The history of Ancient Israel and Judah is known to us from classical sources including Judaism's Tanakh or Hebrew Bible (known to Christianity as the Old Testament), the Talmud, the Ethiopian Kebra Nagast, the writings of Nicolaus of Damascus, Artapanas, Philo of Alexandria and Josephus supplemented by ancient sources uncovered by archaeology including Egyptian, Moabite, Assyrian, Babylonian as well as Israelite and Judean inscriptions. The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' Judea is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel. Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page The Kebra Nagast (var Kebra Negast, Ge'ez,ክብረ ነገሥት kəbrä nägäst or the Book of the Nicolaus of Damascus ( Greek, Nikolāos Damaskēnos) was a Syrian Historian and Philosopher who lived during the Augustan Artapanus of Alexandria was a historian of Jewish origin who lived in Alexandria during the 2nd century BCE Philo (20 BC - 50 AD) known also as Philo of Alexandria (gr Φίλων ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria Josephus (AD 37 – c 100 also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph son of Matthias and after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Egyptian is an Afro-Asiatic language most closely related to the Berber, Semitic, Somali and Beja languages Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq William Dever ^[1] suggests that rather than there being just one history there are in fact multiple histories and that we can distinguish nine types of history of Israel and Judah as follows. William Dever may refer to William Emmett Dever (1862-1929 mayor of Chicago 1923-1926

1. Theological history – the relationship between the God(s) and their believers.
2. Political history – usually the account of “Great Men”, is generally episodic, chauvinistic and propagandist
3. Narrative history – a running chronology of events, purporting to be factual but always very highly selective
4. Socio-cultural history – a history of institutions, including their social underpinnings in family, clan, tribe and social class and the state
5. Intellectual history – the literary history of ideas and their development, context and evolution as expressed through texts and documents
6. Cultural history – is based upon a larger context of overall cultural evolution, demography, socio-economic and political structure and ethnicity
7. Technological history – a history of the techniques by which humans adapt to, exploit and make use of the resources of their environment
8. Natural history – is a geographic history of how humans discover and adapt to the ecological understandings of their natural environment
9. Material history – as shown in the study of artifacts as correlates of human changes in behaviour.

Archeology can provide assistance in 3,4,6,7,8,9. Conventional “Biblical” textual history can provide assistance in 1,2, 3 and 5.

Part of a series of articles on Jews and Judaism           Who is a Jew? · Etymology · Culture Judaism · Core principles God · Tanakh (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) · Mitzvot (613) · Talmud · Halakha · Holidays · Prayer · Tzedakah · Ethics · Kabbalah · Customs · Midrash Jewish ethnic diversity Ashkenazi · Sephardi · Mizrahi Population (historical) · By country Israel · USA · Russia/USSR · Iraq · Spain · Portugal · Poland · Germany · Bosnia · Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela)  · France · England · Canada · Australia · Hungary · India · Turkey · Greece · Africa · Iran · China Republic of Macedonia · Romania Lists of Jews · Crypto-Judaism Jewish denominations · Rabbis Orthodox · Conservative · Reform · Reconstructionist · Liberal · Karaite · Humanistic · Renewal  · Alternative Jewish languages Hebrew · Yiddish · Judeo-Persian · Ladino · Judeo-Aramaic · Judeo-Arabic History · Timeline · Leaders Ancient · Temple · Babylonian exile · Jerusalem (in Judaism · Timeline) · Hasmoneans · Sanhedrin · Schisms · Pharisees · Jewish-Roman wars · Relationship with Christianity; with Islam · Diaspora · Middle Ages · Sabbateans · Hasidism · Haskalah · Emancipation · Holocaust · Aliyah · Israel (History) · Arab conflict · Land of Israel · Baal teshuva Persecution · Antisemitism History of antisemitism · Political movements · Zionism Labor Zionism · Revisionist Zionism · Religious Zionism · General Zionism · The Bund · World Agudath Israel · Jewish feminism · Israeli politics v • d • e

Introduction

The history of the region later claimed by the states of Judah and Israel offers particular problems for the modern historian. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut " Who is a Jew? " (Mihu Yehudi? ?מיהו יהודי is a basic question about Jewish identity. This article focuses on the Etymology of the word Jew. Biblical and Middle Eastern origins The Jews in their land The Jewish ethnonym in Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena above all it is the Culture of secular communities of Jewish people but it can also include Judaism (from the Greek Ioudaïsmos, derived from the Hebrew יהודה Yehudah, " Judah " in Hebrew יַהֲדוּת Yahedut Although Jews and religious leaders share a core of monotheistic principles Judaism has no formal statement of principles of faith such as a Creed or Catechism In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Nevi'im (נְבִיאִים "Prophets" is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, between the Ketuvim (כְּתוּבִים "writings" is the third and final section of the Tanakh ( Hebrew Bible) after Torah and Nevi'im This article is about commandments in Judaism For the Jewish rite of passage see Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah Mitzvah ( Hebrew: מצוה See also Mitzvah See also Biblical law in Christianity The 613 Mitzvot ("commandments" (also " 613 Mitzvos The Talmud ( Hebrew: he תַּלְמוּד is a record of Rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law For the Gregorian dates of Jewish Holidays see Jewish holidays 2000-2050. Jewish services ( Hebrew: תפלה, tefillah; plural תפלות, tefillos or tefillot; Yinglish: davening Tzedakah ( צדקה) is a Hebrew word commonly translated as charity, though it is based on a root meaning Justice Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of Ethics. Kabbalah (קַבָּלָה lit "receiving" is a discipline and school of thought discussing the mystical aspect of Judaism. Minhag ( Hebrew: מנהג "custom" pl minhagim) is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. Midrash ( Hebrew: מדרש plural midrashim, lit "to repeat" is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact but comparative ( homiletic See also Judaism by country Jewish ethnic divisions refers to a number of distinct communities within the world's ethnically Jewish population Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim ( Hebrew: אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, ˌaʃkəˈnazim sing Sephardi Jews ( Hebrew: ספרדי, Standard Səfardi Tiberian Səp̄arədî; plural Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim, ( also referred to as Edot HaMizrach (Communities of the East are Jews descended Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of " Who is a Jew " remains a Jewish population centers have shifted tremendously over time due to the constant streams of Jewish refugees created by expulsions persecution and officially sanctioned killing This article deals with the practice of Judaism and the living arrangement of Jewish people in the listed countries The History of the Jews in the Land of Israel begins with the ancient Israelites (also known as Hebrews) who settled in the Land of Israel. The history of the Jews in the United States has been influenced by waves of immigration primarily from Europe inspired by the social and economic opportunities of the United Iraqi Jews are Jews born in Iraq or of Iraqi heritage The history of the Jews in Iraq is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c Spanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before they The history of the Jews in Portugal is directly related to Sephardi history a Jewish ethnic division that represents communities who have originated The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a Millennium. Jews have lived in Germany, or " Ashkenaz " at least since the early 4th century, through both periods of tolerance and spasms of The Jewish community of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a rich and varied history surviving World War II and the Yugoslav Wars, after having The history of the Jews in the Americas dates back to Christopher Columbus and his first cross- Atlantic voyage on August 3, 1492 The history of the Jews of Argentina harks back to the days of the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition when Jews fleeing persecution settled in what A Brazilian Jew ( Portuguese: Judeu Brasileiro) is a Brazilian person of full partial or predominantly Jew ancestry or a Jew-born person residing in Brazil Jewish immigration to Latin America began with seven sailors arriving in Christopher Columbus 's crew Jewish Cubans, Cuban Jews, or Cubans of Jewish heritage, have lived on the island of Cuba for centuries Jews have been present in El Salvador since the early 19th Century. Jews have lived in Mexico since the times of the Inquisition. Jewish Nicaraguans or Nicaraguan Jews (Judío Nicaragüense are Nicaraguans of Jewish Ancestry who were born in or have immigrated to Nicaragua The History of the Jews in Venezuela dates to the middle of the 17th century when records suggest that groups of Marranos (Spanish and Portuguese descendants of baptized The Jewish community in France presently numbers around 600000 according to the World Jewish Congress and 500000 according to the Appel Unifié Juif de France and is The first written records of Jewish settlement in England date from the time of the Norman Conquest, mentioning Jews who arrived with William the Conqueror Canada has the world's fourth-largest Jewish population According to the Canada 2001 Census, there are an estimated 351000 Jews currently living in Canada The history of the Jews in Australia began with the transportation of a number of Jewish Convicts aboard the First Fleet in 1788 when History of the Jews in Hungary concerns the Jews of Hungary and of Hungarian origins Indian Jews are a religious minority of India. Judaism was one of the first non- Dharmic religions to arrive in India in recorded history Jews {ref|name|§}} have lived in the geographic area of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) for more than 2400 years There have been organized Jewish communities in Greece for more than two thousand years Since Biblical times the Jewish people have had close ties with Africa beginning with Abraham 's sojourns in Egypt, and later the Israelite captivity under The beginnings of Jewish history in Iran date back to late biblical times Jews and Judaism in China' have had a long history Jewish settlers are documented in China as early as the 7th or 8th century CE, but may The history of Jews in the territory of the present-day Republic of Macedonia began in Roman times when Jews first arrived in the region in the The history of Jews in Romania concerns the Jews of Romania and of Romanian origins from their first mention on what is nowadays Romanian territory By type List of Jewish historians List of Jewish scientists and philosophers List of Jewish nobility Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith people who practice crypto-Judaism are referred to as "crypto-Jews" Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized Conservative Judaism (also known as Masorti Judaism in Israel and Europe) is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently subjected to vandalism and the insertion of personal opinions Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of the late Mordecai Kaplan (1881 – 1983 Karaite Judaism or Karaism (ˈkærəˌaɪt ˈkærəˌɪzəm) is a Jewish movement NOTE The word sect should not be used without defining it first and Humanistic Judaism is a movement within Judaism that emphasizes Jewish culture and history—rather than belief in God—as the sources of Jewish identity Jewish Renewal is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, Musical and Alternative Judaism or Agnostic Judaism refers to a variety of groups whose members while identifying as Jews in some fashion nevertheless do not practice Rabbinical The Jewish languages are a set of Languages that developed in various Jewish communities around the world more notably in Europe, West Asia, and Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High Judæo-Persian dialects are a subgroup of Persian dialects spoken by the Jews of Iran Judæo-Aramaic is a collective term used to describe several Hebrew -influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic Languages History The Judæo-Arabic languages are a collection of Arabic dialects spoken by Jews living or formerly living in the Arab world; the term also refers to Jewish history is the History of the Jewish people, faith, and culture. This is a timeline of the development of Judaism and the Jewish people. Jewish leadership has evolved over time Since the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE there has been no single body that has a leadership Etymology The Hebrew name given in Scripture for the building is Beit HaMikdash or "The Holy House" and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the See also Religious significance of Jerusalem Since the 10th century BCE Jerusalem in Judaism has been the holiest city, focus and spiritual centre of This is a partial timeline of major events in the History of Jerusalem:; 1800 BCE: The Jebusites build the wall Jebus ( Jerusalem The Hasmoneans (/hæzməˡniən/ חשמונאים Hashmonaiym, Audio were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom ( 140 &ndash 37 BCE The Sanhedrin (סנהדרין συνέδριον ''synedrion'', "sitting together" hence " assembly " or "council" was an assembly Schisms among the Jews are cultural as well as religious They have happened as a product of historical accident geography and Theology. The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated" This article discusses the traditional views of the two religions and may not be applicable all adherents of each The historical interaction of Judaism and Islam started in the 7th century CE with the origin and spread of Islam in the Arabian peninsula. The Jewish diaspora ( Hebrew: Tefutzah, "scattered" or Galut גלות "exile" Yiddish: tfutses) the presence The History of Jews in the Middle Ages (approximately 500 CE to 1750 CE can be divided into two categories Also not to be confused with Subbotniks or Sabbatarians. Note Most Sabbateans during and after Sabbatai Zevi were Jews Hasidic Judaism (also Chasidic, etc from the Hebrew: he '''''חסידות''''', Chassidus, meaning "piety" from the Hebrew Haskalah ( Hebrew: השכלה "enlightenment" "education" from sekhel " Intellect " "mind") the Jewish Enlightenment Jewish question Jewish emancipation was the abolition of discriminatory laws as applied especially to Jews in Europe in the nineteenth century the recognition of Jews The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as Aliyah ( refers to Jewish Immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948 the State of Israel) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. The State of Israel (מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael) was established in 1948 after nearly two thousand For other uses see Israel (disambiguation The Land of Israel ( Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל Eretz Yisrael) is Note This article is about the movement See Orthodox outreach, Reform outreach, and Conservative outreach for more information about the rabbis See also Antisemitism, History of antisemitism, New antisemitism The persecution of Jews has occurred many times in Jewish history. Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism; also rarely known as judeophobia) is the Prejudice against or hostility The history of antisemitism, hostile actions or discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic group goes back many centuries Jewish political movements refer to the organized efforts of Jews to build their own political parties or otherwise represent their interest in politics outside of History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the Labor Zionism ( Labour Zionism, ציונות סוציאליסטית tsionut sotsialistit) can be described as the major stream of the Left wing of the Revisionist Zionism is a nationalist faction within the Zionist movement Religious Zionism, or the Religious Zionist Movement (a branch of which is also called Mizrachi) is an ideology that combines Zionism and religious The General Zionists (ציונים כלליים Tzionim Klalim) were centrists within the Zionist movement and a political party in Israel World Agudath Israel (The World Jewish Union usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious legal and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience Politics of Israel takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Israel is Because of the association of this area with the scriptural accounts found in the Bible, there is a tendency to view the history of the southern Levant from an almost purely Biblical perspective, giving scant attention to the post Biblical period. The Levant is a geographical term that refers to a large area in Southwest Asia, south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in Archeology of the area has tended to be viewed principally through the Biblical account^[2], making it difficult to understand the history of this important area within the modern archaeological context of the Ancient Near Eastern region as a whole. The Ancient Near East refers to early Civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq

It has been argued that the Israelites were themselves Canaanites, and that "historical Israel", as distinct from "literary" or "Biblical Israel" was a subset of Canaanite culture. "Canaan" when used in this sense refers to the entire ancient Levant down to about 100 AD, including the kingdoms of Israel and Judah^[3]. For example, Mark Smith ^[4] states "Despite the long regnant model that the 'Canaanites' and Israelites were people of fundamentally different culture, archaeological data now casts doubt on this view. The material culture of the region exhibits numerous common points between Israelites and 'Canaanites' in the Iron I period (ca. 1200-1000). The record would suggest that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with and derived from 'Canaanite' culture. . . In short, Israelite culture was largely Canaanite in nature. Given the information available, one cannot maintain a radical cultural separation between Canaanites and Israelites for the Iron I period. " (pp6-7).

Smith continues, “The change in the scholarly understanding of early Israel’s culture has led to a second major change in perspective, which involves the nature of the Yahwistic cult. With the change in perspective concerning Israel’s ‘Canaanite’ background, long held views on the Israelite religion are slowly eroding. Baal and Asherah are part of Israel’s ‘Canaanite’ heritage, and the emergence of Israelite monolatry was an issue of Israel breaking from its own Canaanite past,and not simply of avoiding ‘Canaanite’ neighbours. Although the Biblical witness accurately represent the existence of Israelite worship of Baal and perhaps Asherah as well, this worship was not so much a case of Israelite syncretism with the religious practices of ‘Canaanite’ neighbours, as some Biblical passages depict it, as it was an instance of old Israelite religion. ” P. 7.

Some writers consider the different source materials to be in conflict. See The Bible and history for further information. The historicity of the Bible addresses in what ways the Bible is historically accurate the extent to which it can be used as a historic source and what qualifications should This is a controversial subject, with implications in the fields of religion, politics and diplomacy. A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states

Non-Biblical confirmation

The nature and precise dates of events and the precision by which they may be stated are subject to continuing discussion and challenge. There are no biblical events whose precise year can be validated by external sources before the possible attack by Pharaoh Shoshenk I, identified with the Biblical Shishak (=striker) in 925 BCE. Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq I ( Egyptian ššnq) also known as Shishak, Sheshonk or Sheshonq I (for discussion of the spelling Shishak ( Hebrew: שישק Tiberian:) or Shishaq is the biblical Hebrew form of the first ancient Egyptian name of a Pharaoh mentioned This record, however, shows the Pharaoh's raid was directed more against Israel rather than Jerusalem, as the Bible suggests, and no rulers of the area are listed in Egyptian records. The first independent confirmation of the Biblical record is the early 9th century BCE with the rise of Omri, King of Israel. Omri ( short for) was king of Israel and father of Ahab. William F Therefore all earlier dates are extrapolations and conjecture. In Mathematics, extrapolation is the process of constructing new data points outside a Discrete set of known data points Further, the Bible does not render itself very easily to these calculations: mostly it does not state any time period longer than a single lifetime and a historical line must be reconstructed by adding discrete quantities, a process that naturally introduces rounding errors. For the acrobatic movement roundoff see Roundoff. A round-off error, also called rounding error, is the difference between the The earlier dates presented here and their accuracy reflect a maximalist view, in that it uses the Bible as its sole source. The historicity of the Bible addresses in what ways the Bible is historically accurate the extent to which it can be used as a historic source and what qualifications should

Others, known as minimalists, often dispute that some of the events happened at all, making the dating of them moot: for instance, if the very existence of the United Kingdom is in doubt, it is pointless to claim that it disintegrated in 928 BCE. The Copenhagen School of Biblical Studies also known as The Minimalist School is a school of biblical Exegesis, developing out of Higher Criticism The United Monarchy ( United Kingdom of Israel and Judah) refers to a period in the traditional account of the History of ancient Israel and Judah lasting Philip Davies ^[5], for example, shows how the canonical Biblical account can only have been composed for a people with a long literate tradition such as found only in Late Persian or early Hellenistic times, and argues that accounts of earlier periods are largely reconstructions based upon largely oral and other traditions. A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or Set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as Scripture by a particular religious Minimalists tend to accept those events that have independent archaeological corroborations; see for example Mesha Stele. The Mesha Stele (popularized in the 19th century as the "Moabite Stone") is a black Basalt stone bearing an inscription by the 9th century BC Their argument comes in the earlier period where the Biblical account seems most at odds with what has been discovered by modern archaeology. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos

Another problem is caused by disagreements about terminology of historical periodisation. For example the period at the end of the Early Bronze Age or the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age is called EB-MB by Kathleen Kenyon^[6], MB I by William Foxwell Albright, Middle Canaanite I by Yohanan Aharoni^[7], and Early Bronze IV by William Dever and Eliezer Oren. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for Dame Kathleen Mary Kenyon ( 5 January, 1906 &ndash 24 August, 1978) was an important English Archaeologist of Neolithic William Foxwell Albright ( May 24, 1891 – September 19 / September 20, 1971) was an American archaeologist, William Dever may refer to William Emmett Dever (1862-1929 mayor of Chicago 1923-1926

Civilizations of Israel

The Book of Genesis traces the beginning of Israel to three patriarchs of the Jewish people, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the last also known as Israel from which the name of the land was subsequently derived. Abraham in History and Tradition ( Yale University Press, ISBN 0300040407 1975) is a book by biblical scholar John Van Seters. According to the Hebrew Bible, Isaac ( Hebrew: Yitzchak יִצְחָק, Standard Yiẓḥaq Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard   Yaʿaqov Tiberian   Yaʿăqōḇ; Jacob, called a "wandering Aramaean" (Deuteronomy 26:5), the grandson of Abraham, had travelled back to Harran, the home of his ancestors, to obtain a wife. Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard   Yaʿaqov Tiberian   Yaʿăqōḇ; The Aramaeans (also Arameans) ( Aramaic / Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, Ārāmāye' were a Semitic (West Semitic language group Whilst returning from Haran to Canaan, he crossed the Jabbok, a tributary on the Arabian side of the Jordan River (Genesis 32:22-33). Jabbok, "pouring out" is a river on the east side of the Jordan River, one of the so-called torrent valleys Having sent his family and servants away, that night he wrestled with a strange man at a place henceforth called Peniel, who in the morning asked him his name. Penuel, also known as the "face of God" is a place not far from Succoth, on the east of the Jordan and north of the river Jabbok. As a result, he was renamed "Israel", because he has "wrestled with God. " and became in time the father of twelve sons, by Leah and Rachel (daughters of Laban), and their maidservants Bilhah and Zilpah. Leah ( "Weary tired" is the first of the four concurrent wives of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob, and mother of six of the Twelve Tribes of Israel along Rachel (; meaning "ewe" is the second and favorite Wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin, first mentioned in the Laban ( is the son of Bethuel, brother of Rebecca and the father of Leah and Rachel as described in the Book of Genesis. In the Book of Genesis, Bilhah ( בִּלְהָה "Faltering bashful" Standard Hebrew Bilha, Tiberian Hebrew Bilhāh In the Book of Genesis, Zilpah ( זִלְפָּה "Drooping" Standard Hebrew Zilpa, Tiberian Hebrew Zilpāh) The twelve were considered the "Children of Israel. " These stories of the origins of the Israelites locate them first on the east bank of the Jordan. See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. The stories of Israel move to the west bank with the story of the sacking of Shechem (Genesis 34:1-33), after which the hill area of Canaan is assumed to have been the historical core of the area of Israel. Shechem ( Sichem, Shkhem or Shachmu, Hebrew: שְׁכֶם‎ / שְׁכָם, Standard

William F. Albright, Nelson Glueck and E. A. Speiser, located these Genesis accounts at the end of Middle Bronze I and beginning of Middle Bronze II based on three points: personal names, mode of life, and customs^[8]. William Foxwell Albright ( May 24, 1891 – September 19 / September 20, 1971) was an American archaeologist, Nelson Glueck (1900-1971 was an American Rabbi, academic and archaeologist. Ephraim Avigdor Speiser ( January 24, 1902 &ndash June 15, 1965) was a Polish -born American Assyriologist. Other scholars, however, have suggested later dates for the Patriarchal Age as these features were long-lived characteristics of life in the Ancient Near East. Cyrus Gordon^[9], basing his argument on the rise of nomadic pastoralism and monotheism at the end of the Amarna Age, suggested that they more properly apply to the Late Bronze Age. Cyrus Herzl Gordon (1908 - March 30 2001 was an American scholar of Near Eastern cultures and ancient languages John Van Seters, on the basis of the widespread use of camels, of Philistine kings at Gerar, of a monetarised economy and the purchase of land, argued the story belongs to the Iron Age. John Van Seters (born 2 May 1935) is a notable scholar on the Ancient Near East. Camels are Even-toed ungulates within the Genus Camelus. The Dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and the The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, Gerar - meaning lodging-place - was a Philistine town and district in what is today south-central Israel. The history of money is a story spanning thousands of years Related to this Numismatics is the scientific study of Money and its History in all its varied This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. Other scholars (particularly, Martin Noth and his students) find it difficult to determine any period for the Patriarchs. Martin Noth ( August 3, 1902 – May 30, 1968) was a German scholar of the Hebrew Bible who specialized in the pre-Exilic They suggest that the importance of the biblical texts are not necessarily their historicity, but how they function within the Israelite society of the Iron Age. This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man.

More recently, neutron activation analysis studies conducted of the hilltop settlements by Jan Gunneweg ^[10]of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem which are associated with the Early Iron Age I and II, show evidence of a movement of settlers into the area from a north-easterly direction in accord with these early stories^[11]

Ancient Egyptian domination

The Biblical book of Genesis relates how some of the descendants of Israel became Egyptian slaves. Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA is a nuclear process used for determining certain concentrations of elements in a vast amount of materials Jan Gunneweg, is a member of the Institute of Archaeology of the Humanities Facualty of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים الجامعة العبرية في القدس abbreviated HUJI) is This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. There are various modern explanations given for the circumstances under which this occurred. A few historians believe that this may have been due to the changing political conditions within Egypt. In 1650 BCE, northern Egypt was conquered by tribes, apparently a mixture of Semitic and Hurrian peoples, known as the Hyksos by the Egyptians. In Linguistics and Ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical " Shem " Hebrew שם translated as "name" Arabic: ساميّ The Hurrians (also Khurrites; cuneiform Ḫu-ur-ri 𒄷𒌨𒊑 were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia The Hyksos ( Egyptian heqa khasewet, "foreign rulers" Greek,, Arabic,) were an Asiatic people who invaded the eastern Nile This article is about the contemporary North African ethnic group The Hyksos were later driven out by Ahmose I, the first king of the eighteenth dynasty. See Amasis II for the 26th Dynasty pharaoh whose name sometimes appears as Ahmose II Ahmose I reigned approximately 1550 - 1525 BCE, founding the 18th Egyptian dynasty which ushered in a new age for Egypt which we call the New Kingdom. See Amasis II for the 26th Dynasty pharaoh whose name sometimes appears as Ahmose II "Amarna period" redirects here For information on Amarna see Amarna The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC is perhaps the best known of The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in Ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and Ahmose destroyed the Hyksos capital at Avaris and the succeeding Pharaohs conquered the Hyksos city of Saruhen^[12](near Gaza), and destroyed Canaanite confederations at Megiddo, Hazor and Kadesh. Avaris ( Egyptian: ħt wʕrt Hatwaret, Greek: αυαρις Auaris) located at Tell ed-Dab'a, was the ancient capital of the This article is about Kadesh in Syria see also Kadesh (South of Israel or Kedesh Kadesh (also Qadesh) was an ancient city of Thutmose III established Egypt's empire in the western Near East, destroying a Canaanite confederation at Megiddo and taking the city of Joppa, and extending it from the Sinai to the Euphrates bend, the area later thought to have been the size of the Empire of Solomon. Thutmose III (sometimes read as Thutmosis or Tuthmosis III and meaning Thoth is Born) was the sixth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai ( Coptic: sina; Egyptian Arabic: sina سينا Arabic, sina'a سيناء The Euphrates ( ( Arabic: ar نهر الفرات; Turkish: tr Fırat Syriac: syr ܦܪܬ; Hebrew: he פרת King Solomon ( Ge'ez: ስለሞን Arabic: ar سليمان, Sulayman, all from the Triliteral root S-L-M, "peace" The Egyptian Empire was maintained in the area of what was to emerge as Israel and Judah until the reign of Rameses VI in about 1150 BCE. Ramesses VI (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt who reigned from 1145 BC to 1137 BC From then on, the chronology can only roughly be given in approximate dates for most events, until about the 9th century BCE^[13].

• 1440 BCE The Egyptian reign of Amenhotep II, during which the first mention of the Habiru (possibly the Hebrews) is found in Egyptian texts ^[14]. Amenhotep II (sometimes read as Amenophis II and meaning Amun is Satisfied) was the seventh Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Habiru (Ha biru or Apiru or prw (Egyptianwas the name given by various Sumerian Egyptian, Akkadian Hittite, Mitanni Recently discovered evidence (see Tikunani Prism) indicates that many Habiru spoke Hurrian, the language of the Hurrians. The Tikunani Prism is an 8½ inch clay artifact with an Akkadian cuneiform inscription listing the names of the Habiru soldiers of King Tunip-Teššup The Hurrians (also Khurrites; cuneiform Ḫu-ur-ri 𒄷𒌨𒊑 were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia The Hurrians (also Khurrites; cuneiform Ḫu-ur-ri 𒄷𒌨𒊑 were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia The Habiru were possibly a social caste rather than an ethnic group^[11][15], yet even so they may have been incorporated into early Israelite tribal groups ^[16].
• c. 1400 First mention of the Shasu (or "wanderers") in Egyptian records, located just south of the Dead Sea. Shasu is an Egyptian term for Nomads who appeared in the Levant from the fifteenth century BCE all the way to the Third Intermediate Period. The Shasu contain a group with a Yahwistic name, although the Egyptian inscription of Amenhotep III, at the Soleb temple, "Yhw in the land of the Shasu", does not use the determinative for God, or even for people, but only for the possible name of a place. The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the four major sources of the Torah postulated by the Amenhotep III (sometimes read as Amenophis III meaning Amun is Satisfied was the ninth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty.
• 1350-1330 BCE The Amarna correspondence gives a detailed account of letters exchanged during the period of Egyptian domination in Canaan during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaton. The Amarna letters (sometimes "Amarna correspondence" or "Amarna tablets" are an archive of correspondence on Clay tablets mostly diplomatic Local mayors such as Abdi Khepa of Jerusalem and Labaya of Shechem were jockeying for power, and attempting to get the Pharaoh to act on their behalf. Akhenaton is reported to have dispatched a regiment of Medjay police to the region, to maintain order. The Medjay (also Medjai, Mazoi, Egyptian mDAy)&ndashfrom mDA, represents the name Ancient Egyptians gave to a region in northern Sudan&ndashwhere This period is also one of the extension of Hittite power into Northern Syria for the first time, and is noticeable for the spread of a pandemic through the region. The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established
• 1300 BCE Some Bible commentaries place the birth of Moses around this time. ^{[17] [18]}
• 1292 BCE Egypt's 19th dynasty began with the reign of Ramesses I. Menpehtyre Ramesses I (traditional English Ramesses or Ramses) was the founding Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt 's 19th dynasty. Ramesses II (1279-1213 BCE) filled the land with enormous monuments, and signed a treaty with the Hittites after ceding the northern Levant to the Hittite Empire. The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established He conducted a campaign throughout the territory of what was later to emerge as Israel, after the revolt of Shasu following the Battle of Kadesh, establishing an Egyptian garrison in what was later to be Moab. } The Battle of Kadesh (also Qadesh) took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under
• Circa 1200 BCE, the Hittite empire of Anatolia was conquered by allied tribes from the west. The northern, coastal Canaanites (called the Phoenicians by the Greeks) may have been temporarily displaced by so-called "People of the Sea", but returned when the invading tribes showed no inclination to settle. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun The Sea Peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political ^[19]
• 1187 BCE The attempted invasion of Egypt by Sea People. The Sea Peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political Amongst them were a group called the P-r-s-t (first recorded by the ancient Egyptians as P-r/l-s-t) generally identified with the Philistines. They appear in the Medinet Habu inscription of Ramses III^[20], where he describes his victory against the Sea Peoples. Usimare Ramses III (also written Ramesses and Rameses) was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great The Sea Peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political Nineteenth-century Bible scholars identified the land of the Philistines (Philistia or Peleshet in Hebrew meaning "invaders") with Palastu and Pilista in Assyrian inscriptions, according to Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897). The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture Other groups than the Philistines, were the Tjekker, Denyen and Shardana, and the vigorous counter-attack by Pharaoh Rameses III saw most Canaanite sites in what was later to be Israel and Judah destroyed. The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, The Tjekker or Tjeker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE The Denyen are one of the groups associated with the Sea Peoples, raiders associated with the Eastern Mediterranean Dark Ages who attacked Egypt during The Sherden (also known as Serden or Shardana sea pirates are one of several groups of " Sea Peoples " who appear in fragmentary historical records ( Egyptian Usimare Ramses III (also written Ramesses and Rameses) was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great Later in the reign of this Pharaoh, Philistines and Tjekker, and possibly also Denyen, were allowed to resettle the cities of the coastal road which became known in the Biblical Exodus account as "the Way of the Philistines". The name is used in the Bible to denote the coastal region inhabited by the Philistines. The five principal Philistine cities were Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Ashkelon. Gaza (غزة, עַזָּה ʕazzā is the largest city in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories. Ashdod (אַשְׁדּוֹד اشدود إسدود Isdud) located in the South District of Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea coast The city of Ekron (עֶקְרוֹן ʿeqrōn, also transliterated Accaron) Gat or Gath (גת Winepress) was a common place name in ancient Israel and the surrounding regions Ashkelon (אַשְׁקְלוֹן ٲشكلون also عسقلان; Latin: Ascalon; Akkadian: Isqalluna is a coastal city in southern Modern archaeology has suggested early cultural links with the Mycenean world in mainland Greece. Mycenaean Greece is a cultural period of ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese Though the Philistines adopted local Canaanite culture and language before leaving any written texts, an Indo-European origin has been suggested for a handful of known Philistine words.
• 1150 BCE Internal troubles within Egypt lead to the withdrawal of the last Egyptian garrisons at Beth Shean, the Jordan Valley, Megiddo and Gaza, during the reign of Rameses VI. (בֵּית שְׁאָן بيسان Bayt Šān or بيسان, Beisan or Bisan) is a city in the North District of Israel Gaza (غزة, עַזָּה ʕazzā is the largest city in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories. Ramesses VI (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt who reigned from 1145 BC to 1137 BC

The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and its chronology are much-debated. Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Definition A chronology may be either relative &mdashthat is locating related events relative to each other&mdashor ''absolute'' &mdashlocating It is believed by Kenneth A. Kitchen ^[21] that the Exodus took place in the reign of Ramesses II due to the named Egyptian cities in Exodus: Pithom and Rameses. Pithom (פתם also called Per-Atum or Heroöpolis or Heroonopolis ( Greek: or, Strabo xvi Avaris ( Egyptian: ħt wʕrt Hatwaret, Greek: αυαρις Auaris) located at Tell ed-Dab'a, was the ancient capital of the Evidence for an Israelite presence in Palestine has been found from only six years after the end of the reign of Rameses II, in the Merneptah Stele. The Merneptah Stele (also known as the Israel Stele or Victory Stele of Merneptah) is the reverse of a large granite stele originally erected by the

The period of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th Dynasty was a particularly confusing one. The Eighteenth Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title New Kingdom. The Eighteenth Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title New Kingdom. Egyptian records document the rise of Asiatics from the region to high places within the Egyptian court. Chancellor Bay temporarily occupied the role of kingmaker, and Pharaoh Siptah's mother came from the region. Chancellor Bay was an important Asiatic official in ancient Egypt who rose to prominence and high office under Seti II Userkheperure Setepenre and later became an influential Akhenre Setepenre Siptah or Merneptah Siptah was the penultimate ruler of the 19th Dynasty and the son of an obscure Queen named Sutailja of Asiatic origin After the death of Queen Twosret Meryamun, the country lapsed into chaos, and it appears Asiatics despoiled a number of Egyptian temples before being expelled by the first king of the 20th Dynasty, Pharaoh Setnakhte. Queen Twosret was the last known female king of Egypt of a local indigenous dynasty and the final Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty. Userkhaure-setepenre Setnakhte (or Setnakht) was the first Pharaoh ( 1190 BC &ndash 1186 BC) of the Twentieth Dynasty of the These events may lie behind the Exodus account of Osarseph given by Manetho reported later by Josephus. Osarseph is a semi-mythical figure in the history of Ancient Egypt who has been equated with Moses. Manetho (or Manethon) was an Egyptian Historian and Priest from Sebennytos ( Ancient Egyptian: Tjebnutjer) who Josephus (AD 37 – c 100 also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph son of Matthias and after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus

Problems with conventional Biblical chronology

A totaling of the reigns of the kings of Judah between the fourth year of the reign of Solomon, when he is supposed to have built the Temple, to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, gives 430 years. This would suggest the building of the temple by united monarchy under Solomon, occurred in 1016 BCE. According to Kings 6:1, a total of 480 years is supposed to have lapsed between the Exodus and the dedication of this temple, giving a date of 1496 BCE, suggested by Redford^[22]to have been the 9th year of Hatshepsut's reign. According to Exodus 12:40, the sojourn in Egypt is supposed to have lasted 430 years, with the result that the descent of Israel and his family must have taken place in the reign of Senwosret I's in 1926 BCE. Adding together the very long life-spans of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, would date Abraham's arrival in Canaan in 2141 BCE, and his descent into Egypt in 2116 BCE, during the 10th Kerakleopolitan Dynasty. The sojourn in Egypt would then have occupied the entire period of the 12th to the 18th Dynasty. As Numbers 32:13 allocates 40 years to the Wandering in Sinai, the conquests by Joshua must have occurred just prior to the reign of Thutmose III, when all of Canaan was possessed by Egypt. . Even more astounding, according to this chronology is the placement of Judges from 1456 to 1150, almost exactly the period of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. Unfortunately Egyptian sources say nothing about Israel, Joshua or his successors, and the Bible says nothing of the Amenophids, Thutmosids or Ramessids of this period. ^[23]

Clearly, the development of the Israelites in Canaan is far more complex than the picture given in the Bible. ^[24] Research into settlement patterns suggest that the ethnogenesis of Israel as a people was a complex process involving mainly native pastoralist groups in Canaan (perhaps including Habiru and Shasu), with some infiltration from outside groups, such as Hittites and Arameans from the north as well as southern Shasu groups such as the Kenites- some of whom may have come from areas controlled by Egypt. Habiru (Ha biru or Apiru or prw (Egyptianwas the name given by various Sumerian Egyptian, Akkadian Hittite, Mitanni Shasu is an Egyptian term for Nomads who appeared in the Levant from the fifteenth century BCE all the way to the Third Intermediate Period. The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established The Aramaeans (also Arameans) ( Aramaic / Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, Ārāmāye' were a Semitic (West Semitic language group Shasu is an Egyptian term for Nomads who appeared in the Levant from the fifteenth century BCE all the way to the Third Intermediate Period. In the ancient Levant, the Kenites were a nomadic clan sent under Jethro to priest Midian. Genetically, Palestinian Jews show closest connections with Kurdish people, and other groups from Northern Iraq, suggesting that this is the area from which most of their ancestors originally came, a fact confirmed archaeologically from the Khirbet Kerak period, down to the end of the Middle Bronze Age period, with the spread of the Hurrians (Biblical Horites), and in the Early Iron Age I period with the spread of Shasu (=Egyptian) and Ahlamu (=Assyrian Akkadian, i. The history of pottery in the Southern Levant describes the discovery and cultural development of Pottery in the archaeological area of the Southern Levant, which The Hurrians (also Khurrites; cuneiform Ḫu-ur-ri 𒄷𒌨𒊑 were a people of the Ancient Near East, who lived in northern Mesopotamia Horites (Egyptian Khar) were cave-dwellers mentioned in the Torah ( Genesis 146 3620 Deuteronomy 212 inhabiting areas around Petra e. wandering Aramaeans). The Aramaeans (also Arameans) ( Aramaic / Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, Ārāmāye' were a Semitic (West Semitic language group ^[25][26][27]

Wandering years and conquest of Canaan

Main article: Canaan

Exodus goes on to say that after leaving Egypt, nearly three million Israelites wandering in the desert for a generation, the Israelites invaded the land of Canaan, destroying major Canaanite cities such as Ai, Jericho and Hazor. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. Jericho ( Arabic, ʼArīḥā; Hebrew, Standard Yəriḥo Tiberian Yərîḫô The paradigm that has Ramses II^[21] as Exodus Pharaoh also has the conquest of Canaan and the destruction of Jericho and other Canaanite cities around 1200 BCE, despite the fact that Ai and Jericho seem to have been uninhabited at this time, having been destroyed at about 1550 BCE. Jericho ( Arabic, ʼArīḥā; Hebrew, Standard Yəriḥo Tiberian Yərîḫô Many others of the sites mentioned in the Book of Joshua also seem to have been unoccupied at this time, being synchronously present only in the seventh century BC, suggested by Mattfield^[28] as the likely date for the composition of this account. Joshua, Jehoshuah, or Yehoshua ( 'יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Tiberian: jə Many other groups are known to have played a role in the destruction of urban centres during the late Bronze Age, such as the invading Sea Peoples, among whom the Philistines were one, and the Egyptians themselves. The Sea Peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political Feuds between neighboring city-states probably have played a role as well. ^[11][26]

Population changes and the history of Judah and Israel

Dever suggests that there were about 300 newly founded small agricultural villages from lower Galilee to the Negev in the 13th-12th century BC (usually considered the time of Judges), all of them conspicuously absent from previous Late Bronze Age towns and settlement along the coast. The population rose from 12,000 at the end of the Bronze Age to 55,000 by the end of the 12th century, to 75,000 in the end of the 11th century the period of David and Solomon, with the vast majority in the north.

By the 8th century Israel, just before the collapse, one century after the Omrides, population in the north had grown more than fivefold, to about 350,000. At the time of the Omrides it may have been even more, as Israel had lost Hazor, Dan and Bethsaida to Damascus, and the sacking of Megiddo and Taanach by Hazael of Damascus had led to a depopulation of the Jezrael. Under the Omrides Israel was the most populous state of the Levant, probably surpassing even Damascus, but after the wars with Damascus and the coup of Jehu, it was probable that Aramaean Damascus had become the larger state. Thus under the Omrides the population of Israel may have been about 500,000.

The south was much less populated. Judea which before the collapse of the north had been low, grew 500% to 120,000. This means the previous size of Judea had been about 24. 000 people, in the south with 96,000 coming as refugees from the north (about 1/3rd of the total of the previous population). This would suggest that the population of Judea was less than 1/20th that of the northern kingdom.

But this enormous population did not last. The Assyrian campaign against Hezekiah, and the plague with which it was associated (Hezekiah himself narrowly escaped) reduced the population by nearly 50,000 so that by the end of the monarchy Judah's population based fairly accurately upon surveys at the time was about 75,000, with 20% of this (about 15,000) living in Jerusalem.

The Book of Jeremiah reports a total of 4,600 went into exile in Babylon. The Book of Kings suggests that it was ten thousand, and then eight thousand. Finkelstein suggests that 4,600 represented the heads of households and 8,000 was the total, whilst 10,000 is a rounding upwards of the second number. Jeremiah also hints that an equivalent number may have fled to Egypt. Given these figures, Finkelstein suggests that 3/4 of the population of Judah did not move.

The returnees at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah are said to be 50,000, possibly over a period of 100 years. Thus about 50% of the total population in the Persian period, in the truncated territory of Yahud, estimated at about 100-150,000 was of the "new" post exilic monotheism, and 50% practiced the old Canaanite pre-exilic polytheism. Given that Yehud did not include Bethsheva or Hebron, which were ruled by the Idumaeans, it is possible that the population within the border of old Judea was twice that (about 240,000), with the population of Israel nearly 10 times that of the south, the total population living within the borders of monarchial Israel and Judah at the end of the Persian period together may have numbered as many as 3 million, the number recorded roughly at the time of the Jewish Revolt. At this time it was estimated that Jews may have been 1/10th of the total population of the Empire, of between 50-60 million, and that the number of Jews in Diaspora, largely living in Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor (modern Turkey) was equal to the numbers living in Palestine.

Period of the Judges

Main article: Book of Judges

1759 map of the tribal allotments of Israel

If the Israelites returned to Canaan circa 1200 BCE^[21], this was a time when the great powers of the region were neutralized by troubles of various kinds. Book of Judges ( Hebrew: Sefer Shoftim ספר שופטים is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. This was the time of the "Peoples of the Sea" during which Philistines, Tjekker and possibly Danites settled along the coast from Gaza in the south to Joppa in the north. The Sea Peoples is the term used for a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, caused political The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, The Tjekker or Tjeker were one of the Sea Peoples who raided Egypt and the Levant during the 13th and 12th centuries BCE The Denyen are one of the groups associated with the Sea Peoples, raiders associated with the Eastern Mediterranean Dark Ages who attacked Egypt during The entire Middle East fell into a "Dark Age" from which it took centuries to recover". Recovery seems to have occurred first in trading cities of the Philistine area, passing northwards to the Phoenicians, before moving inland to affect the interior areas of the Judean and Samarian hills, the historic core of Judea and Israel. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun According to the Biblical account, in their initial attacks under Joshua, the Hebrews occupied most of Canaan, which they settled according to traditional family lines derived from the sons of Jacob and Joseph (the "tribes" of Israel). Joshua, Jehoshuah, or Yehoshua ( 'יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Tiberian: jə Hebrews (or Hebertes, Eberites, Hebreians, " Habiru " or " Habiri " Hebrew: עברים No formal government existed and the people were led by ad hoc leaders (the "judges" of the biblical Book of Judges) in times of crisis. Book of Judges ( Hebrew: Sefer Shoftim ספר שופטים is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. Around this time, the name "Israel" is first mentioned in a contemporary archaeological source, the Merneptah Stele. The Merneptah Stele (also known as the Israel Stele or Victory Stele of Merneptah) is the reverse of a large granite stele originally erected by the

The withdrawal of the Egyptian garrisons in about 1150 BCE created a power vacuum in the region in which the Canaanite tribes tried to destroy the developing power-base of the Israelite tribes of the northern and central highland areas. According to the Bible, the Israelite response was led by Barak, and the Hebrew prophetess Deborah, who mustered some of the Israelite tribes in a common defence. Barak (בָּרָק "Lightning" the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, was a military general in the Book of Judges in In Religion, a prophet (or prophetess) is a person who has encountered the Supernatural or the divine and serves as an intermediary See also Biblical judges Book of Judges List of women warriors in folklore literature and popular culture Some authors ^[29] consider that the early text of the "Song of Deborah" demonstrates that the core of the Israelite state was the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Machir, and Benjamin, with additional groups (for example Dan, Asher and Judah) added later. See also Biblical judges Book of Judges List of women warriors in folklore literature and popular culture Ephraim ( Hebrew: אֶפְרַיִם/אֶפְרָיִם Standard Efráyim Tiberian ʾEp̄ráyim/ʾEp̄rāyim Machir / Makir - meaning selling / bartered - was the name of two figures in the Bible. Benjamin ( in the Book of Genesis, is a son of Jacob, the second (and last son of Rachel, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin Asher ( in the Book of Genesis, is the second son of Jacob and Zilpah, and the founder of the Tribe of Asher. The Bible shows that in this case the Canaanites were defeated, and the core of Israel extended north into Galilee and Jezreel. "Galil" redirects here For the weapon see IMI Galil. Galilee (הגליל ha-Galil, lit the province, The Jezreel Valley (עמק יזרעאל Emek Yizrael) is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the south of the Lower Galilee region of Israel Judges 4-5

Origins of the united monarchy

As the wealth returned to the region with the end of the Late Bronze Age collapse, and trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia recovered, so new interior trade routes opened up, notably that running from Kadesh Barnea in the south, through Hebron to Jerusalem and Lachish to Samaria, Shiloh and Shechem and on through Galilee to Megiddo and the Plain of Jezreel. The Bronze Age collapse is the name given by those historians who see the transition from the This article is about Kadesh in the South of Israel see also Kadesh or Kedesh. Hebron ( al-Ḫalīl or al-Khalīl, Standard Hebrew: Ḥevron Tiberian Hebrew: Ḥeḇrôn is the largest city in the West Bank, located in the south Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the Lachish (לכיש was a town located in the Shephelah, or maritime plain of Philistia ( Joshua 103 5 1211 Samaria, or the Shomron ( שֹׁמְרוֹן, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn Shiloh or Shilo may refer to People Shiloh (given name Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, daughter of Angelina Jolie Shechem ( Sichem, Shkhem or Shachmu, Hebrew: שְׁכֶם‎ / שְׁכָם, Standard "Galil" redirects here For the weapon see IMI Galil. Galilee (הגליל ha-Galil, lit the province, The Jezreel Valley (עמק יזרעאל Emek Yizrael) is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the south of the Lower Galilee region of Israel This new route threatened the trade monopoly of the Philistines, who sought to dominate the inland routes, either directly, through military intervention against the growing strength of the tribes of Israel, or indirectly, through promoting and employing mercenaries to positions of power, as Achish of Gath later employed David. Achish is a name used in the Hebrew Bible for two Philistine rulers of Gath. Gat or Gath (גת Winepress) was a common place name in ancient Israel and the surrounding regions David, Arabic: داوود or داود dawud, "beloved" was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible As outlined in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7, Israel, to effectively resist the Philistine menace was allowed to call for a King. Contrary to the instructions concerning whose duty it was to judge, Israel asked for a King to judge them (I Samuel 8:6, 20). According to the Books of Samuel, one of the last of the judges, the nation appealed for a king because Samuel's sons, who had been appointed judges over Israel, misused the office. The Books of Samuel ( Hebrew: Sefer Sh'muel ספר שמואל are part of the Tanakh (part of Judaism 's Hebrew Bible) and also of Although he tried to dissuade them, they were resolute and Samuel anointed Saul ben Kish from the tribe of Benjamin as king. Saul (שאול המלך (or Sha'ul) ( Arabic: طالوت,Tālūt ( (reigned 1047 - 1007 BCE is identified in the Books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles Benjamin ( in the Book of Genesis, is a son of Jacob, the second (and last son of Rachel, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin Samuel's pronouncement of the kind of King they would receive seems to be in direct contrast to the one described in Deuteronomy 7. Unfortunately no independent evidence for the existence of Saul or these events has ever been found, although the Early Iron Age I period was certainly a phase of rapid Philistine expansionism, as the Biblical account would seem to propose. The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan,

United monarchy

Main article: United Monarchy

Increasing pressure from the Philistines and other neighboring tribes, according to the Bible, forced the Israelites to unite under the king Saul in c. The United Monarchy ( United Kingdom of Israel and Judah) refers to a period in the traditional account of the History of ancient Israel and Judah lasting The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, See also History of ancient Israel and Judah According to the Bible, the Israelites were the dominant group living in the Land of Israel. Saul (שאול המלך (or Sha'ul) ( Arabic: طالوت,Tālūt ( (reigned 1047 - 1007 BCE is identified in the Books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles 1050 BCE. The Bible describes how Saul was defeated by the Philistines, and, in his place, David, originally a shepherd from Hebron, who, while serving Saul, managed to secure an independent power base (through victory in battle) in Jerusalem. David seized Jerusalem from the earlier Jebusite rulers, who were possibly a tribe of Canaanites, and took the throne in 1000 BCE. Although there is debate about the chronology of this period, as Jerusalem seems to have been an unwalled village at best, Solomon, son of David, supposedly took the throne in 965 BCE. According to the Bible, this united kingdom lasted until c. 920 BCE when it split into the Kingdom of Israel in the north, and the Kingdom of Judah in the South as a result of irreconcilable differences between the northern and southern regions of the earlier united monarchy. Events and trends 928 BC — On the death of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam is unable to hold the tribes of Israel together and As a result, two states developed separately, with Israel, the northern state, being culturally dominant. Jonathan N. Tubb ^[30] argues that the two states that developed were identical culturally to the secondary Canaanite states of the Middle Eastern Iron Age II period. This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man.

Divided monarchy

Map of the southern Levant, c. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the 830s BCE. Events and trends 836 BC — Shalmaneser III of Assyria leads an expedition against the Tabareni.      Kingdom of Judah      Kingdom of Israel      Philistine city-states      Phoenician states      Kingdom of Ammon      Kingdom of Edom      Kingdom of Aram-Damascus      Aramean tribes      Arubu tribes      Nabatu tribes      Assyrian Empire      Kingdom of Moab

Kingdom of Israel

Main article: Kingdom of Israel

Around 920 BCE, according to the Biblical account Jeroboam led the revolt of the northern tribes, and established the Kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 11-14). The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' Events and trends 928 BC — On the death of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam is unable to hold the tribes of Israel together and Jeroboam (yarobh`am Hieroboam in the Septuagint; commonly held to have been derived from riyb and `am and signifying "the people contend" or "he pleads the B. S. J. Isserlin ^[31] in his examination of the Israelites, shows from an analysis of geographical setting of the origins of the Israelites and their neighbors; the political history of the monarchy; socio-economic structure; town-planning and architecture; trade, craft and industry; warfare; literacy, and art and religion, that the Kingdom of Israel was typical of the secondary Canaanite states established at about this time.

Economically the state of Israel seems to have been more developed than its southern neighbour. Rainfall in this area is higher and the agricultural systems more productive. According to the Biblical account, which cannot be checked by outside sources, there were 19 separate rulers of Israel. Politically the state of Israel seems much less politically stable than Judah, maintaining a form of charismatic leadership by merit and competition between ruling families seem to have depended much more on links with outside powers, Tyre, Aram and Assyria, to maintain their authority. Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture This need to placate powerful neighbours was demonstrated from early in the reign of Jeroboam, when, despite reputedly establishing fortifications at Tirzah, Shechem and Penuel, Israel was invaded by Egyptian Pharaoh Sheshonk I (the Biblical Shishak), of the Libyan 22nd Dynasty. Tirzah (תרצה is a Hebrew word meaning "she is my delight Shechem ( Sichem, Shkhem or Shachmu, Hebrew: שְׁכֶם‎ / שְׁכָם, Standard Penuel, also known as the "face of God" is a place not far from Succoth, on the east of the Jordan and north of the river Jabbok. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods Hedjkheperre Setepenre Shoshenq I ( Egyptian ššnq) also known as Shishak, Sheshonk or Sheshonq I (for discussion of the spelling Shishak ( Hebrew: שישק Tiberian:) or Shishaq is the biblical Hebrew form of the first ancient Egyptian name of a Pharaoh mentioned Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab The Twenty-First Twenty-Second, Twenty-Third Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Third Intermediate The kingdom of Israel appears to have been most powerful in the first half of the ninth century BC, during which time, Omri (a. Omri ( short for) was king of Israel and father of Ahab. William F 885-874 BC) founded a new dynasty with its capital city at Samaria, with support from the Phoenician city of Tyre. Samaria, or the Shomron ( שֹׁמְרוֹן, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew Omri's son and successor, supposedly linked through dynastic marriage with Tyre, contributed 2,000 chariots, and 10,000 soldiers to a coalition of states which fought and defeated Shalmaneser III at Qarqar in 853 BC. Qarqar is the name of an ancient town in northwestern Syria known from Neo-Assyrian sources Twelve years later, Jehu, with assistance from the kingdom of Aram, centred in Damascus, organised a coup in which Ahab and his family were put to death. ' Yehu redirects here for the instrument see Yehu (instrument. Ahab (or Ach'av or) was king of Israel and the son and successor of Omri ( 1 Kings 1629-34 The Bible makes no reference to the fact, but Assyrian sources refer to Jehu as being a monarch of the house of Omri, which may indicate that this coup was the result of struggles within the same ruling family. Jehu is shown kneeling to the Assyrian monarch in the black obelisk of Shalmaneser III, the only monarch of either of the two states for which any portrait survives. Shalmaneser III ( Šulmānu-ašarēdu, "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent" was king of Assyria (859 BC-824 BC and son of the previous ruler

As a result of these changes, Israel, like its southern neighbour fell within the influence of Aramaean Damascus. The Aramaeans (also Arameans) ( Aramaic / Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, Ārāmāye' were a Semitic (West Semitic language group Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. King Hazael led the Arameans in battle against the forces of King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah. Hazael ( Hebrew Hazael meaning " God has seen" was a court official and later an Aramean king who appeared in the Bible The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' Ahaziah ("held by Jehovah" was the name of two kings Ahaziah of Israel Ahaziah of Judah Judea is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel. After defeating them at Ramoth-Gilead, Hazael repelled two attacks by the Assyrians, seized Israelite territory east of the Jordan, the Philistine city of Gath, and sought to take Jerusalem as well (2 Kings 12:17). Ramoth-Gilead, "Heights of Gilead" is a city of refuge east of the Jordan river; called "Ramoth in Gilead" ( Deuteronomy 443 Joshua Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture This article is about the Jordan River and its valley in western Asia The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, Gat or Gath (גת Winepress) was a common place name in ancient Israel and the surrounding regions Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the The Books of Kings ( Sefer Melachim, ספר מלכים are a part of Judaism 's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. A monumental Aramaic inscription discovered at Tel Dan is seen by most scholars as having been erected by Hazael, after he defeated the Kings of Israel and Judah. Tel Dan ("Mound of Dan" תל דן in Hebrew) also known as Tel el-Qadi ( Mound of the Judge in Arabic, literal translation of the Hebrew For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Recent excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath have revealed dramatic evidence of the siege and subsequent conquest of Gath by Hazael. Tell es-Safi or Tel Zafit (تل الصافي ar-Latn Tall aṣ-Ṣāfī; תל צפית he-Latn Tel Tzafit) is an ancient mound usually identified Gat or Gath (גת Winepress) was a common place name in ancient Israel and the surrounding regions To end this domination from its two northern neighbours that Judah appealed to Tiglath Pileser III for Assyrian intervention, which ultimately, in 720 BC led to the fall of Israel to the Assyrians, under Sargon, and the incorporation of Israel into the Assyrian empire. Tiglath-Pileser III (from the Hebraic form of Akkadian: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Esharra" was a prominent king Sargon may refer to Persons Sargon of Akkad (Šarrukînu also known as Sargon the Great, Sargon I) Mesopotamian king Israel fell to the Assyrians in 721 BCE and was taken into captivity. Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture Events and trends 728 BC — Piye invades Egypt, conquering Memphis, and receives the submission of the rulers of the Nile 2 Kings 17:3-6. Despite the attempt by Assyrians to decapitate the Israelite kingdom by settling people on its eastern frontier with the Medes, archaeological evidence shows that many people fled south at this time to Judah, whose capital city Jerusalem seems to have grown by over 500% at this time. This seems to have been a time during which many northern traditions were incorporated within the region of Judah.

This period of Israel's eclipse seems to have coincided with the rise of a line of independent prophets, Amos, Joel, Hoshea and Elijah, Elisha and Isaiah, highly critical of the monarchs of Israel. For other uses see Amos; for the programming language see AMOS (programming language. See also Hosea, who has the same name in Biblical Hebrew. Hoshea ("salvation" was the last king of Israel and son of Elah Elijah or Elias ( was a Prophet in Israel in the 9th century BC Elisha ( Greek el Ελισσαίος Elisaios) is a Biblical prophet Isaiah (; Greek:, Ēsaiās; Arabic: اشعیاء, Ash-ee-yaa; "Salvation of/is YHWH " is The spiritual tradition that was later to coalsece in the Biblical story, would, according to many Biblical scholars, here have its origins.

Kingdom of Judah

Main article: Kingdom of Judah

Jewish noblemen in ancient Judah. Judea is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel.

Jewish noblewomen in ancient Judah.

The major problems in the history of the divided monarchy is that the Septuagint, the Hebrew Masoretic text, and Josephus all have different figures^[32]. The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the The Masoretic Text ( MT) is the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible ( Tanakh) Josephus (AD 37 – c 100 also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph son of Matthias and after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus There is a further problem in that it is unknown if the two kingdoms used the same calendar. Furthermore it is unclear whether the number of years reigned refer only to full years, part years, or from new year to new year. Although the Mesopotamian New Year was from Spring Equinox to Spring Equinox, it is not known what was the period for counting by the time at the end of the Kingdom that these records were recorded. This is compounded by the possibility of a shift during the period to a new calendrical system, and by possible periods of coregency amongst kings. There are also possible copyist errors, which may explain why the Biblical dates seem internally inconsistent^[33]. In 922 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel was divided. Events and trends 928 BC — On the death of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam is unable to hold the tribes of Israel together and The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' Judah, the southern Kingdom, had Jerusalem as its capital and was led by Rehoboam, leading to war with Israel, which according to the Bible, continued during the reigns of Abijiah and Asa of Judah, during whose reign Israel penetrated to Ramah, 5 km north of Jerusalem. Judea is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel. Rehoboam ( Hebrew:רחבעם Rehav'am was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, succeeding his father Solomon. Asa is supposed to have sent a delegation to Ben Hadad I, son of Tab-rimmon of Damascus, king of Aram, to attack Israel from the rear.

The Dynasty of Omri brought an end to the war with Judah, and cemented a dynastic alliance through Queen Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel of Tyre. Athaliah or Athalie ( Hebrew: ʻĂṯalyâ (עֲתַלְיָה "God is exalted" was the queen of Judah during the reign of King

During the reign of Ahaz, the population of Jerusalem seems to have grown enormously, possibly as a result of the arrival of many Israelite refugees fleeing from the north, with the result that the city grew from a small local market town to a sizable city. Ahaz (אחז lit "has held" an abbreviation of Jehoahaz, "God has held" was king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham By the reign of Hezekiah, his son, the population seems to have swelled to over 500%^[34]. Hezekiah (or Ezekias) ( Hebrew: Ḥizqiyyāhu Khizkiyahu or Yəḥizqiyyāhu Y'khizkiyahu " the {{LORD}} has strengthened" compare Hezekiah undertook a number of major works, including the expansion of the city wall to include the new population at Jerusalem and Lachish, the digging of the well of Siloam, to give the city an independent source of water within the city limits, and a major expansion of the temple. Lachish (לכיש was a town located in the Shephelah, or maritime plain of Philistia ( Joshua 103 5 1211 For the Arab village and neighborhood see Silwan For the ancient city and contemporary Jewish neighborhood see City of David Phillip Davies^[35] and others suggest that at this time Jerusalem established its own scribal school for the first time, gathering the previously oral tradition into what became known as the J Source. The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the four major sources of the Torah postulated by the The Bible also claims that Hezekiah undertook major religious reforms, attempting unsuccessfully to centralise Judean religious practices in the temple and eliminate the worship of the Nehushtan serpent, which may have been in place since the days of Moses. The Nehushtan (or Nehustan, Hebrew: נחושתן or נחש הנחושת) was a sacred object in the form of a Bronze snake Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ Hezekiah also seems to have been fascinated by the stories of Solomon, making a collection of the wisdom attributed to this monarch.

Hezekiah's ambitions seem to have been overstretched, when, in part prompted by promises of aid from the monarchs of the Egyptian 26th Dynasty, he took leadership of a coalition with Philistines, asserted independence from Assyria, attempting to unify Judah and Israel. This article contains a list of the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, from the Early Dynastic Period before 3000 BC through to the end of the Ptolemaic The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture This lead to disaster. Lachish was razed to the ground and its population taken in slavery to Assyria. Sennacherib boasted he had shut Hezekiah up in Jerusalem like a bird in a cage. Sennacherib ( Akkadian Sîn-ahhe-eriba "(moon god Sîn has replaced (lost brothers for me" was the son of Sargon II, whom he The Bible speaks of the angel of the lord having smitten the besieging Assyrians, and the account certainly does read as if there was some kind of plague (Hezekiah himself is spoken of as having been afflicted but recovered). Nevertheless, the Assyrians extracted an enormous tribute which seems to have pauperised the Judean population for a generation, and led to the complete reversal of all of Hezekiah's reforms.

Hezekiah's son Manasseh, through the careful cultivation of the Assyrian monarch Esarhaddon, and his son, Ashurbanipal, seem to have led to a recovery of Judah's fortunes to a degree, despite the universally bad publicity the monarch has in the Bible. Esarhaddon (Greek and Biblical form Akkadian Aššur-ahhe-iddina " Ashur has given a brother to me" was a king of Assyria who reigned Ashurbanipal ( Akkadian: Aššur-bāni-apli, " Ashur has made a son" or "Ashur created an heir" (b For instance it is known that Manasseh spent time with Esarhaddon in Babylon, and accompanied the latter in his invasion of Egypt.

Manasseh's son, Ammon, had an insignificant reign before passing the throne to his infant son Josiah. Ammon or Ammonites ( also referred to in the Bible as the "children of Ammon" were a people (also known from Assyrian and other records living east Josiah or Yoshiyahu ( was king of Judah, and son of Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. In 633 BC, the finding of a book of Law (a "Sefer Torah") by the priest Hilkiah, which was claimed to be composed by Moses, led to major reforms of the state cult. Hilkiah was a Hebrew Priest at the time of King Josiah. His name is mentioned in II Kings. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ Since Martin Noth showed on internal grounds that this Deuteronomist was largely composed by someone during the reign of Josiah, making the king a "hero" (i. Martin Noth ( August 3, 1902 – May 30, 1968) was a German scholar of the Hebrew Bible who specialized in the pre-Exilic The Deuteronomist (D is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the Documentary Hypothesis e. Messiah), and was closely connected to the Shiloah priesthood. This article is about the concept of a Messiah in religion notably in the Christian Islamic and Jewish traditions This period saw the eclipse and collapse of the Assyrian Empire, which led Josiah to attempt to once again follow in the path of Hezekiah, centralising all worship in Jerusalem, and instituting the Passover. Passover ( Hebrew, Yiddish: פֶּסַח Pesach, Tiberian: pɛsaħ Israeli: Pesah, Pesakh, Yiddish As before he was tempted into a power-politics too big for Judah, and he died in battle resisting the advance of Pharaoh Necho's forces attempting to aid the Assyrians at Harran.

Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE and was taken into captivity. Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Events and trends 589 BC — Apries succeeds Psammetichus II as king of Egypt. 2 Kings 25:1-9.

Captivity

Assyrian Captivity of the Israelites

Deportation of Israelites by the Assyrian Empire

Main article: Assyrian Captivity

In 722 BCE, nearly twenty years after the initial invasions and deportations, the Assyrian King Sargon finally finished what Tiglath-Pileser III began in 740 BCE. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was extorted invaded conquered and taken captive primarily by the Neo-Assyrian monarchs Tiglath-Pileser III ( Pul) and Events and trends 728 BC — Piye invades Egypt, conquering Memphis, and receives the submission of the rulers of the Nile Sargon II ( Akkadian Šarru-kinu "legitimate king" reigned 722 – 705 BC was an Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III (from the Hebraic form of Akkadian: Tukultī-apil-Ešarra, "my trust is in the son of Esharra" was a prominent king Events and trends 747 BC — February 26 - Nabonassar becomes king of Babylonia. He completed the conquest of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by taking captive the capital Samaria after a three year siege (which happed to kill Shalmaneser V) and deporting the remaining Israelites, including the ruling class, to the cities of the Medes and other disputed areas, generally believed to be in or near the vicinity of conquered lands occupied by the Assyrian Empire. The Kingdom of Israel ( ( KJV Israel in Samaria) was one of the successor states to the older United Monarchy (also often called the 'Kingdom of Israel' Samaria, or the Shomron ( שֹׁמְרוֹן, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn Shalmaneser V ( Akkadian: akk Šulmanu-ašarid) was King of Assyria from 727 to 722 BC The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture Conversely, peoples from those lands were deported to Samaria. Thus, the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom were dispersed amongst the nations by being planted in the epicenter of the human migration tides of Eurasia. The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth 's surface that is directly above the Hypocenter or focus the point where an Earthquake For the superstate in George Orwell 's novel see Nations of Nineteen Eighty-Four. It is believed they were ultimately assimilated into new cultures, and eventually became unaware of their original identity. According to First Century Jewish Rabbis ^[36] and the historian Flavius Josephus ^[37], they had yet returned to the land of Israel even up to the time of the Roman destruction of the Second Temple. The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Josephus (AD 37 – c 100 also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph son of Matthias and after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Second Temple (בית המקדש romanized 'Beit HaMikdash' meaning 'Holy House' was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE With the Kingdom of Judah being dispersed once more from their homeland in 70 CE, there is little evidence the Northern Kingdom Israelites ever returned in any substantial representation to rejoin the Jews of the Southern Kingdom before or after that time. Judea is a term used for the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel. Year 70 was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************

Babylonian Captivity of the Judaeans

Main article: Babylonian Captivity

• 586 BCE. The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Events and trends 589 BC — Apries succeeds Psammetichus II as king of Egypt. Conquest of Judah (Southern Kingdom) by Babylon. Part of Judah's population, primarily the nobility, was exiled to Babylon. The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to
• 722 & 586 BCE. Events and trends 728 BC — Piye invades Egypt, conquering Memphis, and receives the submission of the rulers of the Nile Events and trends 589 BC — Apries succeeds Psammetichus II as king of Egypt. The First Dispersion, or Diaspora. The Jewish diaspora ( Hebrew: Tefutzah, "scattered" or Galut גלות "exile" Yiddish: tfutses) the presence Jews were either taken as slaves in what is commonly referred to as the Babylonian captivity of Judah, or they fled to Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, or Persia. The Babylonian captivity, Babylonian exile, is the name typically given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to ^[38]
• 587 BCE Lachish letters, ostraca, classical Hebrew on 21 potsherds
• 559 BCE. Lachish (לכיש was a town located in the Shephelah, or maritime plain of Philistia ( Joshua 103 5 1211 An ostracon ( Greek: ostrakon, plural ostraka) is a piece of Pottery (or stone usually broken off from a Vase or other In Archaeology, a sherd is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of Pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments Events and trends Carthage conquers Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Cyrus the Great became King of Persia. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of ^[39]
• 539 BCE. Events and trends 539 BC — Babylon is conquered by Cyrus, defeating Nabonidus; noted in such documents as that of Africanus The Babylonian Empire fell to Persia under Cyrus. Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital
• 550-333 BCE. Events and trends Carthage conquers Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Events and trends Alexander the Great leads the army of Macedon in a successful campaign to conquer the Persian Empire. The Persian Empire ruled over much of Western Asia, including Israel.

Cyrus Cylinder (British Museum)

Like most imperial powers during the Iron Age, King Cyrus allowed citizens of the empire to practice their native religion, as long as they incorporated the personage of the Persian Great King into their worship (either as a deity or semi-deity, or at the very least the subject of votive offerings and recognition). The Cyrus cylinder, also known as the Cyrus the Great cylinder, is a document issued by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the form of a clay The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London. Further, Cyrus took the bold step of ending "state slavery". These reforms are reflected in the famous Cyrus Cylinder and Biblical books of Chronicles and Ezra, which state that Cyrus released the Israelites from slavery and granted them permission to return to the Land of Israel. The Cyrus cylinder, also known as the Cyrus the Great cylinder, is a document issued by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great in the form of a clay The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written in Biblical Hebrew (and the related Biblical Aramaic The Books of Chronicles ( Hebrew Divrei Hayyamim, דברי הימים Greek Paraleipomêna) are part of the Hebrew Bible (Jewish The Book of Ezra is a book of the Bible in the Old Testament and Hebrew Tanakh. For other uses see Israel (disambiguation The Land of Israel ( Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל Eretz Yisrael) is

Second Temple

Main article: Second Temple

Rebuilding the Temple

• 539 BCE. The Second Temple (בית המקדש romanized 'Beit HaMikdash' meaning 'Holy House' was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE Events and trends 539 BC — Babylon is conquered by Cyrus, defeating Nabonidus; noted in such documents as that of Africanus Cyrus allowed Sheshbazzar, a prince from the tribe of Judah, and Zerubbabel, to bring the Jews from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Zerubbabel (זְרֻבָּבֶל Zərubbāvel; Greek: ζοροβαβελ Zŏrobabel) was the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate King of Jews were allowed to return with the Temple vessels that the Babylonians had taken. Construction of the Second Temple began. The Second Temple (בית המקדש romanized 'Beit HaMikdash' meaning 'Holy House' was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem which stood between 516 BCE and 70 CE ^[40][41] See also Ezra 1 in Biblical Hebrew, Ezra 6:3 in Biblical Aramaic, Isa 44:24-45:4. Biblical Hebrew, also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language in which the Hebrew Bible and various Israelite inscriptions Biblical Aramaic is the form of the Aramaic language that is used in the books of Daniel, Ezra and a few other places in the Hebrew Bible.
• 520-516 BCE. Events 529 BC — Cambyses II started to rule He is son of Cyrus II. Events and trends 519 BC — Zhou Jing Wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. Under the spiritual leadership of the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the Second Temple was completed. Haggai ( Hebrew: חַגַּי, Ḥaggay or "Hag-i" Greek: Αγγαίος) was one of the twelve Minor prophets Zechariah was a person in the Hebrew Bible ( Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament) At this time the Holy Land is a subdistrict of a Persian satrapy (province) known as Yehud. Yehud (יהוד is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel.
• c. 450 - 419 BCE Elephantine papyri of Jewish military colony in Egypt demonstrate in letters to the temple at Jerusalem that at this time some Jews were polytheistic, as letters specify that Yahweh was considered to have Anat as his consort. The Elephantine Papyri are a collection of ancient Jewish Manuscripts dating from the fifth century BCE. Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links Anat, also ‘Anat is a major northwest Semitic goddess ‘Anat in Ugarit In the Ugaritic Ba‘al / Hadad cycle ‘Anat ^[42]
• 444 BCE. Events and trends 449 BC — Construction begins on the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens. The reformation of Israel was led by the Jewish scribes Nehemiah (Neh 1-6) and Ezra (Neh 8). Nehemiah or Nechemya ( Ezra ( was a Jewish Priestly Scribe who led about 5000 Israelite exiles living in Babylon to their home city of Jerusalem Ezra instituted synagogue and prayer services, and canonized the Torah by reading it publicly to the Great Assembly that he set up in Jerusalem. A synagogue (from Greek: grc συναγωγή transliterated synagogē, "assembly" he בית כנסת beit knesset, "house of term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to Ezra and Nehemiah flourished around this era. ^[43] (This was contemporary with the Classical period of Ancient Greece)
• 428 BCE Samaritans build their temple on Mount Gerizim

The legacy of Alexander the Great

Map of Alexander's empire. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Mount Gerizim ( Samaritan Hebrew Ar-garízim, Arabic جبل جرزيم Jabal Jarizīm, Tiberian Hebrew הַר גְּרִזִּים

Main articles: Alexander the Great, Seleucid Empire, and Ptolemaic Egypt

• 331 BCE. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra Events By place Macedonia Alexander departs from Egypt and leads his forces towards Phoenicia. The Persian Empire was defeated by Alexander the Great. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The Empire of Alexander the Great included Israel. However, it is said that he did not attack Jerusalem directly, after a delegation of Jews met him and assured him of their loyalty by showing him certain prophecies contained in their writings.
• 323 BCE. Events By place Macedonian Empire 10 June — In Babylon, Alexander the Great dies ten days after being taken ill Alexander the Great died. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' In the power struggle after Alexander's death, the part of his empire that included Israel changed hands at least five times in just over twenty years. Babylonia and Syria were ruled by the Seleucids, and Egypt by the Ptolemies. Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Ptolemaic dynasty (sometimes also known as the Lagids, from the name of Ptolemy I's father Lagus) was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family
• 281-246 BCE Ptolemy II Philadelphus: also ruled Israel, Septuagint translation begun in Alexandria, beginning of the Pharisees party, and other Jewish Second Temple sects such as the Sadducees and Essenes. Ptolemy II Philadelphus ( Greek:, Ptolemaĩos Philádelphos, 309 BC&ndash246 BC was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BC to 246 BC The Septuagint (ˈsɛptuədʒɪnt or simply " LXX " is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated" The Sadducees were members of a Jewish sect founded in the second century BC, possibly as a political party The Essenes were strictly speaking a Jewish religious group that flourished from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD ^[44]
• 174-163 BCE Antiochus IV Epiphanes: attempted complete Hellenization of the Jews, see also 1 Maccabees. Another Antiochus IV Epiphanes was king in Commagene under Caligula and Claudius. Hellenization (or Hellenisation) is a term used to describe the spread of Greek culture. 1 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book written by a Jewish author after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom probably about 100 BC.

Hasmonean Kingdom

Main article: Hasmonean

• 168-142 BCE. The Hasmoneans (/hæzməˡniən/ חשמונאים Hashmonaiym, Audio were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom ( 140 &ndash 37 BCE The Maccabee Rebellion, Hanukkah and the Hasmonean Kingdom (164-63) ^[45]
• 160-60 BCE Somewhere around this time, the community at Qumran began, from whom came the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Maccabees ( Hebrew: מכבים or מקבים, Makabim or Maqabim; Greek Μακκαβαῖοι, /makav'εï/ were Hanukkah (חנוכה alt Chanukah) also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the The Hasmoneans (/hæzməˡniən/ חשמונאים Hashmonaiym, Audio were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom ( 140 &ndash 37 BCE Year 60 BC was a year of the pre-Julian calendar. Events By place Rome Gaius Julius Caesar suppressed an uprising and For the country that features in Yes Minister, see here. Qumran (خربة قمران חירבת קומראן Khirbet Qumran The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of roughly 1000 documents including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1979 in eleven Caves
• 134-104 BCE John Hyrcanus, Ethnarch & High Priest of Jerusalem, "Age of Expansion", annexed Trans-Jordan, Samaria, Galilee, Idumea. John Hyrcanus ( Yohanan Girhan) (reigned 134 BCE - 104 BCE died 104 BCE was a Hasmonean ( Maccabeean Leader of the 2nd century BC Forced Idumeans to convert to Judaism, hired non-Jewish mercenaries, etc.

Roman occupation

Iudaea and surrounding area in the 1st century

Main article: Iudaea Province

• 63 BCE Pompey conquered Jerusalem and the region and made it a client kingdom of Rome
• 57-55 BCE Aulus Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, split Hasmonean Kingdom into Galilee, Samaria & Judea with 5 districts of Sanhedrin/Synedrion (councils of law)^[46]
• 40-39 BCE Herod the Great appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate^[47]
• Circa 4 BCE Jesus and John the Baptist are born
• 4 BCE-39 CE Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee & Perea
• 6 CE Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, deposed by Augustus; Samaria, Judea and Idumea annexed as Iudaea Province under direct Roman administration^[48], capital at Caesarea, Quirinius became Legate (Governor) of Syria, conducted first Roman tax census of Iudaea, opposed by Zealots^[49]
• 7-26 CE Brief period of peace, relatively free of revolt and bloodshed in Iudaea & Galilee^[50]
• 9 CE Pharisee leader Hillel the Elder dies, temporary rise of Shammai
• 18-36 CE Caiaphas, appointed High Priest of Herod's Temple by Prefect Valerius Gratus, deposed by Syrian Legate Vitellius
• 26-36 CE Pontius Pilate, governor of the Roman province of Iudaea, John the Baptist beheaded and Jesus crucified during his rule, also deposed by Vitellius^[51]
• 37-41 CE Crisis under Caligula^[52]
• 41-44 CE Herod Agrippa I appointed "King of the Jews" by Claudius
• 48-100 CE Herod Agrippa II appointed "King of the Jews" by Claudius, seventh and last of the Herodians

Jewish-Roman wars

Main article: Jewish-Roman Wars

In 66, the First Jewish-Roman War broke out, lasting until 73. Kingdom of Judea redirects here For the 10th-6th century BCE kingdom see Kingdom of Judah Iudaea ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'pɑmpi/ Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir ( Classical Latin abbreviation Client state is one of several terms used to describe the subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs Aulus Gabinius, Roman statesman and general and supporter of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, was a prominent figure in the later days of the Roman Syria was a Roman province, conquered in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursing victory in the Third Mithridatic The Hasmoneans (/hæzməˡniən/ חשמונאים Hashmonaiym, Audio were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom ( 140 &ndash 37 BCE "Galil" redirects here For the weapon see IMI Galil. Galilee (הגליל ha-Galil, lit the province, Samaria, or the Shomron ( שֹׁמְרוֹן, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn Judea or Judæa ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh, "praised The Sanhedrin (סנהדרין συνέδριον ''synedrion'', "sitting together" hence " assembly " or "council" was an assembly Synedrion or ' Synhedrion ( Greek: συνέδριον "sitting together" hence " assembly " or " Council " סנהדרין Herod (הוֹרְדוֹס Horodos, Greek: Herōdes) also known as Herod I or Herod the Great (73 BC – 4 BC in Jericho The Roman Senate was a political institution in Ancient Rome. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Saint John the Baptist ( heb. Jochanan ben Sacharja, arab. يحيى Yaḥyā or يوحنا Yūḥanna, aram. Herod Antipas (short for Antipatros (before 20 BC &ndash after AD 39) was a first century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title Herod Archelaus (23 BC – c 18 AD was the Ethnarch of Samaria, Judea, and Edom from 4 BC to 6 AD Ethnarch (Εθνάρχης refers generally to political leadership over a common ethnic group or heterogeneous kingdom Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was Samaria, or the Shomron ( שֹׁמְרוֹן, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn Judea or Judæa ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh, "praised Kingdom of Judea redirects here For the 10th-6th century BCE kingdom see Kingdom of Judah Iudaea ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Caesarea Maritima (Greek παράλιος Καισάρεια called Caesarea Palaestina from 133 CE onwards was a city and Harbor built by Herod the Great Publius Sulpicius Quirinius ( Greek Κυρήνιος - Kyrenios or Cyrenius, c A legatus (often anglicized as legate) was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer Syria was a Roman province, conquered in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursing victory in the Third Mithridatic The Census of Quirinius refers to a historical enrollment of the Roman Provinces of Syria and Iudaea for the purpose of taxation taken during the reign of "Galil" redirects here For the weapon see IMI Galil. Galilee (הגליל ha-Galil, lit the province, The word Pharisees ( lat. pharisæ|us, - i) comes from the Hebrew פרושים perushim from פרוש parush, meaning "separated" Hillel (הלל (born Babylon traditionally c110BCE-10CE in Jerusalem) was a famous Jewish religious leader one of the most important figures in Jewish Shammai (50 BCE&ndash30 CE Hebrew: שמאי was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century and an important figure in Judaism 's core work of Rabbinic literature Yosef Bar Kayafa ( Hebrew יוסף בַּר קַיָּפָא joˑsef bar qayːɔfɔʔ (which translates as Joseph son of Caiaphas) also known simply as This page gives one list (partly traditional of the High Priests of Ancient Israel up to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. Herod's Temple in Jerusalem was a massive expansion of the Temple Mount and construction of a completely new and much larger Jewish Temple by King Aulus Vitellius Germanicus, born Aulus Vitellius and commonly known as Vitellius ( 24 September, 15 &ndash 22 December, 69 Kingdom of Judea redirects here For the 10th-6th century BCE kingdom see Kingdom of Judah Iudaea ( Hebrew: יהודה Standard Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31 AD 12 &ndash January 24 AD 41 more commonly known by his nickname Caligula (kəˈlɪɡjʊlə was a Roman Emperor For other with this name see Agrippa (disambiguation. Agrippa I also called the Great (10 BC - 44 AD) King of the Jews, Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I ( August 1, 10 BC &ndash October 13, AD 54 ( Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to For other with this name see Agrippa (disambiguation. Agrippa II (b Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I ( August 1, 10 BC &ndash October 13, AD 54 ( Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to The Herodians were a Sect or party mentioned in the New Testament as having on two occasions--once in Galilee, and again in Jerusalem --manifested Year 66 was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Year 73 was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. In 67, Vespasian and his forces landed in the north of Israel, where they received the submission of Jews from Ptolemais to Sepphoris. Year 67 was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. The Jewish garrison at Yodfat (Jodeptah) was massacred after a two month siege. By the end of this year, Jewish resistance in the north had been crushed.

In 69, Vespasian seized the throne after a civil war. 69 (sex position & book by Ryu Murakami are -- already linked by "" with other meanings Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian ( November 17 9 &ndash June 23 79) was a Roman Emperor who By 70, the Romans had occupied Jerusalem. Year 70 was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Titus, son of the Roman Emperor, destroyed the Second Temple on the 9th of Av, ie. Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Titus ( December 30 39 &ndash September 13 81) was a Roman Emperor who Tisha B'Av (656 years to the day after the destruction of the First Temple in 587 BCE). Over 100,000 Jews died during the siege, and nearly 100,000 were taken to Rome as slaves. Many Jews fled to Mesopotamia (Iraq), and to other countries around the Mediterranean. In 73 the last Jewish resistance was crushed by Rome at the mountain fortress of Masada; the last 900 defenders committed suicide rather than be captured and sold into slavery. Year 73 was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Masada ( Hebrew מצדה pronounced Metzada, from מצודה metzuda, "fortress" is the name for a site of ancient Palaces and

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai escaped from Jerusalem. Rabbi (pronunciation, although in English usually) in Judaism, means a religious ‘teacher’ or more literally ‘my great one’ when addressing any master Yochanan ben Zakai (יוחנן בן זכאי c 30 BCE - 90 CE) was one of the Tannaim, an important Jewish sage in the era of the Second Temple He obtained permission from the Roman general to establish a center of Jewish learning and the seat of the Sanhedrin in the outlying town of Yavneh (see Council of Jamnia). The Sanhedrin (סנהדרין συνέδριον ''synedrion'', "sitting together" hence " assembly " or "council" was an assembly Even before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai relocated to the city of Yavne / Jamnia and received permission This is generally considered the beginning of Rabbinic Judaism, the period when the Halakha became formalized. Rabbinic Judaism or Rabbinism ( Hebrew: " Yehadut Rabanit " - יהדות רבנית is the mainstream religious system of post- diaspora Halakha ( הלכה; alternative transliterations include Halocho and Halacha) is the collective body of Jewish Religious law Some believe that the Jewish canon was determined during this time period, but this theory has been largely discredited, see also Biblical canon. A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or Set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as Scripture by a particular religious Judaism survived the destruction of Jerusalem through this new center. The Sanhedrin became the supreme religious, political and judicial body for Jews worldwide until 425, when it was forcibly disbanded by the Roman government, by then officially dominated by the Christian Church. The Sanhedrin (סנהדרין συνέδριον ''synedrion'', "sitting together" hence " assembly " or "council" was an assembly For the US area code see Area code 425. Events By Place Western Roman Empire Church (disambiguation Christian Church and the word church are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a Place of worship

In 132 the Bar Kokhba's Revolt began led by Simon bar Kokhba and an independent state in Israel was declared. Background After the failed Great Jewish Revolt in the year 70 the Roman authorities took measures to suppress the rebellious province Simon bar Kokhba ( Hebrew: שמעון בר כוכבא, also transliterated as Bar Kokhva or Bar Kochba) was the Jewish leader who led what By 135 this revolt was crushed by Rome. The Romans, seeking to suppress the names "Judaea" and "Jerusalem", reorganized it as part of the province of Syria-Palestine.

See also

Notable people

• Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Benjamin, Moses, Joshua

The kings of united Israel

• Saul 1020–1005 BCE
• Ish-bosheth 1005–1003 BCE
• David 1005–965 BCE
• Solomon 965–926 BCE

List of kings of Israel

1. Jeroboam c. Abraham ( Ashkenazi   Avrohom or Avruhom; ابراهيم, {{Unicode|Ibrāhīm}}; Ge'ez: According to the Hebrew Bible, Isaac ( Hebrew: Yitzchak יִצְחָק, Standard Yiẓḥaq Jacob ( Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard   Yaʿaqov Tiberian   Yaʿăqōḇ; Joseph or Yosef (יוֹסֵ Standard Yosef Tiberian Yôsēp̄, يوسف Yusuf; "He Benjamin ( in the Book of Genesis, is a son of Jacob, the second (and last son of Rachel, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ Joshua, Jehoshuah, or Yehoshua ( 'יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Tiberian: jə Saul (שאול המלך (or Sha'ul) ( Arabic: طالوت,Tālūt ( (reigned 1047 - 1007 BCE is identified in the Books of Samuel, 1 Chronicles Ish-bosheth ( Standard: Ishbóshet Tiberian: ʼΚbṓšeṯ also called Eshbaal ( Standard Eshbáʻal Tiberian ʼEšbáʻal Ashbaal David, Arabic: داوود or داود dawud, "beloved" was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible Events and trends 967 BC — Tiglath-Pileser II becomes King of Assyria. King Solomon ( Ge'ez: ስለሞን Arabic: ar سليمان, Sulayman, all from the Triliteral root S-L-M, "peace" Events and trends 967 BC — Tiglath-Pileser II becomes King of Assyria. Events and trends 928 BC — On the death of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam is unable to hold the tribes of Israel together and Jeroboam (yarobh`am Hieroboam in the Septuagint; commonly held to have been derived from riyb and `am and signifying "the people contend" or "he pleads the 928-c. 907, 1 Kings 11-14, 2 Chronicles 10-13
2. Nadab c. Nadab was the son and successor of Jeroboam, the king of Israel ( 1 Kings 1420 907-c. 906, 1 Kings 14:20, 15:25-31
3. Baasha ben Ahijah c. For the Ammonite king see Baasha ben Ruhubi. Baasha ( Hebrew Basha; " Baal hears" was 906-c. 883, killed entire Jeroboam family, 1 Kings 15:16-16:7
4. Elah, 1 Kings 16:8-10
5. Zimri, 1 Kings 16:11-14
6. Omri c. Omri ( short for) was king of Israel and father of Ahab. William F 882-c. 871, founded the city of Samaria c. Samaria, or the Shomron ( שֹׁמְרוֹן, Standard Šoməron Tiberian Šōmərôn 879, 1 Kings 16:15-24
7. Ahab c. Ahab (or Ach'av or) was king of Israel and the son and successor of Omri ( 1 Kings 1629-34 871-c. 852, 2 Kings 3
8. Ahaziah, 1 Kings 22:40-52 . This entry is not about King Ahaziah of Judah. Ahaziah (אחזיהו המלך was king of Israel and the son of Ahab and Jezebel . .
9. Jehoram c. Jehoram (or Joram) was the king of Israel ( 2 Kings 816 25 28f and he was the son of Ahab and Jezebel. 851-c. 842, 2 Kings 1:17, 3:1, 5-9, 2 Chronicles 22:5-6
10. Jehu c. ' Yehu redirects here for the instrument see Yehu (instrument. 842-c. 815, with Elisha killed Jehoram, Jezebel, Ahaziah, all Ahab's offspring and followers and destroyed Melqart temple in Samaria, 2 Kings 9-12
11. Jehoahaz c. Elisha ( Greek el Ελισσαίος Elisaios) is a Biblical prophet Melqart, properly Phoenician Milk-Qart "King of the City" less accurately Melkart, Melkarth Jehoahaz of Israel was king of Israel and the son of Jehu ( 2 Kings 1035 814-c. 800, 2 Kings 10:35, 13:1-9
12. Jehoash (Joash) c. Jehoash (יהואש המלך was the king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the son of Jehoahaz, ( 2 Kings 141 compare 121 1310 800-c. 784, sacked Jerusalem, raided Temple c. 785, 2 Kings 13:12-20, 14:8-14, 2 Chronicles 25:14-24
13. Jeroboam II c. Jeroboam II (ירבעם השני was the son and successor of Jehoash, (alternatively spelled Joash and the fourteenth king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, over 784-c. 748, last important ruler of Israel, 2 Kings 14:23
14. Zachariah
15. Shallum
16. Menahem
17. Pekahiah
18. Pekah
19. Hoshea c. Zachary Mikael (spelled Zachariah in the King James Version of the Bible) was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, and son of Jeroboam Shallum of Israel (שלום בן יבש was the king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, and the son of Jabesh. For the Khazar ruler of the same name see Menahem (Khazar. For the medieval poet and philologist see Menahem ben Saruq. Pekahiah ("the Lord opened his eyes" was king of Israel and the son of Menahem. Pekah ("open-eyed" was king of Israel, the son of Remaliah, and a captain in the army of Pekahiah, king of Israel See also Hosea, who has the same name in Biblical Hebrew. Hoshea ("salvation" was the last king of Israel and son of Elah 732-c. 722, conquered by Shalmaneser V, 2 Kings 17

Dates listed are from A History of the Jewish People, H. Shalmaneser V ( Akkadian: akk Šulmanu-ašarid) was King of Assyria from 727 to 722 BC H. Ben-Sasson ed. , Harvard University Press, 1969, English translation 1976, ISBN 0674397304

Archaeologist Finkelstein in The Bible Unearthed pg. 20 has differing years:

• David 1005-970 BCE
• Solomon 970-931 BCE
• Jeroboam 1st 931-909 BCE
• Omri 884-873 BCE
• Ahab 873-852BCE
• Joash above as Jeohash 800-784 BCE
• Jeroboam 2nd 788-747 BCE
• See above listing for further dating and lineage.

List of kings of Judah

1. Rehoboam c. Rehoboam ( Hebrew:רחבעם Rehav'am was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, succeeding his father Solomon. 928-c. 917, Pharaoh Shishak looted temple, 1 Kings 11-14, 2 Chronicles 10-12
2. Abijam c. Shishak ( Hebrew: שישק Tiberian:) or Shishaq is the biblical Hebrew form of the first ancient Egyptian name of a Pharaoh mentioned Abijah ("father of the sea" or "my father is the sea" or "my father is the god Yah " Hebrew:אביים Aviyam was the fourth king 917-c. 908, 1 Kings 15:1-8
3. Asa c. Asa ( was the fifth king of the House of David and the third of the Kingdom of Judah. 908-c. 867, 1 Kings 15:9-24, 1 Chronicles 3:10, 2 Chronicles 13-16
4. Jehoshaphat
5. Jehoram
6. Ahaziah
7. Athaliah
8. Jehoash
9. Amaziah c. See Josaphat for other meanings of the name Jehoshaphat or Jehosaphat or Josaphat or Yehoshafat ( was the successor of Jehoram of Judah (יהורם המלך was the king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, and the son of Jehoshaphat ( 2 Kings 816 This entry is not about King Ahaziah of Israel. Ahaziah of Judah (אחזיהו המלך was king of Judah, and the son of Jehoram and Athaliah or Athalie ( Hebrew: ʻĂṯalyâ (עֲתַלְיָה "God is exalted" was the queen of Judah during the reign of King Jehoash (יהואש המלך ("Jehovah-given" sometimes written Joash was the king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, and sole surviving son of Ahaziah Amaziah of Judah (אמציה was the king of Judah, and son and successor of Joash ( 2 Kings 141-4 798-c. 769, defeated by Israel, 2 Kings 14:7-22
10. Uzziah c. Uzziah of Judah (עֻזִּיָּהוּ also known as Azariah, was the king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, and one of Amaziah 's sons whom the people 784-c. 733, prince-regent, then king, 2 Kings 15:1-7, 2 Chronicles 26:1-3
11. Jotham
12. Ahaz
13. Hezekiah c. Jotham ( Yotam in Hebrew "God is perfect or complete" was the king of Judah, and son of Uzziah with Jerusha, daughter Ahaz (אחז lit "has held" an abbreviation of Jehoahaz, "God has held" was king of Judah, and the son and successor of Jotham Hezekiah (or Ezekias) ( Hebrew: Ḥizqiyyāhu Khizkiyahu or Yəḥizqiyyāhu Y'khizkiyahu " the {{LORD}} has strengthened" compare 727-c. 698, Siloam Inscription in paleo-Hebrew alphabet in Jerusalem water tunnel c. The Siloam (Shiloach inscription or Silwan inscription ( in reference to Jerusalem neighborhood called Silwan) is a passage of inscribed The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, also know as Ktav Ivri, is an offshoot of the ancient Semitic alphabet (see the akin Phoenician alphabet) Hezekiah's Tunnel, or the Siloam Tunnel is a tunnel that was dug underneath the Ophel in Jerusalem about 701 BC during the reign of Hezekiah 705, 2 Kings 16:20, 18-20, 1 Chronicles 3:13, 4:39 . . .
14. Manasseh c. Manasseh of Judah was the king of Judah and only son and successor of Hezekiah. 690-c. 638, sacrificed his son to Molech, 2 Kings 21:2-7
15. Amon
16. Josiah c. Moloch, Molech, Molekh, or Molek, representing Hebrew מלך mlk, (translated directly into king is either the name of a According to the Bible, Amon of Judah was the king of Judah and son of Manasseh of Judah. Josiah or Yoshiyahu ( was king of Judah, and son of Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 638-c. 609, c. 621 found Law Scroll in Temple, 1 Kings 13, 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 34-35
17. Jehoahaz
18. Jehoiakim, appointed by Pharaoh Necho II, 2 Kings 23:34-35
19. Jeconiah
20. Zedekiah c. Jehoahaz (in Hebrew יהואחז was king of Judah and the fourth and youngest son of king Josiah whom he succeeded and Hamautal, daughter of Jehoiakim (יהוֹיָקִים "he whom Jehovah has set up" also sometimes spelled Jehoikim) was king of Judah and the second son of king Necho II (sometimes Nekau) was a king of the Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt (610 BC - 595 BC and the son of Psammetichus I by his Great Royal Ykhanya (יְכָנְיָה jəxɔnjɔh meaning " God will fortify (his people" see Theophory in the Bible; Greek: ιεχονιας Tzidkiyahu (צִדְקִיָּהוּ Şidhqiyyāhû; Greek: ζεδεκιας Zedekias; traditional English Zedekiah) was the last king of 597-c. 587, conquered by Nebuchadrezzar II

Dates listed are from A History of the Jewish People, H. Nebuchadrezzar II, more often called Nebuchadnezzar (c 630-562 BC was a ruler of Babylon in the Chaldean Dynasty, who reigned c H. Ben-Sasson ed. , Harvard University Press, 1969, English translation 1976, ISBN 0674397304

See also

• Bible
• Biblical archaeology
• Canaan
• Documentary hypothesis (a discussion of how modern higher critics view Bible studies. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin For the movement associated with William F Albright and known as Biblical archaeology see Biblical archaeology school. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. Historical criticism or higher criticism is a branch of literary analysis that investigates the origins of a text as applied in Biblical studies it naturally )
• Hebrew Bible
• History of Israel
• History of Levant
• Israelite
• Old Testament
• Tanakh
• Torah
• Timeline of Christianity
• Chronology of the Bible

References

Further reading

• Ancient Judaism, Max Weber, Free Press, 1967, ISBN 0-02-934130-2
• David M. Ancient Judaism, also known as Ancient Palestine Society and Religion, is a Book written by Maximilian Weber, a German Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (maks 'veːbɐ (21 April 1864 &ndash 14 June 1920 was a German political economist and sociologist who was considered Rohl, Pharaohs and Kings, ISBN 0-609-80130-9
• Jewish Encyclopedia

External links

• Biblical History The Jewish History Resource Center - Project of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Jerusalem (Before A.D. 71)
• Holy land Maps