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The First Israelites

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The First Israelites Like the Sumerians, the ancient Israelites developed a society based on ideas of justice and strict laws. The Israelites believed that there was only one God. Describe the Israelites’ beliefs and their early history Discuss the history of the Kingdom of Israel Discuss Judaism during the period when Jews were ruled by other people. Canaan Babylonian David Captivity Cyrus Diaspora Torah Drought Israelites Prophets Palestine What is the Torah? What scribe wrote the five books of the Torah on pieces of parchment? Who was Solomon and what were his wise sayings called? Who defeated the Chaldeans and conquered Babylon? Who was Moses? Where do Jews meet to pray? What is kosher food? What is the “rule of law”? Who defeat the Persians to become ruler of Judah? What group drove the Romans out of Jerusalem? Understand how to use the alphabets chart on page 85. Know who to interpret Solomon’s proverbs. Page 89. Why did the Israelites fear the Philistines? What Jewish beliefs are shared by Christians and Muslims? Overview This section discusses the early history of the ancient Israelites, including their relationship with God, their escape from slavery, and their conflicts with the Canaanites over land. About 1200 B.C. great changes were taking place around the Mediterranean Sea. Empires fell and many new people entered the region. Many of these set up small kingdoms. About 1000 B.C. a group called the Israelites came from Mesopotamia and built a kingdom in Canaan. Canaan is located along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Most civilizations at this time worshiped many gods and goddesses. The Israelite religion was different because they worshiped only one God. This belief in one god is called what? Monotheism Their faith became the religion known today as Judaism. What are followers of this religion called? What language did they speak? Jews Hebrew The early Israelites were herders and traders. The Israelites believed the were descended from a man named Abraham. According to the Jewish bible, God had told Abraham and his followers to leave Mesopotamia and go to Canaan. Abraham’s grandson was name Jacob. Jacob would go on to raise 12 sons in Canaan. Each of these sons would become the head of a family group. What were these family groups called? tribes The tribes lived in Canaan for about 100 years. Toward the end of this time a long drought began. To survive the Israelites moved into Egypt close to the Nile river. What is a drought? A long period with little of no rain. Soon after they arrived in Egypt, the Israelites were enslaved by the pharaoh and forced to build pyramids. To prevent the Israelites from rebelling, the pharaoh ordered all baby boys born to the Israelites to be thrown in the river. One mother put her baby in a basket and hid it among the reeds along the Nile river. There the baby was found by pharaoh's daughter. Who did this baby become? Moses Moses was raised as Egypt nobleman. As a young man, he learned of his true heritage and returned to his Israelite family. Around 1290 B.C., Moses was tending sheep one day when he saw a burning bush and heard a voice. He believed the voice was from God. What was he told to do? Lead the Israelites out of Egypt to freedom. To force the pharaoh into letting the Israelites leave Egypt, God sent 10 plagues. What is a plague? A plague is sometimes a disease, but it can also mean something that causes problems for a lot of people. The worst of these plaques was one in which every first-born child was to die, except those of people who marked their doorways with lamb’s blood. What Jewish holiday is celebrated to remember how God spared the Israelites? Passover. When God “passed over” homes marked with blood and delivered the Jews from Egypt. This last plaque convinced the pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt. However, at the last minute the pharaoh changed his mind and sent his army to destroy the Israelites. According to the Bible, God parted the Red Sea to let the Jews pass. The escape from Egypt by the Israelites became known as the Exodus. On their way back to Canaan, the Israelites had to travel through the Sinai desert. The Bible says that during the journey, Moses went to the top of Mount Sinai and received a book of laws. What did this Jewish book of laws come know as? The Torah. This is the first part of the Hebrew Bible. The Torah describes an agreement with God. In this agreement, God promises to return the Israelites to Canaan if they follow his laws. What is a agreement with God called? A Covenant The most important part of the Torah explained what God considered to be right and wrong. What was this list of rules called? The Ten Commandments Historically the Ten Commandments are important because they have been used to shape the basic moral laws of many nations. The Ten Commandments also helped develop the idea that laws should apply to everyone equally. This is know as what? The “rule of law” It took the Israelites about 40 years to reach Canaan. On the way Moses died and a leader by the name of Joshua took over. When they arrived in Canaan, they found another group already living there called the Canaanites. Joshua led the Israelites into battle against the Canaanite capital of Jericho. The Israelites defeated the Canaanites and divided the land among the 12 tribes. After Joshua died, the Israelites used their judges for leadership. Judges were military leaders. Each judge commanded 1 or 2 tribes. Among these new leaders were Barak, Gideon, Samuel, Eli, Samson, and a woman named Deborah. Eventually the Israelites took over the hilly areas of Canaan and built walled towns for protection. The Canaanites remained in the areas near the coast. One group of Canaanites, known as the Phoenicians, became very skilled sailors. They began trading with other civilizations across the Mediterranean. Through trade, the Phoenicians spread ideas and goods. Their most important idea was an alphabet based upon groups of letters that stood for sounds. This alphabet would be adapted by other cultures and became the bases from the Greek and Roman alphabets. The Roman alphabet would become what we know today as our alphabet. Overview This section focuses on the creation of the kingdom of Israel; its great kings Saul, David, and Solomon; and the challenges Israel faced. Around 1000 B.C. the strongest group living in Canaan did the Israelites fear the Philistines? The Philistines had strong cities and knew how to make weapons and tools from iron. The Israelites feared the Philistines and many copied their ways and worshiped their gods. During this time period the 12 tribes often quarreled about how they were going to save their religion and way of life. They needed someone to united them against the Philistines. In 1020 B.C. the Israelites asked a judge and prophet named Samuel chose a new king. What is a prophet? A person who claims to be instructed by God to share God’s words. Samuel anointed and warrior-farmer named Saul as the new king. When you anoint someone you bless them with oil to show that God has chosen them Saul led the Israelites to victory in many battles with their enemies. However, Saul did not always follow God’s commands. God told Samuel to choose another king and anoint him in secret. Samuel chose a young shepherd named David. David became Saul’s greatest warrior. What Philistine solider did David kill? Goliath Saul eventually placed David in charge of his Army. As David continued to win victories, Saul became jealousy of David and planned to have him killed. David hide out in enemy territory until Saul and his three sons were killed in battle. David became king of Israel in 1000 B.C. After becoming king he drove the Philistines from the area and conquered other neighboring nations and created an empire. David forced the people that the Israelites conquered to pay tribute. He also made the Israelites pay heavy taxes which he used to build his new capital of Jerusalem. After David died his son Solomon became king. Solomon built a stone temple in Jerusalem that became the symbol and center of the Jewish religion. In the Bible, Solomon was know for his wise sayings. What are these wise sayings called? Proverbs Solomon was not popular with the northern tribes. To get more money from them, Solomon made many of their young men work in mines owned by him. When Solomon died, the northern tribes rebelled. Ten of the tribes formed their own nation and called it the Kingdom of Israel with its capital in Samaria. In the south the two remaining tribes formed the smaller kingdom of Judah. Judah’s capital was what? Jerusalem While the Israelites were fighting among themselves, the Assyrians and Chaldeans were building powerful empires. They wanted to control trade routes that ran through the Israelite kingdoms. During this time many Israelites forgot about their religion. The rich mistreated the poor and the government officials stole money. Prophets kept trying to get the people to go back to the temples to worship. The Assyrians were a feared people because when they would conquer an area they would destroy all the buildings and scatter the population in that area. Assyrians would then settle in the area. In 722 B.C. the Assyrians conquered Israel and scattered the 10 tribes in that area across the Assyrian empire.
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