History of Ancient Israel
I. Beginnings A. Abraham lays the foundation for a new religion (which will become JUDAISM ) 1. lived in the Mesopotamian city of UR with his wife SARAH 2. the Mesopotamians believed in POLYTHEISM
3. God told Abraham that: a. Go to land of CANAAN i. today area includes: Lebanon, ISRAEL, and Jordan b. AND worship only the one god, then c. this PROMISED Land would always belong to his people 4. this belief in one god is called MONOTHEISM a. this made Judaism very different from other ancient RELIGIONS
B. Abraham s son (Isaac) leads the people in Canaan until he dies C. Abraham s grandson Jacob leads these people 1. Jacob becomes known as ISRAEL a. as a result, all their descendants become known as ISRAELITES
2. Jacob had 12 sons who become leaders of Twelve TRIBES of Israel a. a TRIBE is a like a separate family group 3. a major FAMINE, which is a shortage of FOOD occurs in Canaan
4. Jacob s people move to EGYPT where food was plentiful a. lived in peace for many generations b. as Israelite population grew, the Egyptians ended up making them SLAVES
D. Moses leads the Israelites to freedom 1. Moses was a PROPHET for the Israelites a. a prophet is a messenger sent of God 2. demanded that the Pharaoh release the Israelites but he refused
3. according to tradition, God sent 10 plagues upon EGYPT 4. Pharaoh gives in and releases the Israelites from slavery a. this is known as the EXODUS b. this is where the holiday of PASSOVER comes from
E. The Covenant with God 1. a covenant is a special AGREEMENT with God 2. God promised to get the Israelites back to CANAAN safely 3. the Israelites promised to follow TEN COMMANDMENTS a. Moses receives these teaching on top of MOUNT SINAI
b. they are known as the TORAH i. become part of the HEBREW bible c. these teaching include the TEN COMMANDMENTS
II. Return to the Land of Canaan A. JOSHUA guides them into Canaan B. other groups were there including Canaanites & later the Philistines 1. pastoral people who lived off the land with their animals 2. Phoenicians in cities along Mediterranean Sea in northern Canaan a. they were skilled workers and talented traders b. built great ships with oars to trade i. traded with others Spain, w. Africa, and even BRITISH Isles ii. took control of shipping in the Mediterranean Sea c. made Carthage a very powerful city d. used early ALPHABET, letters that stand for a SOUNDS
3. Philistines migrated into the area from near GREECE a. known as Sea People who invaded Mediterranean ca. 1200BC b. set up five walled towns in southern Canaan c. skilled in making iron tools and WEAPONS
C. Joshua led Israelites in a series of battles to conquer Canaan 1. Israelites believed that it was GOD s WILL that they claim the land 2. Joshua led a battle at JERICHO that lasted SIX days b. priest blowing trumpets until the WALL COLLAPSED 3. when they conquered areas, divided the land among the 12 TRIBES
D. after Joshua s death, leaders called judges ruled and settled disputes 1. DEBORAH, famous female judge known her wisdom and bravery 2. BARAK - commander that helped defeat Canaanits
E. Life in Canaan 1. land was rocky and dry 2. most people farmed and herded animals in this hilly area 3. farmers collected the rainwater in small CAVES a. stored the water for their crops of OLIVES, grapes, and FLAX 4. many people lived in two level houses a. made of either mud-brick or stone plastered with mud b. wooden beams supported their flat roof c. people cooked and did chores downstairs in the day i. the donkeys and goats slept on the lower level at night ii. the people slept upstairs at night
F. The Tabernacle 1. Israelite tribes worshipped a tent-like structure - TABERNACLE a. could be moved from place to place as the Israelites moved around b. put up a tabernacle at the religious center known as Shiloh 2. inside the tabernacle was the Ark of the CONVENANT a. a gold-covered wooden cabinet with stone tablets inside i. tablets were said to be the 10 Commandments b. Israelites believe the Ark showed that God was with them i. having it in battle would ensure VICTORY
III. The Israelite Kingdom A. the first king was SAUL 1. led Israelites to victory in many battles
B. King DAVID takes over 1. as a young man, he defeated GOLIATH (a powerful Philistine) with a slingshot 2. David takes over as king after Saul dies in a battle 3. once king, David UNITED the 12 tribes
4. he establishes JERUSALEM as the capital of Israel 5. brought prosperous times to Israel and a. farmers used new tech. to cultivate better farmland 6. it is believed that David wrote the songs in the Book of PSALMS
C. King SOLOMON becomes king after his father's death 1. brought a long period of peace to Israel 2. credited with building the first TEMPLE in Jerusalem
a. believed to be the author of the Book of PROVERBS in the Bible 4. many Israelites turned against Solomon a. didn't like working on his building projects b. didn't like paying high taxes 5. after his death, many disagreements amongst the Israelites
IV. Two Kingdoms A. Kingdom of ISRAEL 1. the ten northern tribes revolted against the capital of Jerusalem 2. founded a new kingdom of Israel the capital was the city of Samaria B. Kingdom of JUDAH (later Judea) 1. two southern tribes founded the kingdom of Judah i. Jerusalem remained the capital
C. Fall of Israel 1. Assyrians invade Israel in 722BC a. Assyrians forced Israelites to move to other areas of Empire b. Assyrians forced other people to move INTO Israel 2. the new culture became known as the SAMARITANS a. Samaritans followed many of the Hewish religious practices b. also started new religious practiced that the Israelites rejected
D. Fall of Judah 1. Nebuchadnezzar sent thousands of people to BABYLON 2. people of Judah fought back against the Chaldeans 3. in 586BC, Nebuchadnezzar attacks Jerusalem a. destroys the temple & sends more people to Babylon 4. This period is known as the Babylonian EXILE a. EXILE means people are forced to LEAVE their HOMELAND