Origins:
- Judaism is one of the three Prophetic Monotheistic Religions in the world, the other two are Christianity and Islam
- It is Prophetic as there were numerous Prophets who predicted the coming of a Messiah, Monotheistic as they believe in one God - mono (one) Theology (belief/study of God)
- Jews are ancient people of about 3000 years ago, their history is told in the Bible and is traced back to Abraham of around 1900 BC (before common time era)
- The Jews have been known as Jews, Israelites, and Hebrews. (Jesus was a Jew, however the Jews accept Jesus as a wise man, but not the chosen Messiah as Christians believe, hence Judaism predates and heavily influences Christianity, but is not part of Christianity)
- Abraham is one of the first recorded leaders of the Hebrews in the Bible. He was a wealthy man who was called by God to leave his land and move from Ur to Canaan, or Israel as it is called today.
- Abraham heard the call of the Lord to stop believing in pagan Gods (like God of wind, God of mountains etc.) and he followed God's request and led his people from Mesopotamia to Canaan. This journey is recorded in the book of Genesis. We can map this journey here
- Who is Abraham? The first Jew, the founder of Judaism
- What did Abraham believe? How was it different to the people of the time? He believed in one God, while many others believed in many Gods
- What do you think a Covenant is? What Covenant did God make with Abraham? A Covenant is a promise e.g. like the Covenant of marriage, God promises Abraham three things: to make a great nation (to be the father of many nations), to bless everyone in his name, promise him land
- What sacrifice was Abraham requested to make? Why did God ask this of Abraham? God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. He did it to prove his love to God
- Search the word Patriarchs, what does it mean? It means father of the religion, Abraham is the father of Isaac and Jacob
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