God chose to communicate with only one nation, the descendants of Abraham.  Abraham is the father of Isaac, father of Jacob (Israel) who fathered 12 sons. 

• Nomads who followed their flock
• Worshipped one God
• Worshipped by burning animal sacrifices
• Circumcision of all males

Descendants of Abraham were slaves in Egypt.

Moses was an Israelite raised by Egyptians.

He killed an Egyptian guard in defense of a slave.

Moses was exiled to the Sinai Desert, where he lived as a shepard for forty years.

God spoke to Moses as a burning bush.

Moses sent ten plagues to Egypt.

Moses parted the Red Sea and the slaves left Egypt.

Ten Commandments

The legal material in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) became the single most important part of the Bible for Judaism

The Ark of the Covenant was a coffin-like box that contained the sacred relics of the Exodus and may have been the portable throne of YHWH.

The Tent of Meeting was literally a tent that could be moved from place to place with the nomadic Israelites.

Religion in the Time of the Hebrew Monarchy

• The Temple
• The Prophetic Movement

• With all the wealth his father David had amassed, Soloman built a palace for himself and a temple for his God.  Worship of YHWH thus took on a more formal status.  There may also have been sacred dancing before the Ark.
• Four classical figures - Amos, Hosea, Isiah, and Micah.  They healed the sick, produced food for their followers and worked other miracles.

Diaspora

• Synagogue
• Mishnah
• Talmud

"the scattering of Jewish peoplee all over the world"

• "assembly" - copy of the scripture (Torah) and ten adult Jewish males aged thirteen or over - Rabbi means "my master"
• Legal commentary that had been collected since the days of Ezra - six divisions
• Discussion over the laws of God continues.  Additional interpretative, illustrative, and sermonis material was brought together under the title of Gemara.  When Gemara was added to the Mishnah, the result was called the Talmud.