By Livinus Nnebedum,
The Hebrews were the first set of people to believe in one God. They have connections with the Modern Christian Religion and the Founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, is of Hebrews Race Hebrews are the ancestors of Modern Jews. Their History could be traced back to their forefathers from the Old Testament in the Bible.
They are originally from Arabian Desert. They are normadic wandering people. They began their journey under the leadership of Abraham in the old Testament and reached Canaan but many moved to Egypt because of famine where they met Joseph and Jacob who were at Egypt before them. Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers but had risen to a high position by interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh the king of Egypt that time.
However, the Hebrews were ill-treated by the new king of Egypt who did not know Joseph. The details are contained in the book of Exodus in the Bible. In the end, they were led out of the land of Egypt by Moses under the guidance of God. They crossed the Red Sea where Pharaoh’s soldiers were drowned, marched across Sinai and landed back to the land of Cannan. Moses died and Joshua continued.
The two Hebrew kingdoms were Israel and Judah. The Hebrews first king was Saul. He was followed by David who wrote some of the Psalms in the Bible. Then, the next king was Solomon and during his time the magnificent temple was built in Jerusalem the capital.
Important cities of the Hebrews are Samaria, Damascus, Jerusalem, etc. The Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C and carried the people in captivity to Babylonia, hence, Psalm 137 gives vivid picture of the anguish they suffered away from their own land. The Hebrews had a wonderful set of writings.
They made collections of their history into a book. That book we call Old Testament. In the Old Testament, God gave Ten Commandments at Mountain Sinai to Moses (Exodus 20:1 to 17).
The Old Testament also told us that the Hebrews conferred upon mankind – the existence of God and the first to believe in One God which they call Yahweh. The discovery of the existence of God was of the greatest benefit to mankind.
The Ancient Hebrew Manuscript shows a papyrus of the first Century AD containing the Ten Commandments. The modern Jews are the descendant of the Ancient Hebrews and the Jews Religion known as Judaism is based directly upon the Ancient Hebrew Religion.
The sacred books of the Modern Jew consist of the Old Testament and other Hebrew writings. The founder of Christianity Jesus was of the Hebrew Race although he was not recognized as the son of God by his own people. But from the New Testament Jesus Christ is known worldwide as the son of God and also the Prophet and Teacher. The Hebrews word for Teacher is Rabboni (John 20: verse 16).
Livinus Nnebedum, Author, Public Affairs Analyst and Former Director in Anambra State Agricultural Development Program (ADP) writes from Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze, Anambra State.
