The Hebrews
Along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea lived the Hebrews, another people who profoundly
influenced the course of world history.
The concept of monotheism , or the worship of one god, is attributed to the Hebrews, or Jews. The
Hebrews traced their origins back to Abraham, who is said to have migrated from Mesopotamia to
the land of Canaan on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean about 2000 BCE. In the account
recorded in the Bible, the descendants of Abraham migrated to Egypt. They later left Egypt,
embarking on a journey called the Exodus under a leader named Moses. In the biblical account, the
Exodus was marked by the giving of the Ten Commandments , or moral law of the Hebrews.
Returning to the land of Canaan, or Palestine, they established a theocracy , or a government ruled
directly by God.
The heart of Judaism was a covenant , or agreement, between God and Abraham in which Yahweh
would be their god and the Jews would be his people. The history of this covenant relationship
became the basis of the Torah , or the Hebrew scriptures.
After years of observing the governments of neighboring kingdoms, the Hebrews established the
kingdom of Israel about 1000 BCE with is capital at Jerusalem. The kingdom eventually divided into
two kingdoms. The northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians in 722 BCE. Its inhabitants were
scattered throughout the far reaches of the Assyrian empire, constituting the first Jewish diaspora , or
exile. The southern kingdom, called Judah, endured until 586 BCE. Conquered by the Chaldeans
(from approximately the same territory as the Babylonian Empire), the people of Judah were carried
off into captivity into Babylon. After Cyrus conquered the Chaldeans and allowed the Jews to return
to Palestine 70 years later, Palestine remained under Persian rule until it became the province of Judea
under the Roman Empire in 63 CE. In 132 CES, after they rebelled against Roman rule, the Jews were
spread throughout the Roman Empire in a second diaspora.
Rapid Review
Beginning with Sumer in Mesopotamia about 3500 BCE, civilization grew along the river valleys of
the Tigris–Euphrates, Nile, Indus, and Huang He. These civilizations were characterized by
community cooperation necessary to manage irrigation and flood control systems. Later their
cooperative efforts were further organized to form the beginnings of political institutions. The
knowledge of metallurgy led to the refinement of tools, weapons, and objects of art. Writing systems
were developed, and social stratification became apparent. In the Americas, civilizations and societies
made notable strides in mathematics, astronomy, and architecture.
Review Questions
1 . The Egyptian civilization was similar to the Sumerian civilization in
(A) its reliance on natural defense barriers
(B) its system of social stratification
(C) its political structure
(D) the extent to which its culture was diffused