MOSES AND JUDAISM
Judaism as a religion was founded by Moses about 1300B.C., though they trace their origin
to 1800B.C. the
time of Abraham. Isaac the sons of Abraham had two sons, Israel and Esau. Israel had twelve
children and the last of them all Joseph became a governor of Egypt during the period of famine on the face of the earth, at that time it was only Egypt that has enough food to feed her citizens and still have enough to sell to other nation, as such the children of Israel went to Egypt to buy food for their family so that they could not die of hunger. As time went on after Joseph has introduced himself to his brothers he ask them to go back to their country to bring his father and all his house hold to Egypt, they all came to Egypt in company of some other Jews and where given a portion of land to stay and farm. However, the population of the Jews began to grow and increase in number and also they prosper in all that they did. After the death of Joseph and all those Egyptians who knew the Jews the condition of the Jews changed for the worse, a law was passed by the king of Egypt that all new born male children of the Jews should be killed, but the female should be spared, it was during this period that Moses was born and having hidden him for months the mother took him to the riverside to hid him, but was discovered by the princess of Egypt who took Moses to the king’s palace where he grew up.
Moses, though he grew up in the palace and was brought up like one of the Egyptian children got to know that he was not an Egyptian, but a Jew, so one day when went out he saw an Egyptian fighting a Jew, Moses took side with the Jew killed and the Egyptian. Another occasion when he went out again this time he saw two Jews fighting, he tried to stop but was told of his evil deed the other time this made Moses to fled Egypt to Median, where as a shepherd he was in the bush with his flock when he saw the fresh bush burning, when he turned to look at it he heard the voice of Jehovah calling on him to go to the land of Egypt to deliver the Jews.
Moses went back to Egypt and eventually delivered the Jews with the help of Jehovah, they cross the Red Sea and wilderness to a land that was promised them by Jehovah, on their way they encountered so many problems.
Judaism as a religion was founded at the foot of mount Sinai with the making and ratification of a solemn agreement between Jehovah and the Jews (Israelites), by this agreement the Israelites bounded themselves as a nation to Yahweh, promising not to serve any other god but Yahweh and Yahweh on his part promise to bless and protect them. Yahweh gave them commandments that they must follow and ordinance that would guide their lives. This some scholars says is the beginning of Judaism, but others says that the covenant Yahweh had with Abraham was the beginning of Judaism.