Ancient Israelites
Test Thursday 11/19/09
 
Notes from class

Terms and questions to know
Yellow highlighted info. possible test questions

Monotheism –

                        Belief in one God

Covenant –

                        A special agreement (with God)

What was the covenant between Abraham and God?

                        Abraham promised to be faithful to God

                        God promised the Land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants

What does the name Abraham mean?

                        “father of many nations” 
                                 also
                      Abraham was thought as “the father of the Jewish people”

Abraham’s descendants -

                        Abraham’s son was Isaac

                        Isaac’s son was Jacob

                        Jacob later changed his name to Israel

                        Israel had 12 sons

                        Each of the 12 sons led a separate tribe

Why did the Israelites leave the land of Canaan?

                        Famine
                        Israelites left for Egypt

What happened to the Israelites in Egypt?

                        They became slaves to the Egyptians

Who is Moses? –

                        A leader of the Israelites
                        Led a revolt against the Egyptians
                     Responsible for the Israelites exodus from Egypt
                   

What does the term Exodus mean?

                        A journey or a large movement or migration of people

Ten Commandments -
                        A set of laws for responsible behavior

Judaism –

                        the religion of the Jewish people and later of Christianity and of Islam

What does Judaism teach?

                        that God is just and that God’s qualities must be imitated

Torah -

                        First 5 books of the Bible (Hebrew Bible) / Old Testament


What is the first book of the Torah?

                        Genesis
                     tells of many important ideas introduced by the Israelites

Sabbath -

                        In the book of Genesis "Sabbath"  appears for the first time
                        in the story of creation

Land of Israel -
                        The land the Israelites settled on after returning to Canaan

Kings of Israel -

                        1st - Saul

                        2nd - King David / built the city of Jerusalem
                        3rd - Solomon (King David's son)

What was King Solomon known for?
                        King Solomon was known for his great wisdom.  Also, built
                        a large temple in Jerusalem to worship God.

Israel divided into two parts -
                        North - made up of  ten of the twelve tribes called by the name of  "Israel"

                        South - made up of a little more than 2 tribes called Judah.
                                    The people of Judah were called the "Judeans"

Exile -
                    Forced to live somewhere else
                    A person in exile may not return to his or her home country

Where were the Judeans forced to go?
                    The Babylonians destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and forced the
                    Judeans to live in Babylonia

Diaspora -
                    The settling of Jewish people outside of Israel
                    Diaspora comes from the Greek word for "sowing" as in the spreading of seeds

Synagogues -
                    Jewish houses of worship

What changes did the Israelites bring to ancient Mesopotamia?

    The Israelites brought several changes to the religious beliefs of the people of Mesopotamia.  For example, one of the changes that the Israelites brought to the people of Mesopotamia was the belief in one God.  This belief in one God is called monotheism.  Before the Israelites many people that lived in Mesopotamia believed in many Gods.  Also, the Israelites introduced the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are a set of laws that God gave to the Israelites. The Ten Commandments guided the Israelites in responsible behavior. Finally, the Torah was introduced by the Israelites. The Torah covers the first five books of the Bible.  These were some of the changes that the Israelites brought to the Mesopotamians.