To understand Western Civilization, one must first comprehend its roots, which started with the Hebrews. The time between the lives of Abraham and Moses covers some of the most important events of ancient Hebrew history and is the seedbed of the first book of the Bible.

Abram, a descendant of Noah, and his wife Sarah wished to have a child but could not because of Sarah’s barrenness. Graciously, God granted the couple a child named Isaac. So great was his faith in God, that at one point God tested Abram by commanding him to sacrifice his only son. Without hesitation, Abram prepared his son for sacrifice. However, the moment before the act could be carried out, an angel of God appeared and saved Isaac. God rewarded his faithful servant by changing his name to Abraham, meaning “Father of Nations,” and stated that he would be the patriarch of his chosen people. 

Eventually, Isaac came of age and had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau was the firstborn son and therefore had the birthright. Covetously, Jacob tricked his brother into giving him the birthright and with the help of his mother, Rebecca, deceived his father. Understandably, Esau was upset, even going so far as to try to kill his brother. Eventually, Esau forgave his brother and they were reunited. 

When it came time for Jacob to marry a wife, he wished to have a woman named Rachel. Her father told Jacob that if he worked for him for seven years, he could have her. Therefore, he labored, but when the time of the marriage came, Jacob realized that Rachel’s father had tricked him into marrying Rachel’s sister, Leah, instead of Rachel herself. Since Leah was not the one he wanted, Jacob worked seven more years to marry Rachel too. Jacob had 10 sons with Leah and just 2 sons with Rachel, his favorite being Joseph, Rachel’s firstborn. The other 11 brothers came to hate Joseph because of the preferential treatment he received. One day, Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt where he lived for many years, until there was a famine in Israel and Joseph’s family was forced to flee to Egypt. There, Joseph forgave his brothers and the family was brought back together. 

Years after the famine, the Israelites remained in Egypt where, since the time of Joseph, they had been enslaved by the Egyptians. Seeing the Israelites’ growing population and fearing a revolt, the Pharaoh made a decree that all the baby Israelite boys should be murdered and thrown into the Nile. This is where a mother, fearing for her son’s life, put him in a basket and sent him down the river. Downstream, Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby and raised him in the palace, giving him the name Moses. Once he grew up and saw how his people were being treated, God gave Moses the task of freeing the Israelites from Egyptian captivity. Acting as God’s messenger, Moses led the people of Israel out of captivity. Finally, outside of Egypt on top of Mount Sinai, God gave to Moses the Ten Commandments. These were laws that the Israelites must follow, if they wished to reach the “Promised Land” where God was leading them. 

This period of the Hebrews chronicles everything from the miraculous birth of Isaac to the Exodus out of Egypt led by Moses. This is the foundation the Old Testament forefathers placed and upon which the Christian West was built, so this history is critical to the study of later events. One must at least have a baseline understanding of ancient Hebrew history if they wish to learn about Western Civilization.