Origins of Judaism: The History of the Ancient Israelites

Assignment to hand in:    Complete Notes on Ancient Israelites handout (finish visuals and in the margins, record at least 4 facts provided)

Step 1: Introduction: Look at the map below and read the following text.

Map of ancient Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia

    The ancient Israelites were nomadic people who migrated from Mesopotamia to Canaan (present-day Israel and Lebanon) during the second millennium B.C.E. These people traveled around Egypt and the Near East, where they also settled for various periods of time. Another name for the Israelites is Hebrews, and they are often referred to by this term in ancient writings.

    The Israelites were the founders of Judaism, one of the first religions in the world to be based on monotheism (the belief in one God). In contrast, other peoples from that same time period practiced polytheistic religions (the belief in many Gods). The ancient Israelites believed their God was all-powerful and had created the world. Monotheism is the basis of several other religions, including Christianity and Islam. There are an estimated 14 million followers of the Jewish religion around the world today.

    Almost everything we know about the Israelites is based on the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible is also known as the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The first five books of the Hebrew Bible are known as the Torah, which is comprised of stories about the ancient Israelites and descriptions of Hebrew law. While many people believe the stories of the Torah to be factually true, scholars attempting to verify the historical accuracy of events described in the Torah have found little archeological evidence from which to work. However, some archeological evidence of the ancient Israelites does exist. For example, by examining written records and tomb paintings from the reign of Ramesses II in Egypt, scholars have been able to verify the Egyptians' enslavement of the Israelites and the time period in which it may have occurred.

Step 1: Materials: Download and print out the following handouts: The History of the Ancient Israelites & Notes on the Ancient Israelites. (Both of these correspond to each other. For example, Event A is about God's Covenant with Abraham as is the Event A in the Notes handout.)

Step 2: Note-Taking: Read each "Event" in the The History of the Ancient Israelites and look at the corresponding picture (below). Then write at least FOUR main facts about each topic in the margins around each picture on the handout, Notes on the Ancient Israelites. Also, fill in the rest of the picture by looking at the corresponding pictures below. (Each picture is much smaller than the page with ample room to record notes about each Event.)

    Gods Covenant with Abraham

    The Enslavement of the Israelites

    The Exodus from Egypt

    Moses Receiving the Ten Commandments

    Joshua's Conquest of Jericho

Supplemental Video:
Ramesses - Pharaoh of Exodus
All Evidence Suggests Ramesses was the Biblical Pharaoh

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