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|'''Events'''
|'''Estimated Dates'''
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|Creation of Adam and Eve
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|Covenant
|1921 B.C.'''Bold text'''
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|Abraham to Israel
"Jehovah"), and to this day some observant Jewish people consider it improper to write the name of God and instead write "G-d". "Yahweh" simply means "I am who I am," written in the Hebrew language (which lacks vowels) as YHWH. ("Yah" by itself means simply, "I am.") It is the name God instructed Moses use at the encounter at the miraculous burning bush that continued to burn without destruction in Exodus 3:14: "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
It remains a mystery as to precisely when the books of the Old Testament were written, but here are some estimates for several of the most prominent books:
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|Genesis, 1440-1400 B.C.'''Book'''|-'''Estimated Dates'''|Exodus, 1440-1400 B.C.|-|Leviticus, 1440-1400 B.C.|-|Numbers, 1440-1400 B.C.'''Basis for Dates'''
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|Deuteronomy, Genesis and all of Pentateuch|1440-1400 B.C.|Time of Moses and Exodus (early dates used)
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|Joshua, 1400-1360 B.C.
|}
After leaving Egypt, the Hebrews settled back in the hills of Palestine or Canaan along eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about where Israel is today. They quickly developed a productive society despite the barrenness of the land. They implemented a system of private property, which much sharing within the family structure. Before long, they became targets for their less sophisticated and pagan neighbors. Worst among these were the Philistines, who had iron weapons and good organization. The Hebrews, in contrast, were loosely affiliated and unprepared to defend against outside invasions. The Bible recounts many of these struggles with the Philistines, which Hebrews interpreted as God's punishment for their disobedience.
Inevitably a Hebrew warrior, Saul, took power around 1000 B.C. and defeated the Philistines and Canaanites. The priest Samuel anointed Saul king, but many Hebrews declined to obey him. David, a shrewd fighter who had trained as a mercenary with the Philistines, became famous as a teenager for defeating the Philistine giant Goliath as described in the Bible. David then built an empire for Israel that extended from Damascus, then a thriving city in the Fertile Crescent, all the way south past what is now the Gaza Strip. For its capital he built a hill city called Jerusalem, and encapsulated it within a wall. II Samuel 9-20 describes this period.
David’s David's son was Solomon, who ruled for forty years (965-925 B.C.) and constructed the great temple of Jerusalem. He was known for his wisdom and justice. He created two states: Israel in the north, with a capital at Samaria, and Judah in the south, with a capital at Jerusalem. But Solomon also taxed the Hebrews heavily and, after he died, the empire fell into decline. The Kingdom of Israel split after the death of Solomon. I Kings 12.
[[Image:Twelve Tribes of Israel.JPG|right]]
Judah in the south survived longer than Israel in the north. The southern Kingdom of Judah consisted of two of the twelve Hebrew tribes, while the northern Kingdom of Israel had the other ten Hebrew tribes. But due to its northern location, the Kingdom of Israel had to contend with Assyria, which was cruel and extremely powerful kingdom of northern Mesopotamia. It was located in present-day northern Iraq and at times controlled the northern part of present-day Syria. It became an independent state in the 14th century B.C., expanded in the 9th century B.C. and, under powerful kings like Sargon II, united most of the Middle East from Egypt to the Persian Gulf under Assyrian rule. It was finally destroyed by a Chaldean-Median coalition in 612-609 B.C.