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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
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Hebrew means “From the other
side of the river”- 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
Abraham’s Journeys
Abraham’s Geneaology
HAGAR
ABRAHAM
Ishmael
12 Arabian
Tribes
SARAH
Isaac
Jacob
Esau
12 Tribes of
Israel
Abraham is promised by Yahweh that his descendants shall
be as many as the stars in heaven .
Ancient Palestine
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Abraham’s
grandson Jacob
took name “Israel”
which means “God
ruled”; the
organized
Israelites tribes
were named for
his sons and
grandsons
(Joseph’s kids)
Israel had 2 wives
– one of whom he
loved more! She
had 2 kids – Joseph
& Benjamin
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Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers.
He rose to become the 2nd in command to the
Pharaoh.
When famine came, his brothers came to Egypt to
get food.
The Pharaoh let Joseph move all of his family into
Egypt.
That Pharaoh died, Joseph’s family grew, and they
were enslaved.
Land of Goshen, Egypt
Moses
“Prince of Egypt”
“Shepherd of His
People”
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An illustrated story of
Moses
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Moses found our he was really a Hebrew, and killed an
Egyptian who was mistreating a Hebrew slave; then he
fled Egypt to escape punishment;
He became a shepherd and lived away from Egypt for
some time; then received a revelationsfrom Yahweh
who appeared as a burning bush; Yahweh told him to
go free the Hebrews from Egypt; Yahweh sent 10
plagues on Egypt,
End of 13th century BCE- Moses led the Israelites out of
bondage in Egypt during Rames II reign called the
EXODUS – parting of the Red Sea
Moses led the 12 Tribes of Israel to Mount Sinai where
Yahweh gave him the 10 Commandments, uniting the
Hebrews under one God - Yahweh
Moses and Hebrews searched for the “Promised Land” or
the land of milk and honey, however they wandered in
the desert for 40 years as punishment for disobeying
Yahway
The Exodus
Moses and the 10
Commandments
A new “covenant”
with Yahweh
Yahweh’s “Covenant” With His
People
 The first 5 books
of the Hebrew
Bible.
 The most sacred
text in the Jewish
religious tradition.
The Torah
King David’s Empire
Solomon’s
Kingdom
Recreation of Ancient
Jerusalem
King Solomon’s Temple
Floor Plan
The First Temple
Inside the Temple
Tabernacle
The Arc
of the
Covenant
The Temple Mount, Jerusalem
Today
Solomon’s Temple Wall: The “Wailing” Wall
Kingdoms
of
Judah
&
Israel
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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
Israelites in Captivity
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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
Jews at the wailing wall in Jerusalem
Jerusalem: Reading the
Torah
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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
Judaism Today!
Torah- holy book
Monotheism 1 God
Synagogue or
temple- house of
worship
Important days:
Hannukah,
Passover, Yom
Kippur, Rosh
Hashanah
JUDAISM
Orthodox,
Conservative or
Reformed
Ten
Commandmentslaw code
Sabbathholy day is
Saturday
Kosher food (no
pork or shellfish)
Textbook p. 901
“Setting the Stage”
A Modern Conflict rooted in Ancient History
• According to Jews, their claim goes back 3,000
years
when Jewish (Hebrew) kings first ruled from
Jerusalem.
• According to Palestinians (both Muslim & Christian),
the land has belonged to them since the Jews were
driven out by the Romans in 135 A.D.
• According to Arabs, the land has belonged to them
since
the Mohammed-led conquest of the area in the 7th
century.
A Conflict Complicated by Modern Events
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614 A.D. Persian Empire captures Jerusalem.
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Country of Palestine first appears.
1099 A.D. European Crusaders capture Jerusalem
1517 A.D. Ottoman Empire capture Jerusalem
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Under Ottoman Empire Jews, Christians and Muslims could all
practice their own religions and beliefs.
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By the late 1700’s the different religions and cultures began to fight.
Jews began to leave Israel.
 Over 10 million Jews were scattered across the world prior to 1914.
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By 1914 almost 85,000 Jews had returned to the Ottoman
controlled Palestine and Jerusalem.
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These Jews were called Zionists.
 They were named after the hill in Jerusalem.
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Many Palestinian Muslims began to worry they would lose their lands.
1917 A.D. British defeat Ottoman Empire during WWI and capture
Jerusalem.
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After WWI all Arabs within Palestine were promised they would
be granted the right of self-determination.
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Fighting between Arabs and Jews increased.
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Self-determination: the right to decide their own political future.
Arabs boycotted Jewish businesses, burned bridges and destroyed
crops.
Many Jews retaliated against the Arabs. Many people died.
Britain passed a law restricting the number of Jews to Palestine
1933 Adolf Hitler became leader of Nazi Germany and began
persecuting all Jewish people of Europe.
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By 1939 many Jews fled to Palestine increasing their numbers to over
445,000 Jews.
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By the end of WWII in 1945 over 6,000,000 Jews had been
killed by Nazi Germany.
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This is called the Holocaust.
Creation of Modern Israel:
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Many Jewish organizations demanded that Britain allow more Jews
into Palestine and help create their own state.
 1947 The United Nations took control over Palestine to the United Nations
(UN).
 British government withdrew it’s occupation and control
 The UN decided to split Palestine into two countries:
 Israel & Palestine
 Many Arabs were angry over this and went to war with Israel.
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By 1948 Israel controlled almost all of Palestine.
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Both Jordan and Egypt claimed the rest of
Palestine
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Palestinians left without a country!
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1949 many Palestinians took refuge in the Gaza strip which was controlled by
Egypt.
 Gaza Strip is a narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea that is
occupied by over 750,000 Palestinian refugees.
1967 Israel went to war with Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Israel won and
took control over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
 West Bank: Located on the eastern border of Israel and Jordan. Over one
million Palestinian refugees remained in the West Bank. Those that left could
not return to their homes.
1967-1991: the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli
government conducted terrorist and military attacks against each other.
 During this time many Israeli citizens moved to both the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank.
1991-2000:Israel and the PLO met in Madrid, Spain to discuss peace talks.
 Israel handed over political control of Gaza Strip and many cities within the
West Bank to the Palestinians.
 Mistrust between the Israeli government towards the Palestinians and the
peace treaty irrupted into a violent conflict. Hundreds died.