(May 3, 2013 at 6:10 pm)festive1 Wrote: I think what you are getting at is very complex. Pocaracas' answer is the short, modern version.
But it seems like you are trying to get at how the Jews (as a people and culture) came into being... Correct?
Assuming this is what you're getting at, there are many University departments which study this. People have built entire careers explaining how Jewish culture developed and was shaped by other cultures they encountered. The Bible (OT) and Torah are palimpsests of the stories of those cultures. It's not something that can or should be explained in a simple online post...
My husband got his undergrad in ancient studies and religion, I'd be happy to ask him for some books on the topic to recommend if you'd like.
That's right. I'm wondering what possibilities there are that could have led the Jews into Egyptian captivity, led them out, and established the deity they have. Very specifically I wonder why they chose the laws described within Leviticus and Deuteronomy as the sovereign laws of the society. I would appreciate links or books that can legitimately and conclusively answer these questions with a naturalistic approach. I would ask for information that could possibly prove the supernatural interventions described in the Torah but it seems every time I trust a religiously affiliated group I am lied to.
