Israelites
Israeliteswere aSemitic peopleof the ancientMiddle East.They lived in part of what wasCanaanduring the time of theBible.This area came to be called theLand of Israel.It usually refers to a member of one of theTribes of Israel.The termChildren of Israelis also used,especiallywhen talking about the period of theFive Books of Moses.
Israelites lived in the kingdom of Israel, in areas where the modernState of Israelis now. Israel split off from a kingdom calledJudah,whose people were later calledJews.Israel was conquered by theAssyriansin 721 BCE. Judah was conquered by theBabyloniansin 586 BCE. Many Jews were taken away from Judah. When theAchaemenid Empiredefeated the Babylonians they let the Jews return to rebuild theSecond TempleinJerusalemabout 70 years later.
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