The Ancient Israelites

1
The Ancient Israelites

• The Kingdom of Israel
• Section 2

2
Did You Know?

• Jerusalem has had different names throughout
  history.
• Before King David conquered Jerusalem, the city
  was called Jebus.
• King David renamed the city the City of David.
• Account of the Assyrians conquering of the city
  referred to Jerusalem as the City of Judah.

3
Israelites Choose a King

• Philistines were the strongest people in Canaan
  around 1000 B.C.
• Israelites feared the Philistines, so they copied
  their ways and worshiped their gods.
• To keep from quarreling among themselves and to
  save their religion, the 12 tribes asked Samuel,
  a prophet, to choose a king.
• Prophet a person who claims to be instructed by
  God.
• Samuel warned the Israelites against having a
  king.
• Israelites named Saul as king.
• Samuel anointed him,
• King Saul displeased God.
• So God chose another king, David.
• God told Samuel anoint David in secret.

4
Discussion Question

• Why did Samuel warn the Israelites against
  choosing a king?
• Samuel told the Israelites that a king would
  enslave them and make them pay taxes.

5
David Solomon

• David was a famous warrior.
• He killed a giant Philistine named Goliath with a
  slingshot and stones.
• King Saul put David in charge of the army but
  later grew envious of David and plotted to have
  him killed.
• David hid until Saul and his sons were killed.
• Then, David took the throne.
• David drove the Philistines out and conquered
  other countries, building his empire.
• An empire is a nation that rules several other
  nations.
• The conquered people had to pay tribute to David.
• Money or slaves.
• Israelites also had to pay heavy taxes.
• David used the money to expand his capital,
  Jerusalem.

6
David Solomon continued

• Solomon was Davids son who took the throne after
  Davids death.
• Solomon built the stone temple in Jerusalem that
  David wanted to build.
• He was known for his proverbs, or wise sayings.
• When Solomon died, the 12 tribes began fighting.
• 10 of the tribes moved to the north and called
  their nation kingdom of Israel.
• The other 2 tribes moved to the south and called
  their nation kingdom of Judah.
• The capital of Judah was Jerusalem, and the
  people of Jerusalem were called Jews.

7
Discussion Question

• Why did David want to build a temple in
  Jerusalem?
• David wanted the Israelites to have a permanent
  place for their sacred objects.

8
A Troubled Time

• After creating the kingdoms of Israel and Judah,
  many Israelites forgot their religion.
• The prophets told the Israelites to return to
  Gods laws to create a just society.
• The Assyrians conquered Israel and dispersed the
  10 tribes throughout their empire.
• These Israelites lost their religion and were
  often called the lost tribes of Israel.

9
Assyrian Samaritans

• The Assyrians settled around Samaria and were
  called Samaritans.
• The Samaritans thought God would be angry with
  them for taking the Israelites land.
• To appease God, they offered sacrifices and began
  following the Israelites religion.
• The people of Judah believed that God only
  accepted sacrifices from the temple at Jerusalem.
• They believed they were Gods only people.

10
Conquered

• The Egyptians conquered the kingdom of Judah in
  620 B.C.
• The Chaldeans conquered Egypt and became rulers
  of Judah in 605 B.C.
• The Jews joined forces with the Egyptians to
  conquer the Chaldeans.
• King Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans captured
  Jerusalem and punished the Jews.
• He sent 10,000 Jews to Babylon and appointed a
  new Jewish king.
• In 586 B.C., the Jews revolted against the
  Chaldeans, and the Chaldean ruler crushed
  Jerusalem.
• The Chaldeans took the king of Judah and
  thousands of Jews to Babylon.
• This period is known as the Babylonian Captivity.

11
Discussion Question

• What message did the prophets bring to the
  Israelites?
• The prophets warned the Israelites that being
  faithful to God was more than simply going to
  temple to worship.
• It meant working for a just society and dealing
  fairly with other people.