The First Israelites
Vocabulary
monotheism- the belief in one God. Abraham- Father of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam Jacob- Grandson of Abraham 12 Tribes- Jacob's 12 sons eventually turned into the 12 tribes Canaan- the land where the Israelites lived before and after slavery Hebrew- the language Israelites spoke Covenant- an agreement Moses- a Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery and at Mt. Sinai delivered the Law establishing God's covenant with them Passover- a Jewish holiday in March or April that celebrates the freeing of the Jews from slavery in Egypt Mount Sinai- mountain where according to the Bible the Law was given to Moses; thought to be in the Gebel Musa on Sinai Peninsula Torah- the body of wisdom and law contained in Jewish Scripture and other sacred literature and oral tradition Jericho- a Canaanite city Deborah- the female judge Phoenicians- skilled sailors who shared ideas with the Israelites 10 Commandments- or rules handed down to Moses by God on Mount Sinai Rule of Law- legal principle that law should govern a nation the Promised Land- the land God promised to Abraham and his descendants Alphabet- symbols used to represent sounds Canaanites- people who lived in Canaan Summary Aatami wasn't there to witness when drought destroyed his great great great great great grandfather's land. All of the grass that had once been a luscious green was now a dull yellow, trees that were as big as a three story building had dried up and rotted, and the land quit producing enough for his granddad's family of nine. His grandfather had heard tale of enough food in Egypt to feed his family and more for many years. Little did Aatami's grandfather know what he was really embarking on when his family moved to Egypt. Aatami's ancestors were accepted in Egypt as slaves. The pharaoh saw them as threats to overthrow their government, so he put them to work. Over many years, Aatami's family worked on making clay bricks for the pharaoh's pyramid. Aatami's family went through many generations before he was born. When he was finally born, a leader arose from the Israelites who said he would free them from Egypt. Aatami was five years old when a man named Moses told the Israelites he heard their Lord's voice coming from a burning bush telling them to leave Egypt. Moses repeatedly went to the pharaoh and told him to let the Israelites go. The pharaoh refused. God sent a ten plagues to try to convince the pharaoh, but pharaoh still refuses until finally, a plague killed the pharaohs son. Question Israelites should have taken a different route to the Promised Land. If you were to look at a map, you would see how insane the path they took really was. If they would have taken a different path, they would have gotten to the Promised land Faster and would not have to waste as many resources to getting there. I know that when they left, they probably didn't have enough time to bring enough materials for them to survive, so a quicker route would have helped a lot more. On their way to Canaan, the Israelites stopped by Mount Sinai where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Moses took longer than expected on Mount Sinai, so the Israelites began to lose faith in God. Aaron, Moses' brother, saw the Israelites faith beginning to fade, so he took all of the gold and melted it down, Afterwards, he made an idol of a golden calf for the Israelites to worship. Moses came back down from Mount Sinai and was so appalled that he threw the tablets on the ground, shattering them. Moses then had to go back up the mountain and get another "copy" of the tablets to show to the Israelites. They should have kept their faith, so they wouldn't have to take as much time at the mountain instead of traveling. One thing I think the Israelites should have done differently was to trust God. When they reached Canaan and sent the spies in, most of the spies came back and told how the Canaanites were big and powerful, so there was no way they could take back the promised land. By not trusting God, God sent them back into the desert to wander until all of the people from that age were dead. He only let the innocent go into Canaan. 40 years went by before the Israelites returned to Canaan. If they would have trusted God, they would have been able to go into the Promised Land. |