In the course of its history, it has been ruled by the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Israelites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Persians, the Egyptians and the Crusaders, until it was destroyed by the Mamluks in 1270.

The covered ark with golden staves carried by the priesthood ( Ancient Israel ) | priests, and seven priests with rams ' horns, at the siege of Jericho, in an eighteenth-century artist's depiction. The biblical account relates that during the Israelites ' exodus from Egypt, the Ark was carried by the priests some 2, 000 cubits in advance of the people and their army, or host.

After their first defeat at Eben-ezer, the Israelites had the Ark brought from Shiloh, and welcomed its coming with great rejoicing.

A number of biblical scholars suspect that the distinction of the Joseph tribes ( including Benjamin ) is that they were the only Israelites which went to Egypt and returned, while the main Israelite tribes simply emerged as a subculture from the Canaanites and had remained in Canaan throughout.

Joshua forms part of the biblical history of the emergence of Israel which begins with the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, continues with their conquest of Canaan under their leader Joshua ( the subject matter of the book of Joshua ), and culminates in Judges with the settlement of the tribes in the land.

The Gibeonites trick the Israelites into entering into an alliance with them by saying they are not Canaanites ; this prevents the Israelites from exterminating them, but they are enslaved instead.

Numbers begins at Mount Sinai, where the Israelites have received their laws and covenant from God and God has taken up residence among them in the sanctuary.

Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired leaders whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as champions for the Israelites from oppression by foreign rulers, and models of wise and faithful behaviour required of them by their god Yahweh following the exodus from Egypt and conquest of Canaan.

" The stories follow a consistent pattern: the people are unfaithful to Yahweh and he therefore delivers them into the hands of their enemies ; the people repent and entreat Yahweh for mercy, which he sends in the form of a leader or champion ( a " judge "); the judge delivers the Israelites from oppression and they prosper, but soon they fall again into unfaithfulness and the cycle is repeated.

Scholars agree that the Deuteronomists ' hand can be seen in Judges through the book's cyclical nature: the Israelites fall into idolatry, God punishes them for their sins with oppression by foreign peoples, the Israelites cry out to God for help, and God sends a judge to deliver them from the foreign oppression.

This is the theme played out in Judges: the people are unfaithful to Yahweh and he therefore delivers them into the hands of their enemies ; the people then repent and entreat Yahweh for mercy, which he sends in the form of a judge ; the judge delivers the Israelites from oppression, but after a while they fall into unfaithfulness again and the cycle is repeated.

( That the story assumes the city ’ s existence and deliverance from judgment may indeed reflect an older tradition dating back to the eighth-7th century BC ) Assyria often opposed Israel and eventually took the Israelites captive in 722-721 BC ( see History of ancient Israel and Judah ).

A number of scholars have argued that the ancient Israelites incorporated the combat myth into their religious imagery, such as the figures of Leviathan and Rahab, the Song of the Sea, Isaiah 51: 9-10's description of God's deliverance of his people from Babylon, and the portrayals of enemies such as Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar.

As the Kingdom of God described in the New Testament and particularly the Book of Revelation, Heaven is a new or restored earth, a World to Come, free of sin and death, with a New Jerusalem led by God, Jesus, and the most righteous of believers starting with 144, 000 Israelites from every tribe, and all others who received salvation living peacefully and making pilgrimages to give glory to the city.

He accepts the town of Ziklag from the Philistine king Achish of Gath, but continues secretly to champion the Israelites.

Moses explains the meaning of the Passover: it is for Israel's salvation from Egypt, so that the Israelites will not be required to sacrifice their own sons, but to redeem them.

Moses comes down from the mountain, smashes the stone tablets in anger, and commands the Levites to massacre the unfaithful Israelites.

It describes events in the Old Testament of the Bible, specifically Exodus 7: 16: " And the Lord spoke unto Moses, go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me ", in which God commands Moses to demand the release of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt.

The absence of a similar precaution in construction of his Mosè in Egitto led to disaster in the scene depicting the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea, when the defects in stage contrivance always raised a laugh, so that the composer was at length compelled to introduce the chorus " Dal tuo stellato soglio " to divert attention from the dividing waves.

Prior to the Crucifixion the Jews are called Israelites, the honorific title of God's chosen people ; after it, they are called " Ioudaioi ", Jews, a sign that through their rejection of the Christ the " kingdom of Heaven " has been taken away from them and given instead to the church.

The Hittites are usually depicted as a people living among the Israelites — Abraham purchases the Patriarchal burial-plot of Machpelah from " Ephron HaChiti ", Ephron the Hittite, and Hittites serve as high military officers in David's army.

** The Israelites, descendants of Jacob, six generations removed from Eber

This encounter ends with Elijah victorious over the official Baal prophets of Israel in a contest held for the sake of the Israelites and their king, Ahab.

After its creation by Moses, the Ark was carried by the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the desert.

Whenever the Israelites camped, the Ark was placed in a special and sacred tent, called the Tabernacle.

When the Israelites, led by Joshua toward the Promised Land, arrived at the banks of the River Jordan, the Ark was carried in the lead preceding the people and was the signal for their advance ( Joshua 3: 3, 6 ).

The Ark was again set up by Joshua at Shiloh, but when the Israelites fought against Benjamin at Gibeah, they had the Ark with them and consulted it after their defeat.

After the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan, the Ark remained in the Tabernacle at Gilgal for a season before being removed to Shiloh until the time of Eli, between 300 and 400 years ( Jeremiah 7: 12 ), when it was carried into the field of battle, so as to secure, as they had hoped, victory to the Hebrews.

The story is also the first time that the word Jew ( י ְ הו ּ ד ִ י ) was used, thus denoting a distinction between the Hebrews, the Israelites, and their Jewish descendants in the diaspora.

The “ glory of YHWH ” was also revealed in the form of light-filled cloud which accompanied the Israelites during the Exodus to the Promised Land.

His purpose was to make it known that according to his God, if members of the same family were to treat each other in the same manner as Edom treated the Israelites, they too may be subject to the wrath of God.

The book of Malachi was written to correct the lax religious and social behaviour of the Israelites – particularly the priests – in post-exilic Jerusalem.

Polygyny, or men having multiple wives at once, is one of the most common marital arrangements represented in the Old Testament, yet scholars doubt that it was common among average Israelites because of the wealth needed to practice it.

Like the adjacent Arabic culture ( in the pre-Islamic period ), the act of marriage appears mainly to have consisted of the groom fetching the bride, although among the Israelites ( unlike the Arabs ) the procession was a festive occasion, accompanied by music, dancing, and lights.

The obligation imposed upon the Israelites was emphasized by the prophet Amos ():

Although collectively this choice was made freely, religious Jews believe that it created individual obligation for the descendants of the Israelites.

The structure, which was also used by the Israelites, was based on lunar months with the intercalation of an additional month to bring the cycle closer to the solar cycle.

The response of the time was to propose that the main biblical idea was still correct, but that the Israelites entered Canaan peacefully instead of through conquest.

Later, this compromise was abandoned, and the Israelites were interpreted to be indigenous Canaanites.

The Canaanite city-state system broke down at the end of the Late Bronze period, and Canaanite culture was then gradually absorbed into that of the Philistines, Phoenicians and Israelites.

In biblical times, many Israelites married foreign women, and their children appear to have been accepted as Israelite without question ; the Talmud understands that the women in question converted to Judaism.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Keturah or Ketura () was the woman whom Abraham, the patriarch of the Israelites, married after the death of his wife, Sarah.