Ancestor: A member of a family or tribe who was born long ago

Ancient: Very old

Ark of the Covenant: A gold plated wooden chest that contained the original Ten Commandments

Bondage: Being held against your will; like slavery

Commandment: A law or religious rule

Covenant: An agreement

Descendants: Members of a family or tribe who were born after a person

Exile: To be sent away from your homeland for a long time

Expansion: Getting larger; taking more land

Environment: Everything that surrounds you - like land, air, trees, weather, animals, plants

Garment: Clothing

Laborers: Workers

Literature: Stories and poetry

Mesopotamia: An area of land in western Asia, northwest of the Persian Gulf

Migrate: To move from one land to another

Miraculous: Like a miracle

Monotheism: The belief in one god

Nomad: A person who moves from place to place looking for food, water and grazing land

Overseer: Someone who watches other people work; a supervisor

Pharoah: The ruler in Ancient Egypt

Philistines: Group of warriors who invaded Canaan

Polytheism: The belief in many gods and goddesses

Rejoice: Celebrate; Be very happy

Sabbath: A day of rest and thinking about God

Scroll: An early type of book

Site: A place

Survive: Be able to live

Temple: A place to pray and worship a god or goddess

Testament: A statement of belief

Torah: Early books of the Bible

Wilderness: Unsettled land; desert, a wild land