The Hebrew people have had a significant contribution to the western civilization through their moral teachings and the idea of monotheistic religion. They are famous for their input into the world culture by influencing the three essential doctrines of Christianity as well as the cultural and spiritual laws, rules and morals. The Hebrew people are descendants of Abraham who are considered the father of Muslims, Jews, and Christians ( Dever, 2003). They originated in the ancient Middle East before migrating to Canaan around 1300BCE. The Hebrew people were Semitic speaking people who can be classified as nomads due to searching for reliable pasture and escape the drought conditions. The Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt and forced to work for the Pharaoh's government before being led out by Moses as explained in the bible. The Hebrew tribes were later united under the famous leaders such as Saul, David, and Solomon.
Several geographical factors have impacted the political and economic development of the Hebrew society. Canaan had a distinct geographical identity that influenced its early settlers. The area was bordered by the Mediterranean Sea and included desert and mountains, creating a contrast between arid and fertile zones. Since much of ancient Israel consisted of desert and mountain areas, the Hebrews relied on herding animals for food rather than farming and wandered from one place to another looking for pasture and water ( Montefiore, 2004) . In the process, they engaged in trade with the neighboring nations such as Egypt.
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Abraham’s descendants established the region of modern-day Israel before they were exiled by the Babylonians and Romans, scattering them to other parts of the world known as the diaspora ( Montefiore, 2004) . This scattering enabled modern day Christianity to reach almost all parts of the world. The Jewish people are the present day Hebrews who still cling to their strange beliefs and are not swayed by the passing fancies of pop culture. They have survived centuries of discrimination and prejudice but have endured, making up the present Jewish ethnic identity as the remnants of Hebrew people ( Dever, 2003) . The Hebrew language is spoken by about 9 million people worldwide, but mostly concentrated in Israel and partly in the United States by the Jewish people.
The primary book for understanding the Hebrews is the Bible that provides a sense of their history, tradition, and legacy. Ancient Hebrews wrote extensively about their history, religious teachings and ethical principles found in the Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible ( Montefiore, 2004) . The first five books of the Old Testament in the bible that revolves around understanding the nature of man in relation to God and creation contain their laws and beliefs. These books established the Law of Moses that provides the moral basis for Christians, obliging them to practice on a daily basis. They contain theses such as the divine sovereignty of God and the idea of kingship concerning human nature and illustrate the central importance of Hebrew contribution to western civilization.
From ancient times, they began writing down their history, beliefs, and laws that have continued to influence the world culture. Some of their contributions include upholding a belief in one god as the fundamental feature of their religion when all their neighbors were polytheistic ( Montefiore, 2004) . They believed in the idea of one omnipresent God who could not be seen. Abraham was the first Hebrew who started spreading the concept of one god, and today most religions have ascribed to this doctrine. He embraced the idea of a single powerful god who created the universe, an intriguing idea that still holds in the western civilization. The purpose of a monotheistic God contributed to the understanding of nature as a creation of God.
Their religion was a significant contribution of the Hebrews to western civilization that is different from the ancient Greeks and Romans. It is the basis of Christianity, and their teachings are enlightening religious works. Jewish monotheism affirms a God who created and rules the whole world while the universal goal has been expressed in the idea of a global political realm of justice and peace ( Runes, 2015) . These ideals greatly influenced subsequent religions such as Christianity and Islam. These teachings form the first part of the Christian bible providing a code of ethics and moral reasoning of western civilization. The moral basis of several laws, standards or justice and a sense of what is right and wrong are based on the beliefs from Jewish teachings ( Runes, 2015) . They also provide ethical demands of human beings based on God's moral rectitude including an idea that everyone is equal before the law. This law became a fundamental notion in western culture working in establishing a higher worth of human life over physical property.
Today, these Hebrew teachings represent a significant element of the professed morality of western civilization, including the United States. The instructions led to the development of a sense of social consciousness and practicing the best behaviors at all times. The Hebrew people build an aspect of social consciousness from the laws among other instructions found in their teachings. Such elements include urging people to be on their best behavior, criticizing oppression, injustice and any exploitation of the poor and weak in the society ( Runes, 2015) . These teachings such as the themes of justice and compassion for others have been adopted into the western civilization. Violating this code of ethics or religious beliefs system may lead someone to face full consequences of deviance.
In conclusion, the ancient Hebrew people had meaningful contributions to the development and maintenance of western civilization including the teachings and law. They were key civilizations about the molding of western civilization and the source of vital information to the western civilization through the treasure of their sacred literature which constitutes the Hebrew legacy. Therefore, while the Greeks and Romans influenced art, research, public administration, and political theory, the Hebrews served as the wellspring of western civilization through their monotheistic religion, upon which Christianity and the modern world emerged.
References
Dever, W. G. (2003). Who were the early Israelites, and where did they come from? . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Montefiore, C. G. (2004). Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as illustrated by the Religion of the Ancient Hebrews: The Hibbert Lectures, 1892 . Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Runes, D. D. (2015). The Hebrew impact on Western civilization . Open Road Media.
