Who are the Hebrews?

What is Judaism?

The religion of the Hebrews The Jewish/Hebrew Bible is part of

the Christian Bible (The Old Testament)

Who is Abraham?

According to the Bible, God told Abraham to leave Mesopotamia and look for a new land.

He left Mesopotamia and went to Canaan (current day Israel).

His descendants were called Hebrews.

There was a famine in Canaan so some Hebrews moved to Egypt.

Hebrews in Egypt

The Hebrew population grew in Egypt

This worried the Egyptian pharaoh who was afraid that the Hebrews would try to take over Egypt

To stop this from happening the pharaoh made the Hebrews slaves

Who is Moses?

A leader of the Hebrews In 1200BC God told Moses to lead

the Hebrews out of Egypt Moses went to the pharaoh and

demanded that he set the Hebrew slaves free

The Pharaoh refused

Soon after the pharaoh refused to set them free…plagues and disasters struck Egypt

This scared the pharaoh so he agreed to free the Hebrews

What is the Exodus?

Moses led his people out of Egypt in a journey called the Exodus

The Hebrews thought that their release from slavery proved that God loved them and was looking after them.

After their release….

The Hebrews wandered around the desert trying to return to Canaan.

During their wanderings they came to a mountain called Sinai The Bible says that this is where God gave Moses 2 stone tablets- The 10 Commandments

What are the Ten Commandments?

“I am God your Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery.

Do not have any other Gods before Me

Do not take the name of God, your Lord in vain-God will not allow the one who talked his name in vain to go unpunished.

10 Comandments cont….

Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy

Honor your father and your mother. You will then live long on the land that God your lord is giving you.

Do not commit murder Do not commit adultery Do not steal

10 Commandments cont…..

Do not testify as a false witness against your neighbor.

Do not be envious of your neighbors’ house.

Do not be envious of your neighbors’ wife or anything else that is your neighbors’.

The return to Canaan

The Hebrews wandered for 40 years before they reached Canaan.

They conquered Canaan and became known as the Israelites

They lived in small scattered communities

Each community had its own judges as leaders

Philistines

In the 1000’s BC the Philistines invaded the Israelites (Hebrews)

The Israelites picked a leader named Saul to lead them in battle

Saul became the first king of Israel

King David

David was a servant is Saul’s palace Saul didn’t like David and made him

an outlaw For many years David lived in the

desert Once Saul died, David became King The Israelites loved David David defeated the Philistines

King David cont…..

King David captured many lands He also captured Jerusalem which

became Israel’s new capital

King Solomon

Was King David’s son He expanded the Kingdom He made Egypt and Phoenicia his

allies and started trading with them This made Israel very rich He built a huge temple dedicated to

God in Jerusalem

Invaders

After Solomon died, people fought about who should be king

Israel split into 2 kingdoms-Israel and Judah

The people of Judah became known as Jews

Scattering of Jews

The Chaldeans captured Jerusalem and made thousands of Jews their slaves

In 530 BC the Persians conquered the Chaldeans and let the Jews free

The Maccabees

A family called the Maccabees revolted and once again the Jews ruled their own kingdom

However they were soon conquered by the Romans

Hebrew Women

Couldn’t choose husband Had to obey husband Couldn’t inherit property

Important Hebrew Women

Queen Esther and Judge Deborah saved the Hebrews from their enemies

Ruth left her people to care for her mother-in-law-Naomi (was seen as a role model)