pharaoh, 1300-1400 bce jews possibly in egypt does the word hapiru actually mean. This would give evidence of jews in egypt. Moses the idea of the pharaoh was to kill every first born jewish son, but one family puts moses in a basket and he is saved by a egyptian women, and when he realizes he is.
