History

Jewish people trace their family descent back to a man called Abraham who lived 4000 years ago in a place called Ur, which is in modern day Iraq. Abraham, left this area to go to a new land which God promised to give to him and to his descendants. That land was Canaan, modern Israel.

The story of Abraham and his faith is one of the great stories of the Bible. You can read about it elsewhere on this website - Read THE STORY OF ABRAHAM.

Abraham's descendants became a great people with many stories to challenge and encourage faith in God. There was Isaac and his sons Jacob and Esau. Then the sons of Jacob and, in particular, Joseph form a fascinating part of the family history.

Eventually we reach the story of Moses - that great man who challenged the Pharaoh and army of Egypt in order to deliver the Hebrews (the descendants of Abraham) out of slavery in Egypt and bring them into freedom and back to the Promised Land. Read about THE STORY OF MOSES.

It is a story of the miraculous survival and upbringing of Moses. There are ten terrible plagues which come upon Egypt reaching a dramatic conclusion with the last one - the death of the first-born. That took place on the Passover night when the Hebrew families were saved if they applied the blood of a young lamb to the lintels and doorposts of their homes.

The escape from Egypt is called the Exodus. Every year, in the Spring, Jewish families still celebrate the Passover Feast to commemorate that great event. Soon after, during their journey to the Promised land, Moses brought to the people of Israel God's laws, including the Ten Commandments. These laws became the basis of the Covenant between God and Israel. The holiest part of Jewish Scripture is the Torah, sometimes called "The Five Books of Moses."

Eventually, when the Israelites were settled in the land of Canaan, divided into the areas possessed by their twelve tribes, a king was appointed to rule. The first King of Israel was Saul. Because he disobeyed God, his family did not continue as the royal house. Instead David (the one who killed Goliath, the great Philistine champion) became king. David's son Solomon continued after him.

After Solomon, the kingdom split into two nations, Israel (10 tribes) in the North, and Judah (2 tribes) in the South. In 721 BC the Northern kingdom was destroyed by the Assyrians. In 586 BC the kingdom of Judah, which had always followed the royal line of King David, was finally overcome by the Babylonians. Later, in the time of the Persian Empire, the Jews (from Judah) returned to Jerusalem, rebuilt the Temple and then the city.