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Home , Israelites, Kingdom of Judah

 Like the Sumerians, the ancient developed a society based on ideas of 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

 Discuss during the period when were ruled by other people.  Babylonian  Captivity Cyrus Diaspora  Drought Israelites   What is the Torah? What scribe wrote the five books of the Torah on pieces of parchment?

 Who was and what were his wise sayings called?

 Who defeated the Chaldeans and conquered ?

 Who was ?

 Where do Jews meet to pray?

 What is kosher food?  What is the “rule of law”?

 Who defeat the Persians to become ruler of ?

 What group drove the Romans out of ?

 Understand how to use the chart on page 85.

 Know who to interpret Solomon’s proverbs. Page 89.  Why did the Israelites fear the ?

 What Jewish beliefs are shared by Christians and ? 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 .

 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 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?   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 . According to the Jewish , God had told Abraham and his followers to leave Mesopotamia and go to Canaan.

 Abraham’s grandson was name . 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 close to the 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 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 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 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?  . 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 , God parted the to let the Jews pass. The escape from Egypt by the Israelites became known as .

 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 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 .  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

 The most important part of the Torah explained what God considered to be right and wrong. What was this list of rules called?  The

 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 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 . 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, , , Eli, , and a woman named .

 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 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 , 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 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? 

 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 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 . In the south the two remaining tribes formed the smaller . 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. Over time, the Israelites who were forced to move lost their religion and way of live. They are often called the “lost tribes of Israel.”  The Assyrians that settled the area around Samaria become known as . Over time they to on many of the religious view of the Israelites and started worshiping in the same fashion as the Israelites. The people of Judah look down upon the Samaritans.

 Around 620 B.C. the Egyptians conquered the kingdom of Judah. Soon after this same area was captured by the Chaldeans led by King Nebuchadnezzar.

 Nebuchadnezzar forced all Jews to leave the city of Jerusalem and move to Babylon. This became know as the period of . Overview

This section focuses on the growth of Judaism, including the challenges it overcame and the setbacks it suffered.  The Jews called their time in Babylon an exile. During this time the Israelite religion became know as Judaism.

 During the exile in Babylon small groups of Jews would meet on the . These meetings took place at Jewish places of worship called what? 

 During the 500s B.C. a group called the Persians swept across southwest Asia and defeated the Chaldeans and took over Babylon. The Persian king allowed the Jews to return to Judah. What was Persian king’s name?  Cyrus

 Those Jews that returned to Judah rebuilt Jerusalem. During this time religious leaders took over Judah. These leaders had a scribe named write the five books of the Torah on pieces of parchment. These pieces were then sewed together to make long scrolls. Look on page 94 to see what a Torah scroll looks like.  The Hebrew Bible is really a series of book. It includes the five books of the Torah and 34 other books.

 One of these books, called Genesis, describes how Jews believed God created the earth. Other books describe Gods plan for the future.

 In 334 B.C. the Greeks led by took over the areas around the Mediterranean. He allowed the Jews to stay in Judah and introduced the and culture to the area.

 Jews were also living in other areas Greece controlled during this time period. Jews living outside of Judah were called Diaspora. The Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek and the Jewish religion and culture spread throughout the Mediterranean world.

 In 168 B.C. a Greek rule name Antiochus controlled Judah. He decided to make the Jews of Judah worship Greek gods and goddesses. A Jewish priest named Judas Maccabeus and his followers rebelled. After many battles the drove the Greeks out of Judah. They also destroyed all trace of the worship of Greek gods. This “cleansing of the temple” is celebrated today as the Hanukkah.  Jewish law sets out many rules for Jewish daily life. These laws influence their education, food they eat, and clothing that they wear.

 Education in important in Jewish family life.

 Under Jewish law, Jews can only eat certain animals. For example, they can eat beef and lamb but not pork. They could also eat scaly fish, like salmon, but not smooth-skinned fish. Today food must be prepared according to Jewish dietary laws. What is food prepared in this way called?  Kosher

 Jewish law forbade the mixing of fabrics. Women could us wool or flax to make clothing, but not the two together. Men wore layers of tunics and women wore long, simple dresses. On their heads they wore caps of turbans.  In 63 B.C. the Romans conquered Judah. They renamed it Judaea and at first allowed Jewish rulers to run Judaea.

 The most famous of these rulers was King Herod. He was know for his cruelty and the fact that he was the ruler when was born.

 After Herod died, the Romans replaced the Jewish king with Roman officials.

 By this time the Jews had split into three groups.  – They taught the Torah and how to apply is laws to daily life.  Sadducees – They were more concerned about how the Torah applied to the priests in the temple. Many of them were priests and scribes.  Essenes – They were priest that broke away from the Temple in Jerusalem. They lived as a group in the dessert. It is believed that it was this group that wrote the Scrolls.  During the A.D. 60s, Jewish hatred of Roman rule was at its peak. Many Jews were waiting for a or deliverer sent by god.

 Other Jews want to fight the Romans for their freedom. They were called ______?  Zealots

 In A.D. 66 the Zealots revolted and drove the Romans from Jerusalem. Four years later the Romans took the city back and destroyed the Temple. The Romans renamed Judah to Palestine.

 Today the teachers of the Torah are called ______?  Chapter Review