The Growth Of A Nation Across Thousands Of Years

The Jewish people are said to be the most intelligent people in the world. Some people may disagree, but no one may object to saying that this nation has experienced the most difficult ordeal to imagine and bear. The Jewish nation is full of legends. People are curious and want to know more about Israel, a small but innovative country. I have read "Jerusalem 3000 years", and "Jewish 3000 years", written by domestic historians, is a popular book that focuses more on the history of the Jewish nation. This book contains a lot of color pictures that I haven't seen before, and the content is more in line with Chinese reading habits. But there is also a slight flaw. Although the book provides references, it does not indicate the source in specific paragraphs. Perhaps this is a difference between popular books and academic monographs.

The Jewish nation is not a vagrant people without a fixed home. This book traces back to the process of Jewish people's prehistoric migration and founding. Of course, this kind of statement generally has a mysterious color that is difficult to confirm. For example, God and Moses agreed that Canaan was regarded as the living space of Jewish people. This land includes part of the land of Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and so on. As a branch of the Semitic people, the Hebrews, the ancestors of the Jews, used to nomadize in the Arabian Peninsula, traveling between the peninsula and the two river basins. It can be said that the Hebrews were the people who entered the agricultural civilization earlier. They moved to Canaan (at that time, the two river basins were already agricultural areas, and the Hebrew name in Canaan means people who came from the Euphrates River), became settled farmers and brought agricultural civilization to the Middle East. At that time, there were 12 Jewish tribes scattered all over Israel. From the 13th century B.C. to the 11th century B.C., the Jews were living in a state of tribal life. Later, in order to prevent the continuous harassment and invasion of Philistines from the Aegean islands and Asia Minor, the tribes united and elected Saul as the first king of the Hebrew kingdom. It was followed by King David and King Solomon. At the end of the third generation of kings, the society was in peril, the aristocracy was luxurious and corrupt, and then entered a turbulent period. The kingdom of Israel is divided into 10 tribes in the north and 2 tribes in the South (Jerusalem is the capital). In 722 BC, the kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Assyria, and most of the 10 tribes were forced to move elsewhere. The kingdom of Judas in the South was destroyed by Babylon 100 years later. In the turbulent years after that, many Jewish "prophets" appeared in this area, but the Jews had not been able to establish a unified country. While criticizing social problems, the prophets also predicted that the Jews would be saved and that one day they would return to Jerusalem and reestablish a unified Hebrew kingdom.

This may be one explanation for the Jewish dream of restoration in Jerusalem. Jerusalem (meaning "city of peace" is derived from Hebrew, and also has the meaning of peace in Arabic. Both Hebrew and Arabic belong to the Semitic family, and the meaning of the word is similar. In Arabic, Jerusalem means "house of the holy gods". Arabs, Jews and European Christians all regard Jerusalem as a holy place, and they have been fighting for it for many years. I personally believe that religion is just an explanation. Another reason is that this area is actually the two river basins with higher level of European Communication at that time. It is the throat of the commercial road to Asia, and it is the place where military strategists must contend. Therefore, the Jews have been in the forefront of the storm, and this land has been taken away by Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, Mongolia, Turkey and Arabia.

The Jews have always believed that this land, which once existed in the Hebrew Kingdom, is the "promised land" that God promised to give them. At present, there are three major religious schools in the world, namely, Abraham, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Brahmanism. Among them, Judaism, Christianity and Islam all respect Abraham as holy, while Judaism appeared before Christianity and Islam. In Christianity, there is a saying that Jesus was betrayed by Judas. The New Testament says, "shed the blood of this righteous man, and the sin is not on me (Judas)", "put his blood on us and our children" Since then, Jews have been charged with eternal crimes, which seems to be the basis for the persecution of Jews.

The Jewish people are indeed intelligent, and their religion itself is accompanied by the development of high civilization. But this nation has also experienced too many unimaginable hardships. It is necessary for everyone to learn from their perseverance and enterprising spirit. This book calls the Jewish people "the nation of wisdom". They interpret wisdom as keen observation, accurate thinking, shrewd discovery and design, and ingenious invention. Although the Jews are scattered all over the world, they are very united. They are linked with the spiritual assets of wisdom and continue to multiply and grow, making themselves a nation worthy of admiration.