Essay On Near East Religion

How was religion in the Near East important from 1000 BCE to 500 BCE? Many ancient Near Eastern societies contain answers to this extremely significant question. Webster defines “religion” as “the service and worship of God or the supernatural.” In certain empires, religion played an integral role in citizens’ daily life. The religion embodied by that empire not only guided each citizen’s life, but also gained a role that often expressively influenced the empire’s political decisions. Perhaps one can trace the origins of the importance of religion to the end of the Bronze Age. At the end of the Bronze Age, a major cultural breakdown occurred as new ethnic groups arrived. As civilization continued to grow and diversify, religion followed suit. This growth and diversity manifested itself in the civilizations of the Egyptians and the Hebrews. Divination provides an example of how religion influenced much of society in the Near East. The civilizations of the Egyptians and the Hebrews and the practice

After the Bronze Age, a period of chaos, economic decline, and population displacement arose. During this unrest, the nation of Israel established itself in Palestine by the late thirteenth century. Through Israel’s early existence, the population was strictly polytheistic. Archaeologists have unveiled growing evidence of “household cults,” reinforcing the idea of Hebrew polytheism. It was not until the Hebrew exile and its aftermath in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE that Israel became a strict monotheistic nation. In finding Yahweh, Israel found their identity and their security. Yahweh, God, exemplified the very essence of the Hebrew identity. Their new-found identity was something that the Hebrews constantly searched for, but could never quite realize. As it enabled them to find their worth and identity, religion held an important role in Hebrew