Around the thirteenth century B.C...
Illustration
Around the thirteenth century B.C., a group of Semitic tribesmen, descendants of the Patriarch Abraham, straggled up from Egypt into the land of Canaan. They were typically Bedouins or nomads, setting up their tents made of goatskins and moving from oasis to oasis. The units usually consisted of a family group, plus their livestock -- perhaps forty or fifty people. Although they met other tribes in Canaan, they held themselves aloof from the others because of a deep-rooted belief that they had a special relationship with God, and, furthermore, that their God was the one and only universal God.
This belief gave them a sort of arrogance that has endured over the centuries. As the nation grew and spread, various factions differed sharply on matters of doctrine; yet all agreed on the importance of maintaining Judaism in the purest form possible. God-fearing Jews looked on alien religions with abhorrence. Devoted to a single God, they could not share in tolerance toward the gods of others.
This firm belief in one true God was the unique characteristic of the Jewish religion. Moses articulated it in the First Commandment. It has continued in the offshoots of Judaism -- and Islam. These three religions, which hold to faith in one universal God, find a common meeting place in Jerusalem, held sacred by all three.
This belief gave them a sort of arrogance that has endured over the centuries. As the nation grew and spread, various factions differed sharply on matters of doctrine; yet all agreed on the importance of maintaining Judaism in the purest form possible. God-fearing Jews looked on alien religions with abhorrence. Devoted to a single God, they could not share in tolerance toward the gods of others.
This firm belief in one true God was the unique characteristic of the Jewish religion. Moses articulated it in the First Commandment. It has continued in the offshoots of Judaism -- and Islam. These three religions, which hold to faith in one universal God, find a common meeting place in Jerusalem, held sacred by all three.
