Who are the Hebrews What is Judaism

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 1200 BC 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 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) ¡