Changes

==Israel==

==Israel==

While the Kassites were in control of Babylon, the oldest formed religion still active in the world began: Judaism.  Descendants of Abraham, who lived in Ur around 2000 B.C., the Hebrews migrated away from Ur in Mesopotamia to Palestine, where they resided in about 1500 B.C.  But they migrated over to Egypt to escape a bad famine.  There they generally served as slaves for over 400 years, though they undoubtedly contributed greatly to the intellectual progress of the Egyptian culture.  As described in Exodus, Moses (who had been adopted by a royal family there) ultimately led 600,000 Hebrews out of Egypt around 1250 B.C.  Egyptian historians refer to slaves and captives called “Hapiru”, but it is debated whether these were the Hebrews.  Regardless, the Bible contains many verified references to the Egyptian pharaohs demonstrating that the Jewish ancestors were in Egypt.  The Hebrew escape from Egypt is called the “Exodus”, and is described by that book in the Old Testament.  During the passage, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. (In Manhattan today there is a famous medical school on the upper East Side named “Mount Sinai.”)  Moses is also credited as being the scribe for the first five books of the Bible (the “Pentateuch” or, in parchment scroll in the Jewish liturgy, the “Torah”).

 

While the Kassites were in control of Babylon, the oldest formed religion still active in the world began: Judaism.  The descendants of Abram (later in his life his name became "Abraham", meaning "father of many"), who lived in Ur around 2000 B.C., and his wife Sarah, through their son Isaac and his son Jacob, became known first as the "Hebrews", then (after establishing the ancient nation of Israel) as the "Israelites", and ultimately (beginning with the terminology in the Book of Esther written between 200 and 300 B.C.), as the "Jews" or "Jewish people."  Judaism did not exist before Abraham, and it is not known where his ancestors lived in the prior millennium; they could have lived throughout the Middle East, including ancient Egypt.

 

The ancient Hebrews who were descended from Jacob migrated away from Ur in Mesopotamia to Palestine, where they resided in about 1500 B.C.  But they migrated over to Egypt to escape a bad famine.  There they generally served as slaves for over 400 years, though they undoubtedly contributed greatly to the intellectual progress of the Egyptian culture.  As described in Exodus, Moses (who had been adopted by a royal family there) ultimately led 600,000 Hebrews out of Egypt around 1250 B.C.  Egyptian historians refer to slaves and captives called “Hapiru”, but it is debated whether these were the Hebrews.  Regardless, the Bible contains many verified references to the Egyptian pharaohs demonstrating that the Jewish ancestors were in Egypt.  The Hebrew escape from Egypt is called the “Exodus”, and is described by that book in the Old Testament.  During the passage, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. (In Manhattan today there is a famous medical school on the upper East Side named “Mount Sinai.”)  Moses is also credited as being the scribe for the first five books of the Bible (the “Pentateuch” or, in parchment scroll in the Jewish liturgy, the “Torah”).

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