Saul became the first King of Israel about 1000 B.C. Many kings reigned
during the following 1,000 years. It was during this period that the great
prophets lived—Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others. The first temple was
built in Jerusalem; and Kohanim (priesthood) became very important. The
priests supervised and conducted the holiest acts of the faith.
Around 585 B. C., the Babylonians conquered Israel and destroyed the
first temple. It was during this period that the 50 years of Babylonian exile
began. Around 535 B. C., the Israelites returned to their own land, and a
second temple was built. Around A.D. 70, the Remans destroyed the second
temple. Between 585 B.C. and A. D. 150, the following events occurred:
Alexander conquered the Holy Land;
Jews reestablished self-rule under the leadership of Maccabe; and
The Remans conquered Palestine and destroyed the temple and much
of Jerusalem.
During the period A.D. 150 to A.D. 500, the Talmud was compiled. The
Talmud contains laws, prayers, philosophy, parables, and history. A history
of much of the Jewish life as it developed during this period is recorded in the
63 books of the Talmud. During this period the Jews had to live without the
active priesthood, in a land in which they were not free, and with great
persecution.
By A.D. 500, a large number of the Jewish people had taken up residence
in Babylonia, Egypt, and elsewhere throughout the Mediterranean and
Middle Eastern world. By A.D. 300, some Jews had established themselves
in Europe.
During the Medieval Period, A.D. 500 to a.D. 1800, the Israelites had
begun to refer to themselves as Jews and to their religion and culture as
Judaism. They were subjected to forced conversions, torture, murder, and
expulsions during this period. A few of the worst persecutions include:
The Crusaders’ massacre of the Jews in 1096;
The Spanish Inquisition;
The expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492; and
The massacres of Polish Jewry from 1648 to 1656.
From A.D. 1800 to the present, the Jews suffered extreme hardship.
Nearly one out of every two Jews in the world (five out of seven Jews in
Europe) were systematically and brutally murdered by the Nazis and their
sympathizers in the 1930s and 1940s. In this same era, a Jewish homeland
was reestablished in Israel in 1948. Despite all the destructive forces
assaulting the Jewish people, they have continued their 4,000 years of strug-
gle to establish a society devoted to justice, love, and peace in the service of
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