The Ancient Israelites

Social Studies
Indicator 1
Boston International School

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.