By the Rivers of Babylon

In 586 B.C., the Babylonians lead almost all that remains of the tribe of Judah, the Israelites, to exile in Babylon. Only a few generations earlier, the northern tribes of the Israelites were taken into exile and vanished forever. Now the Judeans, too, seem destined to disappear. They fight back, however, by writing a book. Using Judean stories from the past to explain present disastrous situations, the book becomes the earliest edition of the most influential work in history: the Bible. This episode introduces the early and profoundly influential figures of Judaism: Abraham, who is the first to recognise the concept of one God; Moses, who receives the Ten Commandments from God; and David, whose sins teach the Israelites that no one is above the law of God.