Israel History Timeline – List of Significant Moments from Biblical to Modern Times

Israel's historical timeline is a long and arduous road towards independence. It is one in which the series of events that transpired from Biblical events down to modern history has shaped its people into what they are now.

Before we dive into a more detailed analysis, let’s step back a bit and go through a brief overview of Israel.

Originally referred to as Eretz Yisrael, Israel is a country situated in the Western part of Asia. It shares a border with Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan on the northeast, north, west, and east sides. While some question the legality of Israel as a sovereign state, it is geographically organized into six central administrative districts (also known as mehozot) and fifteen sub-districts (also known as nafot) that further split into regional councils, municipalities, and cities.

These districts, cities, municipalities, and councils are home to over 9 million people. According to United Nations Population Data, this places Israel in the 100th spot of countries with the highest population.

The country prides itself on having the most number of trees worldwide. It is also number one in terms of publishing the highest number of scientific and academic articles annually.

In popular culture and travel, it has Red Star, the only underwater restaurant in the world. The restaurant serves traditional Middle Eastern cocktails and meals.

No other country has shaped the global political, economic, and religious landscape more than Israel. For a tiny country, Israel’s journey as a people has had a tremendous impact in the world than most countries. Starting from Abraham’s days to the days of Jacob, Israel’s history is such an incredible influence bar none.

History of Israel | Timeline

In this article, we will divide the list of significant events in Israel in two ways:

1. We will look into the origins of the people of Israel from a Biblical standpoint.

2. We will discuss the post-Biblical events that shaped the history and creation of Israel.

Biblical History of Israel

We can trace the Biblical history of Israel back to Abraham the Patriarch, as explained in the Book of Genesis, and from where Israel originated [the origination of Israel story]. In Genesis Chapter 12, Abram, 75, a man from a nomadic tribe dwelling in the town of Ur, was called upon by the Jewish God to leave his land, family, and belongings and go to Canaan, the promised land.

In Chapter 17, Yahweh said that from now on, Abram would be called Abraham, which means “father of multitudes.” This pronouncement confused Abraham as he is very old. He told his wife Sarah about what Yahweh told him, and she laughed at God’s promise. Sarah was too old to bear and give birth to a child.

Even before Yahweh’s promised heir, Abraham bedded his Egyptian slave-girl Hagar who gave birth to Ishmael. [Scholars say Ishmael is the root from which the word Islam was based.]

In Genesis Chapter 21, Sarah became pregnant and gave birth to a son whom Abraham named Isaac.

Many years have passed, and Isaac has grown into a man. He married Rebekah and gave birth to twin brothers Esau and Jacob. As it is common in old Jewish traditions, conflicts among kins are present. Jacob cheated Esau for his birthright, and the latter wanted to kill him. His father also wanted to marry him off to a Canaanite woman, and Jacob was against it. So, Jacob ran away from home and went to his uncle Laban. It is here where Jacob married two women who later on gave birth to 12 children.

After serving Laban for some years, he left and headed back to Canaan. On his way, he encountered an angel of God. Jacob wrestled with the holy being, hoping to get the Holy High’s blessing. They wrestled until sundown, and when the angel realized Jacob would not give up, he broke one of Jacob’s ribs, blessed him, and called him “Israel,” which translates to “the one who wrestled with God.”

The name Israel stuck with Jacob and his 12 sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, and Joseph, are referred to as the 12 tribes of Israel in the Old Testament. These 12 tribes later served as the foundation of the Kingdom of Israel.

One famous story among the 12 brothers is Joseph’s narrative, the 11th son of Jacob, being sold to Egypt. Joseph is the favorite of Jacob, and his brothers became jealous. Jacob has a gift of dream interpretation, and it came in handy during his stay in Egypt.

He interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream giving insight into what will happen to Egypt in the future. It was because of his dream interpretation that allowed the Pharaoh and the rest of Egypt to plan and stave off calamities. The Pharaoh rewarded Joseph. Such reward trickled down to Jacob’s other children when they suffered from famine and had to go to Egypt to beg for food and supplies.

Joseph welcomed his brothers openly and forgave them. It is at this point in which the tribes of Israel found a new home in Egypt.

However, when Joseph and Jacob died, their sons and lineage suffered from the succeeding Egyptian leadership’s hands. They were subjected to slave labor building Egyptian architecture for hundreds of years.

It was during this period that Israel’s history became even more interesting. Moses, whose name means “saved by the waters,” was the son of Amran and Jochebed, two Jewish slaves of the Egyptian empire. They saved Moses from the wrath of the Pharaoh, who ordered the killing of firstborn Jewish children. There was a prophecy when the eldest Jewish son would lead a slave revolt and overthrow the Egyptian leadership.

Moses was set adrift in the River Nile, and Bithya, the Pharaoh’s daughter, saved the child. She kept Moses as her own. Moses grew up as one of the princes of Egypt. He became a close and dear friend of Ramses II, the heir to the Egyptian throne.

Later, Moses discovered the truth about his background and left Egypt to be with his people. During this period, the God of Abraham talked to him in one of his treks to Mount Sinai. Yahweh told Moses that he would be instrumental in setting the Jewish people free from Egyptian slavery.

Below is a brief timeline of the Biblical history of ancient Israel:

Post-Biblical History of Israel

Israel History in Modern Days

Post-Independence in Israel History

Summary

Before we round off this article, here is a brief recap of what we discussed in the article;

• Israel is an Independent State that features 15 sub-districts and six administrative districts.

• Israel has the only underwater restaurant in the world.

• Israel’s origin and history date as far back as the Biblical Abraham’s days who birthed Isaac. Isaac also birthed Esau and Jacob.

• Jacob was renamed Israel by God, and his 12 children became the 12 tribes of Israel.

• The history timeline of Israel starts from when the children of Israel left Egypt through Moses’ leadership.

• And from there on to date, Israel’s history features many battles and conflicts with its surrounding nations.

• Israel became an Independent State in the year 1948 and has been established as a nation in the United Nations.

What started as a peaceful journey – beginning from Abraham’s journey – was marred by struggles, invasions, and conflicts. From the time the people of Israel left Egypt for the promised land to this day, Israel’s history is a narrative worth telling and studying.