What was the place Judaism was founded?

Answer 1

This depends on your definition of Judaism. Adam had a covenant with God (first contact) Noah had a covenant with God (salvation from judgement) Abraham had a covenant with God (promise of a nation) Jacob had a covenant with God (Israel) Moses had a covenant with God (the law) David had a covenant with God (a kingdom) At each stage, the religion called judaism was more defined. Jews are looking forward to the messiah Christians claim that Jesus is the messiah

Answer 2

Another answer from our community

Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion, and the history of Judaism cannot be separated from the history of the Jewish people. Its foundation lies in the original covenant made between Abraham and God, circa 1900 BCE, when Abraham was called to leave his home in Ur and travel to Cannan (later known as Palestine and Israel), a land which God promised to give to his descendants. The second and chief covenant was made 450 years later when Moses led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt (the exodus) back to the lands of Canaan. At Mt Horeb (Sinai), God gave the Jewish people the 10 Commandants and other rules to live by (contained in the Torah, the first five books of The Bible), marking the beginning of Judaism as a structured religion.

Answer

There are several answers to this question, all of which must come from the Bible. Many of those who follow Judaism and Christianity probably regard the founder of Judaism to be Abraham, whom they consider to have lived before 2000 BCE. Others may regard the true founder of Judaism to be Moses, who is traditionally considered to have lived around 1400 BCE. On these views, Judaism is around 4000 or 3400 years old.

However, many scholars regard the stories of Abraham and Moses as creations of the first millenium BCE. They point out that the Bible also tells us that the people of Israel (the northern kingdom) were, throughout its history, polytheistic in their religious beliefs. Even in the south, in Judah, the people worshipped many gods until at least the time of King Hezekia (729-686 BCE), who made the first real attempt, in historic times, to impose a monotheistic religion. Judaism is largely defined by the Hebrew Bible, and we now know that much of the Bible was written by the 'Deuteronomist' during the reign of King Josiah ( about 640-609 BCE). The biblical analyses have been confirmed by archaeological evidence. This, then, gives an alternative. 'late', date for the true origin of Judaism. On this evidence, Judaism is around 2600 years old.

Answer

The beginning date of Judaism could be:

• During Abraham's time, as he is the forefather of Judaism some around 1900 BCE; nearly 4000 years ago.
• At the time the Torah was given the the Jews on Mount Sinai some 400 years later.

Answer

No body really knows when Judaism was founded.

Answer

Judaism religion was originated by God through the revelation of Torah to prophet Moses (peace be upon him) estimated to be around 1500 BCE. Prophet Abraham was neither Jewish nor Christian as he lived long before God revelation of the God holy books of Torah and the Bible. Refer to question below for more information. One must differentiate between Judaism as a religion and Judaism as a race or nationality. Judaism as a religion was started by the Torah revelation to prophet Moses around 1500 BCE as mentioned above. However, Judaism as a race or nationality is traced back to the Biblical prophets Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; who lived in Canaan around the 18th century BCE. Historically, Jews had evolved mostly from the Tribe of Judah and Simeon, and partially from the Israelite tribes of Binyamin and Levi.
Tradition holds that Abraham founded the Jewish religion in approximately 2000 BCE.

Answer:

18th century BCE.

According to tradition, Abraham founded Judaism, and Moses later received the Torah from God.

Abraham, tenth generation descendant of Noah, of Hebrew lineage, was the son of Terah, uncle of Lot, father of Isaac, grandfather of Jacob, and ancestor of the Israelites. His story is in Genesis ch.11 (end), through ch.25. Jewish tradition states that he was the first to teach belief in One God; and it is in his merit that Jews continue to exist (Genesis 18:19, and ch.17).

Abraham (18th century BCE) came from ancestry that had been God-fearing a couple of centuries earlier but had afterwards slipped into idolatry (Joshua 24:2). Nimrod, the idolatrous tyrant, had brought Abraham's father (Terah) from the Semitic ancestral seat near the conjunction of the Balikh and the Euphrates, and instated him in a position of power in his army in the royal Babylonian city of Ur, where Abraham was born. Nimrod persecuted any who would question his idolatrous cult.

The Kuzari (Rabbi Judah HaLevi, 1075-1141) states that Abraham was gifted with high intelligence; and, as Maimonides (1135-1204) describes, Abraham didn't blindly accept the ubiquitous idolatry. The whole populace had been duped, but the young Abraham contemplated the matter relentlessly, finally arriving at the conclusion that there is One God and that this should be taught to others as well. This is what is meant by his "calling out in the name of the Lord" (Genesis ch.12). As a young man, he remonstrated with passersby in public, demonstrating to them the falsehood of their idols; and our tradition tells how he was threatened and endangered by Nimrod.

Subsequently, Terah relocated to Harran; and it is here that Abraham began to develop a circle of disciples (Rashi commentary, on Genesis 12:5).

Later, God told Abraham in prophecy to move to the Holy Land, which is where Abraham raised his family.

He continued his contemplations, eventually arriving at the attitudes and forms of behavior which God later incorporated into the Torah given to Moses.

Abraham, with God's help, singlehandedly trounced the supremacy of the evil Nimrod. He received God's promise of inheriting the Holy Land (Genesis 13). He strove to raise a family (Genesis ch.15, 17, and 24) which would serve God (Genesis 18:19); and God eventually blessed his efforts, granting him many children (ibid., ch.16, 21 and 25), as He had promised (Genesis ch.17). Abraham founded the Jewish people and lived to see his work live on in the persons of Isaac and Jacob; and he taught many other disciples as well (Talmud, Yoma 28b). He saved the population of the south of Canaan from invading foreign kings (Genesis 14); and he was feared by neighboring kings (ibid., ch.12 and 20). Abraham gave tithes (Genesis ch.14), entered into a covenant with God (Genesis ch.15 and 17), welcomed guests into his home (Genesis ch.18) unlike the inhospitable Sodomites (Genesis ch.19), prayed for people (Genesis ch.18), rebuked others when necessary (Genesis ch.20), eulogized and buried the deceased (Genesis ch.23), and fulfilled God's will unquestioningly (Genesis ch.22). He became renowned as a prince of God (Genesis 23:6).

All of these forms of behavior were based upon the ways of God, which Abraham comprehended through his contemplations. These, and similar personality traits, were the teachings of Abraham and his descendants (unlike idolatry, which had tended to go hand in hand with cruel, licentious and excessive behavior, since the caprices which were narrated concerning the idols were adopted as an excuse to imitate those types of behavior).

It is therefore clear why God expresses His love for Abraham (Isaiah 41:8) and calls Himself the God of Abraham (Genesis 26:24), and says that Abraham obeyed Him fully (Genesis 26:5). And this is why, according to our tradition, Abraham is credited with having begun the religion which became known as Judaism. However, Abraham and his descendants observed their traditions voluntarily, until the Giving of the Torah to Moses 3325 years ago, when God made it obligatory.
Judaism began with the Covenant between God and Abraham around 2000 BC, making it over 4000 years old

Answer 3

Tradition states that Abraham (18th century BCE) founded Judaism, and Moses later received the Torah from God.

Abraham, tenth-generation descendant of Noah, of Hebrew lineage, was the son of Terah, uncle of Lot, father of Isaac, grandfather of Jacob, and forefather of the Israelites. His story is in Genesis ch.11 (end), through ch.25. Jewish tradition states that he was the first to actively spread belief in One God; and it is in his merit that Jews continue to exist (Genesis 18:19, and ch.17).

• Link: Abraham's Hebrew ancestry
  

Abraham came from ancestry that had been aware of God a couple of centuries earlier but had afterwards slipped into idolatry (Joshua 24:2).

By the time of Abraham, the area where he lived was full of pagan cults; they were polytheistic, worshiping multiple deities.

• Link: How polytheism began
  

Abraham became the first to advance the idea of ethical monotheism: the worship of One God, and the appropriate ethical code of conduct.

Nimrod, the idolatrous tyrant, had brought Abraham's father (Terah) from the Semitic ancestral seat near the confluence of the Balikh and the Euphrates, and instated him in a position of power in his army in the royal Babylonian city of Ur, where Abraham was born. Nimrod persecuted any who would question his idolatrous cult.

The Kuzari (Rabbi Judah HaLevi, 1075-1141) states that Abraham was gifted with high intelligence; and, as Maimonides (1135-1204) describes, Abraham didn't blindly accept the ubiquitous idolatry. The whole populace had been duped, but the young Abraham contemplated the matter relentlessly, finally arriving at the conclusion that there is One God and that this should be taught to others as well. This is what is meant by his "calling out in the name of the Lord" (Genesis ch.12).

As a young man, he remonstrated with passersby in public, demonstrating to them the falsehood of their idols; and our tradition tells how he was threatened and endangered by Nimrod.
Subsequently, Terah relocated to Harran; and it is here that Abraham began to develop a circle of disciples (Rashi commentary, on Genesis 12:5).

Later, God told Abraham in prophecy to move to the Holy Land, which is where he raised his family.

He continued his contemplations, eventually arriving at the attitudes and forms of behavior which God later incorporated into the Torah given to Moses.

Abraham became the greatest thinker of all time. His originality, perseverance, strength of conviction, and influence, cannot be overestimated.

Abraham, with God's help, trounced the supremacy of the evil Nimrod.

He received God's promise of inheriting the Holy Land (Genesis ch.13).

He strove to raise a family (Genesis ch.15, 17, and 24) which would serve God (Genesis 18:19); and God eventually blessed his efforts, granting him numerous descendants (ibid., ch.16, 21 and 25), in keeping with His promise (Genesis ch.17).

Abraham founded the Jewish people and lived to see his work live on in the persons of Isaac and Jacob; and he taught many other disciples as well (Talmud, Yoma 28b).

He saved the population of the south of Canaan from invading foreign kings (Genesis 14); and he was feared by neighboring kings (ibid., ch.12 and 20).

Abraham gave tithes (Genesis ch.14), entered into a covenant with God (Genesis ch.15 and 17), welcomed guests into his home (Genesis ch.18) unlike the inhospitable Sodomites (Genesis ch.19), prayed for people (Genesis ch.18), rebuked others when necessary (Genesis ch.20), eulogized and buried the deceased (Genesis ch.23), and fulfilled God's will unquestioningly (Genesis ch.22).

He became renowned as a prince of God (Genesis 23:6).

The gravesite of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives (Genesis 49:29-32) is located in Hebron and has been known and attested to for many centuries.

• Link: Archaeology
  

All of the above practices of Abraham were based upon the ways of God, which Abraham understood through his contemplations. These, and similar personality traits, were the teachings of Abraham and his descendants (unlike idolatry, which had no moral character; with worship of the gods accompanied by things such as human sacrifice, "sacred" prostitution, and animal worship).

• Link: Pagan practices
  

It is therefore clear why God expresses His love for Abraham (Isaiah 41:8) and calls Himself the God of Abraham (Genesis 26:24), and says that Abraham obeyed Him fully (Genesis 26:5). And this is why Abraham is credited with having begun the religion which became known as Judaism. (However, Abraham and his descendants observed their traditions voluntarily, until the Giving of the Torah to Moses 3325 years ago, when God made it obligatory.)

Answer 4

Biblical tradition holds that Judaism was founded by Abraham around 1800 BCE, or by Moses around 1400 BCE.

The problem with either of those traditions is that modern biblical scholars say that neither Abraham nor Moses was really a historical person. They say that there was no Exodus from Egypt and no conquest of Canaan. Instead, the Hebrew peopel were themselves Canaanites who migrated internally from the region of the rich coastal cities and settled peacefully in the hitherto sparsely populated Canaanite hinterland, around 1200 BCE.

Judaism evolved from the Bronze Age Canaanite religion, but not immediately, or at least not in the form we now know. Mark S. Smith (The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel) says that according to the available evidence, Hebrew religion in its earliest form did not contrast markedly with the religions of its Levantine neighbours in either number or configuration of deities. The number of deities in Israel was relatively typical for the region. He says that, as they did in the religions of surrounding states, some old Canaanite deities continued within an Israelite pantheon dominated by a national god.

At first the national God was El (biblical Hebrew: 'Elohim), the Canaanite father of the gods. By the beginning of what is regarded as the monarchical period, a new God had arrived, apparently from Midian, where the Midianite storm god is attested by the ancient Egyptians as YHW. This new God, known to the Hebrews as Yahweh (biblical Hebrew: YHWH, modern Hebrew: YHVH) did not replace El, but was gradually syncretised with him. Meanwhile, the roles of other gods in the Hebrew pantheon diminished.

By the seventh century BCE, there was much about the religion of Judah that could be identified with modern Judaism. Although apparently not yet monotheistic, the official religion of Judah appears to have been monolatrous. Archaeologists also say that images of God cease to appear in the archaeological record around this time. This was also the period when some of the material that was to become the Torah, or Pentateuch, began to be written down.

The return of the Jews from the Babylonian Exile is definitely associated with monotheism, as well as continued aniconism and the abandonment of child sacrifice. Known as Second Temple Judaism, this still differed from the rabbinical Judaism of today. It was soon established that God could only be worshipped in the Jerusalem Temple and the form of worship involved animal sacrifices. Beliefs about life after death, heaven, hell and the role of Satan were still in a state of flux. Although none of the identified pre-Exilic goddesses was worshipped, there was still veneration of a spirit/goddess known as Wisdom and some believe to have been the pre-Exilic goddess of wisdom, up until the end of the first century CE. We can date the beginning of Second Temple Judaism from around 539 BCE or a little later.

The destruction of the Temple in 70 CE and the death or enslavement of much of the Jewish elite brought Second Temple Judaism to an end. Rabbinical Judaism was established by the end of the first century CE.

Answer 5

Tradition holds that Abraham founded the Jewish religion in Israel, around 2000 BCE.