Hebrew history played an important role in the formation of Western Civilization, mainly because of them being one of the first monotheistic peoples. In the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, as well as parts of the Torah, it tells the story of the ancient Hebrews. Abraham, who had great faith in God, is known as the Father of the Jewish Religion or the Father of all Jews. In fact, Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac and obeyed, but ultimately didn’t have to, as God was testing him. 

At this time, the Hebrews lived in and around Canaan but were not strong enough to defeat the Canaanites. Issac had a son named Jacob, who had 12 sons which would go on to represent the 12 Tribes of Israel and Judah. 

One of the sons, Joseph, was sold into slavery and sent to Egypt by his jealous brothers, but later became a trusted servant of the Pharaoh. After a false accusation, Joseph was put into prison, where he learned to decipher dreams. Such as a dream of the Pharaoh which warned of a great famine. Consequently, the Egyptians are able to stock up food and avoid the famine. Due to the famine, Joseph compassionately forgave his brothers for what they did to him. Many Hebrews sought refuge in Egypt from the famine, and had a somewhat cordial relationship with the Egyptians. 

However, that changed when a new Pharaoh was concerned that the Hebrews were growing too large in number, so he ordered the execution of every newborn Hebrew baby. One of these boys was Moses, who was providentially adopted by the Pharaoh’s daughter. Although he lived in the palace, Moses was kicked out of Egypt for murdering an Egyptian overseer that abused the slaves. After receiving a stunning revelation from God, Moses returned to Egypt to free the Hebrews from slavery. Due to his favor with the Lord, Moses brought 7 plagues and pestilences to Egypt. Ironically, the last plague killed all Egyptian newborn boys and the Hebrew households were spared. This is known as the Feast of the Passover. The Hebrews later escaped Egypt when Moses parted the Red Sea from the power of God. Moses led the Hebrews who were sometimes ungrateful, and started worshiping other Gods. God presented the 10 Commandments to Moses who scolded the people. Although ancient Hebrew history isn’t as influential as ancient Greek or Roman history, it is important to learn about because of its relevance to both the Christian and Jewish religions.