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Ancient Israel

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Judaism: History, Belief & Practice. Judean History. Events of the 400 Silent Years During the times of the Biblical patriarchs, the Canaanites dominated the land which would eventually become known as Judea, or Palestine, the promised homeland of the children of Israel.

Judean History

After the conquest of the land under Joshua, the land was parceled out to the twelve tribes according to the number of people in each tribe and the arability of the land. The tribe of Judah claimed the region from south of Jerusalem to the Negev desert. When David became king, he conquered Jerusalem, making it the capital of the united kingdom. The kingdom split up after Solomon's death, and both Israel and Judah suffered continual deterioration for many generations. The Medo-Persian Empire under Cyrus overthrew the Babylonians, and later Persian kings allowed captive Jews to return from Babylonia to their native land to rebuild the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem (under Ezra and Nehemiah). Salome's sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, fought for the succession.

The Old Testament Books. Note: For a detailed study of all the books of the Old Testament see our Sunday school lessons entitled The Old Testament Books.

The Old Testament Books

The following study shows how the Old Testament books fit together. Let us begin with the books which cover the early history of the world and the early history of the nation Israel: The four books listed on top all serve to advance the historic flow, from the creation of the world (Genesis) to the entrance into the promised land (Joshua). These are the historical books. The three books on the bottom do not advance the historic flow and they must be seen in relationship to the historical books.

Here is a brief description of these books: Genesis is the book of beginnings. Exodus (compare the word "Exit") relates God's great deliverance out of Egypt. Numbers contains the account of Israel's wanderings in the desert for 40 years. Timeline for the History of Judaism. Brief History of Israel and the Jewish People. Quote from Charles Krauthammer - The Weekly Standard, May 11, 1998 "Israel is the very embodiment of Jewish continuity: It is the only nation on earth that inhabits the same land, bears the same name, speaks the same language, and worships the same God that it did 3,000 years ago.

Brief History of Israel and the Jewish People

You dig the soil and you find pottery from Davidic times, coins from Bar Kokhba, and 2,000-year-old scrolls written in a script remarkably like the one that today advertises ice cream at the corner candy store. " The people of Israel (also called the "Jewish People") trace their origin to Abraham, who established the belief that there is only one God, the creator of the universe (see Torah).

Abraham, his son Yitshak (Isaac), and grandson Jacob (Israel), are referred to as the patriarchs of the Israelites. All three patriarchs lived in the Land of Canaan, that later came to be known as the Land of Israel. The name Israel derives from the name given to Jacob (Genesis 32:29). Arab-Israeli wars This drawing by Dr.