Jewish History, Scripture, and Traditions: Key Terms & Timeline

722 BCE

Assyria conquers the Northern Kingdom (Israel)

587 BCE

Babylon conquers the Southern Kingdom (Judah), destroys 1st Temple, begins exile

539 BCE

Cyrus of Persia defeats Babylon, ends the exile, allows Temple rebuilding

70 CE

Romans destroy the 2nd Temple; sacrifice ends; Rabbinic Judaism rises

928 BCE

United monarchy splits into Israel (north) and Judah (south)

c. 1250 BCE

Exodus from Egypt led by Moses

1st Temple

Built by Solomon (957 BCE); destroyed by Babylon 587 BCE

2nd Temple

Built c. 515 BCE after exile; destroyed by Rome 70 CE

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Seleucid ruler (175-164 BCE); Hellenized Judea, statue of Zeus and pig sacrifices in Temple

Judas Maccabee

Led revolt against Antiochus (167 BCE); Temple rededicated

Hanukkah

Festival of Dedication; Maccabees' victory; menorah lights last 8 days

Cyrus the Great

Persian king who ended the Babylonian exile; called God's "messiah" in Isaiah 45

Apiru

Outsiders to Canaanite city-states; possible origin of "Hebrew" (peasant revolt theory)

Canaan

The "Promised Land"

Diaspora

Dispersal of Jews beyond their homeland (Babylonian exile and after Roman war)

Abram/Abraham

Called by God; promised land and descendants through whom all families of the earth would be blessed

Abraham's covenant rituals

Splitting animals (Gen 15) AND circumcision (Gen 17)

Patriarchs

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob

Isaac

Son of Abraham; name means "laughter"

Jacob

Renamed Israel; his 12 sons = 12 tribes

Moses

Led the Exodus; received the Torah/Ten Commandments at Sinai

Sinai covenant ritual

Moses puts sacrificial blood on the altar AND on the people (Ex 24)

Decalogue

The Ten Commandments

David

King (1005-965 BCE); God's covenant promises his throne will last forever

Solomon

King; built the 1st Temple

Pharisees

Studied written and oral Torah; believed in resurrection; became Rabbinic Judaism

Sadducees

Priestly elite tied to Rome; rejected oral Torah and resurrection; disappeared with Temple

Essenes

Reclusive group that scorned Temple authorities and withdrew to the wilderness; end-times focus

Rabbinic Judaism

Judaism after 70 CE; centered on synagogue and study instead of Temple sacrifice

Reform Judaism

Most progressive; 19th c. Germany; shorter vernacular services; kosher optional; dropped Messiah/resurrection

Conservative Judaism

Middle ground; keeps Torah observance but accepts historical development (e.g., Bat Mitzvah)

Orthodox Judaism

Most traditional; closest to Rabbinic norms

Zionism

Movement to establish a Jewish state; Israel founded 1948

Shoah

"Calamity"; the Holocaust; about 6 million Jews murdered by Nazi Germany (1933-1945)

Blood libel

False charge that Jews ritually used Christian blood

Host desecration

False charge that Jews defiled consecrated communion bread

Tanakh

Hebrew Bible; acronym TNK = Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim

Torah

"Law"; first five books

Nevi'im

The Prophets (e.g., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos)

Ketuvim

The Writings (e.g., Psalms, Job)

Mishnah

"Repetition"; collection of rabbinic teachings interpreting scripture

Talmud

"Instruction"; Mishnah + Gemara (discussion of the Mishnah)

Documentary hypothesis

Torah compiled from multiple sources (J, E, P) by later editors

J (Yahwist)

Older source; uses YHWH; God is immanent (clay, breath, walks in Garden)

E (Elohist)

Source that prefers the name "Elohim" for God

P (Priestly)

Newer source; God is transcendent; creates by command ("Let there be light")

YHWH

Personal name of God

El / Elohim

Names for God shared with neighboring cultures

Covenant

Pact with God: "I will be their God, and they will be my people"

Two covenant motifs

Legal contract (breakable) AND lover-beloved bond (everlasting); Bible uses both

Monotheism

Belief that only one God exists (Shema)

Monolatry/henotheism

Worship of one God while accepting others may exist

Hebrew Bible anthropology

"You are dust"; the person is the body, not an immaterial soul

Nephesh / ruach

Breath/life force; not a separate soul

Bodily resurrection

First explicit in Daniel; Pharisees accepted, Sadducees rejected, most Reform reject

Sacrifice

Returning to God what is God's; thanksgiving; ended after 70 CE

Holocaust (sacrifice)

Whole burnt offering given completely to God

Peace offering

Sacrifice in which the offering parties share in the feast

Ark of the Covenant

Portable chest holding the Ten Commandments; God's presence rests on it

Holy of Holies

Inner sanctuary of the Temple that held the Ark

Sabbath

Day of rest, Friday sunset to Saturday sunset; God rested on day 7 (P source)

Kippah/yarmulke

Head covering

Tallit/tallis

Fringed prayer shawl; fringes recall the commandments

Kosher/kashrut

Ritually acceptable diet; no pork, shellfish, or blood

Synagogue

Center of Jewish worship and study after the Temple's destruction

Rosh Hashanah

Jewish New Year; shofar is blown

Shofar

Ram's horn

Yom Kippur

Day of Atonement; once the high priest entered the Holy of Holies; today repentance and confession

Atonement / expiation

Reconciliation ("at-one-ment"); God cleanses sin (KPR)

Passover/Pesach

Commemorates the Exodus from Egypt

Sukkot

Feast of Booths; remembers living in temporary shelters in the wilderness

Prophet

Speaks for God, critiques the people, and warns them; not mainly predicting the future

Amos

Farmer/herder from Judah who preached in the North against oppression of the poor

Amos's hope images

Plowman overtakes reaper, mountains drip sweet wine, rebuilt cities on permanent land

Why God sends suffering

Punishment to bring change (like a parent) AND purification (refiner's fire)

Eschatology

Study of the "last things"; God's Reign

Messiah

"Anointed one"; Hebrew mashiach; Greek christos

Who was anointed

Prophets, priests, and kings

Krieg's 5 messianic motifs

King (new David), Priest (Melchizedek), Prophet (new Moses), Son of Man (Daniel 7), Shepherd (Zechariah)

Martyr

"Witness"; killed for faith; respected but NOT linked to the Messiah in Judaism

Amy-Jill Levine

Orthodox Jewish New Testament scholar (Vanderbilt); wrote The Misunderstood Jew

Levine on the school bus

A classmate told her "You killed our Lord"