The Hebrews started out enslaved by the Egyptians until they were freed by Moses around 1250 BC. Then the Exodus began from Egypt to the promised land. Moses led the Hebrews to Mt. Sinai to await the word of the lord. Moses dies and his successor Joshua, son of Nun, comes to bring his people to attack east of the Jordan river in Jericho against the Canaanites. Next, was the conquest of Hazor, one of the strongest towns in Canaan the Isrealites took over Hazor and the most Canaanite empire. Before Israel had its first monarchy there was a system of tribal society. There were twelve tribes who were led in times of peace by the elders and in times of war by the judges. The Judges were more like the tribal chieftains several of the Judges were active at the same time, each leading his own tribe into battle with a different foe. There was war constantly with many different peoples: “the five lords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mt. Lebanon” (Judges,3:3) The most fierce of all the people were the Philistines ,a sea people, who landed on the shores of Canaan around the end of the thirteenth century BCE. By the eleventh century the Philistines had five major kingdoms in Canaan (Gaza, Ashdod, Asshkelon, Eekron, and Gath) and were constantly at war with the Israelites attempting to force them inland. The last verse in the book of Judges “In those days there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes” this proves that the Israelites needed a King. Samuel last of the Judges was chosen to appoint a king. The first king of the Israelites in 1029 BCE was Saul who came from the tribe of Benjamin which was between the northern tribes of Ephriam and the southern tribes of Judah. Saul defeated the Ammonites in Gilead, the Moabites, the Amalekites, the Arameans, the Edomites. Saul even held the advance of the Philistines. Despite Saul’s victories he...
