Origins of Judaism
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The widespread belief among archeological and historical scholars is that the origins of Judaism lie in the Achaemenid province of Yehud. Judaism evolved from the ancient Israelite religion, developin
Judaica (clockwise from top): Shabbat candlesticks, handwashing cup, Chumash and Tanakh, Torah pointer, shofar and etrog box
Image on a pithos sherd found at Kuntillet Ajrud with the inscription "Yahweh and his Asherah"
Model of the Second Temple showing the courtyards and the Sanctuary, as described in Middot
Canaanite religion
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The religion and mythic beliefs of the people in the land of Canaan in the southern Levant during approximately the first three millennia BCE were polytheistic and in some cases monolatristic. They we
Origins of Judaism
…prohibition of intermarriage with non-Jews. During the Iron Age I period (12th to 11th centuries BCE), the religion of the Israelites branched out of the Canaanite religion and took the form of Yahwism. Yahwism was the national religion of the Kingdom of Israel and of the Kingdom of Judah. As distinct from other Canaanite…
Ba'al with Thunderbolt stele from Ugarit, c. 15th century BCE
Putative statuette of El (c. 1400–1200 BCE) from Tel Megiddo in northern Israel