2.  Because they felt threatened by other groups
such as the Philistines.
 They wanted to be unified under one leader.
 The wise judge Samuel chose the first two
kings, Saul and David.

3.  Was the first king chosen by Samuel in
1020BC
 He helped fend of the Ammonites saving a
Hebrew city, so the Hebrews wanted to have
Saul as their king
 Before Saul’s kingship, the Israelites were just
a bunch of tribes loosely held together by
their traditions and religion.
 They wanted to have a strong nation to keep
the Philistines and other groups from
invading.

4.  David was a young shepherd and harpist who
came to King Saul’s attention when he slew
Goliath a huge warrior in the Philistines army.
 For many years Saul treated David as a son
(David even became his son-in-law), until he
became jealous of David’s success on the
battlefield.
 He tried, unsuccessfully, to have David killed
on several occasions.
 Saul died when he was cornered by the
Philistines on Mount Gilboa.

5. David became the new king 1000BC and
helped to unify Israel even more.
 David conquered the Philistines finally so that
they were no longer a threat to Israel.
 David’s son, Solomon, became his successor
in the year 962 BC.

6.  Was gifted with great
wisdom and wealth.
 He constructed the
Temple in Jerusalem as
his father had instructed.
 He became distracted by
women from other
countries and began to
make unwise choices.
 Near the end of his reign
he was cruel and
tyrannical to his subjects.
Solomon’s Temple

7.  Was Solomon’s son.
 He was even more cruel than his father was to
the people of Israel.
 He promised to be more unforgiving than his
father was.
 Jeroboam, a rebel, started an uprising and left
with all of the tribes but Judah and Benjamin.

8.  When the tribes separated from Rehoboam,
they formed a kingdom in the north and
continued to be called Israel.
 Judah and Benjamin stayed in the south and
now called themselves Judah.

9.  In about 722 BC, Assyria
invaded Israel, which had a
weak army and conquered
it.
 In 612 BC, Babylonia
conquered the Assyrians,
taking control of Israel.
 Although the people of
Judah resisted being
conquered by
Nebuchadnezzar, the
temple of Solomon was
destroyed and many
Judeans were taken as
slaves.
 .

10.  The Jewish people struggled to keep their
faith and customs.
 They hoped to return to Judah someday and
rebuild the temple.
 The hoped for a messiah (anointed one) to
rescue them and restore their kingdom.
 They listened to prophets who gave them
messages of hope from God.

11.  When the Persians
conquered the Babylonians
in 539-8 BC, the Persian
king Cyrus, released the
Jews.
 About 40,000 Jews returned
to Judah, while many stayed
behind in Babylon.
 Under Persian governance,
the Jews rebuilt their
society and their temple.
 The second temple was
finished in 515BC.
Cyrus the Great