How the Ancient Hebrews Shaped Western Civilization

The Hebrews were an ancient Levantine people whose monotheistic religion and scriptures left an enduring legacy on world history, even as conquests and migrations dispersed them from ancestral homelands (Fleming, 1993). Their contributions resonated widely in Western civilization, making it important for modern historians to develop a better understanding concerning this outcome. To this end, the purpose of this paper is the explicate the manner in which the Hebrews of Western Civilization have shaped world history. Following this review and analysis, the paper provides a summary of the findings and key points in the conclusion.

Review and Analysis

The ancient Hebrews played a profound role in shaping Western civilization through the ages. As one of the earliest recorded monotheistic religions, Judaism was foundational in disseminating monotheism and its ethical precepts across Europe and the Middle East (Aberbach, 2001). This influence was especially noteworthy given the polytheism that characterized the ancient world, a reality that the Hebrew people were forced to take into account when communicating with people of other faiths, particularly those in positions of authority (Fredriksen, 2022).

The Hebrews outsized influence on ancient Western civilization was not attributable to their scientific achievement or philosophy such as Rome and Greece, but rather their monotheistic religion that consumed their lives and thoughts. Judaism's ethical mores and theological principles spread profoundly, later informing the rise of Christianity and Islam. In this regard, Brooks emphasizes that, Unlike the Greeks and Romans, the ancient Hebrews were not known for being scientists or philosophers or conquerors. It was their religion, Judaism, that proved to be of crucial importance in world history, both for its own sake and for being the religious root of Christianity and Islam (2020, 6).

Following the Roman sacking of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the Jewish people dispersed across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe as exiles and migrants (Grossman and Raviv, 2023). Though facing periodic persecution, these communities played vital economic and cultural roles. As urbanization and commerce grew in the late Middle Ages, Jewish merchant and moneylending activities became crucial financial services enabling expansion of trade, craft guilds, and proto-industrialization. Hebrew scholars and texts helped...…14, Nov. 2022, pp. 277091.

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