Could you compare and contrast the history of the early Jewish community and the Phoenician culture?

Answer 1

Differences:

The Phoenician culture was extremely trade oriented, specifically around sea trade around the Mediterranean. During the time period during which they existed the Phoenicians were the preeminent naval power, even more so than the Greeks who were also highly accomplished in terms of naval power. The Phoenicians were never really considered much of a military power, by most sources, but they were the major economic player basically until the Roman Empire came along. By contrast the Israelites (Jews) were a much more land-based power, they naturally, exploited the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean for fishing purposes, but they were never a major naval player.

The Phoenicians and Israelites also differed in their primary methods of acquiring new territory. The Phoenicians tended to sail around the Mediterranean and establish colonies, the most noteworthy of them being (it's believed) the city of Carthage. The Israelites, on the other hand, acquired new territories primarily through military conquest and subjugating or exterminating the local people groups in the areas they conquered, which is how they took possession of the 'Promised Land' in The Bible in the first place.

Lastly, there was a major religious difference between the two cultures as the Phoenicians, like almost all cultures of the time, were a polytheistic culture worshiping many gods whereas the Israelites have almost always (except for small periods in their early history) been a monotheistic culture holding to the worship of just one God.

Similarities:

Once the Israelites took possession of the 'Promised Land' they basically settled in for the long haul and weren't a very militaristic people in terms of going out to aggressively conquer new territories. The Jews still fought for their own freedom quite a bit throughout ancient times, notably during the Maccabean Revolt against Seleucid Rule and during the Siege of Mosada against the Romans, but they were not an overly expansionst group from a military standpoint and neither were the Phoenicians.

Additionally, from an economic standpoint, both groups of people depended largely on outside trade for their economic livelihoods. The Phoenicians, as previously discussed, were the major ocean-going economic power of the time. The Israelite's territory was situated both on the major land trade routes from Egypt, a major economic and agricultural area, to the rest of Asia Minor and Europe as well as sitting on one of the major branches of the Silk Road, specifically the branch between China and the Phoenician city of Tyre.

Mesopotamian influence:

You'll have to be more specific on which people group you're talking about. There was no specific people group called the Mesopotamians. That term refers to all the people groups of the Mesopotamian Region, also known as the Fertile Crescent because of its geographic shape. Several people groups called that region home, including: the Seleucids, Parthians, Canaanites, Philistines, Persians, Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, Akkadians, and Sumerians and each of those cultures was similar to the others in some ways and different from the others in some ways. So, without more information that aspect of the question cannot be adequately answered.