Any person with a passing familiarity with the history of the world must be aware that a large part of that history has included Jewish persecution and anti-Semitism. The casual observer may wonder how, in the face of centuries of persecution, the Jewish people have managed to survive, and even thrive. In fact, the tremendous adversities that Jews have overcome have made it possible to describe the Judaic tradition as a history of survival. After all, there is little similarity in the lives of a Jewish enslaved in Egypt and those Jews held in concentration camps in Nazi Germany. "All that linked them across space and time was a faith, a Torah way of life." (Greenberg). It is because of the way of life that Jews have managed to survive adversity and thrive where other cultural traditions may have crumbled due to outside pressure. Therefore, in order to understand Jewish history, one must understand that the mere fact that Jews have managed to survive demonstrates that there is something unique about the Jewish approach to life. .

             Jewish history begins in the Fertile Crescent, that area of land lying between the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. The places that formed the backdrop of much of early Jewish history, such as Egypt, Canaan, Babylonia, and Israel, were located in the Fertile Crescent. (Wikipedia). Jewish history begins with the Hebrews, who were descendants of Abraham's son Jacob. Jacob had 12 children, and each of those children settled in Egypt. "Their direct descendants respectively divided into twelve tribes, who were enslaved under the rule of an Egyptian pharaoh, often identified as Ramses II." (Wikipedia).

             The Hebrew people resisted enslavement under the Pharaoh and longed for freedom. Moses, a prophet, led them out of Egypt. After wandering in the desert for 40 years, the Hebrews conquered Canaan. Canaan was divided into 12 tribes, which were ruled by the Judges.