What economic factors influenced the beginning of Judaism?

Answer 1

A:

Judaism, as we know it today, evolved over a period of centuries, from the polytheistic religion that we now know the early Hebrews followed. There were several key points in the development of Judaism, but no single, identifiable beginning.

An early economic factor was the influx into Judah of refugees from Israel after the destruction of their homeland in 722 BCE. Judahite traditions had to adapt and accommodate at least some of the traditions of the Israelites in order to foster national unity. This gradually led to the earliest books of The Bible being written. Judaism was beginning to take shape and had some discernible parallels to modern Judaism.

Another important political and economic factor was the Babylonian Exile. The Jews no longer had a king to lead them, and the priests took on this role, in a theocracy. During the Exile and the period that followed, most of the Hebrew Bible was completed. This was also the period during which Judaism became firmly monotheistic, although it seems to have already become monolatrous even before the Exile. We can say the Exile marked the beginning of monotheistic Judaism.

The First Roman-Jewish War began in 66 CE as a result of swingeing taxes imposed by the Romans and the appropriation of money from the Jerusalem Temple. The inevitable result of the war was the destruction of the Temple and, with it, the inability to continue animal sacrifices as well as the disappearance of the Sadducee faction. The Pharisees evolved Judaism, to become the Rabbinic Judaism we know today. This was the beginning of modern Judaism.