BIBLICAL

• Abraham moves to Israel

• Covenant with God, circumcision

• Wife Sarai (mother of Isaac)

• Sarai's servant Hagar (mother of Ishmael)

• Isaac has two sons

• Esau and Jacob

• Jacob is renamed "Israel"

• Jacob/Israel has 12 sons

• Who become the patriarchs of the 12 tribes

• Joseph, one of Israel's sons, is sold to merchants going to Egypt

• He helps the Egyptian king by predicting a famine will take place

• Egypt stockpiles food

• When the famine hits, Joseph's brother's come to Egypt to buy food

• At first, they don't recognize their brother who is now working in the Pharaoh's court and speaks perfect Egyptian

• Joseph forgives them and they all move to Egypt

• Eventually the Hebrews are enslaved (because of the fear of their growing numbers)

• Decree issued by Pharaoh when a rumor circulates that one of the Hebrews will rule as a king

• All newborn Hebrew children must be killed.

• Hebrew's are saved when God instructs them to mark their doors with animal blood so that the Egyptian soldiers will pass by their homes

• Moses

• Child is saved by his mother when she puts him in a basket and sets him down the river

• Pharaoh's daughter finds him and raises him in the royal household

• Moses discovers his roots as a Hebrew, determines to free his brethren from captivity

• God helps Moses convince the Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go by sending down a number of plagues (locusts, darkness, frogs etc.)

• Hebrews escape by traveling across the Sinai for 40 years (a generation)

• With God's help, Moses parts the Red (Reed) Sea allowing Hebrews to cross (the water closes in again on the pursuing Egyptian soldiers)

• En route, Moses receives commandments from God

• Places the tablets (along with a pot of manna and Aaron's rod) in the Ark of the Covenant which is carried by the Hebrews back to Israel

• Israel

• Hebrew return to Israel (possibly around 1440 BC) and fight Philistines

HEBREWS IN ISRAEL

• 1025 BC -- the Hebrews choose Saul to unite the Hebrew tribes so that can better defeat the Philistines

• 1010 BC -- Saul is succeeded by King David

• Who establishes the city of Jerusalem as a place to build a Temple for the Ark of the Covenant

• 970-931 BC -- David's son, Solomon, becomes king

• Solomon builds the first Temple in Jerusalem

• But angers the ten tribes in the North

SPLIT

• 931 BC the Hebrew tribes split: Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes capital at Samaria) in the north Kingdom of Judah in the south

• 740 B.C. - c. 711 B.C.

• Ten tribes in the Kingdom of Israel are conquered by the Neo-Assyrians

• The tribes are forcibly scattered to other parts of the Neo-Assyrian Empire

• Become known as the "Ten Lost Tribes"

BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY

• 586 Jerusalem falls to the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchanezzar

• Solomon's Temple is destroyed

• Hebrews from Kingdom of Judah (now known as "Jews") are forced to migrate to Babylon -- this time, though, as a group

• Changes to the Jewish traditions

• Promise to return to Israel

• God is more abstract and is considered the God of all people (not just Jews)

• Torah is compiled (in order to understand why God forsook te Hebrew People)

• 539 BC Cyrus the Great conquers the Neo-Babylonians

• Permits all imprisoned groups to be set free

• Jews (Hebrews) return to Israel and rebuild the Temple with Cyrus's blessing and aid.

SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD

• 332 B.C.E. Alexander the Great conquers Phoenicia and Gaza

HELLENISM

• Seleucids and Ptolemies fight over control of the Levant

• Under Ptolemies, Hebrews were permitted to practice their religion freely

• Under Seleucus, Hebrews must engage in Greek customs, stop performing Jewish rituals (like circumcision) compete in the Gymnasium naked and worship Greek gods in the Temple.

• Maccabeean (Hasmonean) Revolt 167-161 BC against the Hellenistic Seleucids

• Led by Judah Maccabee

• Victory over the Greeks, Hebrews try to re-sanctify the Temple Mount

• Hannukah story: After victory over the Seleucids, the Hebrews set out find only enough annointing oil for one night but the supply miraculously lasts for eight days.

• Hasmonean dynasty rules until the Romans conquer the region

ROMANS

• 63 B.C.E Roman general Pompey lays siege to the temple

JESUS IS CRUCIFIED

• C. 26-36 C.E. Jesus is pursued by Romans

FALL OF JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE

• Jews revolt against Romans (66-70 CE)

• Revolt ends with the destruction of the Second Temple and the fall of Jerusalem

• More than a million Jews killed by Romans

BAR KOCHBA REVOLT

• 131-136 Roman Emperor Hadrian takes over

• Renames Jerusalem "Aelia Capitolina" and Judea becomes Syria Palestina.

• Forbids circumcision

• Bar Kochba

• Leads the biggest Jewish rebellion against Romans

• In reaction

• Jews are all kicked out of Jerusalem

• They can only visit on Tisha B'av