The Holy Land / The Dawn of Faith

From 3300 to 1200 BCE

About 6000 years ago, civilization began to take shape. In the area of ​​the fertile crescent, the first kingdoms were established, the cuneiform script was opened, the principles of law were created. At the same time, in Egypt, the pharaohs formed their first empire. Man founded the period known today as the Early Bronze Age.

About 3000 years ago, Abraham, the father of the Hebrew nation according to the Bible, began his physical journey from the light of the Chaldeans, on the banks of the Euphrates River, to the land of Canaan, and at the same time he also began his metaphysical journey - from tangible pagan worship to belief in one abstract God.

These two axes of progress - the historical and the biblical - do not necessarily overlap, but both are reserved a senior place in this episode, which begins with the legendary reign of Gilgamesh, King of Arch (Somer), during which the work of powerful rulers such as the King of Babylon and the pharaonic Ramses is also detailed.

The enigma of Abraham and his descendants, the sons of Isaac and Jacob, gains new validity with the disclosure of the findings about the invasion of the Hyksos warriors into the Nile Valley and the fact of the presence of the tribe of Hebiru (Hebrews) among them. These nomadic tribes were expelled from Egypt about 2500 years ago, and this act is actually the factual basis of the Haggadah about the exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt under the leadership of Moses.

The episode progresses through time in an intelligent mix between myths and facts, between legends and archaeological discoveries; From the al-Amarna documents, which focus on the presence of Egyptian rule in Canaan, through stone inscriptions, which were inscribed in the ancient Hebrew script, to the stories that have been linked around the status of Mount Sinai. All of these help in clarifying the spiritual process that underpinned the development of the monotheistic faith.

In order to create the necessary balance between the mythical aspect and the scientific aspect of the episode, the camera goes to the remains of sites in Haran, Turkey, from where Abraham began his journey to Canaan according to the Bible, as well as to excavation sites such as Tel Hazor, Tel Megiddo and Tel Arad, which were the first state cities in Canaan, and from there To the Gihon Spring in Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, the Antiquities Authority warehouse in Beit Shemesh, Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and more.