6 th Grade Social Studies October 6 th , 2010 The Ancient Israelites

1. 6th Grade Social Studies October 6th, 2010 The Ancient Israelites SWBAT: -Identify the Ancient Israelite civilization on a map -Identify aspects of the Early Israelites

2. Ancient Israel What type of map is this? What are some different features we see on this map? A people called Israelites built a kingdom in Canaan, which lies along the Mediterranean Sea in SW Asia.

3. Who were Israelites? • Israelites had a very small population • They were monotheistic, or they believed in only one God. • The Israelite faith became the religion known today as Judaism. • The language they spoke was Hebrew. They wrote down much of their History and many of their religious beliefs in the Hebrew Bible.

4. Early Israelites The earliest Israelites were herders and traders. They came from Mesopotamia and settled in Canaan. The Israelites lived in Canaan for about 100 years. A long drought began; crops died out and livestock died; To survive, some Israelites went to Egypt.

5. From Slavery to FREEDOM Life was NOT good in Egypt. The Egyptian Pharaoh needed men to build his pyramids, so he enslaved Israelites. To prevent a rebellion he ordered all baby boys born to Israelites thrown into the Nile River. The Hebrew Bible tells us that one desperate mother put her baby in the basket and hid it on the riverbank. The pharaoh’s daughter found the baby and named him Moses.

6. Moses’ Influence When Moses grew up he tended to sheep In 1290 B.C.E, he saw a burning bush and heard a voice. He believed God was telling him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to freedom. To Moses, he believed that God was telling him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to freedom. To get the pharaoh to let the Israelites go, the Hebrew bible says that God sent 10 plagues to trouble Egypt.

7. The Escape The Plague convinced the Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave. As the Israelites headed east out of Egypt, the Pharaoh changed his mind, and sent his army after the Israelites. According the Hebrew Bible, God parted the Red Sea to let his people pass. When the Egyptians followed, the water flowed back and drowned the soldiers. The Israelite escape from Egyptian slavery is known as the Exodus. Jews today celebrate a holy day called Passover to remember these events.

8. Moses and the Red Sea • Moses Crossing the Red Sea

9. Journey back to Canaan • Moses received laws from God known as the Torah. • These later became the first part of the Hebrew Bible. • The Torah described a covenant, or agreement, with God in which God promised to return the Israelites to Canaan if they followed his laws.

10. The Ten Commandments The 10 Commandments were one of the most important parts of the Torah. The 10 Commandments helped shape the basic moral laws of many nations. They also said laws should apply to everyone equally.

11. The Phoenicians Lived in cities along the Mediterranean Sea They were skilled sailors and traders. One of their most important ideas was an alphabet, or group of letters that stood for sound. The letters could be used to spell out the words in their language. The alphabet made writing simpler, and helped people keep records.