The Ancient Israelites

The Ancient IsraelitesChapter 3Sections1-3

The First Israelites Go from your country and your kindred and your fathers house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him, Abram was 75 when he departed from Haran.Genesis 12:1-2,4

1800s B.C. people migrated from Mesopotamia to the area that became known as Canaan.MonotheistsFaith of the Israelites became known as Judaism.What do you remember about Abrahams sons, Ishmael and Isaac?One of Abrahams grandsons, Jacob, had 12 sons, each became a tribe of Israel.Josephs coat of many colorsJealous of their fathers partiality to Joseph, his brothers first put him in a pit, then sell him to traders heading toward Egypt. The brothers tell a lie to Jacob and tell him they suppose he was killed by a wild animal. Many years later, when a famine occurs in the Canaan, the family has to go to Egypt to buy food. Joseph ends up sending for his whole family to move to Egypt. Jacobs name is changed to Israel=one who struggles with GodLife was good at first, then as kings took over that did not know Jacob, and the population increased, the Egyptians became fearful of a revolution.

Pharaoh ordered all the boy babies killed, but Moses is spared when his mother makes a basket of bulrushes and puts him in the Nile River. Pharaohs daughter found him and raised him as her own son.The Torah

The first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible. The most sacred text in the Jewish religious tradition Yahwehs covenant with His peopleMoses

Prince of EgyptShepherd of Yahwehs peopleMoses kills an Egyptian taskmaster for beating a Hebrew slave. He returns to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let the people go back to Canaan. Ten plagues follow before Pharaoh lets them go free. Can you name them?Nile River to bloodFrogsGnatsFliesEgyptian livestock diesBoilsHailLocustsDarknessDeath of first born

Ten CommandmentsOn their way back to the Promised Land, Moses receives Gods law on Mt. Sinai, known as the Torah.The Ten Commandments have helped shaped basic moral laws of many nations. Should they be on public display? Why or why not?

Mount Sinai

After Moses dies, Joshua leads the Israelites into Canaan. Fights many battles in order to re-conquer the land, including Jericho. The land is divided between the twelve tribes. After Joshua dies, military leaders or judges assume the leadership role until the Israelites ask for a king. Samuel anoints a warrior-farmer, Saul, as Israels first king. Chapter 3, section 2Among the people groups Israel had to defeat were the Philistines. David with the head of Goliath

After Saul had disobeyed God, he withdrew his blessings from him and had David, a shepherd from the tribe of Benjamin, anointed by Samuel.David defeated Goliath, a Philistine giant, with one smooth stone and a slingshot. 1 Samuel 17:38-51David and Bathshebas son, Solomon, built a huge temple complex in Jerusalem. Numerous other building projects included fortifying several cities, store cities for stockpiling materials, military bases, and a palace for one of his wives. Solomon also wrote the book of Proverbs, and the book of Ecclesiastes. He also had 700 wives and 300 concubines which would have been acquired as a result of treaties.

Solomons Temple

Inside Solomons Temple

Remains of Solomons TempleThe Wailing WallAfter Solomons death, the ten of the original 12 tribes set up their own kingdom to the north, Israel, and established Samaria as their capital.The other two tribes set up Judah as their kingdom and establish Jerusalem as their capital. Now divided, they were much easier to attack and conquer.

722 B.C. Assyria invades and conquers Israel. The mixed race of Assyrians and Israelites become known as the despised race of Samaritans.

620 B.C. Egypt conquers Judah, 605 B.C. Chaldeans conquer Egypt597 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem and sends 10,000 Jews into Babylonian exile586 B.C. Jerusalem temple is destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, thousands more Jews taken into exile, known as the Babylonian Captivity.

Name the person who was thrown into the lions den for not worshipping the Babylonian gods and the king as a god.Daniel

Chapter 3, section 3The Growth of JudaismJewish house of worship is called?

synagogue

Jewish day of worship is the Sabbath.During the 500s B.C. Jews were allowed to return to Judah by King Cyrus (Persia) to begin rebuilding the wall. The book of Nehemiah tells of this account

The Jews and Greeks331 B.C. Alexander the Great defeats Persia, allows the Jews to stay in Judah, but tries to impose Greek culture and religion.

Alexanders Empire 332-326 B.C.

By the time of Alexander, Jews were living all over the known world. This becomes known as the Diaspora, in Greek, it means scattered.

Shabbat/Jewish Sabbath168 B.C. Judas Maccabeus, a priest and his followers rebelled against the Greeks rule to worship their gods and goddesses. After many guerilla warfare type battles, the Maccabees run the Greeks out of Judah. Cleanse the temple and rededicate it. Hanukkah is celebrated each year by Jews to remember the miracle of the oil lamp staying lit for 8 days.

The Jews and the Romans63 B.C. Rome conquers Judah.Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes, splintering religious groups with different agendas. Pharisees-teachers of the law, controlled the synagogues and the population. Sadducees-more legalistic than Pharisees. Essenes-hung out in the desert rejected temple worship & offerings, most radical of the three groups.During the Roman occupation of Jerusalem, Jewish zealots fought guerilla warfare to try to run the Romans out.

Zealot hideouts:Fortress of MasadaPetraA.D. 66 Jews force Romans to retreat from Jerusalem.A.D. 70 Romans recapture Jerusalem, kill thousands, force hundreds to leave. Destroyed the temple, Wailing Wall is all that remainsA.D.132 revolt ends in Roman victory, Judah is changed to Palestine.

Jewish DietUnder Jewish law, Jews can only eat certain animals. They are not allowed to eat pork, or smooth skinned fish, like eels. Laws about food restrictions became known as, kashrut, which means, that which is proper.

Today, food that is prepared according to Jewish laws is called, kosher. Animals have to be killed in a certain way. Jews cannot cook or eat milk products with meat.Look for the circled U or K on products

Jew studying the Torah

phylactery Rabbi Yochannan be ZakkaiAccording to tradition, ben Zakkai was a pacifist in Jerusalem in 68 C.E. when the city was under siege by General Vespasian. Jerusalem was controlled by the Zealots, people who would rather die than surrender to Rome (these are the same people who controlled Masada). Ben Zakkai urged surrender, but the Zealots would not hear of it, so ben Zakkai faked his own death and had his disciples smuggle him out of Jerusalem in a coffin. They carried the coffin to Vespasian's tent, where ben Zakkai emerged from the coffin. He told Vespasian that he had had a vision (some would say, a shrewd political insight) that Vespasian would soon be emperor, and he asked Vespasian to set aside a place in Yavneh (near modern Rehovot) where he could move his yeshivah (school) and study Torah in peace. Vespasian promised that if the prophecy came true, he would grant ben Zakkai's request. Vespasian became Emperor and kept his word, allowing the school to be established after the war was over. The yeshiva survived and was a center of Jewish learning for centuries.Jewish teachers of the Torah are rabbis.Johanan ben Zakkai-ensured teaching of the Torah contd. by starting a school in northern Palestine.1948 - nation of Israel is recognized