Writing had been used in the Middle East for more than 2,000 years before his era. But, it consisted of picture-words that were difficult to master. To be literate, a scribe had to memorize thousands of word-symbols as the Chinese do today. Egyptian hieroglyphics were one such system, and cuneiform from Mesopotamia was another.

These ancient, complex Middle Eastern methods of writing did not affect the early Israelites very much. Until Solomon, they mostly had been a rural people, watching their sheep and goats and farming. They had little need for writing, and couldn't support a class of scribes anyway. By about 900 B.C.E. things had changed. Israel, with its king and court in Jerusalem, was as large and wealthy as it ever would be. Also, neighboring Canaanites had developed a new and simpler way of writing. Various groups of Canaanites lived in towns along the Mediterranean coast, and they made their living through shipping and other large-scale trading enterprises. Greeks called them Phoenicians. Perhaps to simplify their commercial record-keeping, they started using symbols to represent human sounds. This new "phonic" (Phoenician) writing method spread throughout the area. Greeks borrowed the idea and began writing down their stories and oral histories. The Israelites did too.

The Phoenician alphabet had no vowels. It consisted of 22 letters, each standing for a consonant sound. Israelites took this consonant system and applied it to their Hebrew language, which was a Canaanite dialect.   Perhaps when Solomon was building his temple to Yahweh, his scribes began recording their people's oral traditions. Richard Friedman, a Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature at the University of California in San Diego, says this would be the world's "first prose masterpiece." It begins with creation and extends to the "present time" of Solomon. It also becomes the account around which the Torah--and the Christian Old Testament--developed. After Solomon died, his realm split into a southern kingdom of Judah and a northern kingdom of Israel.

The northern kingdom was defeated by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.E., and the Ten Tribes of Israel who lived there disappeared from history. Many were killed, became captives or fled south to Judah. Those who remained lost their Hebrew identity, becoming known as Samaritans. The southern kingdom of Judah with its center in Jerusalem lasted until 597 B.C.E. when it was conquered by the Babylonians. Leading Israelite families were taken away as captives to Mesopotamia where they remained until 538 B.C.E. These (almost 60) years are known as the Babylonian Captivity period. In 538 the Babylonians themselves were defeated, and the victorious Persians allowed the Hebrews to return and rebuild Jerusalem.

During these turbulent four centuries following Solomon, Israelite beliefs changed greatly. Yahweh had been the Israelites' chief god when Solomon built his temple, but other gods were thought to exist for other people. Solomon's numerous wives worshiped an assortment of deities, and he built shrines to honor many of them. By the end of the Babylonian Captivity, however, Hebrew religious leaders no longer believed other gods existed. The "one universal God" idea that gradually evolved is called monotheism.

The narratives and laws written between Solomon's time and the Babylonian Captivity continued to be thought of as divinely inspired. But as centuries went by and religious and moral concepts changed, the writings were re-edited. The original story was divided, rearranged, and new material was added primarily by four authors. Knowing this historical process helps us understand why there are four listings of the "Ten Commandments" found in the Bible--as well as helping us understand why they are different one from another.