When did Judah create Judaism?

Answer 1

The Bible records that Judaism was not created by Judah, although it certainly was maintained in that kingdom during the period prior to the exile, to an extent much closer to the ideal than the apostate northern kingdom of Israel.

According to the Biblical record, Judaism had its origins at the time of Moses when God firstly revealed the divine name to Moses, then gave the Law at Sinai. Judaism, although having a historical development, does not trace its origins to Judah but to God Himself. The Deuteronomic history is a term first used in the 19th century by the founders of the Documentary Hypothesis and those who followed them. People such as Graf, Wellhausen, Kuenen, and others developed an elaborate Literary Theory based on subjective and anti-biblical presuppositions. They took no notice whatsoever of discoveries in the field of Archaeology in developing their theory. It has been correctly stated by some in scholarly circles that had they done so their theory would have been markedly different or that they would not have developed it at all. The fact that no notice whatever was taken of archaeology is evidenced by a large number of discoveries in this field which explicitly contradict the theory. Some of these discoveries were beginning to be made around the time when Wellhausen first developed his theory. No changes were made to the essential fabric of the theory despite the solid refutation of it by facts.

In connection with the above the Old Testament scholar R.K. Harrison pointed out: "Wellhausen took almost no note whatever of the progress in the field of oriental scholarship, and once having arrived at his conclusions, he never troubled to revise his opinion in the light of subsequent research in the general field." Harrison, Ronald Keith B.D., M.Th., Ph.D. in Introduction to the Old Testament, p 509.

The above post explains some of the details of the theory.

What needs to be clearly understood is that some scholars from all sides of the discussion (those in favor and those against) on the Documentary Hypothesis acknowledge that archaeological and other literary studies of the documents themselves thoroughly refute the original pillars on which the theorists built the structure of their theory.

It must also be understood that outside of the Biblical text itself not one single shred of evidence exists for any of the alleged authors of this history. Not one single shred of textual evidence exists outside of the Bible either. Use of differing literary styles which is done even today has been well understood as a simple explanation for differences of style within the text.

Some scholars claim to have also pointed out numerous methodological weaknesses in the whole theory such as circular reasoning where the result was pre-determined. Alleged redactors (editors) are proposed to explain the numerous places where the documents do not fit the theory. These scholars have noted that this is tantamount to admitting at every point where a redactor is deemed to be necessary that the theory breaks down at that point. Over time this was found to be necessary on numerous occasions, thus demonstrating amply the holes in the theory.

Some scholars have also pointed out numerous other details in the text itself which point to a unified author, as well as details which do not fit well at all into the time of Josiah.

Archaeological discoveries continue to be made which support the view which the Bible itself presents. None have been found to be unequivocally supportive of the view of skeptical scholarship. The comparatively recent discovery of the Creation Tablet from Ebla demonstrates the antiquity of the knowledge of an almighty creator, and has a number of parallels with the Genesis account. The Ebla discoveries are part of a number of other similar discoveries which some believe thoroughly refute the idea that the religion of Israel evolved from primitive polytheism to henotheism and then to monotheism. They also refute the fallacy of writing not being in use in the time of Moses, thus supposedly making it impossible for him to be the author. Detailed interpretations of scripture, including subjective interpretation based on a flawed presuppositions, were made in line with the circular reasoning inherent in the theory. The evidence was found to fit the preconstructed criteria, and all contrary evidence was either re-interpreted or discarded. The polytheism which certainly existed in the history of Israel was interpreted in line with the theory. The flaws in the theory in relation to the development of the religion of Israel are reflected in the way in which the Biblical evidence is selectively interpreted, with the great mass of contrary evidence ignored - evidence which clearly demonstrates the centrality of monotheism.

Thus there is no need to develop explanations with no basis in fact to account for a theoretical historical evolution of religion which never happened. It is clear that Judah did not create Judaism, both from the Bible itself and from the external evidence as well. The Bible In Context The one and only religion of Israel was distinctly monotheistic in nature. Numerous passages, in context, support this claim. The imposing of meanings foreign to the text, due to out of context quotation, produces meanings not intended by the original authors and are out of keeping with the consistent message of the scriptures as a whole.

The scriptures attest that the religion of Israel was wholly monotheistic from its inception through Moses as well as back into the patriarchal period.

1. The God of Israel was the only God of the patriarchs:Exodus 3:15 (King James Version) 15And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. On fifteen other occasions the God of Israel is referred to as the "God of Abraham", twelve of them in Genesis. On thirteen other occasions He is referred to as the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

2. The God of Israel was the only God revealed to Moses:

Since Moses is the central founding figure of the religion of Israel (Abraham being the genetic father of the Jewish nation) it is important to know what was revealed to him about God. There is not one single reference which demonstrates that Moses was polytheistic in either practice or in his teaching. The God who revealed himself to Moses in Exodus 3, was the one God that Moses worshiped and the one and only God of Israel. This God Moses worshiped and served all his days. 3. Departure from the one true God (Monotheism) was warned against prior to the entry into Canaan:

This occurs primarily in Canaan and demonstrates that in the wandering in the desert, the Israelites worshiped the one true God. The glaring exception of course being the making of the idol at Sinai. This exception does not demonstrate that they were polytheistic, since this was a departure and an aberration, a grievous departure from the one God who led them out of Egypt. Deuteronomy 18:9 (King James Version) 9When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations... 12For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee... 14For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

If polytheism and not the monotheistic worship of one God was indeed the religion of Israel, then these commands would be utterly meaningless - they would just be continuing as they left off if they were already polytheists. 4. Oppression by foreign powers during the time of the Judges was explicitly linked to departure from the one true God of Israel.

5. Every King of Israel and Judah under both the united and divided kingdoms were judged under monotheistic criteria.

6. The Assyrian and Babylonian captivities were specifically linked to departure from the one true God of Israel.

7. Future blessings and curses were always conditional upon obedience to the one God of Israel:

8. Worship of deities other than the God of Israel was never seen as anything other than sin:

9. In order for Israel to depart from the one true God they must first have served Him:

10. Israel was a nation separated unto Yahweh alone, never unto any other:

Answer 2

Scholars say that Judaism really began in the southern Hebrew state of Judah during the reign of King Josiah, while others believe that the start of Judaism can better be associated with the Babylonian Exile.
We know from the Bible that Judah was polytheistic until the reign of King Hezekia, who made a failed attempt to impose monotheism in the 7th century BCE. Hezekia's son, Manasseh, allowed polytheism to flourish once again, evidence that monotheism had not taken root among the ordinary people.

Almost a century after Hezekia, King Josiah reinstituted the reforms of his ancestor. During this period, the "book of law", believed to be Deuteronomy was 'found' in the Temple during renovations. Scholars say that the D source (the Deuteronomist) lived during the reign of Josiah and not only completed much of the Pentateuch, but also wrote the Deuteronomic history - the Books of Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. These reforms, the largely successful permanent reintroduction of monotheism and the substantial completion of major works of the Bible, could be regarded as the origin of Judaism - late in the seventh century BCE.

We can identify important changes to the theology of the Bible, starting during the Babylonian exile of the sixth century BCE. If we regard the new ideas absorbed during this period as essential to the definition of Judaism, then the start date of Judaism could be 500 BCE or later.

Biblical analysis The following, far from exhaustive, biblical extracts are provided to enable readers to establish for themselves that polytheism flourished in Judah up until the time of King Josiah, and even afterwards. Believed to have been written during the reign of King Josiah, Kings reflects the attitude of the monotheists towards the ancestral kings.

• Of Judah during the reign of its first king, Rehoboam: (1 Kings 14:22) And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealosy with tbeir sins which they had committed, above all that their father had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, onevery high hill, and under every green tree.
  
• Of his son, Abijam: (1 Kings 15:3) And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him.
  
• Of a later king, Ahaz: (2 Kings 16:3-4) But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his son to pass through the fire [human sacrifice], according to the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree.
  
• Of King Manasseh, son of Hezekiah the king who unsuccessfully attempted to impose monotheism: (2 Kings 21:3) For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.
  

Even when Kings speaks well of an ancient king, it qualifies this by saying that the king continued to allow the high places and groves. The continued references to high places and groves demonstrate not only the beliefs of the king, but also of the ordinary people of Judah:

• (1 Kings 15:14) [Asa] But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord all his days.
  
• (2 Kings 14:4) [Amaziah] Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places.
  

The prophet Ezekiel was committed to the propagation of the monotheistic Jewish faith, but also mentions the former worship of various gods in the Jerusalem Temple:

• (Ezekiel 8:14) And he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was towards the north: and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz [a Semitic god condemned to hell by the goddess Astarte].
  
• (Ezekiel 8:16) And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
  

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.)

Moses was an Israelite, a great-great grandson of Jacob. He was born 245 years after the death of Abraham. The time when Moses was born was when the Pharaoh had ordered his people to kill all Israelite male infants because he (Pharaoh) was afraid that the Israelites would become too strong for him (Exodus ch.1-2).

Moses' mother didn't want him to die. So she made a basket for him and put him in it to float in the Nile reeds. He was found by Pharaoh's daughter, who took pity on him (Exodus ch.2) and raised him as her own son.

• Link: How did Moses know he was an Israelite?
  

Moses was forced to flee after killing a cruel Egyptian taskmaster, and went to Midian, where he wedded the daughter of Jethro.

He eventually achieved the highest level of prophecy (Deuteronomy ch.34) and was called upon by God (Exodus ch.3). He brought the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery (Exodus ch.12). He received the Torah from God (Exodus 24:12) and later recorded it in writing (Deuteronomy 31:24). He went up on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights (Deuteronomy ch.9-10) and brought down the Two Stone Tablets with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18). He brought the Israelites into the covenant with God (Exodus ch.19 and ch.24), and he oversaw the building of the Tabernacle (Exodus ch.35-40). He was the humblest of men and the greatest of prophets (Numbers ch.12).

See also the other Related Links.

Link: Was Abraham real

Link: Was Moses real

Answer 4

Kingdom of Judah was created in 930.