Jewish History: Hasmonean Rule to Early Christianity

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Hasmonean dynasty, the Roman invasion, Jewish sectarianism, the Great Revolt, and the origins of Christianity based on the provided lecture notes.

Alexander Yannai

Hasmonean leader (164 BCE - 63 BCE) who declared himself high priest and king; he was extremely Hellenized, corrupt, and killed 50,000 Jews during a civil war.

Salome Alexandra

The only female ruler in the Hasmonean period (76 - 67 BCE) who made peace with the Pharisees, restored the temple, and increased the army size without going to war.

Pharisees

Leaders of rabbinic Judaism who believed in both the written and oral Torah; they are the ancestors of modern Judaism and survived the Temple's destruction.

Sadducees

Wealthy and corrupt Temple priests who rejected the oral law, supported Hasmonean leaders, and were heavily Hellenized.

Katros

A Sadducee High Priest family whose name was found on pottery shards in a burnt house near the Temple, providing archaeological evidence of their existence.

Essenes

An ascetic, all-male group based in Qumran who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, focused on ritual purity (mikvas), and believed procreation was not ritually pure.

Dead Sea Scrolls

Ancient documents discovered in 1947 consisting of three categories: Non-biblical apocrypha, Biblical (Tanach), and Sectarian (Essenes' rules).

Antipater

The father of Herod the Great and a supporter of Hyrcanus II who helped win Roman favor and arranged for Herod to become the governor of Galilee.

Herod the Great

King of Judea (born 73 BCE) known for massive building projects like Caesarea and the Temple renovation, but hated for his cruelty and paranoid nature.

Baba Ben Buta

A righteous sage whom Herod tried to trick into speaking badly of him; Herod later rebuilt the Temple to alleviate his guilt for killing rabbis.

Josephus

A Jewish general-turned-traitor who surrendered to the Romans at Yodefat and became a primary source historian for the Great Revolt.

Sicarii (Zealots)

Pharisee extremists who opposed Roman taxes, started the Great Revolt, and burned granaries in Jerusalem to force moderate Jews to fight.

Tisha B'Av

The 9th of Av, a day of mourning and fasting that commemorates the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in $70\,CE$.

Judea Capta

A series of bronze, silver, and gold coins issued by Vespasian for 25 years to commemorate the Roman victory over the Jewish nation.

Masada

The final stronghold of the Sicarii rebels that fell in $74\,CE$; 960 rebels chose death over Roman slavery.

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai

The Pharisaic leader who faked his death to escape Jerusalem and established a new Jewish center in Yavne to preserve Judaism without the Temple.

Takkanot

New rabbinic rules created by Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai to replace Temple practices, such as moving the shaking of the lulav to communal practice.

Rabban Gamliel

The successor to Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai who focused on Jewish unity through harsh leadership and emphasized the family Seder.

Shimon bar Kochba

The military leader of the revolt from $132\text{--}135\,CE$ whom Rabbi Akiva believed was the Messiah (Mashiach).

Beitar

The last stronghold of the Jewish rebels during the Bar Kochba revolt; its fall marked the end of the uprising.

Palestine

The name given to Judea by Emperor Hadrian to ethnically cleanse the Jewish ancient homeland following the Bar Kochba revolt.

Paul of Tarsus

Formerly known as Saul, he was a key figure in early Christianity who taught that salvation required only faith in Jesus, not the keeping of Jewish law.

Birkat Ha-Minim

A prayer or blessing added to the Amidah under Rabban Gamliel to identify and exclude Christians (heretics) from the Jewish community.

Constantine

The Roman Emperor who issued the Edict of Milan in $313\,CE$, granting Christians permission to practice and eventually converting to the religion himself.

Deicide

The historical accusation that the Jews were responsible for the murder of God (Jesus), which fueled centuries of anti-Semitism.

Augustine

An early church leader who proposed that Jews should not be killed but allowed to live as miserable wanderers, like Cain, to testify to their 'error' in rejecting Jesus.