| A | B |
|---|
| famine | a shortage of food that leads to widespread hunger |
| artisans | craftspeople |
| scribe | a professional writer |
| bartering | exchanging goods and services for other goods and services |
| drought | a time of little or no rain |
| economy | the production and consumption of goods and services in a society |
| Torah | the first five books of the Hebrew bible |
| polytheism | the worship of many gods |
| conquer | to defeat |
| covenant | an agreement |
| monotheism | belief in one god |
| descendant | people who are born into later generations in the same family |
| synagogue | Jewish house of worship |
| Judaism | one of the first monotheistic religions; the religion practiced by Israelites |
| Ten Commandments | a set of laws that provided guidance for the worship of God and for moral behavior |
| Abraham | a shepherd who lived in Ur and is considered to be the first Jew |
| Moses | the Hebrew man who led the Hebrews out of Egypt across the Sinai desert to freedom sometime between 1200 and 1400 B.C.E. |
| Nebuchadnezzar | Chaldean king who finally captures the city of Jerusalem |
| Deborah | a female Hebrew judge and prophet who encouraged a military leader to gather the tribes of Israel to attack the Canaanites; her prediction that a woman would win the war came true between 1200 and 1125 B.C. |
| David | Jewish king who united the tribes and founded a new kingdom called Israel around 1000 B.C.E. |
| Solomon | son of King David who built a temple in Jerusalem to house the Torah and to serve as a place of worship; known as a wise ruler. |
| Jacob | the son of Abraham who was also called Israel which means "one who struggles with God." |
| Phoenicians | A group of Canaanites who lived by the sea and were good sailors and traders. |
| Canaan | a region along the Mediterranean Sea in southwest Asia. |
| Mount Sinai | A rocky mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of northeastern Egypt. |
| tribe | a seperate family group. Jacob raised 12 sons in Canaan. These family groups became the 12 tribes of Israel. |
| alphabet | a group of letters that stand for sounds. |
| Philistines | c. 1000 B.C., the strongest people in Canaan. They had strong cities and made iron tools and weapons. Many Israelites copied their ways because they feared their power. |
| Saul | The first King of the Israelites. |
| Jerusalem | The city David chose to be the capital of Israel. |
| Judah | A small kingdom in southern Canaan, founded by two of the 12 tribes after Soloman died. Its capital was Jerusalem. |
| Israel | A kingdom in northern Canaan, founded by ten of the 12 tribes after Soloman died. Its capital was Samaria. |
| judge (n.) | usually a military leader of the Israelites. A judge ususually commanded 1 or 2 tribes; seldom all 12. |
| prophet | a person who claims to be instructed by God to share God's words. |
| empire | a nation that rules several other nations. |
| tribute | money or slaves given to a strong ruler. |
| proverb | a wise saying. |
