RELG 1010 Midterm #1

Abraham

• the first person that God establishes a covenant with; God instructs him in Genesis to leave his home and go to the promised land (Canaan) where lineage is blessed. Later he is sent to Egypt to escape a famine through God’s calling.

• Abram —> Abraham, God changes his name in a new covenant, which signifies his fatherhood over many nations and many descendants.

• Has 1 child with Hagar (their slave, who his wife allows to bear the child but then is jealous) named Ishmael, then 1 child with Sarai/Sarah named Isaac.

• God repeatedly reestablishes covenants with Abraham.

• His descendants are all the people of Israel

• Major prophet

Chosenness

• god chooses, for unstated reasons, a particular person

• examples: Abraham, Isaac (instead of Ishmael), Moses

Hosea

• minor prophet

• prophet of the Northern Kingdom of Israel after the completion of the First Temple/Tabernacle

• warns about an upcoming exile after being conquered by the assyrians

• God tells him to marry Gomer, an adulteress, who ends up leaving him for other lovers. Hosea still remains loyal and remarries her.

  • The Marriage Metaphor: like Hosea’s relatinoship with Gomer, God’s covenant with Israel is unfaithful since they worship other Gods (like Baal), but God chooses to remain loyal to Israel and “remarries” the Israelites with devotion.

Hebrew Bible/Tanakh

• not referred to as the “old testament” because it is the entire testament for Jewish/hebrew faith.

Composed of the Torah (books of law; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), Nevi’im (books of prophets; Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, minor prophets), Ketuvim (books of writings; Daniel, Maccabees (sometimes)). Remember TNK

• Documentary Hypothesis: The idea that the Torah was an edited compilation of 4 different sources; provides evidence repetition of some stories and contradictions.

• An example of major themes is the Book of Daniel: God’s everlasting kingdom, dedication to the covenant, apocalypse, and divine deliverance.

Covenant

• God and the people enter into a relationship of mutual obligation

  • If the covenant is upheld by the people, they will be rewarded.

    • Covenants are constantly renewed and recreated

  • Abraham’s Covenant was God will look out for his offspring/lineage; continued covenant of circumcision.

  • One of the roles of the prophets is to hold the people of Israel/Judah and their kings accountable to the covenant.

• The Covenant is very difficult for the people of Israel to uphold (ex. the 10 commandments in Exodus, no idolatry broken by the story of the Golden Calf).

Daniel

• Took place during Babylonian captivity/the Diaspora (between the destruction of the First Temple and the completion of the Second Temple)

  • The story demonstrates the blueprint for maintaining the Jewish religious and cultural identity during the Diaspora/refusal to assimilate.

  • Daniel was thrown into the Lion’s Den overnight for refusing to stop worshipping God. However, God sent an angel to the den to close the Lion’s mouth, and Daniel survived by trusting God.

  • He also has prophetic/apocalyptic visions where he learns that spiritual struggle is behind the geopolitical conflicts of Israel, and learns of the upcoming rulers that ends with a final ruler that destroys everything.

    • Introduces the idea of the afterlife/resurrection, where after this destruction those who were “written in the book” shall arise to everlasting peace.

Jericho

• after being rescued out of Egypt by Moses, spies are sent to investigate Jericho , but they return and are scared. God punished them by making them wander the desert 40 years to finish off the adult generation. Then, after Moses dies, Joshua is made the next prophet of God.

  • While they are ensured the Promised Land, people are already settled there, including in the city of Jericho. God gives exact commandments for the Israelites to march around the walls of Jericho for 7 days and nights in order to make the city fall, and it works.

  • Book of Joshua

  • a divine act of God that works / sovereignty of faith and grace

Joshua

• prophet after the death of Moses (in the desert, before crossing the Jordan) specialized in military command.

• Instructed to conquer the city of Jericho with very specific steps + place a curse on anyone who attempts to rebuild it (so nobody can worship other religions).

• establishment of the Israelites as a settled nation as a region

• Rahab: a prostitute in Jericho who hides the Israelite spies and is blessed into the lineage of King David.

1 & 2 Maccabees

• During Second Temple Judaism (after the return from the Diaspora)

• Follows the conquest of Israel after the death of Alexander the Great - kingdom is split

  • Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Seleucid King, takes over Israel and outlaws Jewish traditions, forces assimilation, and commands the desecration of the temple (erected a statue of a Greek God, raided it, and sacrificed pigs).

    • This sparks a revolt in the land, led by Mattathias. Among the protestors were Eleazar (who served as a martyr) and the mother and sons, who died for their faith by refusing to eat pig’s flesh.

    • Themes of resisting hellenization/assimilation: some Jews choose to assimilate while others resist and uphold the covenant.

    • Theme of righteousness not being rewarded —> theodicy about ressurection/afterlife

Jerusalem

• City located in the Southern Kingdom of Judah

• The location of the First Temple during the period of Israelite Monarchy in the books of Samuel and Kings).

• Contained the Ark of the Covenant, where God’s presence was located, which made the city Holy.

• City falls in 586 BCE to Babylon, where the first temple is destroyed, starting the diaspora.

• City is rebuilt after the diaspora and the second temple is constructed in 518 BCE.

• Jesus is crucified, led on by renegade Jews.

Monarchy

• Established when they return from enslavement in Egypt by Moses and wander 40 years in the wilderness.

• United Monarchy: Samuel & Kings; Saul chosen to be first king but refuses to kill the Amalekite king, revoked by prophet Samuel, succeeded by David succeeded by Solomon.

  • Tension between divine rule VS human kingship

  • First temple built in Jerusalem.

• Divided Monarchy: Kings; South Kingdom of Judah, North Kingdom of Israel —> latter under Ahab, the king who promoted worship of Baal.

  • Story of Elijah

Moses

• Takes place during the story of Exodus and Deuteronomy

  • The first prophet that was spoken to directly by God, and acted as an intermediary.

  • Was called in the Burning Bush to rescue the enslaved people from the Pharaoh in Egypt and return them to Israel in an event known as the exodus, and free them from the pharaoh on a holiday to be known as the passover.

  • Received the 10 commandments by God on Mount Sinai

  • Theme of chosenness

  • His death marks the start of the monarchical period.

Promised Land

• God chooses the people of Israel to reside in the “promised land” of Canaan in modern-day Israel.

  • The area of Canaan was divided into the 12 tribes of Israel based off of David’s sons.

  • Promised land was inhabited before the exodus, and God gave them the instructions to conquer the city of Jericho through divine intervention, which worked.

  • Jesus moves the promised land from Canaan to the eternal kingdom.

  • Convenant - the land is a gift from God, not for what the people of Israel “earned”.

Prophets

• found within the TORAH - Abraham, Moses.

• found within the NEVI’IM - contain the major prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and the 12minor prophets (including Hosea), as well as Samuel and Joshua.

  • Must be from the tribe of Levi and the lineage of Aaron (Moses’ brother)

• People who keep Israel in line, originally served as a counter-balance to the kings, whose job is to deliver judgement against the ruler, usually outsiders.

• Offered Israelites a reason for their defeat at the hands of other nations, emphasizing the need to worship God exclusively and avoiding injustice, praise restoration.

Second Temple Judaism

• starting when second temple completed in 518 BCE after the return from the diaspora, ending after the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 CE.

  • Period marked by occupation of Israel by Persian, Greek, and Roman empires and constant political instability.

  • Introduction of the synagogue, apocalyptic literature, and resurrection/afterlife.

• texts: 1 & 2 maccabees, prophets

  • Main stories: Book of Daniel (lion’s den/believing in God), Maccabean revolt under Mattathias, conquest of Alexander the Great (with hellenization)

  • dont do this one :)

Sinai/Horeb

• Mountain located in the wilderness outside of the promised land.

• First introduced when Moses saw the burning bush, then it was the location where the 10 commandments/the covenant were given. The story of the Golden Cow also occurred here.

• Books: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, also in Kings

  • Story of Elijah: spoke to God on Mount Horeb and begged for forgiveness and God answered in a gentle whisper.

Tabernacle/Temple

• The place where the Ark of the Covenant is held, a physical place where God’s presence was thought to be located.

  • Various forms of sacrifice are performed by priests

• the tabernacle was a mobile sanctuary, while the temple was the permanent location under Solomon in Jerusalem.

• key books and stories: Samuel and Kings, prophets

  • From late 1300s BCE (start of the monarchy) to the destruction of the first temple at the start of the exile in 586 BCE by the Babylonians.

  • Ezekiel feels Gods presence fill the temple.

Torah

• first part of the Torah (books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) are known as the books of law.

  • attributed to Moses

  • documentary hypothesis: the torah was assembled from 4 different documents, which explains many of the contradictions or different versions of stories.

  • likely written during/after the Babylonian exile, looking back on the glory days

  • functions as a divine roadmap for how to live with faithfulness to God.

• Main figures are Moses (and the story of the burning bush and 10 commandments), Abraham and Sarah (the parents of Israel), David and his sons

• Themes: chosenness, covenant, land