 AKA the Israelites ◦ God’s chosen people  Settled in the hills around the Jordan River Valley ◦ Primarily shepherds and merchants  Stories are written down in the Torah ◦ Hebrew Bible

 Lived between 2000BC and 1500BC  Mesopotamia  Believed in Monotheism ◦ One God  God told Abraham to leave Mesopotamia ◦ Covenant  Settled in the land of Canaan

 Famine in Canaan ◦ Story of Joseph ◦ Israelites fled to Egypt  Peace in Egypt at first ◦ A later Pharaoh was suspicious of their power ◦ Enslaved the people

 Led the people out of Egypt ◦ Exodus  Wandered the desert of the Sinai peninsula for 40 years  Received 10 Commandments

 Returned to Canaan at the end of their Exodus ◦ Moved from herding to farming ◦ Built cities  King Saul united the people as their first king  King David established his capital at Jerusalem  King Solomon came next  Country split after King Saul’s death ◦ North: Israel ◦ South: Judah

 Conquered by Assyria  772 BC: Israel resisted Assyrian rule ◦ Thousands exiled all over the Assyrian Empire  Judah fell under control of Chaldean Empire when conquered in 612 BC  587 BC: King of Judah rebelled against Chaldeans ◦ King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem ◦ Exiled people of Judah to Babylonia  Diaspora: Scattering of a people

 Covenant = Promise made by God ◦ Between God and Abraham ◦ Promised that He would be their God, and they will be His people ◦ Israelites = God’s chosen people  Covenant renewed by Moses ◦ God would lead Israelites to Promised Land in return for obedience of His commandments  Ten Commandment  Many laws of Torah

 Guided the chosen people ◦ Spoke on behalf of God ◦ Taught that no person, even a king, is above God’s laws

 Romans drove Jews from their homeland in 135 AD ◦ Scattered again  Jewish people took their religion with them ◦ Even if they couldn’t have the Temple ◦ Celebration of Passover incredibly important  Linked back to the Exodus and the renewal of the Covenant  Prefigures (foreshadows a religious event) Christ’s Last Supper