The Hebrews, or Jews, were Semitic people. Their religion was known as Judaism. The most we know about Hebrews comes from the Old Testament of the bible. In 1300 B.C the Hebrews, which were made up of tribes, began to move into Egypt. They became enslaved and ere forced to work for the Egyptians. .
In 1200 B.C, Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt. They roamed around the Sinai Peninsula for about 40 years. Christianity and Islam came from Judaism. The most remarkable thing about Judaism is monotheism, which is the belief in one god. Moses taught them that there was one god and that his name was Yahweh. Yahweh was supremely powerful and was the creator of the world. When the kings established the capital of Jerusalem, they built a temple to honor Yahweh. .
Yahweh had expected his followers to worship him alone. He also demanded that they had high morals and ethics. There was a set of Ten Commandments, which were a set of religious and ethical principles that the people had to go by. Moses told the Israelites that Yahweh warned his followers that they should not have such behavior as lying, theft, murder, and adultery.
Between about 1000 and 400 B.C, the Israelites" religious leaders began to compile all their teachings in a set of holy scriptures. They formed the Torah. It laid down Yahweh's laws and outlined his role of the creation of the world and the guidance of human affairs. The Torah also taught that Yahweh would punish or reward the community as a whole, based on their actions and beliefs of the Ten Commandments.
These events were important in the time of religion. After the tenth century, the Israelites experienced several setbacks, politically and militarily. The Israelites devotion to Yahweh really intensified during this time of mishaps. Between the ninth and sixth centuries B.C, a series of prophets had urged the Israelites to rededicate themselves to Yahweh and obey his commands.
