You've Gotta Love Those Hebrews! Quiz

Answer: Ur

Historians believe that the ancient Hebrews were living as nomads in the desert as early as 2,000 BC. Abraham's vision actually directed him to do two things: to convert his people to the belief in one god, and take them to a country that God would show them.

The Hebrews left Ur in the ancient land of Sumer, and traveled along the Fertile Crescent until they reached Canaan, approximately the country of modern-day Israel.

Answer: Shepherd

The first person in the Bible to make his living from shepherding was Adam's son, Abel. It has long been a tradition that Abraham also made his living that way. In fact, after Abraham went to Egypt to find food during a famine, he became particularly wealthy in not only sheep, but also camels, asses, and oxen.

Answer: Famine

The Bible says there was a famine in the land of Canaan, so Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt, near the Nile Delta. As the family of Pharaoh's trusted advisor, Joseph, they were welcomed and prospered there until they became enslaved and were forced to work on building projects.

Answer: Philistines

The Philistines had taken over control of the promised land after the Hebrews left for Egypt. They had a good military force, iron weapons, and (of course) the giant Goliath, which made them difficult to defeat. David gained fame for killing Goliath; he was also able to confine the Philistines to the area that is known today as the Gaza Strip.

Answer: 12

Jacob had twelve sons whose descendents formed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Eleven of the tribes were assigned a particular section of land in the promised land. The 12th tribe, the Levites, were the religious leaders of all the others. Together the tribes worshipped at the Ark of the Covenant, a portable shrine, which the Hebrews had built during the time of Moses.

Answer: Judge

A Judge was a leader who was chosen because he (or she) was believed to have charisma, or God's special blessing. Judges were usually chosen in times of crisis; when the Hebrews could not defeat the Philistines, it was decided that a king might be a better military leader. Samuel was the Judge who, against his best judgement, was forced by the tribes to appoint the first Hebrew king, Saul. Deborah, of course, is famous for being the only female Judge.

Answer: Jerusalem

David became the second king of the Hebrews after the death of Saul. He is known for uniting the twelve tribes into a single kingdom and capturing Jerusalem from the Canaanites. The city, which became known as "The City of David", became the home of the Ark of the Covenant.

Answer: Israel and Judah

Solomon ran a court that was very lavish; it became the practice for each of the tribes to contribute money to run the court for a month. After Solomon's death, his son's refusal to reduce taxes led to the establishment of two separate kingdoms in the promised land: the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.

The fate of the separate kingdoms was ultimately decided by conquering empires.

Answer: Chaldeans

Although enslaved by King Nebuchadnezzar II and forced to work on his building projects, this period, also known as the Babylonian Exile, served to strengthen the bonds of the Hebrew people. They were allowed enough religious freedom to continue in their faith; current Hebrew script was developed during this time and the Torah became more significant as the Jewish authoritative text.

The Jewish community in Babylon stressed tradition, law, and ritual. After the Persians conquered Babylon, the Jews were allowed to return to the promised land and rebuild their temple.

Answer: Monotheism

Monotheism actually began with the heretic king, Ikhnaton, in Egypt. After his death, however, all traces of his religion vanished, and Amon-Re was reinstated as the state god. Ethical monotheism, the worship of one god, based on love between God and man, and man and man, began with the ancient Hebrews.

This belief in one God went on to influence the development of both Christianity and Islam.