Chapter 3, Section 2

Ark of the Covenant

▪Many people accept the Bible as a collection of sacred writings. How might it also be an historical document?

▪Give examples of documents that historians might use to piece together the story of a person or civilization

▪Unlike other groups living in the Canaan, believed in one all-powerful God.

▪Yahweh, Elohim" (God), El Shaddai" (God Almighty

▪This teaching exists today as Judaism.

▪Judaism has influenced two other monotheistic religions, Christianity and Islam.

Monotheism

▪Abraham ▪lived in the city of Ur ▪around 1900 B.C. he left and settled in the Canaan.

▪Hebrews believed that God made a covenant with Abraham at this time.

▪“I will make of you a great nation” was God’s promise to bless Abraham and his descendants if they would remain faithful to God.

The Land of Canaan

Abraham and his descendants are selected by Yahweh to be his chosen people over all other peoples.

Abraham, who is a Semite living in Haran, a city in northern Mesopotamia, and whose father, Terah, comes from the city Ur in southern Mesopotamia, is visited suddenly by Yahweh and told to move his family.

Abram tried to convince his father, Tera, of the folly of idol worship. One day, when Abram was left alone to mind the store, he took a hammer and smashed all of the idols except the largest one. He placed the hammer in the hand of the largest idol. When his father returned and asked what happened, Abram said, "The idols got into a fight, and the big one smashed all the other ones." His father said, "Don't be ridiculous. These idols have no life or power. They can't do anything." Abram replied, "Then why do you worship them?"

Isaac was the subject of the most difficult test of Abraham's faith: G-d commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. (Gen 22). This test is known in Jewish tradition as the Akeidah (the Binding, a reference to the fact that Isaac was bound on the altar).

Jacob and Esau Rachel and Leah Jacob (Israel)

“wrestled with God”

12 sons and grandsons become the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel

Interpreter of dreams

Coat of many colors

Sold into slavery Prime Minister of

Egypt

Abraham Isaac Jacob Joseph

▪Severe drought struck the Canaan and the Israelites migrated to Egypt perhaps during the

time in which the Hyksos ruled.▪They lived peacefully in Egypt until the

pharaohs enslaved them.

The Exodus from Egypt

▪At some point during the Hebrew stay in Egypt, they become enslaved by the Egyptians.

▪This is most likely during the expulsion of the Hyksos at the end of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom.

In Egypt

▪Hebrew people released after a series of ten plagues, the last of which took the life of every

firstborn son.▪Families which prepared for the Passover of

the angel of death were spared.

The Exodus

▪The story of Moses is told in the book of Exodus.

▪The Exodus▪The Law

Moses

▪During the exodus from Egypt, the Hebrew people are taught by Moses (upon instruction from God) how they are to live.

▪Ten Commandments▪Became major part of Western moral and ethical traditions.

The Exodus

▪Genesis (the beginning)▪Exodus (the exit)▪Leviticus (instructions for Levites/priests)▪Numbers (first census)▪Deuteronomy (teaching of Moses)

The Torah

▪Moses died before reaching the Canaan, but chose Joshua to lead the 12 tribes into Promised land.

▪Joshua leads a fighting force to reclaim land▪After wars, Israelite soldiers become farmers,

herders▪Divide land among 12 tribes.

The Promised Land

www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org

Joshua

No single Israelite leader during 200 years of war.

Respected male and female judges used as advisors.• Gideon, Samson, Deborah, Samuel

First judges were military, later were more legal advisors

Strong judges kept tribes united• Weak judges led to some tribes turning to

other gods.

1. Othniel (3:7-11)a. brother of Calebb. defeated the Arameans; the spirit of the Lord was on him

2. Ehud (3:12-30)a. left-handedb. killed Eglon, king of Moab, by trickery

3. Shamgar (3:31, 5:6)a. fought against the Philistines

4. Deborah (4-5)a. woman tribal leader, both military and legalb. campaigned against Sisera, Canaanite general under Jabin, the King of Hazorc. Barak was military leader under Deborahd. Jael, a Kenite woman, killed Sisera as he fled

5. Gideon (6-8)a. came from a family of Baal worshippersb. afraid to trust God, portrayed as an arrogant cowardc. God gave him a plan to defeat the Midianitesd. ended up worshipping Baal

6. Abimelech (9)a. not a judge, attempted to make himself king but failed7. Minor Judges: Tola and Jair (10:1-5)8. Jephthah (10:6-12:7)a. illegitimate child and an outcastb. fought against the Ammonitesc. made a rash vow that led to the sacrifice of his only child (see Jepthah's Rash Vow)

9. Minor Judges: Ibzan, Elon, Abdon (12:8-15)

10. Samson (13-16)a. born to a barren woman by promiseb. was a Nazarite, but broke his vowsc. was a womanizer and a drunkd. God helped him bring relief from the Philistinese. his fatal attraction to Delilah

▪ Samuel, last of the judges, anoints Saul as first king ▪ Saul, first King of Israel

▪Location of palace at Gibeah▪Brings Israel into conflict with sea-peoples (Philistines)▪Killed in battle against Philistines with his son

Hebrew Monarchy: Samuel, Saul and David

▪Second King of Israel▪Anointed by Samuel▪Shepherd boy/musician▪David vs. Goliath▪Friendship with Saul’s son▪Moves to the capital to Jerusalem (city of

David)▪Relationship with Bathsheba▪Makes plans for Temple▪Chooses Solomon successor

David

▪Renowned for his wisdom▪Thousand wives and concubines and the visit of the queen of Sheba▪Built elaborate temple as permanent home for Ark of the Covenant

Solomon

922 Solomon dies, son faces rebellion• Northern tribes demanded less taxes and an

end to forced labour. Kingdom split into northern Israel,

southern Judah (with Jerusalem)

Five years after the death of Solomon, Jerusalem was ransacked by the Egyptians, the kingdom split into two; north and south.

Northern capital moved to Samaria

–northern ten tribes–King Ahab, with his queen Jezebel, moves to incorporate foreign gods into Israel–722 B.C. Israel falls to Assyria; Israelites deported (lost tribes of Israel)

The Assyrians bring in a group of people from someplace else, who -- because they are now living in Shomron or Samaria -- come to be known as Samaritans.

The Samaritans are people who more or less adopt Judaism, but not completely. Because of this, they are never really accepted by the Jewish people, and they're very resentful.

▪ Southern capital remained in Jerusalem

–two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin–Judah pays tribute to Assyria upon fall of Israel

And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, like all that his father David had done. And he trusted in the God of Israel. There was none like him among all the kings of Judah who were after him, nor were there before him. (2 Kings 18:3-5)

14th king after King David, and he rules from 590 to 561 BC.

Rebuilds fortifications of Jerusalem Assyrians under Sennacharib, lay

seige but do not conquer. “... Hezekiah himself I shut up in

Jerusalem, his capital city, like a bird in a cage, building towers round the city to hem him in...”

a plague hits their camp and 185,000 Assyrian soldiers die overnight.

Sennacherib returns to Ninevah.

722 BC Assyria conquers and ends Kingdom of Israel

Assyrian Empire conquered by Babylonians 612 BC

Babylonia’s King Nebuchadnezzar captures Jerusalem in 586 BC• Destroy the temple• Take thousands of slaves to Babylon

Jewish survivors and those who have returned to the homeland, led by various prophets (Haggai, Zecharia, and Nehemia) struggle to rebuild the temple and city of Jerusalem.

Jewish leaders speak of a deliverer or messiah who will lead and restore Israel.

2100 - 1900 BC Abraham and descendants live nomadic life in Canaan

1900 - 1500 BC Hebrews live in Egypt1400 BC Hebrews leave Egypt and,

under Joshua, invade Canaan

1040 BC First Kings; Saul, David and Solomon

Hebrew Timeline

930 BC Kingdom divides into North (Israel) and South (Judah)

722 BC Israel conquered by Assyria, people taken into captivity

586 BC Babylonian army destroys Jerusalem

539 BC Babylonian empire falls to Persians and Cyrus allows Jews to return home

Hebrew History Timeline Cont.

people of Judah (Jews), deported to Babylon

Babylonians set up puppet king, Zedekiah, to rule.

Jews revolt and the Temple is destroyed by the Babylonians.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, we also wept, when we remembered Zion.

We hung our lyres on the willows in its midst. For there those who carried us away captive required of us a song; and those who

tormented us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.

How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.

If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. (Psalms

137:1-6)

Daniel in the lion’s den.• Daniel survives, prompting Nebuchadnezzar to

issue a decree forbidding anyone to blaspheme the God of Israel.

Writing on the wall.• The last king of Babylon, Belshazzar thinks he

has outdone the God of Israel when the seventy years are over.

Nebuchadnezzar to Belshazar

"And this whole land [of Israel] shall be a ruin, and a waste, and these nations [the tribes of Israel] shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when the seventy years are fulfilled, that I will punish the king of Babylon ..." (Jeremiah 25:11-12)

"God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end ... your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." (Daniel 5:25-28)• That very night invading hoards of Persians and

Medes attack. The king and all his party are killed. Only Nebuchadnezzar's grand-daughter, Vashti, survives.

They counted the years wrong.

The armies of Medes under Darius and the armies of Persia under Cyrus march into Babylon and conquer it. The Babylonian Empire ceases to exist and it is now absorbed by the new Persian Empire.

In 370 BC Cyrus issues a decree allowing all the indigenous peoples that had been exiled by the now-defunct Babylonian empire to go back to their homeland• Of the million Jews living in Persia, only a

handful (42,000) return

After some drunken revelry featuring (yet again) the Temple vessels, the king orders his wife to appear wearing nothing besides the royal crown. She refuses to come and he has her executed.Queenless, scouts are sent throughout the land to find the most beautiful woman.

Granddaughter of Nebuchadnezzar, wife of Achashverosh (Xerxes I)

Haman gets the king to agree to issue a secret decree to annihilate the Jews of Persia on the 13th day of the Hebrew month of Adar. • He chooses this day by throwing lots (purim).

Things get turned around for Haman, and he ends up hanging on the gallows he had prepared for the Jews.

Haman is the advisor to the King.

Ezra emerges as a Jewish leader to keep the people on task and pure. (No intermarriage.)

2nd Temple Period• Increase in amount of Priests

Allows Jews to rebuild the temple.