1. Origins & Early Kingdom

2. The First Israelites
 C. 1400 B.C. – Israelites left Canaan because of a
drought, head to Egypt
 Canaan is located in southwest Asia

3. Who were the Israelites?
 They were monotheistic
 Their religion is now known as Judaism
 They spoke Hebrew
 They were descended from Abraham
 Abraham is connected to all three monotheistic
religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam
 Abraham’s descendents from the 12 tribes of Israel

4. From Slavery to Freedom
 Arrived in Egypt because of drought, became enslaved
 Moses saved by the pharaoh’s daughter
 10 plagues of Egypt
 C. 1290 – Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, this was
known as the Exodus

5. What are the Ten
Commandments?
 Laws received by Moses on Mt. Sinai
 Laws became part of the Torah
 Torah became holy book of the Hebrews
 Torah describes covenant with God (Israelites return to
Canaan)

6. The Promise Land
Took 40 yrs. to return to Canaan
Israelites regained Jericho
Took judges as leaders
One group of Israelites, Phoenicians,
were skilled sailors and traders
Phoenicians created an alphabet (basis
for the English alphabet)

7. The Israelites chose a King
C. 1000 B.C. – Philistines were the
strongest people in Canaan
The Israelites wanted a king to unite
them against the Philistines
The prophet Samuel was asked to
choose the King
Samuel warned against this

8. The Israelites chose a King
Israelites chose Saul, a warrior-farmer
Samuel anointed Saul
God displeased with Saul disobeying
Him
Samuel anoints David as king

9. David and Solomon
David defeats enemies and creates an
empire
Requires tribute to be paid
Heavy taxes to expand Jerusalem, new
capital
Wrote the Psalms
Solomon becomes king, after David
died