Judaism: History and Scriptures

Judaism is the oldest of the three Abrahamic religions, with approximately 15 million adherents worldwide. While numerically small compared with the other major religions, its historical and theological influence is extraordinary: both Christianity and Islam emerged from the Jewish religious tradition and continue to honour its prophets and scriptures.

This lesson covers the historical narrative of Judaism, its principal scriptures, and the formation of rabbinic Judaism that became the dominant tradition after 70 CE.

The historical narrative

The Jewish historical narrative is structured around a series of foundational episodes that the tradition treats as constitutive — encounters between God and the people of Israel that shape religious identity.

The Patriarchs (c. 2000–1700 BCE, traditional dating)

The narrative begins with Abraham, called by God from Ur (in modern Iraq) to the land of Canaan, with the promise that his descendants would become a great nation. Abraham, his son Isaac, and his grandson Jacob (later renamed Israel) are the three Patriarchs.

Jacob's twelve sons become the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Egypt and the Exodus (c. 1300–1200 BCE, traditional dating)

The Israelites descend into Egypt during a famine, multiply over generations, and eventually become enslaved. Moses, born to Israelite parents but raised in Pharaoh's court, leads the Exodus from Egypt — the foundational event of the Jewish religious imagination, commemorated annually at Passover.

At Mount Sinai, God gives the Torah — including the Ten Commandments and the broader covenant with Israel — to Moses. The Israelites wander forty years in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land under Moses' successor Joshua.

The period of the Judges and the United Monarchy (c. 1200–930 BCE)

After Joshua's death, Israel is led by a series of charismatic judges (Deborah, Gideon, Samson). Eventually, the Israelites demand a king. Saul becomes the first king, succeeded by David (who establishes Jerusalem as the capital) and Solomon (who builds the First Temple).

The Divided Kingdom (c. 930–586 BCE)

After Solomon's death, the kingdom splits into:

• Israel in the north (ten tribes), with capital eventually at Samaria; conquered by Assyria in 722 BCE; the population is largely scattered (the "lost ten tribes").
• Judah in the south (two tribes — Judah and Benjamin), with capital at Jerusalem; conquered by Babylon in 586 BCE; Solomon's First Temple is destroyed; much of the population is exiled to Babylon.

The prophets — Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Hosea and others — flourish during this period, calling Israel and Judah to ethical and religious renewal.

The Babylonian Exile and Return (586–516 BCE)

The Babylonian Exile (586–538 BCE) is a transformative period. The Jewish people, separated from the Temple, develop new forms of religious life centred on the synagogue (a place of gathering and study) and the textual study of scripture. The synagogue would become the principal Jewish religious institution.

In 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers Babylon and permits the Jewish exiles to return. The Second Temple is dedicated in 516 BCE.

The Second Temple Period (516 BCE–70 CE)

The Second Temple period sees:

• Persian rule (538–332 BCE).
• Greek rule under Alexander the Great and his successors (332–141 BCE).
• The Maccabean Revolt (167–141 BCE) against Greek religious imposition — commemorated at Hanukkah.
• The Hasmonean Jewish kingdom (141–63 BCE).
• Roman conquest by Pompey in 63 BCE.
• The Jewish-Roman war (66–73 CE) and the destruction of the Second Temple by Titus in 70 CE.

The destruction of the Second Temple is the second great catastrophe of Jewish history (after the destruction of the First). It marks the end of Temple-centred Judaism and the beginning of rabbinic Judaism.

Rabbinic Judaism (70 CE – present)

After 70 CE, the rabbis — successors to the Pharisaic tradition — became the principal religious authorities. They:

• Codified the Mishnah (c. 200 CE) — the systematic exposition of Jewish law.
• Developed the Talmud (c. 500 CE Babylonian Talmud; c. 400 CE Jerusalem Talmud) — extensive commentary on the Mishnah.
• Established the synagogue and study (chavruta) as the principal religious institutions.

This rabbinic Judaism is the foundation of all subsequent Jewish religious life — Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist.

The medieval and modern periods

The medieval period saw Jewish communities established across the Mediterranean, Middle East and Europe, often under Christian or Muslim rule. Key developments:

• The flourishing of Jewish learning in Spain under Muslim rule (711–1492).
• The expulsions from Christian Europe (England 1290, France 1306, Spain 1492, Portugal 1497).
• The development of distinctive Ashkenazi (Central/Eastern European) and Sephardi (Spanish/Mediterranean) cultural traditions.
• The Hasidic movement (founded by the Baal Shem Tov, mid-18th century).
• The Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah, 18th-19th centuries) and the emergence of modern Jewish denominations.

The Holocaust (1933-1945) — the Nazi-led genocide of approximately six million European Jews — is the third great catastrophe of Jewish history.

The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 is the fourth defining event of the modern era — and a contested one, both religiously (over the relationship between religious and political Zionism) and politically (over the rights of Palestinians).

The Jewish scriptures

The Tanakh

The Hebrew Bible is called the Tanakh — an acronym for its three parts:

Section	Meaning	Books
Torah	Teaching/Law	Five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
Nevi'im	Prophets	Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings (Former Prophets); Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the twelve minor prophets (Latter Prophets)
Ketuvim	Writings	Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles

The Christian Old Testament contains essentially the same books (organised differently and with some Catholic and Orthodox traditions including additional Deuterocanonical books).

The Torah

The Torah — the first five books — is the most sacred portion of Jewish scripture. It contains:

• The narrative of creation, the Patriarchs, and the Exodus.
• The 613 commandments (mitzvot) governing Jewish religious and ethical life.
• The covenant between God and Israel.

Each Sabbath, a portion of the Torah (parashah) is read in synagogue, with the cycle completing each year at Simchat Torah.

The Talmud

The Talmud is the central text of rabbinic Judaism. It comprises:

• The Mishnah — a 6-volume codification of Jewish oral law, completed c. 200 CE under Rabbi Judah haNasi.
• The Gemara — extensive rabbinic commentary on the Mishnah, completed c. 500 CE in Babylonia (the Babylonian Talmud / Bavli) and c. 400 CE in the Land of Israel (the Jerusalem Talmud / Yerushalmi).

The Babylonian Talmud is the more extensive and authoritative of the two, running to approximately 5,800 folio pages in standard editions. It is studied in pairs (chavruta) using the dialectical methods that have characterised Jewish learning for two millennia.

Other rabbinic literature

• Midrash — rabbinic interpretation of biblical texts, ranging from legal to homiletic to imaginative.
• Codes — systematic legal works including Maimonides' Mishneh Torah (12th century) and Joseph Karo's Shulchan Aruch (16th century).
• Responsa — written legal opinions on specific questions, accumulated over centuries.

The 13 principles of faith

In the 12th century, Maimonides (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, 1138–1204) formulated thirteen principles of Jewish faith that have become widely accepted:

Maimonides' principles are not the only Jewish credal statement, but they are the most widely cited.

What CSS questions on this topic typically demand

Three exam shapes:

1. Historical — "Trace the historical development of Judaism."
2. Scriptural — "Discuss the major scriptures of Judaism — the Tanakh and the Talmud."
3. Doctrinal — "Discuss the central beliefs of Judaism."

A strong answer demonstrates familiarity with key dates, distinguishes the layers of scripture (Tanakh vs Talmud vs later codes), and engages with the principles of faith.

What you take from this lesson

Judaism's foundational narrative runs from Abraham through the Exodus, the monarchy, the exile, the Second Temple period, and the rabbinic transformation that has shaped Jewish life for two millennia. Its scriptures — Tanakh and Talmud — provide the central reference points. The next lesson examines the major Jewish denominations, festivals and practices as they exist today.