Israel
A warning, this section will be very incomplete and will be covered in vast detail later. It is imperative when reading a secular source regarding God or His Christ, His word, or His people to investigate out their statements by using God’s word. God’s word is a refining fire and our test in examining extra-Biblical material. There are some errors in Howe’s text that I will give no regard to, but to put in relevant truthful information in its place.
The Hebrews had the strongest monarchy in Syria-Palestine. Most of what is known about them is from Scripture. Abraham was the forefather of the Hebrews, and he was called out of Ur of the Chaldeans to follow the Lord. He left there and traveled along the Fertile Crescent into southern Palestine. This was in either the nineteenth or twentieth century B.C. Because of famine, his grandson Jacob led the Hebrews to the northern edge of the Egyptian delta (perhaps end of eighteenth century B.C.). The pharaoh eventually enslaved them there, but Moses led them out of Egypt years later across the Red Sea into Sinai. They made there a covenant with God. Because He had rescued them and is the sovereign God, He expected obedience to His laws. Disobedience brought adversities to the people of Israel. Their faith is called ethical monotheism, for they worshipped the one true God and their faith was based between God and man and man and God.
Once they entered Palestine, their faithfulness to the Lord faded as they practiced religious syncretism, combining the worship of God with following the Baals. This combination, of course, did not work.
The Twelve Tribes in the Days of the Judges
There are twelve tribes of Israel, descended from the sons of Jacob called Israel: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. All but the Levites were assigned allotments of land save Levi, which served as priests. When the people were serving the Lord, they would live in peace, but when they followed the Baals, they would see trouble. During these times of trouble, a judge would rise up as a great military leader and conquer their enemies, and the people would repent. Israel had their difficulties from the beginning.
The Kingdom of Israel
There was a united monarchy first under Saul. The people demanded the prophet Samuel to anoint for them a king to lead them, for at the time they were having trouble with the Philistines. Saul turned out to be a disobedient king and later, and the Lord’s appointed king David ruled. This was approximately the year 1000 B.C., and he ruled about 40 years. He confined the Philistines to the Gaza strip, he also captured the Jebusite stronghold Jerusalem and made it the political capital of Israel. The Covenant Box was moved there from Samaria, and later Solomon built the Temple there.
Solomon had the wealthiest reign, as he was the one who built the Temple. He divided the kingdom into 12 districts, each headed by a governor. He made many foreign alliances, especially with the Egyptians and the Phoenicians, and these alliances were sealed with marriages. He constructed a fleet of ships that sailed to foreign places for trading. The Hebrews played the greatest role politically and economically in the Middle East. At Solomon’s death, the people were discontent, and Rehoboam, his son and heir, would not lighten the burden Solomon had placed on the people. Jeroboam, one of Solomon’s servants, rebelled, and led the 10 northern tribes into rebellion as well. There were then two kingdoms, Israel in the north, and Judah in the south. The northern kingdom was involved immediately in religious syncretism and served the Baals, and in the south, they seemed to stay more loyal to the Lord.
Samaria was captures in 722 B.C. by Assyria. In 587 B.C. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Chaldeans. At this time, the exile began and “the bonds of kinship among the Jews were strengthened, and a community created which stressed tradition, law, and ritual” (Howe, 89). Cyrus captured Babylonia in 540 B.C. and he allowed the Jews to return home. He also returned the objects used in the Temple that Nebuchadnezzar II had carried off.
The Prophets
The nations of Israel and Judah were sent many messengers concerning their religious syncretism and idolatrous practices. These were the prophets. They were warned of God’s wrath and also the hope that repentance brings. Assyria and Chaldea were used to show God’s wrath. In addition, there was a message of a New Covenant and that there would be a coming Messiah--an anointed one--that would rule over them in righteousness. This of course was the prophecy of Jesus, who came once to atone for the world’s sins, and will come again to set up His rule and defeat His enemies.
Sacred Literature
Sacred Jewish literature: The Torah, the Mishnah, and the Talmud. The Torah are the five books of Moses, or the law. More specifically, these books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These were written by Moses and were God-breathed, inerrant and are still today fit for our instruction, as they were and always will be. Howe and Howe tell us they were finally written down around 450 B.C., but this is an inaccuracy, for they were written down by Moses, and of course copies were found by Josiah the king later on, who lived before 450 B.C. (2 Kings 22:8). Jewish rabbis intended to interpret these laws and compiled a list of “traditions of the elders” during the Inter-Testamental period silence. These traditions were called the Mishnah. All other teachings gathered after the Mishnah was recorded in the Talmud. It provided a common bond for all the Jews during the Diaspora.
Archaeological Findings
Solomon built the Temple and the palace, but also built three towns: Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Each one was built on a tell. Megiddo was built on 18 other layers of towns before it. They all had identical architectural features. Hazor and Megiddo had water supply systems, which is important in the event of siege. The towns were built high above ground level, and there were springs at the ground level. There were tunnels where people could carry jugs of water back on their heads.
Sources
Howe, Helen and Robert Howe. Ancient and Medieval Worlds. White Plains: Longman, 1992. Chapter 4.