1. Ancient Israel

2. Historical Overview
Ancient Israel is the birthplace of the 3 great monotheistic religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Ancient Israel dates back approximately 4000 years to the books of the Old Testament
Great patriarchs of Judaism: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua
Hebrews, Israelites, Jews, Semites: have all undergone persecution throughout history; from Babylonian Captivity, Exodus, Diaspora, Spanish Inquisition, Holocaust

3. What is in a name?
Hebrew means “From across”- name given to Abraham and his followers
Israelites: Abraham’s grandson Jacob renamed Israel which means “he who has wrestled with God”. His descendants were called “Israelites”
Jews: named after Jacob’s son Judah, ancient father of tribe of King David’s dynasty

4. Tracing Roots of Israel’s History
Nomadic tribes wandered into Palestine from east in approximately 1900 BCE
Mesopotamian society dominated by polytheism
God (Yahweh) appeared before Patriarch Abraham and told Abraham “to go and raise a great nation”
This began the monotheistic tradition of the Hebrew faith with the establishment of the “Covenant”, “Chosen People” and “Promised Land”
Abraham settled in Canaan
Story: Sacrifice of Abraham

6. Jacob (grandson of Abraham)
Abraham’s grandson Jacob took name “Israel” which means “God ruled” and organized Israelites into 12 tribes
Some tribes settled in Egypt (due to drought and famine) and were subjected to Pharaoh rule and slavery

7. Moses An illustrated story of Moses
The Story of Moses Jews, Christians, and Muslims, all revere Moses as a great prophet. He is considered the greatest prophet in Judaism and he is “ the most frequently cited individual in the Qu’ran. (Ishmael Instructs Isaac, pg.132). Although there are some differences, the basic Story of Moses and his role in the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is very similar in the Torah, The Bible and The Qu’ran. In all three books, we watch the maturation of a man as he develops the qualities and leadership skills to bring together a group of squabbling individuals into a nation of united people with a common goal. This king saw how the Hebrew children were increasing in number, and he was afraid that some day there would be more Hebrews than Egyptians. So what do you suppose he did? Why, he made slaves of all the Hebrews and put cruel masters over them to make them work very, very hard. Perhaps he thought this would cause them to die young, and that soon there wouldn't be nearly as many Hebrews.
But God was with the Hebrews.
He had made wonderful promises to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, and to all of Jacob's sons. These promises belonged to all the Hebrews. They were God's people, and God won't let anybody kill all of his people.
Besides, God will bring back to life all the Hebrews who have died, and everybody else, too, for that matter. You see, God always keeps his promises, and no one can really interfere with what God wants done. That's a very important thing to remember.
Making slaves of the Hebrews didn't stop. them from increasing in number, so the king of Egypt ordered that all the boy babies of the Hebrews should be killed as soon as they were born. They were to be thrown into the river Nile and drowned. Wasn't that awful? Moses was sent down a river in a basket because Pharoah had ordered all Jewish male children to be drowned in the Nile River. The Torah and The Bible tell us that The Pharaoh’s daughter discovers Moses in his basket. Miriam, Moses’ sister steps out of hiding and asks the Pharaoh’s daughter if she would like a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. The princess says yes and Miriam calls Moses’ mother. She raises him till his teen years when she brings him to Pharaoh’s daughter, at which time she names him Moses. When Moses was a bit older he comes across an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Defending his kinsman, Moses strikes and kills the Egyptian. Moses realizes that others know he has killed an Egyptian. When Pharoah learns of the murder, he orders Moses killed. Moses flees to Midian. It is here that Moses rescues the daughter of the local priest of Midian, named Reuel but known as Jethro. Moses marries his daughter, Zipporah who gives birth to a son named Gershom. Many years later Pharaoh dies and the Israelites cried out to God to free them from bondage. Moses, while tending his flock comes across a blazing bush that wondrously is not consumed by the flame. The Lord calls to him and tells him to remove his sandals and Moses, afraid to look at God, hides his face. God calls to Moses telling him to return to Egypt to free the Israelites from bondage. Moses fears that no one will believe him. In The Torah and The Bible God tells him to say that his name is Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, which means, “I will be what I will be.” He further says the he is “The God of your fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:15) Moses expresses doubts and God reassures Moses that he will succeed and that the Israelites will believe God has sent him. God demonstrates to Moses how he will convince the people by turning Moses’ stick into a snake, his skin to leprosy, and promises that if the Israelites still do not believe him that he should take water from the Nile, pour it into the sand and it will turn to blood. Moses continues to protest that he is not deserving because he is slow of speech. God assures him that his brother Aaron will be his mouthpiece. Moses meets his brother Aaron in the dessert and together they return to Egypt. In Egypt Moses shows the signs God gave him and the Israelites believe him. Moses and Aaron approach pharaoh and tell him that their God has ordered Israelites to celebrate a festival in the wilderness. Pharaoh says no and responds by doubling their workload. The Israelites in their anger blame Moses and Aaron for their extra work. Moses asks God why he is bringing harm to his people and God reassures him that everything will be all right. God once again sends Moses to reassure the Israelites that he speaks for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that through a series of signs he will convince Pharoah to let the Israelites leave Egypt. So once again Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh and ask him to let the Israelites go. God hardens Pharaoh’s heart and Pharaoh refuses. A series of 10 plagues are released upon Egypt. 1) All the waters in Egypt are turned to blood and all the fish die. 2) Frogs infest Egypt. 3)Lice crawl over every man, woman and beast that lived in the land 4) A cloud of insects attack the people. 5) A severe pestilence strikes the livestock of the Egyptians. 6) Egyptian people are covered in boils. 7) Thunder, hail and fire stuck the land of the Egyptians. 8) Locusts cover the sky and fields. 9)Darkness falls for 3 days. 10) Every first-born Egyptian child dies including Pharaoh’s son. Finally, Pharoah is convinced and the Israelites leave Egypt. After the Israelites depart, God once again hardens Pharoah’s heart and Pharoah sends an army after the Jews. Once again the Israelites blame Moses for their hardships. Moses reassures them and strikes the sea with his staff and the sea opens up a path of dry land for them to cross. As the Egyptians begin to cross, God orders Moses to stretch out his hand and the dry path closes and drowns the Egyptians. The Israelites wandered in the Sinai desert for 40 years. All three religions teach that this time in a desolate environment was necessary for the Israelites to be tested and to find for themselves their faith in God. Again, when they become hungry and thirsty they turn on Moses and blame him for their woes. When they complained of no meat, God provided quail. When they complained of no bread, manna fell from heaven. When they complain of no water, God tells Moses to strike his staff against a rock and water comes pouring out. After three months the Israelites arrived at the foot of the holy mountain of Sinai. A cloud encompasses the mountain and God descends into the cloud. God calls to Moses and Moses climbs up the mountain. God speaks and delivers to Moses the Ten Commandments. Since Moses is gone for a long time, the people begin to lose faith and want to make a God of their own. In the Torah and Bible, Aaron tells them to bring all the gold jewelry they have, and cast it into a mold. Aaron molds it into a golden calf, and the people worship this golden calf. When Moses returns he is infuriated. He throws down the tablets and they shatter. Then he takes the calf that the people made and burns it. He grinds the calf to powder and puts it into the people’s water, and makes them drink it. Once again, he goes up the mountain and writes down the commandments. The Jews continue to wander through the desert toward the Promised Land for the remainder of the 40 years. Moses is allowed to see the Promised Land but not enter. He climbs to the top of Mt. Nebo, which overlooks Canaan. God says, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I will give it to your offspring. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross there. (Deuteronomy 34:4)

8. Moses & Exodus: “Let My People Go!”
Moses received revelations from God: burning bush, rod / staff, 10 plagues, parting of the Red Sea
End of 13th century BCE- Moses led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt during Rames II reign called the EXODUS
Moses led the 12 Tribes of Israel to Mount Sinai where Yahweh gave him the 10 Commandments, uniting the Hebrews under one God
Moses and Hebrews searched for the “Promised Land” or the land of milk and honey, however they wandered in the desert for 40 years

11. Kings of Israel
1230 BCE, Israelites guided by Joshua, invaded Canaan (Promised Land)
1020 BCE: first king of Israelites was Saul, then David, then Solomon
Under King David the Israelites captured city of Jerusalem
King Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem, to house the Arc of the Covenant (sacred box to hold Torah)
Solomon’s Temple was destroyed during Babylonian invasion, rebuilt in 6th century BCE, and destroyed again in 70 CE by the Romans
Only remaining part of Solomon’s Temple is the Western Wall

12. Lost Tribes of Israel
After the death of Solomon, Kingdom of Israel split into two (north= Israel; south= Judah)
Israel was conquered by Assyrians in 722 BCE and the scattered people were known as the ‘Lost Tribes of Israel’
Judah was eventually destroyed by Babylon in 586 BCE and inhabitants were held in captivity (called the Exile or Babylonian Captivity)
Emergence of synagogues and rabbis during Exile
Released by Persians in 538 BCE and returned to Jerusalem to rebuild temple

13. Diaspora
Diaspora is a Greek word meaning “sowing of seed” or “dispersal” which refers to Jewish population living outside of Israel
In 332 BCE, Jewish people in fell under Hellenization (Greek culture) as Alexander the Great conquered Persia, Egypt and India
164 BCE, group of Jews called the Maccabees revolted against Greek rule, took control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple to God (Hanukkah)
64 BCE, Jerusalem fell to Romans and the Kingdom of Judah became one of the provinces of the Roman Empire (Judea). The people living there were called Judeans, and it is from this word that we get the word Jew
In 66 CE the people of Judea revolted against Rome. This uprising was crushed and the temple was destroyed for a second time in 70 CE
Despite the dispersion of Jewish people throughout Europe after 70 CE, their culture and religious beliefs have been by far the most influential of all the ancient cultures of the Near East
Diaspora forced Jews to The Jewish people lived in many different parts of the Roman Empire, and wherever a minyan (10 Jewish adult men) could be found, they were able to establish a Synagogue
Beginning around 70 CE rabbis met together to create commentaries on the Torah. These commentaries are known as the Talmud, and the Midrash. Studying the Torah, Talmud and Midrash became one of the central features of the Jewish religion.

14. Impact of Ancient Israel
Covenant = formal agreement between Hebrews and God (Yahweh); Hebrews worshipped God and only God, and in return, they would be God’s Chosen People and given Canaan as the Promised Land
Spiritual ideas profoundly influenced Western culture, morality, ethics and conduct
Three of the world’s most dominant religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam all derive their roots from the spiritual beliefs of the Ancient Israelites

15. Links Judaism Religion and Ethics Ancient History Sourcebook- Israel
Ancient Israel