Short History of the Jewish People Prior To 1900BC

From 2000 BCE – 4 CE

Primeval History

Primeval history is everything that happened prior to 1900 BC. It is included in Genesis chapters 1 – 11. This includes the creation stories, the story of Adam and Eve and their two sons, Cain and Abel. Also in these chapters is the story of Noah and the great flood. It also contains how the people were very sinful, which is why God wiped the whole population out with the flood, so he could start again.

Between 1850 BCE & 1750 BCE

Abraham and his family arrive in Canaan. He and his wife give birth to Isaac at age 90. Isaac’s wife then gives birth to Esau and Jacob. Jacob has 12 sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamine. Abraham’s life is in Genesis chapters 11-25

Between 1750 BCE & 1250 BCE

Joseph is sold into slavery and has two sons; Manasseh and Ephraim

Then Joseph saves his father and brothers from famine and brings them to Egypt where he is made Patriarch. Jacob makes Manasseh and Ephraim the same status as his sons, making 12 tribes of Israel.

The Exodus

About 1250 BC Moses led the Exodus. He wrote the book of Exodus in the forty years of its happening, between 1450 BC and 1410 BC. The Exodus was written as it marked the end of oppression for Abraham’s descendants, and the beginning of their time in the Promised Land.

King Saul

Between 1050 BC and 1010 BC King Saul reigned. He wasn’t very rich, and was very disobedient, as he didn’t carry out Gods instructions, Therefore his kingship was taken away from him, as he wasn’t a good example for the people

King David

Between 1010 BC and 970 BC King David reigned. As Saul was so disobedient, David was chosen to be King. He led the Hebrews as they defeated Philistines, and made them into an empire. David built up Jerusalem from the spoils of war. His life and times are in the book of Samuel I which was written by Samuel between 1040-1010 B.C.

The Two Kingdoms Divided

Around 900 BC the Israelites divided into Israel and Judah. David’s son Solomon had a son Rehoboam. He was not as good a leader as the previous kings, so the ten tribes rebelled against him, with Jeroboam, Solomon’s servant, as king. The Northern Kingdom was called Israel, lead by Jeroboam, and the Southern Kingdom was called Judah, lead by Rehoboam.

The Fall of Two Kingdoms

Israel fell because after Jeroboam died, the kingdom fell apart and there was no order. The Assyrians then attacked Israel and defeated them. Judah fell as its people stopped obeying God, they wanted to improve more than Israel did, but not enough.

Judah Exiled in Babylon

This happened between 587 and 338 BC. The Babylonians held the Hebrew people captive. The Babylonians did this so they would have greater control of the areas they had power over. God sent help for his people, through the prophet Jeremiah. God also sent other prophets, to keep the faith of those exiled strong. This is recorded in the book of Kings. It is also written about in Jeremiah, which was written between 627 – 585 B.C.

Judah Under Persian Domination

Between 538 and 333 BC Judah was under Persian domination, in 538 BC the Babylonians allowed the Persians into their land. Under this new rule the exiled Jews were able to go back to Judah. All the exiled people settled in an area called Jerusalem, they were very pleased about this. The prophets Aggæus and Zacharias came to the Jews to get them enthused again about building the temple. In 515 BC, the temple was built. Daniel wrote his book between 605-536 B.C. and he detailed the events of the Persian dominance

The Greek Rule

This was between 333 BC and 63 BC. Egypt was all over the place so Alexander the Great created an army and attacked Egypt, creating his own rule. He named the capital Alexandria. After his death Ptolemy took up leadership. Under Ptolemy Greek became the official language. The Greeks ruled happily for many years, until Julius Caesar’s armies attacked Alexandria

The Roman Rule

The Roman rule happened between the years of 63 BC and 4 AD. They were the great power, so the Jews had no control of what happened.

Around 37 BC, Herod became King of Judea and he became one of the most powerful kings ever to rule over the Romans.