What did the Hebrew people believe?

Answer 1

The Torah doesn't specify the central belief of Judaism, rather, the teachings held within the Torah are what Judaism bases its beliefs on. Judaism teaches that it's man job on earth to help HaShem complete creation by bringing justice and good into the world.

Answer 2

In the One God, creator of all things; and in the Torah.

Another answer:

It is true, as the Prophets themselves complain, that many of the Hebrews indeed worshiped the idols of the surrounding nations. However, it is vital to know that the idolatry was a deviation, even if the majority may have indulged; and the Tanakh (Bible) records the punishments that were visited upon the people for straying.

The Prophets, from Abraham to Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, etc., never wavered in their urging of the people to destroy and shun any and all idols. Repudiation of idols is one of the foremost topics throughout the Tanakh (Bible); and it continues unabated in the words of the Sages of the Mishna and Gemara (Talmud; Oral Torah) and every one of the codifiers such as Rambam (Maimonides).

Joshua (23:7-8) says: "Do not mention the name of their gods or worship them...Cling to the Lord your God".

The nation that witnessed God giving the Ten Commandments had no doubt about the oneness of the Creator. And later, there were always righteous Jews who carried on the tradition of Abraham to spurn idolatry, including during the Monarchy: Saul, David, Rehav'am, Aviyam, Asa, Yehoshaphat, Hizkiah, Josiah, and the prophets themselves, are some examples whose names we possess. The prophets each had tens of disciples, as we see from the verses concerning Elisha.

On another note, one should be aware that God has a number of names referred to in the Torah. These denote the ways in which God relates to us; but, as Rashi and the Sages point out, they all are names of the One God and nothing else.

Answer 3

When we say "Hebrew people" we usually mean the people of ancient Israel and pre-Exilic Judah. In spite of common belief today, they actually believed in many gods, much like their neighbours. Keel and Uehlinger (Gods, Goddesses and Images of God in Ancient Israel) describe hundreds of artefacts found in Israel and Judah throughout the entire monarchical period, showing that polytheism was ubiquitous and mainstream in the region throughout the period. This was summarised very cogently by Lang, whom I will quote from a citation in Keel and Uehlinger, as the original quote was in German:
"In the four and a half centuries during which there were one or two Israelite monarchies (ca. 1020-586 B.C.), there was a dominant, polytheistic religion that was indistinguishable from that of neighboring peoples. Insofar as there were differences between the Ammonite, Moabite, Edomite, Tyrian, etc. versions of religion, these beliefs stayed within the framework of Near Eastern polytheism, and each should be interpreted as a local variant of the same basic pattern. The Israelites . . . venerated their own protector god who was there to provide for health and family. But they venerated Yahweh [God] as well, the regional and national god, whose special domain dealt with war and peace issues."



Monotheism was a notion completely foreign to the Hebrews until the time of King Josiah or, at the earliest, Hezekiah.

Answer 4

From the time of Abraham and further, he and his Hebrew descendants believed in God, and worshiping and serving him.

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

By the time of Abraham, the area where he lived was full of pagan cults; they were polytheistic, worshiping multiple deities. Abraham was the one who advanced the idea of ethical monotheism: the worship of One God, and the appropriate ethical code of conduct. See: Abraham's teachings.

Did Abraham's Hebrew (Israelite) descendants believe in One God (Deuteronomy 6:4)?

Yes.

Dictionaries define "Judaism" as The monotheistic religion of the Jews, since the founding principle of Judaism was and is the belief in One God. This teaching has continued since the the lifetime of Abraham. From Judaism, belief in One God has spread through the Western world.

Jews have always worshiped the One God. Abraham worshiped "the Lord God of Heaven and Earth" (Genesis 14:22 and 24:3) and complained about the Philistines' lack of fear of God (Genesis 20:11).

Jacob confiscated the idolatrous images taken from Shechem (Genesis 35:2) and got rid of them (Genesis 35:4); and refrained from invoking the gods of Nahor (Genesis 31:53). Rachel pilfered Laban's statue-images (Genesis 31:19) in order to prevent him from idolatry (Rashi commentary, ibid.). Joseph placed his hope in the God of the Forefathers (Genesis 50:24).

At the time of the Exodus, God wrecked the Egyptian idols (Exodus 12:12) and warned against idolatry (Exodus 22:19). Later, Moses characterized the Golden Calf as "a great sin" (Exodus 32:21, 30) and punished the worshipers (Exodus ch.32). During the rest of his lifetime and that of Joshua (Judges 2:7), no incidents of Israelite idolatry were reported.

Shortly before he died, Moses warned the people that he suspected that they would eventually succumb to the lure of the idols (Deuteronomy 29:17). Joshua gave a similar warning (Joshua ch. 24).
These warnings came true. Many of the Israelites went astray after the foreign gods (Judges 2:11). However, they never invented their own idol. It was always the baneful influence of other peoples. And there were times when the entire Israelite nation repented (Judges 2:1-4) and prayed to God (Judges 3:9, 3:15, 6:6, 10:10). Those who did sin did not represent normative Judaism. They were deviating from the Torah's standard; they were publicly, repeatedly, and scathingly excoriated by the Prophets, and they caused God's retribution to come upon the entire people.

Because of the idol-worship that did happen, ancient images of idols have been found in Israel too. Images of God aren't found because it is forbidden to represent Him through imagery (Deuteronomy 4:15-16).

It should be noted that idolatry was never universalamong the Israelites. The tradition of the One God was handed down in every generation, whether by the few or the many; and it is those who handed down that tradition whose beliefs we Jews continue today.

Deborah ascribed victory to God (Judges 4:14), Gideon tore down the idolatrous altar (Judges 6:25-27); Samson prayed to God (Judges 16:28), as did Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11) and Samuel (ibid. 12:18); Eli blessed in the name of God (1 Samuel 2:20), Saul built an altar to God (1 Samuel 14:35); Jonathan ascribed victory to God (1 Samuel 14:12), as did David (1 Samuel 17:46); and Solomon built the Temple for God (1 Kings 8:20). A number of the kings "did what was right in God's eyes": David (1 Kings 15:5), Solomon (see 1 Kings 3:3), Asa (1 Kings 15:11), Yehoshaphat (1 Kings 22:43), Yehu (2 Kings 10:30), Yehoash (2 Kings 12:3), Amatziah (2 Kings 14:3), Azariah (2 Kings 15:3), Yotam (2 Kings 15:34), Hizkiah (2 Kings 18:3), and Josiah (2 Kings 22:2). Part of this righteousness was their destroying whatever idolatrous incursions had occurred among the populace (1 Samuel 7:3-4, 2 Chronicles 15:8, 2 Chronicles 17:6, 2 Kings 18:4).

Even at the height of the unfortunate spread of idolatry among the less-loyal Ten Tribes, there were thousands who remained loyal to God (1 Kings 19:18).
And, of course, the Prophets, who spoke in the name of God and warned against idolatry: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea and so on.
The sages of the Talmud, who ridiculed idolatry (Megillah 25b), were simply continuing in the tradition of the Prophets whose verses are quoted in that context (ibid.).

See also:

Jewish history timeline

Are Hebrews, Israelites and Jews the same people?

Was it one of the kings who started Jewish monotheism?

Answer 5

The Hebrew religion is Judaism. The philosophy of Judaism is that this world is a purposeful creation by God, in which all people are tested concerning their use of free-will. We possess a soul which lives on after the body dies and is held responsible for the person's actions. Anyone who is worthy, Jewish or not, can merit reward in the afterlife.
Here is a list of the most basic beliefs of Judaism, as codified by Maimonides:
1. God exists, and is the Creator.
This tells us that the world is not purposeless or chaotic. Life is the result of a deliberate, purposeful, intelligent and kind Creator; not a melancholy chaos or a string of fortuitous accidents.
2. God is One and unique.
This is the basis of all Western monotheistic belief, which was given to the world by Abraham and his descendants. This belief places God at the center of reality and the center of our world-outlook and thoughts. (See: Biography of Abraham)
3. God is not physical.
This includes the corollary that no person should be worshiped as God or as a god. Judaism has no god-kings, no demigods, no angel who flouts God's will, and no sports-idols, movie-idols etc.
4. God is eternal.
This includes the belief that God's ways are also eternal. God is not capricious, forgetful or fickle. Investing in a relationship with God is the only thing that will bear eternal benefits.
5. Prayer is to be directed only to God.
This also teaches us that no person, government or institution is to be accorded blind trust. We pray directly to God, three times a day; and we recount our shortcomings, ask for our needs, and acknowledge our successes with happy thanks.
6. The words of the prophets are true.
The prophecies of the Hebrew Bible have been coming true throughout history. Even secular archaeologists (the unbiased ones) have stated that the Hebrew Bible is the most accurate of historical records, as the disdainful theories of Wellhausen and Bible-critics of his ilk have been shattered by the archaeologist's spade. A list of Bible verses which were deemed anachronistic but later shown to be perfectly accurate would run into the many hundreds. (See: Archaeology and Bible-critics)
7. The prophecies of Moses are true; and he was the greatest prophet.
8. The Torah was given to Moses by God.
These two beliefs are the basis of our attitude towards the Torah: it is the center of our lives. Jews are keeping mitzvot (commands), saying blessings, praying, learning Torah and doing acts of kindness and charity all the time. The Torah is the single greatest thing that a Jew has; given to us to provide knowledge, guidance, inspiration, awe and reverence, advice, law, comfort, history and more. It is the basis of Judaism.
9. There will be no other Torah.
We Jews have been around for 3800 years. New fads, manifestos, beliefs or lifestyles which rear their heads are met by the Jew with a calm, seasoned eye and the proverbial grain of salt. The Torah doesn't change; and every new thing can be measured against the Torah's standards.
10. God knows the thoughts and deeds of all.
11. God rewards the good and punishes the wicked.
These two beliefs provide a vast incentive towards righteousness and, when needed, repentance.
They also form part of the basis of our belief in the afterlife, since this entire world wouldn't be enough to reward a Moses or punish a Hitler.
God is just (Deuteronomy 32:4); and all outstanding accounts are settled after this life.
12. The Messiah will come.
13. The dead will be resurrected.
Judaism is the only ancient religion which taught optimism; and a large part of that optimism was and is based upon the words of the prophets.See also:

Can you show that God exists

The afterlife in Judaism

How did the Hebrew Bible affect the Israelites?

Answer 6

Monotheism, Judaism, and the Torah. The belief that God has given us the Torah, which is the basis of Judaism.