Chapter 6 Section 2 Hebrews Outline

I. Intro/ The Hebrews

• Hebrews (Israelites)- nomadic people of the ancient Middle East

• Responsible for the beginning of Judaism

II. The God of Abraham• Yahweh = God• Hebrews were monotheistic• Promise was made to Abraham that if he were to

worship Yahweh as the only God, then his descendents would be able to live and be protected forever in Canaan

• Yahweh, not human, knows all, only does what is just and right

• Abraham had 12 sons that formed the 12 Hebrew tribes

- All Hebrews are descendants of Abraham

III. Moses and the 10 Commandments

• Hebrews fled to Egypt when starvation struck Canaan and were enslaved there for 600 years

• Moses, becomes the leader of the Hebrews during this time and begins to work on freeing the Hebrews

III. Moses and the 10 Commandments(Continued) • Exodus = The escape of the Jews from Egypt to Canaan

- Moses convinced the Pharaoh to free the Hebrews, and they were allowed to return to Canaan

- The Pharaoh changed his mind and decided that he did not want them to be freed and sent his army after them

- Yahweh allowed Moses to part the Red Sea and let his people walk to safety in Canaan, closing the sea behind them drowning the Pharaoh and his army

III. Moses and the 10 Commandments(Continued)

• Mt. Sinai- Moses received a set of rules on top of this mountain from Yahweh (God) on two stone tablets- If these rules were followed then the Hebrew people would receive the protection from Yahweh and be lead back into Canaan- The chest containing these two tablets is the Ark of the Covenant

III. Moses and the 10 Commandments(Continued)

• The Ten Commandments- Demand Yahweh is the only God- Respect for one another- No lying, stealing, or murdering- EVERYONE has the right to be treated fairly and justly

IV. Promised Land

• Joshua took over after Moses passed away and lead the Hebrews to defeat the Canaanites

• Hebrews settled in the land of Canaan - copied the ways of farming, tools, and alphabet of the Canaanites

• Became very prosperous- lived in one room two story houses

V. Kings • Lead by Judges at first, then later by kings• Saul = 1st king of the Hebrews• David = 2nd king of the Hebrews

- reunited all Hebrew tribes and completely defeated the Canaanites- Established the Hebrew capital of Jerusalem- Wrote the Psalms in the Bible

• Solomon = 3rd king- brought peace to the Hebrew Kingdom- built a huge temple in Jerusalem

V. Kings (Continued)• People grew tired of Solomon’s extravagant ways

and after he died the Hebrews split into 2 kingdoms- Israel in the north- Judah in the south

• Fighting between the 2 kingdoms is what weakened the Hebrews and allowed foreigners to invade them and take over

VI. Prophets• Prophets – received messages from God• Emphasized that Yahweh was not just the god of the

Hebrews, but everyone’s God• The prophets warned the Hebrew people that if

they did not return to God’s way they would be punished

- Hebrew kingdoms were eventually taken over by outside forced

-Israelis disappeared, Judeans forced into Babylonia

VI. Prophets (Continued)

• While they were in Babylonia the Hebrews kept their religion alive by meeting on the Sabbath and discussing religion and the history of the Hebrews

• 70 years later they were able to return to their homeland and they rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem-Ezra the scribe recorded the laws of Moses in 5 books called the Torah

• The Torah = Jewish Religious Book

VII. Major Contributions• 1st monotheistic group of people

• All loving god

• God is fair and wants all humans to live fair and just lives

• Many of our modern laws have basis in the Laws of Moses