One of the most influential Western civilizations was the Hebrew people. Three of the most prominent monotheistic religions stem from the Hebrews: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This essay is about Hebrew history according to the Bible, starting from Adam and ending with Egyptian slavery.
It all started in the beginning. Genesis says that there was nothing in the world at this time. It was all empty and dark. In six days, the Triune God, Jehovah, made everything. He created light, the stars, fish, birds, plants, cattle, and men. After each day, He said that His work was good. At the end of the six days, he proclaimed that all His creation was “Very good.” Adam was the first man, and God gave him dominion over all creation. He lived inside the flourishing Garden of Eden. One of his tasks included naming all of the animals. Adam did so diligently but soon realized none of the animals were like him. God looked at Adam’s loneliness with sympathy and created a woman for Adam. Adam named her Eve. They lived happily, but God gave them one rule: Don’t eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan, the serpent, persuaded Eve to eat the fruit anyways. She gave the fruit to Adam, and the two disobeyed God. They broke God’s single commandment, and with that came the curse of sin. There was a second tree in the Garden of Eden called the Tree of Life. Fearing that Adam and Eve would eat that tree’s fruit and live forever, He banished them from the Garden of Eden. Adam had two sons: Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer, while Abel was a shepherd. That’s fine. That’s good. However, when they both sacrificed to God, Abel offered the best of his flock. Cain did not. So, God rejected Cain’s offering but accepted Abel’s. That created resentment, and Cain grew to hate his brother Abel. Time passed, and eventually, that hatred grew so much that Cain killed his brother. It was the first murder, but it wasn’t the last.
By the time Noah came around, humans were very depraved. They were so wicked that God was sorry He made them since their hearts were continually evil. Because of the violence, God decided to destroy everything. He was going to annihilate the entire human population and punish them. However, there was one righteous man. His name was Noah. God recognized that Noah feared Him and showed him mercy. God sent a flood to destroy all of the world but told Noah to create a boat. In that boat, Noah would save himself, his family, and two of every kind of animal. Creation wouldn’t end. After the flood was over and the water subsided, Noah set up an altar to thank God for His mercy.
Abraham is widely considered the father of the Hebrews. He was from Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). Due to his fear of God, Jehovah gave him a promise: His descendants would multiply into a great nation, and they would conquer Canaan. That’s called the Abrahamic Covenant. So, Abraham moved from Mesopotamia to Canaan. He had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. However, Isaac was the son born from his wife, Sarah. Due to jealousy, Sarah kicked Ishmael and his mother out of Abraham’s house. That left him with one son. As a test, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Willingly, Abraham complied. But just as Abraham was about to kill his son, an angel intervened and stopped him. It was just a test, and Abraham passed. Instead of killing his son, Abraham found a ram nearby and sacrificed that instead. Isaac married Rebekkah, and they had two sons: Jacob and Esau. Esau was the older son and had the birthright. Jacob was younger, and he was also crafty. Jacob wasn’t content being the younger sibling. He wanted the birthright. Through deceit, he got the birthright and eventually stole his father’s blessing to Esau. That infuriated Esau, who now desired to murder Jacob. Jacob fled and lived with his uncle, Laban. He married Laban’s two daughters, Rachel and Leah. Eventually, Jacob made peace with Esau.
Jacob had twelve sons. Since he favored his wife Rachel more than Leah, he favored Joseph, Rachel’s son, more than the others. That caused resentment. His brothers hated him. As a spoiled little brat, Joseph made matters worse. He often told his brother about dreams he had where all of them were bowing down to him. So, his brothers did what any loving brothers would do. They sold him into slavery. Joseph ended up in Egypt. First, he was one of Potiphar’s servants. Then he went to prison and eventually ended up serving Pharoah. Joseph gained a lot of favor, and since he interpreted Pharoah’s vision, Pharoah made him second in command over all of Egypt. The vision predicted an oncoming famine. Joseph built storehouses to collect food. The famine struck, and Egypt was the only country with food. Joseph’s brothers visited him in Egypt and begged to buy food. Unbeknownst to them, they were bowing down to their brother. Joseph’s dreams of them kneeling before him came true. He revealed himself to his brothers, sold them food, and forgave them. His entire family moved to Egypt shortly after that. They were welcomed warmly by the Pharoah. However, after Joseph and the Pharoah died, the next king of Egypt hated the Israelite Hebrews. Fearing that they would rise and overthrow Egypt, he enslaved them all.
Asher Sisneros 