Changes

==Israel==

==Israel==

While the Kassites were in control of Babylon, the oldest religion that is still active today began: Judaism.  The ancient Hebrews were descendants of Abram (later in his life his name became "Abraham", meaning "father of many"), who lived in Ur around 2000 B.C., and his wife Sarah, through their son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob.  Later the name of the ancient Hebrews became known as the "Israelites", once the kingdom of the Hebrews was established with the crowning of King David around 1000 B.C.  But Israel did not remain intact as a nation in the ancient world; after the reigns of King David and his son Solomon, it split into two kingdoms, and then was captured and taken into captivity.  Beginning with the terminology in the Book of Esther, which was written between 200 and 300 B.C., the people of the former Israel became known as the "Jewish people," or the "Jews".  Judaism did not exist before Abraham, and it is not known where his ancestors lived in the prior millennium; they could have lived throughout the Middle East, including ancient Egypt.

While the Kassites were in control of Babylon, the oldest religion that is still active today began: Judaism.  The ancient Hebrews were descendants of Abram (later in his life his name became "Abraham", meaning "father of many"), who lived in Ur around 2000 B.C., and his wife Sarah, through their son Isaac and Isaac's son Jacob.  Later the name of the ancient Hebrews became known as the "Israelites", once the kingdom of the Hebrews was established with the crowning of King David around 1000 B.C.  But Israel did not remain intact as a nation in the ancient world; after the reigns of King David and his son Solomon, it split into two kingdoms, and then was captured and taken into captivity.  Beginning with the terminology in the Book of Esther, which was written between 200 and 300 B.C., the people of the former Israel became known as the "Jewish people," or the "Jews".  Judaism did not exist before Abraham; it would, however, be an anachronism to describe Abraham as Jewish even in the ancient sense let alone in the modern; and it is not known where his ancestors lived in the prior millennium; they could have lived throughout the Middle East, including ancient Egypt.

The timeline is easy to remember:  '''Jesus (6 B.C. to about A.D. 30) lived half-way between Abraham (2000 B.C.) and today (A.D. 2009).  King David and the founding of Israel was halfway between Abraham and Jesus.'''

The timeline is easy to remember:  '''Jesus (6 B.C. to about A.D. 30) lived half-way between Abraham (2000 B.C.) and today (A.D. 2009).  King David and the founding of Israel was halfway between Abraham and Jesus.'''