Question: Ancient Israel. society and religion. As we will discuss in the conferences, in relation to their more powerful neighbors the ancient Hebrews were a minor-league player in the political and international affairs of the ancient Middle east. But in their religious and intellectual influence on the foundation-beliefs of western civilizations, they were second to none. We will explore some of the key elements of the religious conceptions formulated by the early Hebrews, collected in the work known as the Hebrew Bible (or Tanak) one of the most influential works in the formation of western intellectual and religious traditions.