THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL IN CONTEXT

The Call of Abraham (2000 B.C.)

Children of Israel in Egypt (1700 – 1300 B.C.)

The Exodus and Moses (1300 – 1200 B.C.)

The Entrance to Canaan and Period of the Judges (1200 – 1000 B.C.)

The United Monarchy (1000 – 922 B.C.)

The Assyrian Period (722 – 605 B.C.)

The Babylonian Period (605 – 539 B.C.)

The First Temple (Temple of Solomon) destroyed

The Babylonian Exile (Captivity): 587-539 B.C.

The Persian Period (539 – 333 B.C.)

The Hellenistic (Greek) Period (333 – 167 B.C.)

The Hasmonean Period (167 – 63 B.C.)

The Roman Period (63 B.C. – 330 A.D.)

The Second Temple Destroyed; Jerusalem in ruins (70 A.D.)

Jerusalem named Aelia Capitalina (135 A.D.)

The Byzantine Period (330 – 638 A.D.)

The Islamic Period (638 – 1099 A.D.)

The Crusader Period (1099 – 1244 A.D.)

The Mamluk Period (1244 – 1517 A.D.)

The Ottoman Period (1517 – 1917 A.D.)

The British Mandate (1917 – 1948 A.D.)

The State of Israel (1948 – present)

HISTORICAL SUMMARY

2000 – 721 B.C. – Early History to the Assyrian Invasion

A nomadic people settle in strange land between two giant and shifting empires. Genesis 12 and the dream of God; Famine and self-imposed exile; Exodus and the Conquest of Joshua; Judges to Monarchy; Division into Israel and Judah. Half is conquered and carried away. The other half is left with very little hope and is at

the mercy of a new empire on the block.

586 – 333 B.C. – The Babylonian Exile through the Persian Period

A vulnerable Judah makes foolish choices and allies with the wrong power. The result is catastrophic defeat, the destruction of the Temple and exile in a foreign

land. The beginnings of the Bible’s compilation; Babylonian power wanes, Persian power ascends; exile ends; hope returns; a new language (Aramaic); a new name (Jews) and a new identity (Judaism).

333 B.C. – 638 A.D. – The Greeks, Maccabees, Romans and Byzantines

Hellenism and the spread of and excitement over Greek ways; a revolt and a

hundred years of independence; the coming of Rome, Herod the Great, the days of Jesus, the beginning of the Early Christian Church, two revolts, the destruction of the second Temple, The Jewish Diaspora. Byzantine rule and Helena’s building projects.

638 – 1948 A.D. – Islam, Crusaders, The Ottoman Turks and The British

Mohammad and the spread of Islam; Arab and Muslim rule; The Crusades and European rule; Arab reconquest and Ottoman rule. Changes in the land; the

British Mandate; Theodore Hertzel and Jewish Zionism; Holocaust and rising tensions…

1948 – Today – The Land Today: Israelis and Palestinians

The current situation; stories of Israelis; stories of Palestinians. Who is right and who is wrong? Whose land is this anyway? Is there a legitimate comparison

between Native Americans and Palestinians? What did Jesus think about the land

of nationhood given to a certain people? How should Christians view this land?