Christianity developed from Judaism and shares much with it. Their histories are intertwined, and their faiths have similar views of God, revelation, creation, human duty to God and other humans, sin, salvation, and final judgment. In fact, they are so closely related that scholars sometimes refer to the Judeo- Christian tradition. Like Christianity, Judaism has had a long and constantly changing past—a history that is found in the Jewish, or Hebrew, Scriptures These Scriptures are called the Old Testament by many Christians. Many of the books that make up the Scriptures are collections of spoken traditions handed down over many generations. As a result, it is often difficult to separate historical facts from legends. This book does not explore the many controversies created by efforts to uncover the details of Hebrew history 2 Instead, a summary of key figures and periods in Jewish history is presented based on biblical material.
The first era in Jewish history is called the period of the Patriarchs (founding fathers). According to the Hebrew tradition found in the Book of Genesis, the founder of the faith that became Judaism was Abraham who may have lived