Hebrew Culture Essay

History is simply the passing of information over time; and sadly, as time goes on and more civilizations trample over history what really happen and who really contributed to what becomes muddy. Some civilizations likes the Romans have a clear cut influence throughout history as the first major empire and great society of the Western World. Its own influences can be felt even today as historians continue to compare America to the late empire. Yet, to fully understand Western Civilization as it is today, one must first look at one, very important people in history: the Hebrews, and their legacy. Although the Mesopotamians created the first language and law, and Phoenicians designed the cornerstone for all Greek and Roman words, it was the Hebrews that set the stage for Western Civilization in the future. As discussed in the call power lecture, the Hebrews’ endowment to the west was their spirituality, and a more defined way of life. Being the first Civilization to become Monotheistic, “[and] because of the supposed covenant between Yahweh (god) and the Israelites, law became an important part of Jewish life.” (Spielvogel, p. 37). This idea of God being connected to

The Nile River had a big effect on the people of Egypt. The river had a profound effect on

The first point that Hebrews exhibit all features of a civilization is after their Exodus from Egypt and rise in Jerusalem, in my opinion. Although the Hebrews did live in tribes and show pieces of civilizations beforehand, they had adopted aspects of the Mesopotamian civilization and did not fit into all categories for a civilization. The Hebrews needed to exhibit several things, on their own, and those things are: a writing system, complex government, job specialization, complex religion, art and architecture, rise in cities, public works, and finally social classes. To start, Moses helped them with religion and transformed them into a nation in the early 13th century, as well as, helped them believe in Yahweh, the one god. After Moses, the Hebrews had their first king, Saul, which can be assumed that at this point they had a complex government. With having a place to call their homeland,

To really understand the role the Catholic Church play on shaping Western civilization, one must look back to previous forms of religion and understand how faith in Gods or a single God intertwined with the daily life of most human beings. Early forms of religion were built around the belief of multiple Gods (polytheism). Early civilizations in the Bronze Age (3300-1300 BCE) such as the Sumerians, Mesopotamians, Phoenicians, and Egyptians concerned their daily life pleasing the gods or

In Egypt, sandy deserts seem to stretch on endlessly with little life in sight. In the middle of the desert, though, rests the Nile River. The Nile, measuring 4,187 miles from beginning to end. The Niles is the longest river in the world. Ancient Egyptians relied on the Nile's bounty to develop into a strong and thriving civilization. Egyptians depended on the Nile to irrigate their crops. The Nile flooded for six months each year, then left behind layers of silt as the waters flooded. Egyptians grew crops such as wheat, barley, beans and cotton in the silt. They dug canals from the river to their farms so crops would receive water. Egyptians ate fish from the river and hunted birds in its marshes. They gathered papyrus reeds from the banks of the river and turned them into a flattened material similar like paper. They also used papyrus for rope, sand. The Nile provided water, traveling source for crop irrigation, Nile provided highway for traveling.

To begin, typically between June and September, the river would flood its banks. Since there is little rainfall in Egypt, this yearly flood would allow moisture back into the soil, improving the conditions for farming. This area of land “along the banks of the Nile [is called] the Kemet, or Black Land.” It is noted that “the land along the banks of the Nile River were extremely fertile.” In addition, the Nile River acted as a natural highway, creating opportunities to trade goods by water. Also, since the river was the only way. The Nile River also provided drinking water for the Egyptians. The Nile River also provided as protection as “People wanting to invade Egypt would have to first cross the river, which was very wide in places.” In a sense, it allowed them to isolate themselves. Therefore, without the Nile River, farming, transportation and protection would have been

The land along the Nile and delta was arable and very good for farming, while the rest of the land was dry like a desert. (Document 2-1) So, the land near the Nile became the perfect environment for a civilization to commence. Although the Nile floods provided silt, allowing crops to grow, the floods also destroyed villages and killed many people. Despite this, so much success was found in Egypt

The civilizations that flourished in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine were located in river valleys or along the Mediterranean coast. These civilizations developed highly complex cultures that shared many common characteristics.

Ancient Egypt was the most advance civilization of antiquity. They had fairly advance Medicine, Architecture, Religion, and were also wise in philosophy. Greek culture learned a lot from Egypt, and they constantly referred to them and sought to find their ancestors in Egypt. The Nile was a fundamental element for the flourishing of the civilization of ancient Egypt, most of the population of cities were in the Nile valley and the Delta. The Nile was vital to Egyptian culture from the stone age. Climate change, and desertification, dried the hunting and grazing lands of Egypt to form of Sahara Desert, around 8000 B.C; then the inhabitants emigrated and settled next to the river Nile, where they developed an agricultural economy and a centralized society.

Throughout time civilizations have risen and collapsed. Some were conquered while others simply disappeared. The Egyptian civilization thrived near the Nile River from 3000 B.C. and was later conquered by the Persian Empire around 525 B.C. In the other hand, the Mayan civilization developed in Yucatan Peninsula around 200 B.C., and mysterious disappeared around 900 A.D. However, these two cultures share many factors in common such as developing calendars and building pyramids. Even though civilizations developed in different time periods, they can still have many factors in common such as environment, language, and architecture.

Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt were two early human civilizations that lived during the bronze age in harsh desert environments located not far from each other. Both civilizations were built around rivers that they depended on for survival. There is evidence that these rivers had great influence on both the societies politics and culture. Egypt was built around the very strong and reliable Nile River. Ancient Mesopotamia was established in the fertile crescent between the less reliable Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. During the bronze age both Ancient Mesopotamians and Ancient Egyptians developed forms of religion that highly reflected their habitat. They had many similarities in their politics even though they had completely different forms of government. Both societies were also known for their discoveries in art and technology. They developed their own forms of writing, different tools and architecture.

Given the vast number of issues that Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity share, it is not contestable that there must be clear connection between them. The concern, therefore, should not focus on the existence of connection, but how the connections came into existence. Considering the religions from another point of view, they still reflect a dozen of differences. The current paper seeks to compare and contrast the three religions: Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity.

i) The phenomenon that the “Hymn to the Nile “responds to the dependency of the Egyptian people on the Nile river. The text shows that the Nile river served as a source of life which sustained and provided all for Egyptians “who creates all that is good” (“Hymn to the Nile” stanza 9). The text asks questions about who controls the Nile and why it flow the way it does - the text itself answers that it is the Egyptian god Hapy who controls the Nile. Hapy is the god of the Nile (Professor David Wardle, Wednesday the 17th of February) who delivers the drought or the floods affecting the prosperity of the land (“Hymn to the Nile” stanza 1). The

During 600 BCE and 600 CE, many countries was going through a drastic change. When analyzing early civilizations, it’s evident there is similarities and differences. The Middle East, China, and Africa were among few countries that advanced during this aeon. All of these empires within the countries have risen and fallen, developing these civilizations to what we know of today.

1. Read Documents 7 and 8 (from The Book of Exodus and The Book of Isaiah). What can we learn about Moses relationship between God and the Hebrews? How does the story told here create a sense of purpose and the and identity for the Hebrews? How does Isaiah modify or change any of these images? What is the role of the prophets by this time?