After 40 years in the desert led by Joshua, the Hebrews fought for 4 years to take back the land of Canaan from the Canaanites who already lived there. Saul became the first king and during a battle with the Philistines, the young David killed Goliath. David then became king in 1000 BC and united the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, establishing Jerusalem as the capital. Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem to hold the Ark of the Covenant, completing it after 3,000 workers and heavy taxes. In 931 BC, the northern Israelites broke away to form their own kingdom of Israel while the south remained Judah.

2.  After (1) 40 YEARS in the desert, the
Hebrews reached Canaan led by (2)
JOSHUA, son of Nun.
 But a group called the (3) CANAANITES
already lived there!
 After (3) FOUR YEARS of war, the
Hebrews finally had their land back.

3.  (4) SAUL became the first king of the Israelite
Kingdom.
 Saul was famous for winning many battles and
defeating all of Israel’s enemies.
 During one battle against the (5) PHILISTINES, the
warrior (6) GOLIATH challenged the Israelite fighters.
 No one would fight him, until (7) DAVID, a young man
who played the harp for Saul, slew Goliath with a
single shot from his slingshot.
 David became famous, which made Saul jealous.

4.  King Saul actually wanted
to kill David.
 (8) GOD was angered by
this and for other things
that Saul had done.
 Saul and his three sons
were soon all killed in
battle.
 (9) DAVID was made king
around 1000BC.

5.  King David finished off the
last Israelite enemy, the (10)
PHILISTINES.
 This (11) UNITED the two
Hebrew kingdoms, (12)
ISRAEL to the north and (12)
JUDAH to the south.
 The united (13) KINGDOM
OF ISRAEL was born.
 David made (14)
JERUSALEM capital and
created the government,
army, courts, and government
officials.

6.  Jerusalem was made the holy
city because it held the (15)
ARK OF THE COVENANT.
 The Ark was a stone tablet
that held the (16) TEN
COMMANDMENTS.
 After David died, his son (17)
SOLOMON became King.
 Solomon built the huge (18)
TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM to
hold the Ark of the Covenant.
 It took (19) 3,000 WORKERS
and lots of (20) TAXES to
complete it.

7.  The Israelites did not like Solomon because
he burdened the people with heavy taxes and
forced them to work on the temple.
 Near King Solomon’s death in (21) 931 BC,
the northern Israelites broke away and
formed their own kingdom called (22)
ISRAEL.
 The southern part was once again called (23)
JUDAH and (24) JERUSALEM was still its
capital.
 This split left the Israelite people vulnerable…