Israel, A Long History

While we were in Israel we went to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. We spent the whole day there, and by the end we were both exhausted. We learned of Hasidic Judaism, saw multiple art exhibits, saw the Dead Sea Scrolls, and learned a lot about the history of that region of the world. It was extremely fascinating to me to learn about how humans have evolved over the past 250,000 years.  The most interesting time period, for me, was between 6,000 to 15,000 years ago. This was basically the dawn of modern civilization, social structure, and religion as we know it today.

The following sections are taken directly from the museum’s explanations of different exhibits.

Stone Age/ Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic Periods

250,000 – 14,500 years ago

“Overtime, societies appeared whose economy and lifestyle were based on gathering plants and hunting wild animals. Improvement in hunting skills occurred in parallel with advances in the manufacture of stone tools, especially points, which were used for making spears.”

“These hunter gatherers lived under harsh climatic conditions. Better control of fire enabled them to inhabit caves for long periods of the year. At these sites, the earliest evidence has been found for the beginnings of certain social behaviors and for activities other than those that satisfied immediate needs.”

“As bands of our species, Homo sapiens, spread out all over the world, cultural change known as the “Great Leap Forward” took place. This revolution included the extinction of other human species and the appearance of modern humans. These were people like us: they invented new tools, engaged in art and ornamentation, sought spiritual meaning in their lives, and left behind customs that accompany us to this day.”

Copper Age/ Chalcolithic Period

6,500 – 5,500 years ago

“The social and economic developments that appeared at the end of the Stone Age came to fruition in Chalcolithic times, a thousand-year period of peace, stability, and prosperity. People began producing a much wider range of foods, and the population of villages increased dramatically as a result. Most importantly, people discovered how to extract copper and gold from rock and developed the technology to work it. The name for the period, comes from the Greek words chalcos, meaning copper, and lithos, meaning stone, because these were the first people to use metals even as they continued working with stone.”

“The discovery of metalworking had profound social and cultural implications. Those responsible for making the metal objects came to occupy an important position in society. Together with the emergence of sanctuaries and the appearance of a priestly class, complex social hierarchies arose.”

“The remarkable richness of Chalcolithic culture suggests that this society was more advanced than any of its predecessors. Yet as suddenly as it appeared, so it disappeared, for reasons that remain a mystery today.”

Early Bronze Age

3,500 – 2,300 BCE

“The first cities were established in the second half of the 4^th millennium BCE along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia and along the Nile in Egypt. Soon after, cities appeared in Canaan as well. The Process of Urbanization was a social revolution of utmost importance. It led to greater institutionalization of religion and rule, advances in the arts, and the growth of international trade.”

“The first cities in Canaan, such as Arad in the Negev, were well planned units that dominated their agricultural environs. They were surrounded by defensive walls and contained palaces, sanctuaries, residential neighborhoods, industrial districts, and marketplaces. These facilities served a hierarchical society of farmers, shepherds, craftsmen, and priests, under the central leadership of a ruler.”

Middle and Late Bronze Age

2,000 – 1,200 BCE

“During the first half of the 2^nd millennium BCE, a rich urban culture reappeared in Canaan. Numerous city-states arose, such as Hazor in the north, which dominated their rural surroundings and were fortified by massive walls. This period, the Middle Bronze Age, has also yielded the first evidence of alphabetic writing: proto-Canaanite script, the forerunner of the Hebrew alphabet.”

“The mid 16^th century BCE marks the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. For most of this time, Canaan was under Egyptian rule. Nevertheless, the Canaanites maintained a distinct material culture and religion, and, in fact, reached a peak. International trade flourished, and Canaan played a key role in this arena thanks to its important position along major land and sea routes.”

“In the second half of the 13^th century BCE, the balance of power between the empires surrounding Canaan shifted, and the Hittite Kingdom (Turkey), Mycenae (Greece), and centers in northern Syria and Canaan collapsed. Egypt lost much of its power, and around 1200 BCE its influence over Canaan began to wane, clearing the stage for the entry of new cultural entities. A new period – the Iron Age – began.”

“Some scholars have suggested that this period, during which pastoral, tribal societies lived on the outskirts of Canaan’s large cities, should be seen as the backdrop for the biblical stories of the Patriarchs.”

“The Canaanites worshiped many gods, who were responsible for all aspects of life and the forces of nature. At the head of the panteon was El, father of the gods, and his wife Asherah, their mother. The chief god, however, was the storm god Baal, responsible for fertility and growth. The main goddesses were Anat and Astarte, symbols of beauty, fertility, and war.”

“Though the Canaanites had entered a period of decline, they continued to preserve many aspects of their culture, including religious practices and beliefs. Powerful symbols such as the lion, the bull, and the Tree of Life still served as images of protection and fertility. This deep rooted Canaanite style continued into the early days of the Israelite monarchy.”

“Within a few hundred years, most of the Canaanites assimilated into the other populations of the land. Those living in the norther coastal plain, however, retained many Canaanite cultural features. They came to be known as Phoenicians.”

Early Iron Age

1,200 – 1,000 BCE

“In the wake of the destruction, the Canaanites managed to restore cities in the northern valleys. Meanwhile, a new people – the Israelites – appeared in the barren hill country, and another group – the Philistines – arrived from Greek islands or Cyprus, ultimately settling in the southern coastal plain.”

“The following hundred years saw the gradual expansion of groups of Israelites and Philistines into Canaanite territory. These peoples fought frequently for dominion, as many biblical stories relate. Yet archaeology reveals that they also influenced each other greatly.”

Late Iron Age

“Beginning with the decline of the great powers of the Ancient East around 1,200 BCE, it lasted over six hundred years, until the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Bible records many of the important events of these times.”

“The Israelites began as a loosely organized, rural society. Over time, they succeeded in establishing a kingdom. The heart of the kingdom was its capital, Jerusalem; the heart of Jerusalem was the Temple. Not long after the kingdom formed, however, struggles for succession divided it into two: the Kingdom of Israel in the north and Kingdom of Judah in the south.”

“The Assyrians destroyed the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE. About 130 years later, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylonia, sent his army to Judah to subdue a rebellious Jerusalem. The city was destroyed, and the Temple was put to the torch. The Babylonians sent a significant part of the population into exile.”

“Babylonia fell to Cyrus, King of Persia, in 539 BCE. Shortly thereafter, the new ruler allowed the exiles to return to the Land and rebuild their Temple. Judah, now called Yehud, became a Persian province, until it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE.”

Well, I think that is enough for this history lesson. Trust me, there is so much more.