Ancient Israelites

Bellwork:

Chalk Talk: Write down a list of the world’s major religions. For each religion, write down the

religion’s god(s) and sacred text. Work together. No one should write more than 3

items.

Central Questions

• What were the main beliefs of the Israelites?• What made their belief system unique for

their time? • What were the main events in the early

history of the Israelites?

The History of the Israelites• This history is according to the sacred text of the

Israelites, the Torah• A man named Abraham lived near Ur in Mesopotamia• 2000 BC: Abraham and his family migrated to Canaan• Israelites believe that God made a covenant (promise)

with Abraham – God would have a special relationship with Abraham and

his descendents– Canaan would someday belong to the Israelites (their

“promised land”)

More History of the Israelites

• A famine forced the Israelites to migrate to Egypt, where they were eventually enslaved

• A man named Moses (with God’s help) leads them out of slavery and into Canaan (after 40 long years, though Moses never got in)

• Kingdom of Israel set up by 1000 BC• King David united the 12 tribes of Israel into a

single nation

More More History of the Israelites• 922 BC: After the death of David’s son, Solomon,

the kingdom split into Israel in the north and Judah in the south

• 722 BC: Assyrians conquered Israel• 586 BC: Babylonian armies captured Judah;

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the great temple and forced the defeated Israelites into exile for 50 years (Babylonian Captivity)

• 539 BC: Persian ruler Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and freed the Israelites

Diaspora

• Diaspora: 500-year spreading of the Jewish people to different parts of the world that began with the Babylonian Captivity

• Jews maintained their identity by living in close-knit communities and keeping their religious laws and traditions

• Anti-Semitism: hatred or distrust of Jews was common throughout Europe and other parts of the world where they settled

Beliefs of Judaism

• Monotheistic (belief in one God)• Believe God is all-knowing, all-present, and all-

powerful• Sacred texts: Torah and Talmud – Torah= books of law• Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

– Talmud= additional laws and customs• Society was patriarchal: men held greatest legal and

moral authority

More Beliefs of Judaism

• Ten Commandments– Set of laws that Jews believe God gave to them through

Moses– Included religious laws such as keeping the Sabbath (holy

day of rest) and having no Gods before their one, true God– Included basic laws such as murder, theft, etc.

• Strong code of ethics/morality, which all leaders and prophets had to adhere to

• Christianity and Islam were influenced by Judaism; both religions honor Abraham, Moses, and the prophets found in the Jewish texts and embrace the same morality