Name: Date: Aim: How did Judaism impact the Middle East? Traditional story of Abraham s origins: About 4,000 years ago Abraham lived in Mesopotamia (Ur) God told Abraham to leave Mesopotamia and go to Canaan Famine à Abraham and family forced to move to Egypt Abraham returns to Canaan, and God makes a covenant with Abraham 1. Look up the word covenant and define it here: PRIMARY SOURCE - Read the text of God s covenant with Abraham (Abram), then answer the question on the next page. Genesis 15:12-20 New International Version (NIV) God s Covenant With Abram As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the LORD said to him, Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.
2. What promises does God make to Abraham in the reading? 3. The maps above are interpretations of the area the Jews call the Promised Land, based on the text of Genesis 15 and other Jewish scripture. What do you think the Promised Land means for the Jews? 4. What modern- day country do the Jews believe is the Promised Land? The area many Jews claim as the Promised Land is known as Palestine to the Arab people who are its majority indigenous inhabitants and have lived there since before recorded history.
5. God s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 gave the Promised Land to his descendants. Use the family history chart above what is the difficulty that arose with determining which descendants have a right to the land? 6. PRIMARY SOURCE Read the excerpt below from the Qu ran (Muslim holy book) and hypothesize how it might explain why many Muslims believe the Jews lost the claim to the Promised Land. Qur'an 2:88-90 Termination of Israel And when there came to them (the Jews), a Book (the Qur'an) from Allah (God) confirming its truth, although they had previously invoked Allah order to gain victory over those who disbelieved, they disbelieved in it. So let the Curse of Allah be on the disbelievers. How bad is that for which they have sold their ownselves, that they should disbelieve in that which Allah has revealed (the Qur'an), grudging that Allah should reveal of His Grace unto whom He wills of His slaves. So they have drawn on themselves wrath upon wrath. And for the disbelievers, there is disgracing torment
Abraham s descendants and origins of Jews: Abraham s great- grandson (Joseph) sold into slavery to Egypt Rose to power; was able to prevent a famine Other brothers in Canaan jealous (another famine going on there) à all move to Egypt around 1700 BC, where they are known as Israelites 7a. Who was Joseph s mother and father? 7b. Who was Joseph s grandfather? Moses and the Jewish Exodus Story: Israelite population increases and threatens Egyptian à Pharaoh enslaves them around 1550 BC 1300 s BC: all new Israelite baby boys killed to reduce population. Moses is the only one who escapes. Moses raised by Pharaoh s daughter Moses flees to Egypt at one point but sent back by God in order to free the Israelites from slavery Pharaoh refused to free the Israelites à plague hit afterwards killing many Egyptians Exodus: Israelites leave Egypt for Canaan (the Promised Land) 8. Look up the word Exodus and define it here:
9. What body of water would the Israelites have crossed in the Exodus story to reach Canaan, traveling from Egypt? PRIMARY SOURCE - During the Israelite s journey after the escape from Egypt, Moses received the 10 Commandments from God, which became the foundational moral code for Judaism. Read the 10 Commandments excerpt below and use it to answer the questions. Exodus 20:1-17, English Standard Version The 10 Commandments And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image You shall not bow down to them or serve them You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's. 10. What conclusions can you draw about the belief practices the Jews followed?
Review remember, Hammurabi s Code was one of the earliest and most significant law codes for Mesopotamia and the Middle East. Look back over these excerpts from the ancient Mesopotamian Hammurabi s Code, then answer the questions. Hammurabi s Code Then Anu and Bel (Mesopotamian gods) called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land If a man accuses another man of murder but cannot prove it, he shall be put to death. If a man breaks another man s bone, his bone shall be broken. If a man destroys the eye of another man, his eye shall be destroyed. If a man steals sheep, or an ass, pig, or goat, and if it belongs to a god or to the government, the thief shall pay 30 times the value of the animal. If the animal belongs to a free citizen, he shall pay 10 times the value of the animal. If the thief cannot pay, he shall be put to death. If the wife of a man is caught lying with another man, she and the other man shall be thrown into the water. If a wife has neglected her house and belittled her husband, she shall be thrown into the water. If a son strikes his father, the son s hand will be cut off. 11. What similarities do you find between Hammurabi s Code and the 10 Commandments? 12. What differences do you find? Why might Jewish beliefs have been so revolutionary for the time period?
TEACHER ANSWER KEY 1. Look up the word covenant and define it here: A formal agreement between two or more parties to do or not do something specified. 2. What promises does God make to Abraham in the reading? His descendants will be enslaved in a different country, but then will escape and return to their homeland. They will be given a large part of the country between Egypt and the Euphrates River, which was inhabited by many other groups of people. 3. The maps above are interpretations of the area the Jews call the Promised Land, based on the text of Genesis 15 and other Jewish scripture. What do you think the Promised Land means for the Jews? The land that God promised to Abraham s descendants. 4. What modern- day country do the Jews believe is the Promised Land? Israel 5. God s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 gave the Promised Land to his descendants. Use the family history chart above what is the difficulty that arose with determining which descendants have a right to the land? Abraham had two sons Isaac with his first wife and Ishmael with his second. Isaac descendants were the Jewish people and Ishmael s were the Muslim people. Which branch does the covenant refer to, or is it both? 6. PRIMARY SOURCE Read the excerpt below from the Qu ran (Muslim holy book) and hypothesize how it might explain why many Muslims believe the Jews lost the claim to the Promised Land. The Jews rejected the Qu ran and Islam, so therefore they are cursed. This could be interpreted to mean that they lost their claim to the Promised Land. 7. Who was Joseph s mother and father? Grandfather? Rachel and Jacob were his mother and father; Isaac was his grandfather. 8. Look up the word Exodus and define it here: A mass departure of people, especially emigrants. 9. What body of water would the Israelites have crossed in the Exodus story to reach Canaan, traveling from Egypt? Red Sea 10. What conclusions can you draw about the belief practices the Jews followed? Monotheistic, believed in respecting God, treating others with an ethical code of conduct, etc.
11. What similarities do you find between Hammurabi s Code and the 10 Commandments? Both written down and codifed; both promote good behavior especially in family and social relations; both use gods/god as source and legitimization of rules; both promote general social order and safety, etc. 12. What differences do you find? Why might Jewish beliefs have been so revolutionary for the time period? Hammurabi s Code uses violence and other punishments to motivate people to follow the law, while 10 Commandments use religious belief HC is a legal code, while 10 C focuses on ethical behavior for the sake of being good people The 10 C s are not overtly repressive to women, while HC has much more patriarchy present There is a sense of a personal connection to God in the 10 C For the first time we have a large group of people practicing monotheism Large group of people have a sense of unity and identity, but not as part of a state or government