A slideshow detailing the important developments in the history of the Ancient Israelites.

1. The First
Israelites
Chapter Three, Section One

2.  About 1200 BC, great
changes took place around
Mediterranean
◦ Empires fell and new people
entered the region
 1000 BC, Israelites built a
kingdom in Canaan
 Canaan lies along the
Mediterranean Sea in Middle
East.

3.  Small population of people.
 Israelites believed in God—only
one; monotheism
 Israelite faith become Judaism;
known as Jews
◦ Influenced Christianity and Islam
◦ Shaped beliefs and practices of
societies in Europe and Americas.
 Spoke Hebrew; wrote their
beliefs in the Hebrew Bible
 Came from Mesopotamia-herders
and traders; settled in
Canaan

4.  Abraham—father of the
Hebrews. Believe God told
Abraham to go to Canaan. God
promised the land to Abraham
and the Hebrews.
 Jacob—grandson of Abraham;
also called Israel
◦ Had 12 sons; Divided his family into
12 tribes. 12 Tribes of Israel
 Lived in Israel for 100 years;
moved to Egypt to escape
famine

5.  While in Egypt they were enslaved
by Pharaoh.
 They were subject to infanticide—
murder of their infants
 Moses led his people out of Egypt;
10 plagues on Egyptians
 Ten Commandments—at top of
Mt. Sinai, received the laws from
God. The commandments were an
important part of the Torah; most
important in shaping moral laws of
many nations.
 Torah—first part of the Hebrew
Bible; describes a covenant

6.  Took 40 years to reach Canaan;
Moses had already died
 Joshua took over leadership after
Moses; brought Israelites to Canaan
 Canaanites were living there when
they arrived.
 Joshua and his army took the city of
Jericho and other lands in three
wars.
◦ The territories were divided among the
12 Tribes of Israel

7.  Judge—An Israelite military leader
that guided the 12 tribes after
Joshua’s death. Usually they
guided 1 or 2 tribes;
 Deborah—only known woman
judge.
◦ 1125 BC—Deborah and her troops
destroyed King Jabin and his army of
Canaanites.
 Over time, the judges gained control
over all the hilly regions of Canaan.
The Canaanites only controlled the
coastal areas.

8.  Led by Abraham, the Israelites settled
in Canaan. They later moved to Egypt
and were enslaved, but then escaped.
The Israelites used the Ten
Commandments as rules to live by.
 Joshua and the judges, including
Deborah, won back territory in central
Canaan for the Israelites.

9. Kingdom of Israel
Chapter 3; Section 2

10. Israelites Choose a King
 1000 BC—
Philistines
strongest in the
region of Canaan
 Israelites believe
they need to
choose a king to
unite the tribes and
become stronger

11. Rule of King Saul
 1020 BC—
Israelites asked
Samuel to choose
a king. Samuel—a
judge and prophet
 Samuel selects
Saul a warrior and
farmer; first king of
Israel
 Hebrew Bible says
Saul lost favor with
God and the
people

12. King David
 David—was in charge of
Saul’s army; known for his
bravery and leadership;
David and Goliath
 1000 BC—David takes the
throne of Israel
 David as King
◦ Drove Philistines from the
region
◦ Created an Empire
◦ Conquered nations paid a
tribute—added to Israel’s
wealth

13. King David
◦ Taxes the Israelites
heavily
 Wanted to expand
Jerusalem
 Wanted to build a
temple for the Jews in
Jerusalem

14. King Solomon
 Solomon—last king of a
united Israel; noted for his
wisdom, but hated for his
taxation
◦ Built the great stone temple
in Jerusalem
 Becomes a symbol and center of
Jewish religion
◦ Known for his proverbs—
wise sayings
◦ 1000-922 BC—the period of
kings.

15. After Solomon
 When Solomon died,
Northerners rebelled
◦ 10 of the 12 tribes set
up their own nation in
the north—Kingdom
of Israel (922 BC)
◦ Samaria—capital of
Kingdom of Israel.
 Kingdom of Judah
◦ Two tribes
◦ Jerusalem remained
the Capital

16. Fall of Israel
◦ 722 BC—Assyrians
conquered Israel and
scattered 10 tribes
across their empire.
◦ They are known as the
“Lost Tribes of Israel”

17. Fall of Judah
◦ 620 BC—Egyptians conquered the Kingdom of Judah
 Israelites kept their king but paid tribute to Egypt
◦ 605 BC—Chaldeans conquer Egypt; Egyptians and
Jews unite but fail
◦ 597 BC—Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem
 Punished Jews severely—10,000 forced to leave and live in
Babylon
 A second rebellion was crushed and the Temple was
destroyed.
 Time in Babylon called the Babylonian Exile—597-538 BC
◦ 538 BC—Persian king Cyrus allows Jews to rebuild
Jerusalem

18. Review the Main Ideas
 Saul was the first king of the Israelites. He
united the 12 tribes into one kingdom.
 King David built an Israelite empire and made
Jerusalem his capital. Solomon built a great
temple at Jerusalem, but after he died, the
Israelites split into two kingdoms—Israel and
Judah
 The Assyrians and then the Chaldeans
conquered Israel and Judah, and forced many
Israelites to leave their homeland.

19. Growth of Judaism
Chapter three, section three

20. Exile and Return
 During the exile (586-538 BC) in
Babylon the Israelite religion
became what we call Judaism
 Sabbath—small groups of Jews
would meet for a day of worship
and rest at the synagogues
 538 BC—Cyrus allowed the Jews
to return to Judah; some stayed
in Babylon, many went home
 They rebuilt Jerusalem and the
temple. Were not allowed to have
their own king
 Religious leaders ran their society
 Scribes became religious scholars
 Ezra—wrote five books of the
Torah on pieces of parchment—
scrolls; Torah and writings added
later made up the Hebrew Bible.

21. Jews Look to the Future
 Story of Daniel reminded
Jews that God would
rescue them
 Daniel was important to
the Chaldean rulers but
he refused to worship
Babylonian gods. They
threw him into the Lion’s
den but God protected
Daniel from the Lions.
 Jews believed that evil
and suffering would

22. Jews and the Greeks
 331 BC, Alexander the Great
(Greek) defeated Persians so
Judah came under his control
 Jews were allowed to stay in
Judah; Hebrews were
introduced Greek language
and culture
 Jews were living throughout
Alexander’s empire at this time;
This became known as
diaspora
 During diaspora, Jews learned
Greek ways and copied the

23. The Maccabees
 168 BC—Greek Ruler Antiochus
controlled Judah; He decided to
make Jews worship Greek gods.
 Judas Maccabeus—a priest that
led a rebellion against Antiochus
 Maccabees fled to the hills and
formed an army. After many
battles they drove the Greeks out
of Judah and destroyed all traces
of Greek gods.
 Hanukkah—Jewish festival that
celebrates the Maccabees and
their victory.
 Judas Maccabeus’s family
became new rulers and they took
over land that had been part of

24. Roman Rule
 Jews and the Romans
 63 BC—Romans conquered Judah;
renamed it Judaea
 At first, Romans allowed Jewish rulers
to run Judaea
 King Herod—most famous ruler of
Judaea
◦ Added to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem
◦ Became one of the most awe-inspiring
buildings in the entire Roman world
 Romans replaced the Jewish king with
Roman officials when Herod died.
 Jews were divided over how to deal
with the Romans

25. Jewish Revolts
 60’s AD—Jewish hatred of Roman rule was at its peak
 Jews waited for a messiah—deliverer sent from God
 Zealots—wanted to fight the Romans for Freedom
 66 AD—Zealots revolted against the Romans and drove
them out of Jerusalem;
 70 AD—Romans returned and killed thousands of Jews and
forced many others to leave; Romans destroyed the temple
in Jerusalem; The Western Wall is all that remains today
 132 AD—Jews revolted again; Revolt was crushed in 135
AD; Romans forbade the Jews to live in or even visit
Jerusalem; Started calling Judah by the name Palestine.
Name refers to the Philistines.
 1947 AD—Jews return to Judah and form the state of Israel.