Descending from people who were enslaved in ancient Egypt--sometimes called Hebrews--Jews traditionally trace their origins to the biblical figures named Abraham and Sarah, who lived in Mesopotamia about 4000 years ago. Judaism is rooted in the formative experience of a miraculous exodus from Egyptian slavery and in what that tradition takes to be God's ancient revelation to Moses at Mount Sinai more than 3000 years ago. The Ten Commandments, only one of the many civilizing contributions that Jews have given to Western culture, come from those early times. They are part of the Torah, the teachings found in the first five books of Jewish Scripture. The Ten Commandments make clear that the God who bestowed them is an exclusive God: "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). The biblical narratives assert that God and Israelites, as the ancient Hebrews came to be identified, were linked by a covenant that included ritual laws and ethical rules. As a result, the life of this people became distinctive and different from other groups around them.

After the revelation at Sinai, 12 Israelite tribes occupied the Mediterranean coastal land of Canaan, which they believed God had promised them. In time they established a nation, with David as their king. Its capital was Jerusalem. Unable to sustain the unity and autonomy it enjoyed from about 1000 to 922 bce, the kingdom was split by internal divisions and then besieged and occupied by a variety of conquerors: the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and eventually the Romans.