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Some form of religion has always been in the world. The Egyptians were polytheistic, believing in Isis, Amen-Re, and other various gods and goddesses. The Greeks put their faith into Aphrodite and Apollo, with Zeus being the head god, ruler of all.
The first form of monotheism sprang up about 5,800 years ago. Abraham was the founder. The Israelites believed that Jehovah, or God, talked to Abraham and made a covenant with him promising to make his descendents more numerous than the stars. The Israelites believed in communal living and sacrificed animals in God's honor. The communities were linked by faith in the one true God. These communities shared everything.
The first king chosen to rule over and unify the smaller, Jewish communities was King Saul. He made god the central being. David was Israel's second king. He wrote poetry and psalms (songs) to and about God. These songs and poems helped spread the religion. King Solomon, David's son, built a magnificent temple for God. Everything was lavish and gold sparkled everywhere!
Judaism survived as a minority faith in a much larger society of believers because it had a strong determination to. The Hebrews believed that God backed them up in everything they did, including holy wars. God would talk to the prophets and tell them what he wanted. The prophets would preach God's word. They taught that wrong-doing led to destruction.
Unfortunately, Jerusalem was pillaged and burned by the Babylonians, which was foretold by the prophets. They dispersed the Jewish people and exiled them. During this exile "Judaism" was born. "Israelite" was dropped and "Jew" replaced it. Even though the Jewish people were dispersed throughout the land and ruled by many different kinds of people and cultures, they managed to preserve their identity. God was now worshipped individually instead of going to the Temple mount where priests performed sacrifices for them. During the exile, the Jews defined their...