East of Euphrates River Came the Hebrews

TimeLine: Jewish History: Hebrews came from other side of Euphrates River's- Garden of Eden

Nadene Goldfoot

The Jewish Calendar shows that this is year 5772 from Creation: So, Starting about 4,000 years ago:  

2nd millennium BCE 1900- Abraham From Ur of the Chaldees (Iraq) son of Terah, father of Isaac by wife Sarah and Ishmael by her handmaid, Hagar.  Migrated to Canaan to live among the Canaanites and the Philistines of that land.  Took a trip to Egypt, came back to live in Hebron.  Founder of Monotheism.  Where did his ancestors come from?

1740 BCE Sumerian Records about Habiru. Other referrals are Apiru, Ivrim, Hebrews.  Could be Ivrim descending from Eber, grandson of Shem or one who comes from the other side of the Euphrates River.  Abraham is called the Hebrew (Gen. 14:13).  It's not for sure that Habiru and Hebrews are the same.  Hebrew is the origin of ebreo and Yevrei, the Italian and Russian words for Jew.  

15-17th Centuries BCE Canaan was the name for Syria, applied to coast of today's Israel.   Before conquest by Joshua, was made up of small city-states.  Israelites called land “Eretz Yisrael -the land of Israel”  and still do.  They referred to the northern part as Aram (Syria).

The name "Palestine" was given to Eretz Yisrael's Judea  by the Romans who took the land in 135 CE after Jerusalem was taken in 70 CE.  It was done to erase the presence of the Jews, something they often did to land they took.  It was the name of the Philistines, and first used actually by the Greeks.  Long ago they referred to the land as Palestinian Syria. Now, Arabs in Eretz Israel call themselves "Palestinians."  

Canaanites:  a mixture of 11 peoples descended from Canaan, son of Ham, son of Noah,  living between Nile and Euphrates of Horites, Hittites and Hebrews dating back to 17th century.  Almost all destroyed or assimilated by Israelites in 13th century, Philistines on coast in 12th century, and Arameans in the north in 11th century.  Rest lived under Kings David and Solomon and absorbed.

Euphrates River is the westerly of 2 rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates.  They enclose Mesopotamia (Iraq) The source was said to be the Garden of Eden.  The Euphrates was to be the ultimate boundary of the Israelites.  Many Jewish communities lay along the Euphrates in talmudic times and after.  On the lower part were the centers of Babylonian scholarship, ie  Sura, Nehardea and Mahozsa.

18th Century-16th Century BCE Semitic Hyksos dynasty


1720 BCE Entered Egypt during famine, joined brother Joseph, stayed, became slaves, lived there 400 years.
1700 BCE Joseph, 11th son of Jacob kidnapped, taken to Egypt, became viceroy there.  Father Jacob and   brothers join him. 12th brother was Benjamin.  Rachel  then died in childbirth.
15th-14th Century BCE  (Habiru (Ivri) (Hebrews) invaders conquest of Canaan
1320-1200 BCE EXODUS; Moses entered Canaan with 12 Tribes, 600,000 people from Egypt, Joshua’s conquest
1010 BCE Jebusites in Jerusalem, allowed to remain
10?? BCE (11th Century BCE) King Saul, king of Israel of tribe of Benjamin
1000-960 BCE King David of Israel
  961-920 BCE  King Solomon,  Built first Temple to hold ark,
 933-912 BCE King Solomon died, land divided into 2 kingdoms,  King Jeroboam, revolt, became northly kingdom of Israel and (King Rehoboam and kingdom of Judah), the southerly kingdom
730-721 BCE   King Hoshea, last king; Assyrian King Shalmaneser V takes Samaria
721 Sargon of Assyria takes 27,290 Israelites, 10 tribes,  to Assyria and Media, the Lost Ten Tribes 
634-562 BCE Babylonian period with Nebuchadnezzar, 70 years of exile
597 -586 king Zedekiah of Judah, King Jehoiachin18 years old, king  3 months, 1st and 2nd Babylonian captivity, thousands Jews deported-chief men of the land, of tribe of Judah
July 9, 586 BCE Jerusalem’s destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, 1st Temple destroyed
582 BCE 3rd deportation of Jews by Nebuchadnezzar
538-515 2nd Temple in Jerusalem built including “Western Wall.”
537 BCE: Persians: Cyrus II 600 BCE-530 BCE- Sent 40,000 Jews back to native land
519 BCE Exiles returned after the 50 years of exile

312-198 BCE Ptolemaic rule in Jerusalem
300 BCE Jews in exile in Mesopotamia (Iraq pre-Moslem history was Babylonia) and in homeland in Israel/Judah were under Persian rule now.  Book of Esther show Jews living in 127 provinces of the Persian Empire, numerous in capital of Shusha (Shushan).
250 BCE Parthia ruled

70 CE Fall of Temple in Jerusalem
135 BCE Bar Kokhba’s Stand for Jerusalem

570-632 Mohammad born, died in Arabia
641/2 CE Arab Conquest of Persia

1. Reference: Tanakh, Stone Edition, page 2035, tribal census Appendix B, charts 10-11
  Jacob’s family, 70 people who descended to Egypt page 2030, charts 4-5
Babylonian Exile page 2027 timeline 5 Appendix A
2. The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia page 483 Kings of Israel
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habiru
4.http://www.bible-history.com/map_babylonian_captivity/map_of_the_deportation_of_judah_jewish_encyclopedia.html
http://jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/2012/09/jewish-year-of-5772-5773-our-history.html