LIST OF TERMS FOR MIDTERM Jerusalem Center of the southern Kingdom of Judah o Where the Monarchy was situated The House of David There was a Temple to be home for God Temple House of David allegiance made the Israelites of the north survive longer then the Israelites of the south 586 Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed the kingdom of Judah in 586 o The destruction of the temple disrupted the core of Judahites religious life forcing Judahites to find new ways to interact with God o Many people remained in Judah but majority were exiled to Babylon where the exiles had to adapt their identity and traditions to a very different culture and political environment o Prophetic texts were composed during this period Aimed to help remaining Judahites religious tradition in a way that would allow it to continue without Davidic dynasty Prophet Jeremiah urges Jews to adapt to new circumstances The cutting of the fore skin of a Jewish babies penis Part of adherence to Jewish Law Antiochus IV stopped Jews from circumcising their male babies Circumcision Merenptah Stele The Exodus Cyrus Year 539 Babylonian rule ended because the Neo Babylonian Empire was defeated by Persian King Cyrus II This isn t a time of restoration but a time of reformation Judahite Judaism Judahites were allowed to return to their ancestral land and could rebuild a Temple However they could not restore the independent state of Judah with a king of their own o Province was called Yehud Documentary Hypothesis Five books of Moses are not actually the work of a single author but a composite of preexisting sources Editor wove these sources together into a narrative Moses couldn t have written the Five Books of Moses because o It talks in the Third Person o Talks about Moses death and burial The Hebrew Bible reflects the ancient Near Eastern setting in which its contents were composed o Bible did not come out of a cultural vacuum its writers employed compositional techniques and drew on intellectual traditions shared with scribes from other Near Eastern texts Julius Wellhausen JEPD Tel el Amarna Tablets Alexander the Great Hellenism Jewish culture went through major cultural changes during the time of Alexander the Great 331 CE He defeated Darius III of the Persian Empire o The impact of his conquests transformed the cultures of the ancient Near Easy for centuries Initiates the HELLENISITC AGE Hellenization was a way to preserve Jewish culture in an environment where Jews were resented by the native population and highly dependent on their Greek rulers Greek AKA Koine was used for language Greek style cities were established throughout the Near East o Most famous Alexandra in Egypt founded by Alexander the Great Homer and Plato are responsible for creating Greek form of education and literature Not everyone was so receptive to Greek influences o Some Jews embrace Greek culture while others distance themselves from it o Judea Jews living in Judea were more isolated from Greek culture less influenced o Alexandra Jews living in Alexandra were surrounded by Greek influence The impact of Hellinization transcended the difference between homeland and Diaspora Jews had to choose whether to Assimilate or Not o Greek culture offered a new range of opportunities that were not available under earlier rulers o Jews who dressed spoke and acted in a Hellenized fashion Were more likely to gain social stature Influence of employment from the government Greek Culture also posed threats o The adoption of Greek ways potentially could displace the traditions that link Jews to their ancestors assimilation o In Reality most Jews found ways to mediate between resistance and complete Adjusted to life but also cultivated a Jewish identity Ptolemaic Kingdom Ruled Egypt and Judea until 200 BCE o Allowed Jews to rule many of their own affairs according to the Bible o The successors of Alexander the Great forced the Jews into a closer tie to Greek influence with the rest of the Kingdom Zenon Documents reveal a Palestine monitored controlled and exploited by the Ptolemaic King Ptolemy brought 100 000 captives from Judea to Egypt Septuagint Septuagint the Torah Translation of Hebrew to Greek o Torah was translated into Greek many Jews in Ptolemaic Egypt probably spoke Greek as their first language That TRANSLATION is known as SEPTUAGINT The Septuagint preserves a form of the biblical canon from a much earlier period than the Masoretic Bible o It was a Greek translation version of the torah and now bible o Translates a different form of the biblical text It is 50 verses shorter than Masoretic version of David and Goliath o It is organized according in a different scheme and includes a number of books not found at all in the Masoretic version Many of these textual differences between manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible were leveled out by the second century CE Settled on the proto Masoretic version Manetho Maccabean Revolt 166 BCE Began as a civil war with Orthodox Jews vs Hellenized Jews Orthodox Jews Macabees gained momentum and started the Revolt against the Seleucid Greek Kingdom o 140 BCE They were victorious and re claimed the temple and the freedom of religion they had sought out Hanukkah Their Gorilla War tactics made them successful 37 BCE to 4 CE Ruler of Judea Herod the Great A Jew who was a mediator between Romans and his Jewish people Romans depended on Herod to keep peace in Judea he is known as a friend The Jewish people QUESTIONED his Jewishness BEST KNOWN FOR 2 THINGS o Building the Temple incredible temple active builder o Role he played in the story of JESUS CHRIST Christianity He ordered the death of all children in Bethlehem after learning that the King of the Jews Jesus had been born there This shows Herod would kill anyone if he felt threatened o Killed his wife mother in law and 3 of his kids John the Baptist o HEROD WAS CRUEL He used Procurators like Governors o They were cruel and Disliked Jewish tradition Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate Notorious for his rule in Jesus trial He bluntly disrespected Jewish tradition Procurator governor between 26 37 CE o Briberies insults robberies injuries executions w o trials Other Procurators after Pilate were even worse This caused the Jewish Revolt in 66 CE Jesus of Nazareth Dead Sea Scrolls David and Solomon David or Mezuzot Dead Sea Scrolls have evidence of Mezuzahs o Mezuzah Biblical passages affixed to doorposts as a reminder of God s commandments o 12th Century o The 2nd King of Israel o