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The history of Ancient Israel and Judah is known to us from classical sources including Judaism's Tanakh or Hebrew Bible (known to Christianity as the Old Testament), the Talmud, the Ethiopian Kebra Nagast, the writings of Nicolaus of Damascus, Artapanas, Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus supplemented by ancient sources uncovered by biblical archaeology including Egyptian, Moabite, Assyrian, Babylonian as well as Israelite and Judean inscriptions.
It was also subject to domination by adjacent empires, beginning with Egypt in the late 3rd millennium BCE.
Traditions regarding the early history found in later works such as the Kebra Nagast and commentaries of Rashi, Philo of Alexandria, and numerous others, (besides of course, the Tanakh) refer to the early inhabitants as the sons of Shem and also speak of an invasion by the people known as Canaanites (see also Canaan) descended from Ham.
The Book of Jubilees states that the land was originally allotted to Shem and Arphaxad (ancestor of the Hebrews) when it was still vacant, but was wrongfully occupied by Canaan and his son Sidon. Jubilees makes this, then, the true justification for the later war to drive out the Canaanites.
The Kebra Nagast, however, speaks of the Canaanites (see Canaan) invading existing cities of Shem and Ibn Ezra, similarly notes that they had seized land from earlier inhabitants. Rashi mentions that the Canaanites were seizing land from the sons of Shem in the days of Abraham.
The patriarchal period
The patriarchal period begins with Abraham. The Bible places the events surrounding Abraham (originally Abram) circa 1800 BCE, give or take 100 years. The account of his life is found in Genesis 11, at the close of a genealogy of the sons of Shem (which includes among its members Eber, the eponym of the Hebrews).
His father Terah came from Ur Kasdim. His father moved his family, including his son Abram, from Ur Kasdim to the city of Haran.
Abram declared his belief in the One God, initiating the beginning of Judaism. Abram married Sarai. He and his extended clan then moved to the land of Canaan. According the Bible, God called Abram to go to "the land I will show you", and promised to bless him and make him (though hitherto childless) a great nation. Trusting this promise, Abram journeyed down to Shechem  , then to a spot between Bethel and Ai. He then moved to the oaks of Mamre in Hebron.
The name Abraham was given to Abram (and the name Sarah to Sarai) at the same time as the covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17), which is practiced in Judaism and Islam to this day. At this time Abraham was promised not only many descendants, but descendants through Sarah specifically, as well as the land where he was living, which was to belong to his descendants. The covenant was to be fulfilled through Isaac, though God promised that Ishmael would become a great nation as well.
Some modern historians dispute the historical accuracy of the patriarchal narratives in the Bible, and hold these events to be largely, or perhaps entirely, mythical. Others consider them to be largely historical, and presented in terms reflecting the understanding of the times.
Abraham's grandson Jacob was later renamed Israel, and according to the Biblical account, his twelve sons became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Egyptian domination
The narrative behind how the Israelites became slaves, or if they did at all, is still unclear to some historians. A few historians believe that this may have been due to the changing political conditions within Egypt. In 1600 BCE, Egypt was conquered by tribes, apparently Semitic, known as the Hyksos by the Egyptians. The Hyksos were later driven out by Kamose, the last king of the seventeenth dynasty. Between 1540-1070 BCE, Ahmose I founded the 18th Egyptian dynasty, and a new age for Egypt, the New Kingdom. Thutmose III established Egypt's empire in the western Near East. From then on, the chronology can only roughly be given in approximate dates for most events, until about the 7th century BCE.
1440 BCE The Egyptian reign of Amenhotep II, during which the first mention of the Habiru (possibly the Hebrews) is found in Egyptian texts. Recently discovered evidence indicates that the Habiru spoke Hurrian, the language of the Hurrians.
c.1400 First mention of the Shasu in Egyptian records, located just south of the Dead Sea. The Shasu contain a group with a Yahwistic name.
1300 BCE The Bible places the birth of Moses around this time.
1295 BCE Egypt's 19th dynasty began with the reign of Ramses I. Ramses II (1279-1213 BCE) filled the land with enormous monuments, and signed a treaty with the Hittites after losing the northern Levant to the Hittite Empire. According to the Bible, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. According to the Biblical narrative, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, and eventually came to "the promised land" in Canaan. Moses died before entering Canaan, and Joshua became the next leader. (If, however, the parting of the Red Sea was caused by the eruption of the Santorini volcano, then The Exodus might have happened around 1500 BCE.) But, the bible clearly states that the Red Sea was a supernatural act of God.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. 24 And in the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, 25 clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians." (see Exodus 14 ESV) |
Period of the Judges
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The Hebrews migrated into Canaan circa 1200 BCE, a time when the great powers of the region were neutralized by troubles of various kinds. In their initial attacks under Joshua, the Hebrews occupied most of Canaan, which they settled according to traditional family lines derived from the sons of Jacob and Joseph (the "tribes" of Israel). No formal government existed and the people were led by ad hoc leaders (the "judges" of the biblical Book of Judges) in times of crisis.
Around this time, the name "Israel" is first mentioned in a contemporary archaeological source, the Merneptah Stele.
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1200 BCE. The Hittite empire of Anatolia was conquered by allied tribes from the west. The northern, coastal Canaanites (called the Phoenicians by the Greeks) may have been temporarily displaced, but returned when the invading tribes showed no inclination to settle.
Circa 1185 BCE the Sea People, as they were called by the Egyptians, swept across Asia Minor and the Mediterranean. They invaded Egypt in Ramesses III's reign, but were repelled. Amongst them were a group called the P-r-s-t (first recorded by the ancient Egyptians as P-r/l-s-t) generally identified with the Philistines. They appear in the Medinet Habu inscription of Ramses III, where he describes his victory against the Sea Peoples. Nineteenth-century Bible scholars identified the land of the Philistines (Philistia or Peleshet in Hebrew meaning "invaders") with Palastu and Pilista in Assyrian inscriptions, according to Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897).
The name is used in the Bible to denote the coastal region inhabited by the Philistines. The five principal Philistine cities were Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Ashkelon. Modern archaeology has suggested early cultural links with the Mycenean world in mainland Greece. Though the Philistines adopted local Canaanite culture and language before leaving any written texts, an Indo-European origin has been suggested for a handful of known Philistine words.
1140 BCE the Canaanite tribes tried to destroy the Israelite tribes of northern and central Canaan. According to the Bible, the Israelite response was led by Barak, and the Hebrew prophet Deborah. The Canaanites were defeated.
The United Monarchy
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Increasing pressure from the Philistines and other neighboring tribes forced the Israelites to unite under one king. The notion of kingship was for a long time anathemetised, as it was seen as one man being put in a position of reverence and power that in their faith was reserved for the one true God. According to the Bible, it was Samuel, one of last of the judges, to whom the nation appealed for a king. Although he tried to disuade them, they were resolute and Samuel anointed Saul from the tribe of Benjamin as king. Samuel's pronouncement of the kind of king they would receive seems to be in direct contrast to the one described in Deuteronomy 7. Unfortunately, no independent evidence for the existence of Saul or these events has ever been found, although the Early Iron Age I period was certainly a phase of rapid Philistine expansionism, as the biblical account would seem to propose.
David waged several, successful military campaigns, annexing Philistia, Edom, Moab, Ammon, and parts of ancient Aram (roughly modern Syria) known as Aram-Zobah, and Aram-Damascus. Aram itself became a vassal state of Israel under King David.
Perhaps the most important event of David's reign was his capture of Jerusalem [ ] from the Canaanite Jebusites. By moving his capital from
David was succeeded by his son Solomon around 965 BCE. Solomon's reign was largely peaceful and the kingdom prospered, becoming an international power and a center of culture and trade. But maintaining his splendid court life and ambitious building projects, including the First Temple at Jerusalem, proved burdensome to his people. Some Hebrews were used as forced labor and territory was ceded to Tyre in return for supplying craftsmen and materials. He was criticized for tolerating the pagan religious practices of the many non-Hebrew wives he had acquired from diplomatic marriages.
However, on Solomon's death in c. 926 BCE tensions between the northern and southern tribes mounted. When Solomon successor Rehoboam dealt tactlessly with the economic complaints of the northern tribes the kingdom split in to halves: the kingdom of Israel in the north (including the cities of Shechem and Samaria), and the kingdom of Judah in the south (containing Jerusalem). Most of the non-Hebrew provinces fell away.
The period of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah
In 922 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel was divided. Judah, the southern Kingdom, had Jerusalem as its capital and was led by Rehoboam. It was populated by the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon (and some of the tribe of Levi). Simeon and Judah later merged, and Simeon lost its separate identity. |
Kingdom of Israel
Around 920 BCE, Jeroboam led the revolt of the northern tribes, and established the Kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 11-14), consisting of nine tribes: Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Menasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Gad (and some of Levi), with Samaria as its capital.
Kingdom of Judah
In 922 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel was divided. Judah, the southern Kingdom, made up of the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin, had Jerusalem as its capital and was led by Rehoboam.
Israel fell to the Assyrians in 721 BCE and was taken into captivity. 2 Kings 17:3-6.
Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 BCE and was taken into captivity.
The period of captivity
In 722 BCE, the Assyrians, under Shalmaneser, and then under Sargon, conquered Israel (the northern Kingdom), destroyed its capital Samaria, and sent many of the Israelites into exile and captivity. |
 Map of the southern Levant, c.830 BCE.
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██ Kingdom of Judah ██ Kingdom of Israel ██ Philistine city-states ██ Phoenician states ██ Kingdom of Ammon ██ Kingdom of Edom ██ Kingdom of Aram-Damascus ██ Aramean tribes ██ Arubu tribes ██ Nabatu tribes ██ Assyrian Empire ██ Kingdom of Moab
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| The ruling class of the northern kingdom (perhaps a small portion of the overall population) were deported to other lands in the Assyrian empire and a new nobility was imported by the Assyrians.
729-687 BCE. Reign of king Hezekiah of Judah.
Isaiah lived during the late 8th and early 9th centuries BCE, which was a difficult period in the history of Jerusalem. He was part of the upper class but urged care of the downtrodden. At the end, he was loyal to King Hezekiah, but disagreed with the King's attempts to forge alliances with Egypt and Babylon in response to the Assyrian threat.
Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of four kings -- Uzziah (Azariah), Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Legend has it that he was martyred during the reign of Manasseh, who came to the throne in 687 BCE. That he is described as having ready access to the kings would suggest an aristocratic origin.
This was the time of the divided kingdom, with Israel in the north and Judah in the south. There was prosperity for both kingdoms during Isaiah’s youth with little foreign interference. Jeroboam II ruled in the north and Uzziah in the south. The small kingdoms of Palestine, as well as Syria, were under the influence of Egypt. However, in 745 BCE, Tiglath-pileser III came to the throne of Assyria. He was interested in Assyrian expansionism, especially to the west. Tiglath-pileser took Samaria and a lot of Galilee in 732. Shalmenezer V (727-722) and then, Sargon II (722-705) attacked Samaria. Samaria fell in 722, this marking the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel forever, as its population was taken into exile and dispersed amongst Assyrian provinces. It is as a result of this exile that reference is made to Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Egypt recovered to a degree around the end of the century and Babylon exerted some independence as well. Because of this, Judah and other states rebelled against Assyria, only to have Sennacherib (705-681) invade and capture 46 Judean towns. Isaiah reports that Jerusalem was spared when God miraculously struck down the Assyrian army (see Assyria) besieging it.
Approximately 700 BC the book of Isaiah was written, by Isaiah, where heprophecied the coming (Isaiah 53:2), suffering and death of the Messiah (Isaiah 53).
He is noted in the Bible for initiating reforms that outlawed, or enforced Jewish laws against, idolatry (in this case, the worship of Ba'alim and/or Asherah, among other traditional Near Eastern divinities).
687-638 BCE. Reign of King Manasseh.
638-637 BCE. Reign of King Amon.
These two kings reversed Hezekiah's reforms and officially revived idolatry. According to later rabbinical accounts, Manasseh placed a grotesque, four-faced idol in the Holy of Holies.
637-607 BCE. The reign of King Josiah was accompanied by a religious reformation. According to the Bible, while repairs were made on the Temple, a 'Book of the Law' was discovered (possibly the book of Deuteronomy).
612 BCE. Nabopolassar of Babylonia attacked and destroyed the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh, regaining Babylonia's independence. The Assyrian empire was destroyed.
587 BCE. Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, seized Jerusalem. The First Temple was destroyed; the date was the 9th of Av, or Tisha B'Av.
586 BCE. Conquest of Judah (Southern Kingdom) by Babylon. Part of Judah's population, primarily the nobility, was exiled to Babylon.
722 & 586 BCE. The First Dispersion, or Diaspora. Jews were either taken as slaves in what is commonly referred to as the Babylonian exile of Judah, or they fled to Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, or Persia.
559 BCE. Cyrus the Great became King of Persia.
539 BCE. The Babylonian Empire (see Babylon) fell to Persia under Cyrus.
550-333 BCE. The Persian Empire ruled over much of Western Asia, including Israel.
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 A stone (2.43x1 m) with Hebrew inscription "To the Trumpeting Place" excavated by B. Mazar at the southern foot of the Temple Mount is believed to be a part of the Second Temple.
(larger image)Rebuilding the Temple
(see also The Temples of Jerusalem)537 BCE. Cyrus allowed Sheshbazzar, a prince from the tribe of Judah, to bring the Jews from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Jews were allowed to return with the Temple vessels that the Babylonians had taken. Construction of the Second Temple began.
520-515 BCE. Under the spiritual leadership of the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the Second Temple was completed. At this time the Holy Land is a subdistrict of a Persian satrapy (province).
444 BCE. The reformation of Israel was led by the Jewish Sofer (scribes) Nehemiah and Ezra. Ezra instituted synagogue (see Ben Ezra Synagogue) and prayer services, and canonized the Torah by reading it publicly to the Great Assembly that he set up in Jerusalem. Ezra and Nehemiah flourished around this era. (This was the Classical period in Greece, see history of Greece).
The legacy of Alexander the Great and the dawn of Rabbinic Judaism 331 BCE. The Persian Empire was defeated by Alexander the Great. The Empire of Alexander the Great included Israel. However, it is said that he did not attack Jerusalem directly, after a delegation of Jews met him and assured him of their loyalty by showing him certain prophecies contained in their writings.
323 BCE. Alexander the Great died. In the power struggle after Alexander's death, the part of his empire that included Israel changed hands at least five times in just over twenty years. Babylonia and Syria were ruled by the Seleucids, and Egypt by the Ptolemies.
301 BCE. Ptolemy I Soter became the first Ptolemaic ruler of Israel. 250 BCE. The beginning of the Pharisees party (rabbinic, or modern, Jews), and other Jewish sects such as the Sadducees and Essenes.
198 BCE. Armies of the Seleucid King Antiochus III (Antiochus III the Great) ousted Ptolemy V from Judea and Samaria.
180-142 BCE. The Maccabean Revolt, Hanukkah and the Hasmonean Kingdom.
Roman occupation
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 Iudaea and surrounding
area in the 1st century
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- 63 BCE Pompey conquered Jerusalem and the region and made it a client kingdom of Rome
- 57-55 BCE Aulus Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, split Hasmonean Kingdom into Galilee, Samaria & Judea with 5 districts of Sanhedrin (councils of law)
- 40-39 BCE Herod the Great appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate
- 4 BCE-39 CE Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee & Perea
- 4 BCE-4 CE Jesus and his relative John the Baptist are born
- 6 CE Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, deposed by Augustus Caesar; Samaria, Judea and Idumea annexed as Iudaea Province under direct Roman administration, capital at Caesarea, Quirinius (Publius Sulpicius Quirinius) became legate (legatus) (Governor) of Syria, conducted first Roman tax census of Iudaea Province, opposed by Zealots
- 9 CE Pharisee leader Hillel the Elder dies, temporary rise of Shammai (see House of Hillel and House of Shammai
- 18-36 CE Caiaphas, appointed High Priest of Herod's Temple by Prefect Valerius Gratus, deposed by Syrian legate (legatus) Vitellius
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- 26-36 CE Pontius Pilate, governor of the Roman province of Iudaea
- 41-44 CE Herod Agrippa I appointed "King of the Jews" by Claudius 48-100 CE Herod Agrippa II appointed "King of the Jews" by Claudius, seventh and last of the Herodians
The life and birth of Jesus Christ
It is evident from John 1:46 that Nazareth was an obscure place; it was assumed in Judaea that 'nothing good' could possibly come out of this provincial town of Galilee. According to the New Testament, Nazareth was the home of Joseph and Mary and the site of the Annunciation, when Mary was told that she would bear the son of God. Nazareth is also assumed to be where Jesus grew up from his infancy to manhood. However, some historians have called this into question, suggesting instead that what was originally a title was corrupted (Nazarene) into the name of his hometown (alternately, Nazara or Nazaret or Nazareth). Alfred Loisy, for example, in The Birth of Christianity argues that Iesous Nazarene meant not "from Nazareth", but rather that his title was "Nazarene."
Luke 4:16 implies that Nazareth was large enough to have a synagogue.
The etymology of Nazareth from as early as Eusebius up until the 20th century has been said to derive from netser, a "shoot" or "sprout", while the apocryphal Gospel of Phillip derives the name from Nazara meaning "truth". As the tradition was not common knowledge in the 20th century more recent suggestions for an alternative etymology have emmerged such as nazir meaning "separated" and (in direct opposition to records by the church fathers) nosri meaning "watcher".
In 66, the Great Jewish Revolt broke out, lasting until 73. In 67, Vespasian and his forces landed in the north of Israel, where they received the submission of Jews from Ptolemais to Sepphoris. The Jewish garrison at Yodfat (Jodeptah) was massacred after a two month siege. By the end of this year, Jewish resistance in the north had been crushed.
In 69, Vespasian seized the throne after a civil war. By 70, the Romans had occupied Jerusalem. Titus, son of the Roman Emperor, destroyed the Second Temple on the 9th of Av, ie. Tisha B'Av (656 years to the day after the destruction of the First Temple in 587 BCE). Over 100,000 Jews died during the siege, and nearly 100,000 were taken to Rome as slaves. Many Jews fled to Mesopotamia (Iraq), and to other countries around the Mediterranean.
After 70 the Romans, seeking to suppress the name "Judaea", reorganized it as part of the province of Syria-Palestine. The Latin name, Palaestina, was chosen in honour of the Philistines, who had occupied the coastline much earlier and whom the Romans identified as the worst enemies of the Jews in history. From then on the region was known as Palestine.
Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai escaped from Jerusalem. He obtained permission from the Roman general to establish a center of Jewish learning and the seat of the Sanhedrin in the outlying town of Yavneh. Judaism survived the destruction of Jerusalem through this new center. The Sanhedrin became the supreme religious, political and judicial body for Jews worldwide until 425 CE, when it was forcibly disbanded by the Roman government, by then officially dominated by the Christian Church.
In 73 the last Jewish resistance was crushed by Rome at the mountain fortress of Masada; the last 900 defenders committed suicide rather than be captured and sold into slavery.
200 BCE- 100 CE. At some point during this period the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament) was canonized.
Partial list of kings of Israel
Archealogist Finkelstein in The Bible Unearthed pg. 20 has differing years:
- David 1005-970 BCE
- Solomon 970-931 BCE
- Jeroboam 1st 931-909 BCE
- Omri 884-873 BCE
- Ahab 873-852 BCE
- Joash above as Jeohash 800-784 BCE
- Jeroboam 2nd 788-747 BCE
See above listing for further dating and lineage.
Partial list of kings of Judah
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Old Testament genealogy
Chart showing the genealogy of Israel in relation to the known peoples of the world at the period of about 620 BCE.
The kings of united Israel
- Saul 1020–1005 BCE
- Ish-bosheth 1005–1003 BCE
- David 1005–965 BCE
- Solomon 965–926 BCE
List of kings of Israel
- Jeroboam c.928-c.907, 1 Kings 11-14 ..
- Nadab c.907-c.906, 1 Kings 14:20, 15:25-31
- Baasha ben Ahijah c.906-c.883, killed entire Jeroboam family, 1 Kings 15:16-16:7
- Elah, 1 Kings 16:8-10
- Zimri, 1 Kings 16:11-14
- Omri c.882-c.871, founded Samaria c.879, 1 Kings 16:15-24
- Ahab c.871-c.852, 2 Kings 3
- Ahaziah
- Jehoram c.851-c.842, 2 Kings 1:17, 3:1, 5-9, 2 Chronicles 22:5-6
- Jehu c.842-c.815, with Elisha killed Jehoram, Jezebel, Ahaziah, all Ahab's offspring and followers and destroyed Melqart temple in Samaria, 2 Kings 9-12
- Jehoahaz c.814-c.800, 2 Kings 10:35, 13:1-9
- Jehoash (Joash) c.800-c.784, sacked Jerusalem, raided Temple c.785, 2 Kings 13:12-20, 14:8-14, 2 Chronicles 25:14-24
- Jeroboam II c.784-c.748, last important ruler of Israel, 2 Kings 14:23
- Zachariah
- Shallum
- Menahem
- Pekahiah
- Pekah
- Hoshea c.732-c.722, conquered by Shalmaneser V
In his book What did the Biblical Writers Know and When did they know it? William Dever suggests that rather than there being just one history there are in fact multiple histories and that we can distinguish nine types of history of Israel and Judah as follows.
- Theological history – the relationship between the God(s) and their believers.
- Political history – usually the account of “Great Men”, is generally episodic, chauvinistic and propagandist
- Narrative history – a running chronology of events, purporting to be factual but always very highly selective
- Socio-cultural history – a history of institutions, including their social underpinnings in family, clan, tribe and social class and the state
- Intellectual history – the literary history of ideas and their development, context and evolution as expressed through texts and documents
- Cultural history – is based upon a larger context of overall cultural evolution, demography, socio-economic and political structure and ethnicity
- Technological history – a history of the techniques by which humans adapt to, exploit and make use of the resources of their environment
- Natural history – is a geographic history of how humans discover and adapt to the ecological understandings of their natural environment
- Material history – as shown in the study of artifacts as correlates of human changes in behaviour.
Archeology can provide assistance in 3,4,6,7,8,9. Conventional “Biblical” textual history can provide assistance in 1,2, 3 and 5.
See also: Israel , Israelite, Tribes of Israel, Hebrew people, Geography of Israel
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