The Hebrews
Much can be revealed from reading the documents of past civilizations yet at the sametime there are still many unanswered questions. The Hebrews are one civilization that can belooked at through their documents. However, in order to fully understand the Hebrew culture ageneral background must be given on them. The Hebrews first lived in Mesopotamia and thenjourneyed on to Canaan or Palestine and some even ventured into Egypt. During the thirteenthcentury B.C. the Hebrews were led out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved. Moses, theleader of this exodus believed he was performing God's will and introduced the Hebrews to theidea of one god, Yahweh. The Hebrews were one of the principle founders of western civilization,and it is from them that the world has come to learn of the concept of ethical monotheism. This isthe belief in one God who expects incorruptible behavior from his people. Much is saidthroughout the Ten Commandments, a Hebrew religious document, about what one should notdo, however not much emphasis is placed on the consequences of breaking the law. In the bookof Job, Job is punished for his sins, yet he has not committed any to his knowledge, and he falls
Therefore, theHebrew society is based on laws that have no punishments, a god that can be unjust and a religionthat rules over everyday life. Perry states that the Book of Job is one of the best examples of Hebrewwisdom literature and it asks many profound questions such as why the righteous often sufferwhile the wicked prosper and why God even permits such an injustice (39). Also in Perry, it is thought that the Hebrew conception of God led to arevolutionary view of the human being. Job apologizes to God for questioning him in the first place, instead of having God apologize to Jobfor destroying his life. ,and Job is the one and only example of punishment throughout the documents and his punishmentis that of an unjust kind. God has destroyed his family, taken his money, and has given himterrible boils all over his body. They did not hold that this honor was bestowed on them becausethey were better than other nations or that they had done something special to earn it. "The Hebrews believed that God had given the individualmoral autonomy--the capacity to choose between good and evil. Job questions God, "If I sin, what do I do tothee?" (40). If theirGod wants them to be holy and they want to honor the covenant they will base their lives aroundtheir religious beliefs. "The Book of Jobdoes not provide conclusive answers to these questions, but it does impel us to ponder them andto think about our relationship with God" (39). The Hebrews also model their lives by thedocuments that were given to them by their creator and aspire to form the holy nation that Goddescribes to Moses. All this simply put means that people had the ability to choose howthey act, and that the punishment they would receive would come from themselves, not from theirGod because their self worth and dignity would be shattered if they fell to sin. you shall be myown possession among all peoples; for the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom ofpriests and a holy nation" (33).
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