Abrahamic religion

Abrahamic religions is a term used in the study of comparative religion to describe those religions deriving from a common ancient Semitic tradition and traced by their adherents to Abraham, a patriarch whose life is narrated in the Hebrew Bible, and who is also important in the New Testament, and the Qur'an. This forms a large group of related, largely monotheistic religions, generally held to include Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and comprises about half of the world's religious adherents.

Origins

The origins of Judaism and the ancestral Abrahamic religion are still obscure. The only source generally agreed by all to be canonical that bears on that question is the Genesis book of the Hebrew Bible, which according to Rabbinic tradition was written by Moses after the Exodus from Egypt, sometime in the 2nd millennium BC. According to Genesis, the principles of Judaism were revealed gradually to a line of patriarchs from Adam to Jacob (also called Israel); however the religion was only established when Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and with the institution of priesthood and temple services.

Related Topics:
Judaism - Hebrew Bible - Moses - Exodus - Egypt - 2nd millennium BC - Patriarchs - Adam - Jacob - Israel - Ten Commandments - Mount Sinai

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Archaeologists so far have found no direct evidence to support or refute the Genesis story on the origins of Judaism; in fact, there are no surviving texts of the Bible older than the Dead Sea Scrolls (2nd century BC or later). However, archaeology has shown that peoples speaking various Semitic languages and with similar polytheistic religions were living in Canaan and surrounding areas by the 3rd millennium BC. Some of their gods (such as Baal) are mentioned in the Bible, and the supreme god of the Semitic pantheon, El, is believed by some scholars to be the God of the Biblical patriarchs. There exist a number of inscriptions that some scholars believe to confirm the Biblical record, such as the Tel Dan Stele.

Related Topics:
Dead Sea Scrolls - 2nd century BC - Semitic languages - Canaan - 3rd millennium BC - Baal - El - Tel Dan Stele

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