Essentials of Hebrew History
All dates are BC (or BCE Before the Common Era)
Background
- 2000-1500?— Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
- 1300?— Exodus from Egypt
- 1200-1020?— The Judges (Deborah, Samson, Gideon, etc.)
Israel becomes a monarchy. Three kings rule over a united kingdom.
- 1020-1000?— King Saul
- 1000-960?— King David
- 960-930?— King Solomon
Because Solomon’s heir refuses to lighten the load of forced labor and taxation, the northern tribes split from the southern tribes. This is the Divided Kingdom.
Neighbors
Throughout the history, Israel’s neighbors (enemies, occasionally friends) are Syria (capital, Damascus), Moab, Philistia, Edom, Ammon, etc. A major power, Egypt constantly struggles for control with the empires to the East. Dominant in Palestine for a century or so, one after another, the eastern empires are:
- 8th c. Assyria (capital, Nineveh), (742—Isaiah’s call vision, ch. 6)
- 7th-6th c. Babylon (capital, city of Babylon,) becomes symbol of evil enemies in NT
- 6th -5th c. Persia.
Divided Kingdom and Exile
Northern Kingdom: Ten tribes. Capital is Samaria. Called Ephraim or Israel. Monarchy unstable, succession sometimes occurs by murder and intrigue.
- 721— Northern Kingdom falls to Assyria. Ten tribes taken into exile, go extinct.
Southern Kingdom: Two tribes. Capital is Jerusalem. Called Judah; after fall of Northern Kingdom, it is also called Israel. Monarchy stable, succession always in the House of David.
- 586— Southern Kingdom falls to Babylon, king Nebuchadnezzar. Two southern tribes taken into exile to Babylon.
Return from Exile
Babylon is conquered by Persian king Cyrus.
- 539-538— Cyrus decrees the Jews may return to their homeland.
Coming home is no picnic. The remnant who return face hardship and enemies.
- 515— Second Temple completed, despite local opposition.
- 458— Ezra reads the Law aloud to the people of Jerusalem (this marks beginning of Judaism).
Sources: Anderson, Understanding the OT, 4th ed.; New Interpreter’s Study Bible.
Photo by Mary Fran
I think this is among the most vital info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But should remark on some general things, The site style is wonderful, the articles is really excellent : D. Good job, cheers
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Undeniably believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the web the simplest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people consider worries that they plainly do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks
Hi there, I found your web site via Google while looking for a related topic, your site came up, it looks great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Another thing I’ve really noticed is always that for many people, low credit score is the results of circumstances past their control. By way of example they may have been saddled with an illness and as a consequence they have higher bills for collections. It may be due to a employment loss or even the inability to work. Sometimes divorce or separation can truly send the money in a downward direction. Thanks for sharing your ideas on this blog.
I don’t think that iscontinually the case. sometimes maybe, but not always the ahh bra
Simply wish to say your article is as amazing. The clearness on your put up is just nice and that i can assume you’re a professional on this subject. Fine along with your permission allow me to clutch your RSS feed to stay updated with coming near near post. Thanks one million and please keep up the enjoyable work.
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I assumed this submit used to be great. I don’t realize who you are however certainly you’re traversing to a famous blogger should you aren’t already
Cheers!