The Early Hebrews

1. 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.

2. 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. Main Idea 1:Abraham and Moses led the Hebrews to Canaan and to a new religion.

4. 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.

6. 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.

7. After Solomon’s 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. Main Idea 3:Invaders conquered and ruled the Hebrews after their kingdom broke apart.

8. 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. • 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

9. Hebrew society was governed by men. Women had few rights. • They had to obey their fathers and husbands. They couldn’t 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. Main Idea 4: Some women in Hebrew society made great contributions to their history.

10. Belief in one god • Judaism is the world’s oldest and possibly the first monotheistic religion. Monotheism is the belief in only one god. • Belief in education • Teaching children, mostly boys, has always been important to Jewish society. • Belief in justice and righteousness • Jews are expected to be kind and fair in dealing with other people, in a display of justice. • They are also supposed to be righteous and do what is proper. • Belief in obedience and law • They obey moral and religious laws such as the Ten Commandments and Mosaic law. Main Idea 1: Belief in God, education, justice, and obedience anchor Jewish society.

11. Jewish Beliefs and Texts • The Big Idea • The central ideas and laws of Judaism are contained in sacred texts such as the Torah. • Main Ideas • Beliefs in God, education, justice, and obedience anchor Jewish society. • Jewish beliefs are listed in the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, and the Commentaries. • The Dead Sea Scrolls reveal many past Jewish beliefs. • The ideas of Judaism have helped shape later cultures.

13. Main Idea 2: Jewish beliefs are listed in the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, and the Commentaries. • The Torah • This is a collection of five books that make up the most sacred text in Judaism. • Nearly every synagogue has one. • The Hebrew Bible • This is made up of the Torah, the Proverbs, and the Book of Psalms. • It is also made up of eight books that describe the messages of the prophets. • The Commentaries • Because some laws are hard to understand, scholars wrote commentaries to explain them. • They can be found in the Talmud.

14. Main Idea 3: The Dead Sea Scrolls reveal many past Jewish beliefs. • The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947. • It is suspected that they were written between 100 BC and AD 50. • The scrolls included prayers, commentaries, letters, and passages from the Hebrew Bible.

16. Judaism helped shape the largest religion of Western society today, Christianity, as well as Islam. • Many people still look to the Ten Commandments as a guide and do not work on the weekends, to honor the Sabbath. • People also give to charities, which is largely based on Jewish teachings. Main Idea 4: The ideas of Judaism have helped shape later cultures.

18. Judaism over the Centuries • The Big Idea • Although they were forced out of Israel by the Romans, shared beliefs and customs helped Jews maintain their religion. • Main Ideas • Revolt, defeat, and migration led to great changes in Jewish culture. • Because Jews settled in different parts of the world, two cultural traditions formed. • Jewish traditions and holy days celebrate their history and religion.

20. The Zealots, a group of people who thought that Jews shouldn’t answer to anyone but God, refused to answer to the Romans and revolted. • During the battles, the Second Temple was destroyed. The Romans finally won in AD 73. • The Romans killed much of the Jewish population as punishment. Main Idea 1:Revolt, defeat, and migration led to great changes in Jewish culture.

21. A Second Revolt • Jews in Jerusalem revolted against the Romans in the 130s. • After winning the second revolt, the Romans declared that any Jew caught in or near the city would be killed. This increased Jewish migration to the Mediterranean region. • Because the Jews no longer had a single temple in which to worship, local synagogues and rabbis became important in guiding their religious lives.

23. Main Idea 2:Because Jews settled in different parts of the world, two cultural traditions formed. • Jewish communities in various parts of the world developed different customs, including language and rituals. • One of the two traditions, Ashkenazim, is made up of Jews who moved to France, Germany, and eastern Europe. • They developed their own language called Yiddish. • Another group of descendants, called the Sephardim, lived in what is now Spain and Portugal. • They mixed with non-Jews, borrowing elements from their culture and producing a golden age of Jewish culture.

24. Main Idea 3: Jewish traditions and holy days celebrate their history and religion. • Hanukkah • This holiday honors the rededication of the Second Temple. • It is celebrated by lighting candles in a menorah. • The eight days represent the amount of time the oil burned during the rededication. • Passover • This is a time for Jews to remember the Exodus. • They eat only flat bread and have a ritual meal called the seder. • High Holy Days • The first two days, Rosh Hashanah, celebrate the beginning of the Jewish new year. • On Yom Kippur, the most holy day, they fast all day and ask God for forgiveness of their sins.