BIBL 101 Unit 1 Test Study Guide

First temple period

Lasted from approximately 1006 to 586 BCE; centered on the construction and existence of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem 

Second temple period

Span of Jewish history from 515 BCE to 70 CE; this describes the period 50 years after Babylon destroyed Solomon's temple and the Jews went into exile which happened in 587 BCE. In 515 Cyrus of Persia allowed some Jews to return to rebuild the temple which refers to the Second Temple period; this period was split into 4 periods: the Persian period, Hellenistic (Greek) period, Hasmonean period, and Roman period 

586 BCE 

Babylon conquered the city of Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and took the population into exile 

6-4 BCE  

estimated time of Jesus' birth 

70 CE 

The second temple of Jerusalem is destroyed by the Romans 

Language and date range of the NT documents 

• There are 27 NT books 

• Were written in Koine Greek 

  • The date range is that they were seemingly written from 50-100 AD; keep in mind and remember that The Gospels were probably written after Paul's death, and the NT books are not in chronological order 

Order of the empires ruling Israel (Puppies Get Hotdogs Regularly) 

Persia, Greek, Hasmonean, and Roman

The Persian Period 

• 537-332 BCE 

• The Jewish nation was ruled by high priests with minimal interference from the Persian kings 

• Synagogues emerged for teaching and worship; Jews became increasingly focused on the Torah as the hallmark of their religion 

The Hellenistic (Greek) Period 

• 332-167 BCE 

• Palestine came under Greek control after the conquests of Alexander the Great 

• After Alexander's death, Palestine became part of the empire of the Ptolemies 

• Then, it became part of the empire of the Seleucid rulers, which had one ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who sought to exterminate the Jews 

The Hasmonean Period 

• 167-63 BCE 

• Jewish rebels with the name "Maccabees" led a revolt against Antiochus and won independence 

• The temple was rededicated in what is now known as the Festival of Hannukah 

• Jewish sects emerged (pharisees, sadducees, etc.) 

The Roman Period 

• 63 BCE – 70 CE 

• A civil war against the Hasmoneans (leaders of the Maccabees) left the Jewish state ripe for conquest by the growing Roman Empire 

• With little difficulty, Roman general Pompey annexed the territory in 63 BCE; Palestine would remain under its rule until the end of the Second Temple Period 

Order of key biblical events (think about the 6C's) 

Creation --> the fall --> Noah and the flood --> Tower of Babel --> call of Abraham --> Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (move down to Egypt) --> The Exodus (Moses leads the Israelites out of slavery) --> Israelites are in the wilderness and eventually make it to the Promised Land --> Israel gets a monarchy (Saul, David, Solomon) --> The nation splits into 2: The Northern Kingdom (Israel (capital Samaria)), which falls to Assyria, and The Southern Kingdom (Judah (capital Jerusalem)), which falls to Babylon --> 2^nd Temple period (Jewish exiles return to rebuild temple) --> Jesus is born, has his ministry, the Last Supper, and is crucified and resurrected

Order of key biblical characters (think about 6 Cs) 

Adam --> Noah --> Abraham --> Isaac --> Jacob --> Joseph --> Moses --> Joshua --> Saul --> David --> Solomon --> Elijah --> John the Baptist --> Jesus 

Yahweh

Actual meaning is "I Am"; God revealed this name to Moses at the burning bush and in the OT, "The Lord" means Yahweh 

Herod the Great 

• Ruled Palestine from 37-4BCE 

• Was adept at political maneuvering; known for murdering multiple of his family members for supposed planned betrayal and for massacring all of the babies when Jesus was born 

• Was half-Jewish and known as a master builder (refurbished and expanded the Jewish temple; built a harbor and fortress; and rebuilt Samaria into Sebaste) 

Pilate

• Ruled Judea as a procurator from 26 to 36 CE 

• Known for sentencing Jesus to be crucified despite finding him innocent 

Abraham

• Descendant of Noah 

• God made covenants with Abram 

  • Promised land (the promised land) 

  • Promised numerous descendants 

  • Promised blessing 

• Circumcision was the sign of this covenant 

Moses

• Lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness 

• Talks with God face-to-face and gets the 10 commandments 

Israel 

Israel, who was first called Jacob, was given his name because he physically wrestled with God; he had 12 sons (Joseph) 

David

• 2^nd King of Israel, after Saul 

• In 2^nd Samuel 7:11-17, God tells prophet Nathan to stop David from building a temple for God, because the one who comes after him from his line is the one who will build His eternal house; this connects with Solomon and Jesus both, as Solomon is David's son who builds the physical temple, and Jesus as he is God's son who will establish the eternal house 

Jeremiah

Prophet who announces the New Covenant; says God will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah (future covenant) 

Antiochus IV Epiphanes 

• Ruled from 175-164 BCE 

• One of the Seleucid rulers during the Hellenistic/Greek period 

• Forced hellenization on the Jews; outlawed Sabbath and circumcision and banned scriptures; also desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig in it; he sought the extermination of Jews 

John the Baptist 

• Prepares the way for Jesus and baptizes Jesus 

• Lives in the wilderness sort of like an essene until he goes out and baptizes many of those in Judea before baptizing Jesus himself 

• Is beheaded by Herod Antipas 

Jesus

• The Son of God born in human form by virgin Mary during the Roman Empire 

• Asserts that the KOG has already come but is not yet fulfilled 

• In Mark, Jesus is portrayed as a man with very human emotions and characteristics 

• At the end of every gospel, Jesus is crucified and rises from death after 3 days 

Genesis 1-2 

• God makes all things good; creation is characterized by shalom, which means peace, wholeness, and goodness 

• There is the cosmic view of creation, which is that of God making the light and animals and land, etc., where God said "let there be..." 

• There is also the human-centered view, which is seemingly more intimate as God creates a man and woman in his own image and physically breathes into Adam 

Genesis 3 

• Corruption – story of Eve being deceived by the serpent and eating the apple with Adam 

• Shalom is broken; nobody takes responsibility; humans feel shame and blame 

• This is where God creates a hierarchy when he says Adam shall rule over Eve 

Genesis 12:1-3 

Covenants are made; God calls Abram (Abraham) and the story continues to reach the prophets and Joseph and his family going into Egypt 

Exodus 19-24 

God leads the Israelites who have just escaped captivity and Pharaoh to Mount Sinai where he gives them the 10 commandments and Israel confirms the covenant 

2 Samuel 7:11-16 

David wants to build God a house/temple, but God has the prophet Nathan instruct him not to because someone from David's line is meant to build it; someone God says will be from David's line and who will be to God a son whose throne will be established forever; can directly be alluded to Solomon who builds the 2^nd temple or to Jesus 

Jeremiah 31 

The prophet Jeremiah promises that a new covenant will be established between God and people of Israel and Judah 

Mark 1:1-15 

• John the Baptist appears out of the wilderness wearing camel's hair and eating locusts and honey; he baptizes many from the nation of Judah 

• Jesus is baptized by John and the heavens open; Jesus then spends 40 days in the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan  

• John is imprisoned and Jesus begins to teach in Galilee 

Mark 8:27-38 

Jesus asks his disciples who others think he is and they reply JTB or Elijah or a prophet; Jesus asks who they think he is and Peter confesses him as the Christ; when Jesus tells them to tell no one and then goes on to tell of his coming death and resurrection, Peter rebukes him and Jesus forcefully reprimands him 

Daniel 7:12-14 

After Daniel describes his vision of the four beasts; the fourth and most terrible is slain by The Ancient of Days (God) while the other three are stripped of their power; depicts the "son of man" going before God and receiving an everlasting dominion where ALL serve him 

Hellenism

Hellenism – broad reference to the influence of Greek culture, which was prominent in the Roman Empire; hellenistic influences were evident in Palestine and very prominent in the Diaspora, which describes Jews living outside the traditional homeland of Palestine 

Septuagint

The Greek translation of the Jewish bible; word means seventy 

Temple

Was a center for religious sacrifice 

Pharisees

• Known for emphasizing faithfulness to the Torah, including the study of Scripture and obedience to God's demands 

• Founded synagogues and encouraged every Jewish person to participate in Bible study, prayer, and worship 

Sadducees

• Most powerful group of the day; often dominated the Sanhedrin (small group of Jewish leaders allowed to lead after Roman conquest) and controlled the temple system 

• Were divided with the Pharisees on many issues (ex. Sadducees don't believe in an afterlife) 

Essenes

• Ascetic separatists (religiously strict and severe) who lived in private communities 

• Advocated strict dietary laws and other rigorous paths to holiness like celibacy for some 

• Embraced messianic beliefs and harbored apocalyptic ideas about imminent judgement and divine deliverance; are never mentioned in the NT but JTB is theorized to have been one 

Zealots

• Radical anti-Roman Jews who advocated armed rebellion against the Roman forces 

• Included the sicarii, knife-wielding assassins who would mingle in crowds and stab Jews suspected of collaborating with Romans 

• Were responsible for leading the Jews into a disastrous war against Rome in 66-73 CE 

Torah

The first 5 books of the OT (aka the pentateuch; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy); consists of the creation of the world, God's covenants, and tons of commandments) 

Oral law 

Less than 10% of Jewish people were literate; believed created traditions should be binding; the explanations and oral translations of the word God gave Moses (rejected by Sadducees) 

Gentile

• People who are not Jewish 

• Consisted of the many numbers of Romans, Greeks, and Persians who moved into Palestine and settled there; Jewish attitudes toward Gentiles and vice versa were varied 

Divisions of the NT 

Goes in order of: 

• 4 Gospels (theological biographies) 

• 1 Acts (theological history) 

• 21 Epistles (13 from Paul, 7 from others, and 1 Hebrews) 

• 1 Revelation 

The 7 categories of the NT

• The Gospels (there are 4) - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Provide four different but largely overlapping reports of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus 

• The book of Acts – technically part 2 of Luke; is the only book that relates the history of the early church 

• Letters from Paul to churches (9) - Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians; the names are geographical references to the people in various regions or cities to which the letters were sent 

• Letters from Paul to individuals (4) - 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon; are presented in order of length and names after the recipients 

• The letter to the Hebrews – anonymous work; appears to have been written for Jewish/Hebrew Christians 

• Letters by other people (7) - James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, and Jude; are named after their authors; often called the Epistles (the general or catholic letters) 

• The book of Revelation – offers an account of a visionary experience as recounted by someone called John; is sometimes called "The Apocalypse of John" 

4 key OT covenants discussed in class 

• Covenant with Noah – God promises to never again flood the Earth like that again 

• Covenant with Abraham – God promises Abram land, numerous offspring, and blessing 

• Covenant with Israel – after God delivers the nation of Israel out of Egyptian slavery and captivity, he makes covenants with them 

• Covenant with David – 2^nd king of Israel; God promises his heirs will inherit a kingdom 

Basic NT facts (date, language, # of books) 

• Written in Koine (common) Greek 

• 27 books not in chronological order 

• Written from around 50-100 AD(aka CE) 

Messiah/Christ  

Messiah means "anointed one" or king 

Roman religion (key aspects from Powell) 

There were various religions practiced by Romans: 

• Greek and Roman mythology (Zeus, Apollo, etc) 

• Roman pagans converted to Christianity 

• Some had emperor worship and treated the Roman emperors as divine 

• There were a variety of cults called "mystery religions" (were organized around gods and goddesses but kept themselves and their practices very secret) 

Gospel/gospel 

• Gospel and gospel are different 

• Gospel refers to the literary works (the 4 Gospels at the beginning of the NT) 

• gospel refers to the content of the Christian proclamation; the good news 

Evangelist

An author of any of the 4 Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the four evangelists 

Synoptic & synoptic Gospels 

The word synoptic means "seeing together" and is applied to the first 3 Gospel as their contents can be arranged in parallel columns that allowed them to be read and interpreted together; the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) have much overlapping material and are related to one another in a way John is not 

Background on Gospel of Mark 

Gospel of Mark: briefest Gospel; tells stories of Jesus in ways that emphasize frailty, suffering, and failure; less complex than Matthew's and Luke's books; often selected as the masterpiece; was likely the first Gospel written; book is anonymous though some think it was written by John Mark or, according to Papias, Peter's interpreter, Mark; Mark's book shows a less than flattering portrait of the disciples 

Broad outline of the Gospels 

Broad outline of the Gospels 

• Birth and Origin (except for Mark) 

• Preparation for Ministry (baptism and temptation) 

• Ministry 

  • Calling disciples 

  • Preaching and teaching 

  • Deeds ("miracles" in synoptics; "signs" in John) 

  • Conflict with religious leaders  

• Last gathering with disciples (in synoptics: the Passover/Last Supper , in John, the farewell discourse and washing of the disciples' feet) 

• Passion narrative: the arrest, denials, hearings/trials before Sanhedrin and Pilate, death, burial 

• Resurrection 

Expectations around Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 in Mark 1 

Mark 1 combines text from both of these to present John as the prophetic forerunner who prepares the way for Jesus' ministry 

Significance of the place, clothing, and actions of JTB 

John the Baptist met prophecies saying a hairy man would come from the wilderness and prepare the way for Jesus, Israel's Messiah; he comes from the wilderness wearing camel's hair and he baptizes people in the Jordan River (think of connections to Israelites in Exodus) 

Significance of Jesus' baptism 

Jesus was born pure yet was baptized and had the holy spirit descend into him; there are questions on why he needed to be baptized; also he can connect with the Israelites and Moses as he was baptized and then went out into the wilderness where he overcame temptation 

Jesus' identity in Mark 1:1-15 

The heavens open and Jesus is declared God's beloved Son and the promised Messiah 

Definition of the KOG 

Kingdom of God – the rule and reign of God (will bring shalom once again) 

Views of the KOG in OT/Judaism 

People of Judaism believed the KOG would come suddenly from a descendant of David' line who would rule as a physical king over all nations and, with military power, conquer the oppressive nations and rule over Israel 

Jesus' presentation of the KOG 

Jesus presents the KOG as something that is already upon them but not yet fulfilled; he knows the KOG will be fulfilled during his 2^nd coming and that he must endure death and suffering before it will happen 

Relation of miracles to the KOG 

The parable of the sower is the one parable that relates to the KOG 

Miracle

something with a divine origin; supernatural events that usually are a result of divine power 

3 Types of Miracles 

• Exorcism – casting out demons; Jesus does this to establish authority over Satan 

• Nature – things altering things in the natural world; Jesus is behaving like God (calming storms, turning water to wine, feeding the 5,000) 

• Healings – Jesus is giving signs of restoration/new creation 

Messiah/Christ and OT background 

Messiah and Christ both mean "anointed one" and the OT has many prophecies that allude to Jesus (Christ and Messiah) coming and inheriting and establishing an eternal kingdom 

Son of Man and OT background 

Jesus often describes himself as the "Son of Man," not only alluding to the fact he came down from heaven to be wholly human (and wholly God) but also likely to connect to Daniel's vision of the four beasts and the son of man going before God who is given divine authority to rule over everything 

Nature of following Jesus/discipleship 

Jesus says if anyone wants to be a follower of him, let them deny themselves and take up their cross 

The 6 Cs

Creation, Corruption, Covenants, Christ/KOG, Church, and Completion 

Key titles for Jesus and their background in the OT

• Messiah/Christ - anointed one 

• Son of Man – connects to David's vision

KOG – in OT/Judaism and in Jesus (the expectations and time frame); how it relates to Jesus' titles and deeds 

Remember the differences in what people's expectations vs Jesus' knowledge of the KOG looked like