THE HEBREWSJudges and Kings

The Hebrews were a group of nomadic people that went to Egypt and then became enslaved.

When they escaped Egypt, they were once again nomadic.

Eventually, they settled in the Promised Land, somewhere around 1400 BC.

Once they entered Canaan, they were ruled by elders and leaders of the people.

After a time, the elders were not doing a very good job of ruling the Hebrews (now called the Israelites), so the Judges began to rule.

The time of the Judges was about 1244 BC to 879 BC.

The time of the Judges ended when Saul, the first king of Israel was crowned.

Next came King David, followed by his son, Solomon.

The years of King Solomon’s reign are roughly 970 to 931 BC.

He was the wisest man in the Old Testament.

His proverbs, along with some others, became a book of the Old Testament.

A proverb is a short saying that attempts to communicate some kind of wisdom.

Israelite wisdom was rooted in the Hebrew understanding of God.

The Jewish people think that to know God and meet Him, you must meet Him through history.

It is only by understanding His actions that you can understand His personality.

Since God, or YHWY (Yahweh), gave the Hebrews a Law, He was a lawful God.