# When Was Judaism Established? > The Bible places Israel’s worship with Abraham and with the law at Sinai. Jews confess one God in the Shema. Rabbinic life continues after the temple fell in 70. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/when-was-judaism-established - Religions: Judaism - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: judaism, shema, history - Updated: 2026-10-11 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) The Bible places the worship of Israel’s God with Abraham, and the law with Moses at Sinai. That is centuries before the rabbis, and before the temple in Jerusalem fell in 70. Jews confess one God. The forms of study and prayer that continue after 70 are later than Sinai. They are not a new god. ## Key Points - [Genesis 12:1](/bible/genesis/12/1) is the call of Abram. [Genesis 17:1](/bible/genesis/17/1) is the LORD appearing to him as Almighty God. This page does not add a calendar year the text does not print. - [Exodus 20:2](/bible/exodus/20/2) is “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) quotes Maimonides pointing his first principle at that sentence. - [Deuteronomy 6:4](/bible/deuteronomy/6/4) is the Shema: the LORD our God is one LORD. - The Leon Levy introduction dates the Qumran biblical copies before the Second Temple was destroyed in 70. [What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They Matter?](/christianity/what-are-the-dead-sea-scrolls) - Jesus lived inside that temple religion. [What Religion Was Jesus?](/christianity/what-religion-was-jesus) The parting over the Messiah is [Why Don’t Jews Believe Jesus Is the Messiah?](/judaism/why-dont-jews-believe-jesus-is-the-messiah). ## Abraham and Sinai [Genesis 12:1](/bible/genesis/12/1) tells Abram to leave his country for a land God will show him. [Genesis 17:1](/bible/genesis/17/1) says the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I am the Almighty God.” The stories of promise, circumcision, and the name Abraham sit in that book. They are not a seventh-century founding, and they are not a medieval one. [Exodus 20:2](/bible/exodus/20/2) is the opening of the ten commandments: the LORD who brought Israel out of Egypt. The commandments that follow include the Sabbath. [Is the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday?](/judaism/is-the-sabbath-saturday-or-sunday) [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) quotes Maimonides’ eighth principle, that the Torah is from heaven, and his reading of Exodus 20:2 as the sentence that indicates God’s existence. ## After the Temple Fell The [Leon Levy introduction](https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/learn-about-the-scrolls/introduction) dates the biblical manuscripts from the Qumran caves from the third century BCE to the first century CE, before the Second Temple was destroyed in 70. [What Are the Dead Sea Scrolls and Why Do They Matter?](/christianity/what-are-the-dead-sea-scrolls) Those copies are already the books of the Hebrew Bible, with variants. They are not the start of Israel’s worship. Life after 70, without that temple, is the setting of the Mishnah and of the later rabbis. This page does not date the Mishnah. The confession those teachers inherit is still the God of the Shema. [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) is Maimonides’ thirteen principles, including the Messiah from the house of David and the revival of the dead. ## Do Jews Believe in God? Yes. The classic confession is one God, not a body, who gave the Torah. [Deuteronomy 6:4](/bible/deuteronomy/6/4), King James Version: > Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) quotes Maimonides’ commentary on Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1. The first principle is the existence of the Creator, a Being complete in all the ways of existence, the cause of everything else. The second is the unity of God. The third is that this unity is not a body and not the power of a body. The eighth is that the Torah is from heaven. The twelfth is the Messiah from the house of David, still to come in that confession. The thirteenth is the revival of the dead. This page does not copy those paragraphs again. Christians say the Shema with that confession and add that the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that Jesus is the Messiah and is God the Son. [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) [What Is the Difference Between Judaism and Christianity?](/judaism/what-is-the-difference-between-judaism-and-christianity) Four claims that page already ties to those principles are these. God exists and is the cause of all that exists. God is one, and not a body. The Torah is from heaven. The Messiah is a king from the house of David, not God in that confession. [Why Don’t Jews Believe Jesus Is the Messiah?](/judaism/why-dont-jews-believe-jesus-is-the-messiah) quotes the Mishneh Torah’s test for that king. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### When Did Judaism Start? In the Bible, with Abraham’s call and with the law at Sinai. The destruction of the temple in 70 is a later break in how sacrifice was offered, not the first worship of Israel’s God. This page does not assign Abraham a year the Genesis text does not print. ### Do Jews Believe in God? The Shema says the LORD is one. Maimonides’ first principle is the existence of the Creator. [What Do Jews Believe?](/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) A fetched statement from a Reform body that denied God is not on this page. The sentences above are the confession the sources name. ### What Do Jews Believe About the Messiah? Maimonides waits for a king from the house of David who keeps the law. Christians confess that Jesus is that king and that he is God. [Why Don’t Jews Believe Jesus Is the Messiah?](/judaism/why-dont-jews-believe-jesus-is-the-messiah) [What Does Messiah Mean?](/christianity/what-does-messiah-mean) ### What Does the Law Say About Seafood? [Leviticus 11:10](/bible/leviticus/11/10) says that whatever in the waters does not have fins and scales shall be an abomination. The verse is about those water creatures. It does not name a modern menu. ### Was Jesus Part of This Religion? Yes. Circumcision, Passover, and the synagogue are on [What Religion Was Jesus?](/christianity/what-religion-was-jesus). The Christian church’s public start is [When Was Christianity Created?](/christianity/when-was-christianity-created). ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### Genesis 12:1 King James Version. > Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: ### Genesis 17:1 King James Version. > And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. ### Exodus 20:2 King James Version. > I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. ### Dead Sea Scrolls, biblical manuscripts Israel Antiquities Authority. [Open on deadseascrolls.org.il](https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/learn-about-the-scrolls/introduction) > Among the Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except the book of Esther). ### Leviticus 11:10 King James Version. > And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you: ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Genesis, 12:1; 17:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/genesis/12/1). King James Version 2. [Exodus, 20:2](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/exodus/20/2). King James Version 3. [Deuteronomy, 6:4](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/deuteronomy/6/4). King James Version 4. [Leviticus, 11:10](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/leviticus/11/10). King James Version 5. [Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library, Introduction](https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/learn-about-the-scrolls/introduction) (The Qumran biblical manuscripts date from the third century BCE to the first century CE, before the Second Temple was destroyed in 70.) ## See Also - [What Do Jews Believe?](https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/what-do-jews-believe) — Jews confess the God of Israel, one and not a body, the Torah from heaven, a Messiah from the house of David who is still to finish his work, and the revival of the dead. That is Maimonides’ confession, read beside the Shema. - [What Religion Was Jesus?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-religion-was-jesus) — Jesus was a Jew of the Second Temple period. He was circumcised, kept Passover, and taught in the synagogue. The name Christian is first used at Antioch, after Pentecost. - [Does Judaism Believe in Heaven?](https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/does-judaism-believe-in-heaven) — The Mishnah says all Israel have a portion in the world to come. Maimonides says that world is life without a body, and that the righteous delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence. Daniel 12 says the dead will awake. - [Is the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday? Must Christians Keep It?](https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/is-the-sabbath-saturday-or-sunday) — The Sabbath in Exodus is the seventh day, Saturday. The apostles also met on the first day of the week, and Colossians 2 calls sabbath days a shadow. Christians are not bound to keep Saturday. - [What Does Messiah Mean?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-does-messiah-mean) — Messiah means anointed one. The King James Version uses that word in Daniel and “anointed” for the same idea elsewhere. Christians confess that Jesus is this Messiah and that he is God the Son. ## History [View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/when-was-judaism-established.md)