The Hebrew culture is unique in world history because of its origin and because of its endurance. When a people of one culture lose their homeland and become immigrants in other countries their culture only survives from four to five generations before it is absorbed into the host culture and loses its uniqueness. The Hebrews were driven from their homeland by the Romans in 70 AD and did not return to their homeland as a nation until 1948 AD. That is almost 1900 years without a country to call their own. The Hebrew culture today is almost exactly the same as they had when they were dispersed in 70 AD. Only once has that happened in history and that once is the Hebrews.
The words Jew and Hebrew are often used interchangeably, but that is not technically correct. Hebrews (Hebraice) are descendants of Abraham going back to around 1800 BC. A Jew (Yehudim) is used to denote the descendants of the Israelites who coalesced when the Tribe of Judah absorbed the remnants of the northern Israelite tribes around 722 BC. Anyone who joins the Jewish religion, regardless of being a descendant of Abraham or not, is called a Jew.
Abraham is first described as a Hebrew in Genesis 14:13. The word Hebrew means “to cross over” which probably came from the fact that God called Abraham and his family to cross over the River Euphrates to present-day Israel. Abraham had a son named Isaac and a grandson named Jacob. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Thus, the descendants of Abraham are called the children of Israel and Hebrews. Because of a famine in their own country, Canaan, Israel, and his family went to Egypt where Joseph, one of his sons, was governor, and where there was food. The children of Israel stayed in Egypt for about 400 years and increased from less than 100 people to several million people forming a Hebrew nation within Egypt.
When the time came for God to deliver the Hebrews from Egyptian captivity, they knew only the pagan culture of Egypt. Many generations of Hebrews had been born and died while in Egypt. God’s intention was to have a people called by His name who would live in the land promised to their ancestor, Abraham, several hundred years earlier. He did not want His people to live and act like Egyptians so He had to get the Egyptian culture out of them and give them the way of living that He desired for them and that would glorify Him.
God’s way of getting the culture of Egypt out of the Hebrews was the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness imposed on them for their unbelief and disobedience. “The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and He made them wander in the desert forty years until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone” (Num. 32:13). What was left after the forty years was basically the Hebrews that had been born in the desert. This generation was cultureless. They were blank slates as far as culture was concerned. To give them a land and to turn them loose to make their own social customs, laws, morality, etc. without any divine direction would not result in living in a way that glorifies God. These people were sinners. They needed direction as to how to live in their new land and God gave it to them. He stopped them in the desert and gave them a culture.
The laws and instructions given through Moses were to define the Hebrew culture and separate it from all the other cultures of the world. The Hebrews knew nothing about anything. They had been slaves for hundreds of years. They were told everything to do. They did not need to think for themselves. God, in His love and grace, took the time to tell them everything they needed to know to live together in peace and harmony with each other and in peace with Him in this new land He was giving them. So, what does God’s culture look like?
This cultural mandate for His people took the form of a covenant (the Sinai Covenant), plus various instructions given through Moses. They are recorded beginning in Exodus 20 with the Ten Commandments through Deuteronomy. The commands and instructions are situation specific and thorough. My purpose here is not to give the specifics but to highlight some of the cultural behaviors and traits God is concerned about. A listing of just some of the areas God is concerned about for His people include:
Ten Commandments – the foundation of moral and civil law
Forms of worship
Personal injury to others
Protection of property
Social relations
Sexual relations that are permitted and forbidden
Treatment of foreigners
Money lending
Divorce and remarriage
Treatment of women
Laws of justice and mercy
Bribes
Favoritism
What foods to eat and abstain from
Regulations about infectious skin diseases
Purification after childbirth
Regulations about mildew
Discharges from the body
Mating of animals
Weaving of cloth to make clothes
Styles of haircuts and beards
Cutting of the body and tattoos
Mediums and spiritualists
Respect for the elderly
Weights and Measures
Building of a house
Planting of seeds
Punishment for wrongdoing
In looking through Exodus 20 to the end of Deuteronomy, one cannot help but notice the detail of the instructions given. For example, the Hebrews had lived hundreds of years in Egypt. Egypt is a hot dry place. They were going to Canaan (present-day Israel) which has a more moderate climate and much humidity. They would not have encountered mildew in Egypt but they would in Canaan. So God told them how to deal with it (Leviticus 14:33ff). That tells us that God is concerned with every detail of our lives and the culture in which we live our lives.
We can learn three things from this giving of Hebrew culture. First, God is concerned with all the details of our lives and the culture we live in. Second, God tells us what pleases Him. The way we wear our hair and what we do to our bodies are important to Him. These kinds of things may seem insignificant and matters of personal choice as far as godly living is concerned. I find the Old Testament very helpful in learning what pleases God. Finally, we learn that God does not want us to be like the other people and nations of the world, those that do not know Him. We are to be set apart (holy) from the culture around us.
You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. 24 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the nations (Leviticus 20:23–24).
You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own (Leviticus 20:26).
God’s instructions to the children of Israel showed His care and concern for them. And it showed how He wanted them to live for Him in their land. Culture is anti-Christ unless it is from God as given in the Bible. If it is God-given then it is a divine command. To adhere to that culture is an act of obedience.
“They are not just idle words for you—they are your life” (Deuteronomy 32:47).
The next post will deal with cultural anthropology and its contribution to the secular understanding of culture.