Hebrew-Canaan Essay

Hebrew-Canaan                                 

By: Maxcine Payne

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    Do you know what Hebrew is? Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic family. Around ten million people around the world speak Hebrew! Hebrew is mostly spoken in Israel. Jewish people speak Hebrew the most. The religion of the Hebrew’s is very different from our understanding of religion. 

    Hebrew’s religion went back to the days when the Hebrew’s were still nomads, before they had adopted a settled life. The home of the nomad was the wilderness often dry and arid but with an occasional oasis, river, water basin and pastures. The Hebrew nomads survived by herding instead of farming. Rain is the most important element to the nomads, with out it there herds and family won’t survive. A nomadic camp consisted of about 25 to 50 members. The nomads diet consisted of breads, fruits (when available), milk and cheese and meat.

    Hebrew nomads have created some helpful things. One invention of the Ancient Hebrews was the Torah Program. A Torah Project is a year-long program where the entire congregation participates in the mitzvah of writing a Torah scroll. Torah was written by Moses during the Exodus of the fifteenth century BCE. Moses has taken up about 40 years to write it. However, others people believe that the Torah was written by several authors over a period of several hundred years in the first half of the first millenium BCE.

 

Torah Project

    The Ancient Hebrews' government was monarchy and was lead by King Soliz. (Hebrew is located in Israel.) There was a war between Israel and the Philistines to control Canaan. The first Israeli sovereign was Saul in around 1020 BC but he was not able to defeat the Philistines. David (the second king) defeated the Philistines and took control of Canaan. David’s Son Solomon became king when Israel was in peace and he helped Israel to grow.

    Hebrew is a member of the Semitic family of languages, the language of the bible, of Judaism, and now one of the official languages of the state of Israel. As a foreign language it is studied mostly by Jews and students of Judaism and Israel, archaeologists and linguists specializing in the Middle East and its civilizations, by theologians, and in Christian seminaries. The modern word "Hebrew" is derived from the word "ivri” one of several names for the Jewish people. It is traditionally understood to be an adjective based on the name of Abraham's ancestor.

    Hebrew had a very stable food supply. Grains, such as barley and wheat, were gathered and ground into a flour and mixed with water and placed on hot rocks to make bread. Some of the fruits available were grapes, pomegranates, olives and dates. These were often dried for later use and sometimes mixed with flour for a cake type bread. The nomads got there milk from sheep and goats. Olives were not only used as a food source but for medicinal purposes as well. It was drunk for stomach and intestinal problems and applied to wounds as an antiseptic. Animal fat was used to make soap.

    Hebrew social chain is in this order. (similar to a social pyramid)

1) The priests, descendants of Aaron.
2) The royal family of David; the relationship between King David and the priests was in fact very similar to that of Leonidas and the Ephors in that now famous movie. Much like the Ephors, the priests of ancient Israel, for all intents and purposes, were the supreme law, and the king could not act without their blessing all the same. And yes they were just as corrupt.
3) Levite women the "Daughter of a Cohen (priest);" Levite women, rank wise, were above even men not of the royal or priestly bloodline.
4) All other Hebrew people
5) Any foreigners living in Israel, or any semites, who could own property, business, slaves, etc, however they could not own Hebrew slaves; only Hebrews could own other Hebrews, and within Israel itself, a foreigner could not own a Hebrew slave, however a Hebrew could own a foreigner slave they bought from some Arab, who held the monopoly on a very lucrative slave market.
6) Women, regardless of origin, it didn't matter they were all basically held at the same level. Hebrew and foreigner alike, they were basically house slaves and breeding machines.
7) Slaves

Hebrews social structure was well put together. Everything is organized. In Mediterranean cultures, comprised a mixture of dept-slavery, slavery as a punishment for crime, and the enslavement of prisoners of war. Masters could free slaves, and in many cases such freedmen went on to rise to positions of power. 

    Jewish people made paintings and jewelry. Ancient Jewish art goes over centuries ago. You can find several historical reports documenting the creation of Jewish art throughout history. The first Jewish artist on record was named Bezalel. He was an architect, sculptor and designer of holy garments. (Bezalel was the first creator of Jewish art.)

    Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic family. But Hebrew also means other things. Hebrew is a group of people also. For an example the nomads. Hebrew-Canaan is a very important civilization! Hebrew may have some ways it connects to the USA. What do you think?