The Israelites (בני ישראל, Standard: Bnai Yisraʾel; Tiberian: Bnai Yiśrāʾēl; ISO 259-3 Bnai Yiśraʾel, translated as `Children of Israel` or `Sons of Israel`) were a Semitic people of the Ancient Near East, who inhabited part of Canaan during the tribal and monarchic periods (15th to 6th centuries BCE). The biblical term `Israel... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelites