History of Judaism Midterm

Nebuchadnezzar

Babylonian king who takes over the Assyrians and destroys the first temple

Assyria

Invades the northern kingdom after Solomon’s death

Solomon

builds the first temple

Messianic Age

idealized restoration while in exile in Babylonia

Destruction of the first temple

586 BCE by the Babylonians

Ezekiel

promises ultimate redemption in the future (dry bones vision) during the Babylonian exile

Cyrus

begins the Persian empire and conquers Babylonia. He orders a restoration of the Judean community

New Temple Completed

515 BCE under the Persian empire

Alexander the Great

attacks the Persian empire in 334 BCE

Samaritans

the people of Samaria who revolted against Alexander the Great and formed their own sanctuary at Shechem

Antiochus Epiphanes

second ruler of the Seleucid empire

Gymnasium

introduced during Seleucid rule during the Hellenization of Judea. The nudity in the gymnasium revealed circumcision of Jewish men.

Began theme of Judaism as a persecuted religion

Antiochus Epiphanes converts the Temple into a pagan shrine and outlaws religious institutions

Hanukkah

holiday to celebrate the restoration of the temple due to the Maccabee rebellion in 164 BCE

Hasmonean dynasty

established when Judah triumphs over the Seleucid’s in Jerusalem in 161 BCE

Herod the Great

the leader put in place by Rome when they put an end to the Hasmonean dynasty

“Jewish Wars”

revolt against Roman Empire from 66-70 CE

70 CE

Year the Romans destroyed the Second Temple

Ezra

man chosen by Xerxes II around 460 BCE to stabilize Jewish community in Israel/Jerusalem

Nechemiah

Soldier/enforcer who goes with Ezra

Ezra is known as the second Moses

forced 1/10 people to live in Jerusalem; secured family life; reeducated people as Jews using Torah

assimilation/hellenization

goal of Alexander’s empire

Antigones, Seleucid, Ptolemy

three generals who split the empire after Alexander’s death

Hasmoneans (Maccabees)

family of priestly descent who lead a rebellion against the Seleucids/Syrians

Septuagint

Greek Bible written to add to Ptolemy’s library in Alexandria

Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes

three sects that develop in response to the Hasmonean kings

Sadducees

pro-king, the priests

Pharisees

critics of the king, believe people have the right to interpret the Torah, not the priests

Essenes

“Dead Sea Community”, left Hasmonean state to create a “new” Jerusalem

Myth of Manathos

rumor in the 3rd century BCE that the Jews were spreading disease in Egypt during the Exodus and the Egyptians pushed them out to the Red Sea

Anthropological

persecution based on human behavior, not theology

metaphysical anti-semitism

idea introduced by Christians that God doesn’t like the Jews

Sicarii

warriors in the Zealot sect that killed Romans

Mitzvot

“good deeds”

Aristobolus

son of Salome who goes to Civil War with his brother over kingship and allows the Romans to take control of Israel

Fiscus Judaicus

tax paid by Jews during the Roman Empire; the flow of money to the Temple which went to the Roman treasury instead

Pharisees

only sect to last after the destruction of the Second Temple; start the rabbinic tradition

Messianic War

what the Essenes thought the Great Revolt against the Romans was

Constantine

Roman emperor who established Rome as a Christian empire

Academies

teach a portable culture and ritual life following the destruction of the Second temple

Loose construction

how rabbis interpret the law

Mishnah

first rabbinic writings

Succah

temporary week long house to remember the Exodus — an example of what was discussed in the Mishnah

325 CE

The year Constantine converts the Roman Empire to Christianity

Medina

where Muhammad is asked to govern

Constitution of Medina

basic structure of laws/rights in Muslim Arabia

Dhimmitud

protected from physical violence; what Jews were in the Muslim world

Hadith

literature that establishes traditions in Muslim culture, they believe that Jews must be shamed

Radinites

traders across Middle East, primarily Jews due to there being Jewish settlements all across the Middle East

Babylonia

center of Jewish world in Middle Ages due to rabbinic schools

Responsa

literature written by sages in the academies in response to questions about Jewish life

Exelarc

leader of Jewish society in Babylonia during the Middle Ages

Sura and Pumbeditha

two most famous academies

Karaites

group begun by Anan ben David which accepts written Torah but not oral Torah

Sanhedrin

central legislative author in Galilee

Rabbis of Palestine

who the Babylonian Jews looked to for religious guidance

Palestinian Talmud

massive compendium of rabbinic discussion and commentary on the Mishnah compiled in the 4th century

Babylonian Talmud

compiled in the 5th century, became authoritative sourcebook for rabbinic Judaism in the Middle Ages

Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, and Persia

countries which the Muslims conquered

Pact of Umar

text which defined status of Jewish dhimmis in the Muslim world

Baghdad

where Muslim power was centralized; Jewish academies moved here

Gaon/geonim

leaders of the academies in Baghdad

Rabbinites

talmudically oriented Jews

Amoraim

scholars who produced commentary on/for the Mishnah

Bar Kokhba Revolt

revolt in 132 CE that led to the center of rabbinic activity shifting from Judea to Galilee

Talmud

commentaries on the Mishnah by demonstrating Mishnah’s derivation from biblical sources, exploring logical principles that underlie Mishnah’s statements, and resolving contradictions