The Phoenicians & Hebrews

I. The Phoenicians (2300 BC – 65 BC)

I. The Phoenicians (2300 BC – 65 BC)A. Location

1. Western End of the Fertile Crescent2. Present day nations of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria

I. The Phoenicians (2300 BC – 65 BC)B. Economics

1. Little farm land and mountains to the east so they turned to trading goods by sea.

I. The Phoenicians (2300 BC – 65 BC)C. Culture

1. Polytheistic - believed in many different gods (Like Egyptians and Sumerians)2. Developed an Alphabet that would become a model for later alphabets

a. Used 22 symbols, each symbol represented a sound, easier to learn.b. Alphabet spread because of trade, contracts, and bills

I. The Phoenicians (2300 BC – 65 BC)

II. Hebrews (1900 BC – 539 BC)A. Abraham – Father of Judaism (1900 BC)

1. Abraham was a herder and trader in Sumer and worshiped many gods2. God (Yahweh) appeared before Abraham one day and told Abraham “to go and raise a great nation” to the West.

II. Hebrews (1900 BC – 539 BC)A. Abraham – Father of Judaism (1900 BC)

3. Abraham rejected polytheism and led his followers West.

a. Settled in Canaan (Just South of Phoenicia) 4. The Hebrew’s were the first people to practice monotheism.5. The Monotheism of Abraham became the foundation of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

II. Hebrews (1900 BC – 539 BC)

II. Hebrews (1900 BC – 539 BC)B. The Exodus (1200 BC)

1. Descendants of Abraham left Canaan because of a drought and traveled west into Egypt.2. Eventually the Hebrew’s were enslaved by the Egyptians.

II. Hebrews (1900 BC – 539 BC)B. The Exodus (1200 BC) 3. The Departure from Egypt (The Exodus)

a. Moses(Jewish Prophet) 1. Led the Hebrews out of Egypt and slavery2. Wandered the deserts of the Sinai Peninsula for 40 years.

II. Hebrews (1900 BC – 539 BC)B. The Exodus (1200 BC)

b. Ten Commandments1. Moses climbed to the top of Mount Sinai2. Moses returned to his people with two tablets with commandments3. These commandments were the moral laws that Yahweh revealed

to Moses.

II. Hebrews (1900 BC – 539 BC)

II. Hebrews (1900 BC – 539 BC)B. The Exodus (1200 BC)

c. The Torah – Jewish sacred text1. Moses renews covenant with Yahweh while on Mount Sinai2. First five books of the Old Testament of the Bible

III. Hebrew Kingdom of CanaanA. Around 1020 BC the Hebrew’s return to Canaan

and set up their capital in the city of Jerusalem

III. Hebrew Kingdom of CanaanB. The Exile – expulsion from their native land of Canaan

1. In 597 BC, The Babylonians (Nebuchadnezzar) conquered Jerusalem 2. Most of the Hebrews are taken back to

Babylon to be slaves3. The removal of Hebrews from Canaan is called The Exile.

III. Hebrew Kingdom of CanaanC. Diaspora – dispersion or scattering

1. In 539 BC, the Persians conquered the Babylonians

2. Some Jews stay in Babylon3. Some Jews return to Jerusalem to start a new Jewish Community4. Other Jews migrated to other areas in the

Middle East

III. Hebrew Kingdom of Canaan