The Jewish people descend from the Israelites. As you have learned, King David and his son, King Solomon, made the Kingdom of Israel powerful. After King Solomon died, the kingdom split into a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom. Jerusalem remained the capital of the southern kingdom, which was called Judah, and David’s descendants continued to rule it. The northern kingdom had different kings. In 722 BCE, the Assyrian Empire destroyed the northern kingdom. This left only the southern kingdom. The names “Jew” and “Judaism” originate from the name of this kingdom, Judah.

So what’s the difference between Israelites and Jews? Israelites refers to an ancient group of people that lived in the Land of Israel who, according to the Hebrew Bible, received special teachings from God and returned to this homeland after their escape from slavery in Egypt. Jews are the descendants of the Israelites who were able to maintain their identity. It is appropriate to refer to the people as Jews, rather than Israelites, when referring to any time after 722 BCE

Judah remained an independent kingdom until 586 BCE when it was conquered by the Babylonians. Like the Assyrians, the Babylonians deported many of Judah’s inhabitants. Unlike the Israelites in the northern kingdom, the people in the southern kingdom were able to preserve their traditions, teachings, and unique identity. After 70 years in the Babylonian Exile, the Persians conquered the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to return home.

After the Kingdom of Judah was conquered, its name continued to be used continuously until 135 CE. It was successively the name of a Babylonian province, a Persian province, a province in several Greek empires that followed the conquests of Alexander the Great, the kingdom that regained Jewish independence, and a Roman province. Over time, the Latin form of the name, Judea, became more common than the original Judah, but the name was essentially the same. Scholars and maps often use this form of the name to describe the region even in pre-Roman periods. As you will learn, this name remained until a Roman emperor changed it.

This map shows the Persian Empire at its greatest extent. Where in the Persian Empire was the Jewish homeland? Was it a small part or a big part of the empire?

The Persians practiced tolerance toward the peoples in their empire. As a result, they allowed the exiled Jews to return to Judea. Being able to return to their homeland, where their ancestors lived and where their religion developed, was extremely important for these Jews. But this was not the only important impact of the Persian policy of tolerance. The Persians also allowed the Jews to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

King Solomon built the First Temple around the year 962 BCE. According to tradition it contained the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred object built during the Exodus which contained the Ten Commandments. When the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, they destroyed the First Temple. But the Jews rebuilt it as soon as they could, shortly after the Persians allowed them to return to their homeland. As you will learn, the Romans eventually destroyed this Second Temple.

For approximately 1000 years, from the time Solomon built the First Temple until the Romans destroyed the Second Temple, the Temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish worship and religious life. The Temple no longer stands, but its site remains the most sacred place in the world to Jews.

Above is a model of what the temple looked like when it stood. It was built by a 78 year old British farmer named Alec Gerrard. It took him 30 years to complete. Do you think you could spend 30 years building something?