Jews

I

Introduction

Jews, in modern usage, employed synonymously with Hebrews and Israelites; historically and ethnically, however, the words have different meanings. As a general historical term, the word Hebrew has no ethnic connotation, being applied to any of numerous Semitic, nomadic peoples dwelling in the eastern Mediterranean area before 1300 bc. In Jewish history, the term is applied specifically to those tribes that accepted Yahweh as their deity, from the time of their prehistoric origins to the time they conquered ancient Palestine, called Canaan, and, about 1020 bc, became a united nation ruled by a king. The term Israelite connotes a particular ethnic and national group, descended from the Hebrews and united culturally by their religion; the term is historically descriptive of this group from the conquest of Canaan to the destruction of the kingdom of Israel in 721 bc by the Assyrian king Sargon II (reigned 722-705 bc). The term Jew refers to a third group, the cultural descendants of the first two, from the time of their return from the so-called Babylonian captivity to the present. The word itself stems from the Hebrew yehudhi, originally meaning a member of the Hebrew tribe of Judah, and later, as Judaea, applied to the Jewish state; the English word Jew is derived directly from the Latin Judaeus, meaning an inhabitant of Judaea.

Modern Jews are members of a separate ethnic community or fellowship rather than of a race, a community that, in the face of incessant and terrible persecution, has maintained its identity for almost 19 centuries, from the final dissolution of the Roman province of Judaea in ad 135 to the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. In 1970 the Israeli Knesset adopted legislation defining a Jew as one born of a Jewish mother or a convert. The remarkable preservation of Jewish group identity resulted, primarily, from strict adherence to Judaism, with which Jewish history is inextricably bound. This religion governs Jewish life in its every aspect, requires the education of the young, and includes, in its traditional doctrines, hope for and faith in the establishment of a messianic kingdom. Although reform movements began to affect Judaism in the 19th century, the survival of all Jewish communities was the result of the piety with which preceding generations had adhered to the Jewish Law. A distinguishing characteristic of the Jewish people has been their respect for and devotion to education and learning, which are considered acts of worship.

II

The Hebrews in Canaan

The biblical accounts of Hebrew genealogy and history are credible in most instances, as far as can be ascertained from archaeological and historical research. They were not written in their present form, however, until centuries after the described occurrences; therefore they require careful interpretation. Thus, Moses said to the assembled Hebrews, “A wandering Aramaean was my father” (Deuteronomy 26:5). Characterizing the ancestors of the Hebrews as Aramaean nomads (“wandering” signifying the nomadic state of constant economic hardship) is more or less exact. In addition to Aramaean blood, the physical ancestry of the later Israelites included a mixture of other strains, such as Amorite and Hittite. The physiognomy that was characteristic of the ancient Hebrews, as depicted in Babylonian friezes, was similar to the physiognomy of the Hittites. The Hebrew language belongs to the north-western Semitic language group.

A

The 12 Tribes

The history of the tribes, as descendants of the patriarch Jacob, told in the Old Testament must be viewed in light of the national consciousness developed by the Jewish scribes who compiled and edited the historical books in the 6th and 5th centuries bc. In their efforts to tell a continuous and detailed story establishing a common ancestry, these scribes undoubtedly recorded legends as history; nevertheless, the biblical narrative is in accord with historical theory. Thus, the Scriptures tell of 12 Hebrew tribes, descended from 12 sons of the patriarch Jacob: Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Gad, Issachar, Joseph, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun. Biblical scholars view the Jacob story as symbolic, with actual tribal history cloaked in the guise of personal experiences. Thus, the tribes were interrelated by blood, and some, such as Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah (sons of one mother), maintained an even closer alliance. The tribes of Asher and Gad (named as descendants of servants) were subordinate tribes. Another instance of tribal history written as personal experience is the covenant between Jacob and Laban (see Genesis 31:44-54), which is interpreted, in biblical criticism, as an early treaty between Hebrew and Syrian tribes, delimiting the borders of their grazing lands to the north of Gilead.

Tradition and historical theory trace the Aramaean ancestors of Israel (used collectively) to the district of Ur in Sumer, on the lower Euphrates River. About the beginning of the 2nd millennium bc a group of Aramaean tribes migrated to the region around Carrhae (now Harran, Turkey), an ancient Babylonian colony. Several centuries later several family units of these tribes migrated to the west and south, settling in scattered groups around the Jordan River. The Jordan settlers became the Hebrew tribes, including the Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites, and the Yahweh-worshipping Hebrews. In the Bible this period of tribal migration is known as the age of the patriarchs.

B

The Exodus

Some of the tribes, traditionally belonging to the Joseph group, wandered towards Egypt, probably during the period of the Hyksos kings, the predominantly Semitic conquerors of Egypt, between 1694 and 1600 bc. There they prospered until the Hyksos were deposed (c. 1570 bc), and as a result the Hebrews were persecuted as aliens and forced into slavery. The exodus is viewed by many historians as the successful effort of the Hebrews in Egyptian bondage to be reunited with other Hebrew tribes with which they retained a sense of kinship. No archaeological records of the exodus exist, even on Egyptian monuments, probably because the Egyptian Hebrews numbered at most a few thousand and probably less than that. Their flight evidently caused no great concern in Egypt.

In Jewish history, however, the exodus assumed major proportions. It was led by Moses (the first great prophet) who, on Sinai, the sacred mountain, received the covenant with Yahweh. This early religion incorporated in itself and bequeathed to later Judaism nomad concepts of the position of property, individual rights, sexual morality, and the essential equality of all members of the community. Personal liberty and the love of freedom, characteristics of the wandering Semites, in addition to the concept of a God who is creator, lawgiver, and king, became part of the religion of Israel and later became part of its political theory.

The conquest of Canaan in the 2nd millennium bc was accomplished as much by intermarriage and alliance with the Canaanites as it was by military conquest. Moreover, the invaders had an undisturbed and unique opportunity to acquire dominance: the Egyptian, Hittite, and Sumerian empires were no longer powerful, and Assyria, potential great power, had not yet organized its forces. Under Joshua, the successor to Moses, the Yahweh tribes crossed the Jordan River, conquered the town of Jericho and the surrounding plain, and established themselves in western Palestine. Although numerically they were not superior to the Canaanites already resident, the Yahweh tribes were united by their religious covenant, their tradition of common descent, and their democratic ideal. During the period of the judges (the great military and civil leaders), the Hebrews, now known as the Israelites, secured their land. They fought off invasions by the Moabites, the Midianites, and, most of all, the Philistines, who migrated from the territory around the Aegean Sea.