the religion started in mesopotamia, later on moving to canaan, and near the middle east. it developed gradually around 1800 bce. during this time, god talked to abraham, and told him to go to canaan with his followers. once they arrived, they became sheep herders. but one day, famine caused them to flee to egypt, where they eventually became slaves. after all that happened, god talked to another spiritual leader in judaism to help abraham and his followers get back to canaan, which he eventually did. the religion spread widely after that. the spread is called the jewish diaspora. the jews spread to other countries and took their religion with them.