Chapter 6 Section 2
Hebrews Outline
I. Intro/ The Hebrews
• Hebrews (Israelites)- nomadic people of the
ancient Middle East
• Responsible for the beginning of Judaism
II. The God of Abraham
• Yahweh = God
• Hebrews were monotheistic
• Promise was made to Abraham that if he were to
worship Yahweh as the only God, then his
descendents would be able to live and be protected
forever in Canaan
• Yahweh, not human, knows all, only does what is
just and right
• Abraham had 12 sons that formed the 12 Hebrew
tribes
- All Hebrews are descendants of Abraham
III. Moses and the 10 Commandments
• Hebrews fled to Egypt when starvation struck
Canaan and were enslaved there for 600 years
• Moses, becomes the leader of the Hebrews
during this time and begins to work on freeing
the Hebrews
III. Moses and the 10 Commandments
(Continued)
• Exodus = The escape of the Jews from Egypt to Canaan
- Moses convinced the Pharaoh to free the
Hebrews, and they were allowed to return to Canaan
- The Pharaoh changed his mind and decided that
he did not want them to be freed and sent his army
after them
- Yahweh allowed Moses to part the Red Sea and let
his people walk to safety in Canaan, closing the sea
behind them drowning the Pharaoh and his army
III. Moses and the 10 Commandments
(Continued)
• Mt. Sinai
- Moses received a set of rules on top of this
mountain from Yahweh (God) on two stone tablets
- If these rules were followed then the Hebrew
people would receive the protection from Yahweh
and be lead back into Canaan
- The chest containing these two tablets is the Ark
of the Covenant
III. Moses and the 10 Commandments
(Continued)
• The Ten Commandments
- Demand Yahweh is the only God
- Respect for one another
- No lying, stealing, or murdering
- EVERYONE has the right to be treated fairly
and justly
IV. Promised Land
• Joshua took over after Moses passed away and lead
the Hebrews to defeat the Canaanites
• Hebrews settled in the land of Canaan
- copied the ways of farming, tools, and alphabet of
the Canaanites
• Became very prosperous
- lived in one room two story houses
V. Kings
• Lead by Judges at first, then later by kings
• Saul = 1st king of the Hebrews
• David = 2nd king of the Hebrews
- reunited all Hebrew tribes and completely
defeated the Canaanites
- Established the Hebrew capital of Jerusalem
- Wrote the Psalms in the Bible
• Solomon = 3rd king
- brought peace to the Hebrew Kingdom
- built a huge temple in Jerusalem
V. Kings (Continued)
• People grew tired of Solomon’s extravagant ways
and after he died the Hebrews split into 2 kingdoms
- Israel in the north
- Judah in the south
• Fighting between the 2 kingdoms is what weakened
the Hebrews and allowed foreigners to invade them
and take over
VI. Prophets
• Prophets – received messages from God
• Emphasized that Yahweh was not just the god of
the Hebrews, but everyone’s God
• The prophets warned the Hebrew people that if
they did not return to God’s way they would be
punished
- Hebrew kingdoms were eventually taken over
by outside forced
-Israelis disappeared, Judeans forced into
Babylonia
VI. Prophets (Continued)
• While they were in Babylonia the Hebrews kept
their religion alive by meeting on the Sabbath and
discussing religion and the history of the Hebrews
• 70 years later they were able to return to their
homeland and they rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem
-Ezra the scribe recorded the laws of Moses in 5
books called the Torah
• The Torah = Jewish Religious Book
VII. Major Contributions
• 1st monotheistic group of people
• All loving god
• God is fair and wants all humans to live fair and just
lives
• Many of our modern laws have basis in the Laws of
Moses