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A brief history of early judaism

As I continue to study history more seriously, I find myself less interested in the lay or transfer of power in a period of time. Instead I'm drawn towards the progression of thought and cosmic understanding of individuals and groups throughout time. Only through this chain can we truly begin to grasp our foundations and identify the minute influences, prejudices, blind spots and presumptions within ourselves.

One of the most significant links is religion.

Western Religion

  • Greek paganism and control over Mediterranean
    • Personal gods showing emotion and behaviour that wasn't necessarily virtuous, but the stories when read as allegory could be interpreted as lessons.
  • Children of Israel, called Hebrews
  • Hebrew sacred books (Pentateuch)
    • Patriarchs
  • Social rather than ethnic grouping of people, nomads, semi-nomads, the dispossessed, united under the shared idea of God and a home in Israel
    • This gathering caused an amalgamation of different traditions and stories about God
  • A movement from the personal to the abstract (in the sense of God)
  • This god did not exist in a specific place, but rather ubiquitously through the revelation and inspiration of the individual