Judaism cannot be traced to a single founding moment; it emerged gradually over millennia as varied local cults and traditions consolidated within a monotheistic framework. The biblical narrative places Abraham in the mid-2nd millennium BCE; academic scholarship shows the surviving texts were composed and edited in later centuries.

Archaeological and textual evidence indicates that polytheistic cults persisted in the Iron Age kingdom of Judah. The rise of Yahweh as the sole god became decisive after the Babylonian exile of the 6th century BCE, during the long period of rebuilding. Exile raised the question of how identity could survive without temple or homeland; the model of a community organised around sacred text was forged in this crucible.

Judaism left a deep mark on the history of religion — most directly by giving rise to Christianity and Islam — and on law, ethics, and the calendar. Ethical monotheism, the covenantal relationship, and text-centred worship are among its distinctive contributions.