Judaism

Lesson 1- The Early Hebrews

The Early Hebrews

The Big Idea
Originally desert nomads, the Hebrews established a great
kingdom called Israel.
Main Ideas
Abraham and Moses led the Hebrews to Canaan and to a
new religion.
Strong kings united the Israelites to fight off invaders.
Invaders conquered and ruled the Hebrews after their
kingdom broke apart.
Some women in Hebrew society made great contributions
to their history.

Main Idea 1:
Abraham and Moses led the Hebrews to Canaan and to a new
religion.
Accounts of the Hebrews describe the Hebrews early history and the laws
of Judaism, the Hebrew religion.
The Hebrew Bible traces the Hebrews back to Abraham, who was told by
God to settle in Mesopotamia.
After a famine struck Canaan, the Hebrews ended up in Egypt and lived
well, causing the pharaoh concern.

Possible Routes of
Abraham and Moses

The Exodus
The pharaoh of
Egypt made the
Hebrews slaves
to stop them
from taking over
Egypt.
A leader named
Moses demanded
that the pharaoh
free his people.
He refused, and
plagues
occurred,
frightening the
pharaoh.

His people were

released, so they
began their
Exodus out of
Egypt.
God then gave
Moses the Ten
Commandments
by which to live.

They included
worshipping only
God and valuing
human life.
The Hebrews
reached Canaan
and settled there
in small
communities, as
the Israelites.

Main Idea 2:
Strong kings united the Israelites to fight off invaders.

The new threat to the Israelites

came from the Philistines.
The Israelites united under Saul,
who became the first king of
Israel.
The Israelites wanted a single
ruler who could lead them in
battle.
David became king after Saul. He
won many wars.

Solomon became king next, and

expanded the kingdom and
trade.
He made allies with nearby
kingdoms, including Egypt and
Phoenicia. Trade with them
made Israel very rich.
With the riches that came from
this, he built a temple to God in
Jerusalem.

Main Idea 3:
Invaders conquered and ruled the Hebrews after their kingdom
broke apart.

After Solomons death, revolts broke out over who should be king.
This split Israel into two kingdoms, called Israel and Judah. The people of
Judah became known as the Jews.
Both were conquered, and Judah fell to the Chaldeans.

 The Jews went through a period of

enslavement called the Babylonian
Captivity.
The Persians took over and allowed
the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Some
did not return, however, and settled in
other parts of the Persian Empire.
Scholars call the scattering of the Jews
outside Canaan the Diaspora.

Scattering and ConquestKingdoms of Israel and Judah, c. 920 BC

 The Jews were conquered by the Romans, but made many advances in teaching and
building temples.
Yohanan ben Zaccai was a teacher during this time who clarified some Jewish
teachings to help people better understand the religion. He also built a school to teach
about Judaism.
Despite these advances, the Jews were not happy, and called on people to rebel.

Scattering and Conquest

Main Idea 4:
Some women in Hebrew society made great contributions to
their history.

Hebrew society was governed by men. Women had few rights.

They had to obey their fathers and husbands. They couldnt choose their own
husbands.
A woman could not inherit property unless she had no brothers.
Some of them, however, such as Queen Esther, the judge Deborah, and Miriam
(the sister of Moses) made great contributions to society.
Some women, such as Ruth and Naomi, were seen as examples of how women
should behave. Ruth was devoted to her mother-in-law.