Religion Exam 2

What is ethical monotheism?

Belief in one God who also requires ethical behavior.

What is the Call of Abraham?

God calls Abraham to leave his homeland and establishes a covenant with him.

Who are Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar?

Abraham is the patriarch; Sarah is his wife; Hagar is Sarah’s servant and Ishmael’s mother.

What is historical revelation?

The belief that God reveals himself through events in human history.

Why is the Holy Land important?

It is the land God promised to Abraham and his descendants.

What is a covenant?

A binding relationship between God and his people involving obligations.

What was the Exodus?

The Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt under Moses.

Who was Moses?

The leader of the Israelites during the Exodus and the receiver of the covenant at Sinai.

Who was Miriam?

Moses’ sister and an important female prophetic figure.

Who is YAHWEH?

The name of the God of Israel.

What is Passover?

A holiday commemorating the Israelites’ liberation from Egypt.

What happened at Mt. Sinai?

God established a covenant with Israel and gave the Decalogue.

What is the Decalogue?

The Ten Commandments.

What does Chosen People mean?

Israel has a special covenant relationship with God and corresponding responsibilities.

What is a confederacy?

A loose political organization with strong local authority and weak central government.

What were the Judges?

Leaders believed to be raised by God to deliver Israel from oppression.

Who was Deborah?

A female judge and prophet who helped lead Israel.

Who was Saul?

Israel’s first king, around 1000 BCE.

Who was David?

Israel’s second king and traditional model of an ideal king.

Who was Solomon?

David’s son who built the First Temple in Jerusalem.

Who were Rehoboam and Jeroboam?

Rehoboam ruled Judah; Jeroboam ruled the northern kingdom of Israel.

Why did the kingdom divide?

After Solomon’s death, the kingdom divided into Israel in the north and Judah in the south.

What is a prophet?

A person who speaks on behalf of God and interprets God’s will.

What are literary prophets?

Prophets whose teachings were written down and preserved in prophetic books.

What are Major Prophets?

Prophets with longer books, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.

What are Minor Prophets?

Prophets with shorter books, such as Amos, Hosea, Micah, and Malachi.

What does pre-exilic mean?

Occurring before the Babylonian Exile.

What does exilic mean?

Occurring during the Babylonian Exile.

What does post-exilic mean?

Occurring after the Babylonian Exile.

What was the main message of the prophets?

Worship only God, reject syncretism, practice justice, and return to the covenant.

What was the Babylonian Exile?

The period when Babylon conquered Judah and displaced many Jews, beginning in 587/586 BCE.

How did the Exile affect Judaism?

It encouraged synagogues, diaspora Judaism, individual responsibility, clearer monotheism, and universalism.

What is the Diaspora?

Jewish communities living outside the land of Israel.

Why did synagogues become important?

They provided communal religious life when the Temple was destroyed.

What happened to the Temple in 587/586 BCE?

The Babylonians destroyed the First Temple in Jerusalem.

What is the Kingdom of God?

God’s peaceful and perfect rule established throughout the world.

What is the Messiah?

An anointed or chosen figure associated with God’s future purposes.

What is the Suffering Servant?

In Isaiah, a figure representing suffering Israel whose suffering can have redemptive significance.

What was the Restoration Period?

The period after 538 BCE when Jewish exiles returned and rebuilt the Temple.

What was the Second Temple?

The Temple rebuilt in Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile.

What was the Hellenistic Period?

The era when Greek culture and political influence spread through the region.

What is the Septuagint?

An ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

What is the Maccabean Revolt?

A Jewish revolt against Seleucid rule and religious oppression.

What are Pharisees?

A Jewish group emphasizing Jewish law, tradition, and religious observance.

What are Sadducees?

A Jewish group associated with the Temple, priesthood, and aristocracy.

What is universalism?

The idea that God’s concern or salvation extends to all humanity.

What is particularism?

Emphasis on Judaism’s unique covenant and identity as a particular people.

When did Rome begin ruling Israel/Palestine?

Roman presence began in 63 BCE.

Why was the Roman period associated with messianic hopes?

Many Jews expected divine intervention and a Messiah who would restore God’s rule.

Who were the Essenes?

A Jewish group associated with separatist communities and expectations of divine intervention.

Who were the Zealots?

Jews strongly opposed to Roman rule who favored resistance.

Who were the Samaritans?

A community with Israelite origins whose religious traditions developed separately from mainstream Judaism.

What were Jewish Christians?

Early followers of Jesus who remained connected to Jewish traditions.

What is canonization?

The process through which writings become recognized as authoritative scripture.

What is the Apocrypha?

Religious writings outside the Jewish/Hebrew Bible canon, treated differently by traditions.

What is the Mishnah?

An early written compilation of Jewish oral law.

What is the Gemara?

Rabbinic discussion and commentary on the Mishnah.

What is the Talmud?

The Mishnah together with the Gemara.

What is Halakah?

Jewish legal material concerning how Jews should live and practice Judaism.

What is Haggadah?

Non-legal material including stories, interpretations, and teachings.

What was Karaism?

A movement emphasizing the Hebrew Bible rather than rabbinic oral law.

Who was Moses Maimonides?

A major Jewish philosopher who emphasized reason and opposed anthropomorphic views of God.

What is orthopraxis?

Correct or proper religious practice.

What is Kabbalah?

A major tradition of Jewish mysticism.

What is the Zohar?

A major sacred text of Jewish mystical tradition.

Who was the Baal Shem Tov?

Israel ben Eliezer, founder of the Hasidic movement.

What was the Enlightenment’s effect on Judaism?

It encouraged reason, critical examination of religion, and new approaches to scripture.

What is Emancipation?

The expansion of civil and political rights for Jews and their integration into society.

What is Orthodox Judaism?

A modern movement emphasizing traditional Jewish beliefs and practices.

What is Reform Judaism?

A movement that reexamines tradition and allows greater flexibility and change.

What is Conservative Judaism?

A movement balancing Jewish tradition with gradual change.

What is Reconstructionist Judaism?

A movement viewing Judaism as an evolving civilization and community.

What is Humanistic Judaism?

A movement emphasizing human responsibility, ethics, and well-being.

What is Zionism?

A movement supporting a Jewish homeland in the historic land of Israel.

Who was Theodor Herzl?

A major figure in political Zionism who argued for a Jewish state.

What was the Holocaust?

The Nazi-led genocide of European Jews during World War II, 1939–1945.

Was the Holocaust primarily racial or religious persecution?

Nazi persecution defined Jews racially, regardless of individual religious practice.

When was the modern State of Israel established?

1948.

What is Rosh Hashanah?

Jewish New Year.

What is Yom Kippur?

The Day of Atonement, associated with repentance and forgiveness.

What is Sukkot?

A festival remembering the Israelites’ wilderness experience.

What is Hanukkah?

A festival commemorating the rededication of the Temple after the Maccabean Revolt.

What is Purim?

A holiday commemorating Jewish deliverance in the story of Esther.

What is a minyan?

The quorum traditionally required for certain communal Jewish prayers.

Who was Bar Kokhba?

Leader of the Jewish revolt against Rome from 132–135 CE.

Who was Sabbatai Zevi?

A 17th-century Jewish figure proclaimed by followers to be the Messiah.

Who are Sephardic Jews?

Jews historically associated with Spain, Portugal, and their diaspora.

Who are Ashkenazim?

Jews historically associated with Central and Eastern Europe.

Who was Sally Priesand?

The first woman ordained as a Reform rabbi in the United States, in 1972.

What are Beta Israel?

The historic Ethiopian Jewish community.

What is academic study of religion?

A scholarly, historical, comparative, and critical study of religion.

What is the theological approach?

Studying religion from within a tradition, focusing on beliefs about God and truth.

What is the devotional approach?

Approaching religion through personal faith, worship, and spiritual commitment.

What is biblical criticism?

Scholarly methods used to analyze biblical texts.

What is higher criticism?

Study of a text’s origins, authorship, sources, and historical context.

What is lower/textual criticism?

Comparing manuscripts to determine the most accurate form of a text.

What are the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible?

Torah, Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).

What are the Synoptic Gospels?

Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

What is monotheism?

Belief that there is only one God.

What is monolatry?

Worship of one god without necessarily denying other gods exist.