A Brief History of the Jewish People, and Judaism



A Brief History of the Jewish People, and Judaism

Jewish history began sometime between 1900 & 1750 bce, nearly 2000 years before the time of Jesus. At that time the Jews were simply part of a number of tribes collectively know as the Hebrews. Only later would these peoples take on the name Jews.

Their history begins with the religious experience of a man named Abraham; Jewish history starts here because he represents the first steps taken in the formation of Hebrew religious practice that would eventually evolve into Judaism.

*While reading through p. 217-224 of your text, answer the following:

1. Around 2000 bce, Abraham received a vision from God. What was different about this occurrence, which essentially guided how Hebrew faith came to be?

Abraham received a revelation from ONE God in Polytheistic Mesotopia. Monotheistic – Hebrew faith came to be.

2. What two ideas emerged from God’s instructions to Abraham, and why are they significant to Judaism.

Jews represent God’s Chosen People.

Idea of the Promised Land was established

3. What was the reason the descendants of Abraham left Canaan? Where did they go?

Severe Drought ( Egypt

*Joseph previously sold out of jealousy to traveling caravan and eventually became head advisor to a stately person or the pharaoh. Joseph recognized his brothers when they came looking to purchase wheat to absolve the famine.

4. Eventually the Egyptians enslaved the Hebrews, which set the stage for Moses to liberate them. The process of Moses leading the Hebrew (Israelites) peoples to freedom is historically known as the Exodus?

Exodus- Means “mass departure”

5. What was the purpose of the Ten Commandments?

Emphasized the nature of God’s existence. Set out the laws that the people would need to follow in order to keep their covenant with God.

The Passover, the Exodus, and the Ten Commandments served as a specific renewal of the covenant between God and the Hebrew people. Now the Hebrews could draw inspiration from the example of Moses and marvel at the wonder of God. They could also conduct their lives according to the absolute laws, established by god in the Commandments, in order to live as a peaceful and faithful people.

6. After being led by the Judges for sometime, the Hebrew people were looking to elect a king. Who was their first king? Who succeeded him?

Saul ( David

7. David went down in history as the greatest of all the kings of Israel; his son succeeded him after his death. What happened to the kingdom after Solomon died?

As predicted by the prophets, the kingdom broke up. Around 921 BCE the northern tribes separated from the southern tribes, taking on the name Israel. The southern tribes centered around Jerusalem, became known as Judah. The era of the kings was ending.

8. Prophets predicted that the era of the kings was coming to an end. Define the word prophet, in the Jewish tradition.

Two Meanings: One who speaks on behalf of God

One who predicts the future

9. Eventually Jewish independence and autonomy (political self-government) would be dramatically altered by two military conquests. What were they?

721 BCE, Assyrian invasion captured Israel and evicted many local Jews.

586 BCE, Babylonian invaders captured Judah and destroyed Solomon’s Temple. Approximately 10,000 Jewish community leaders captured and sent into exile in Babylon. Cyrus the Great of Persia eventually released them in 538 BCE, ending the exile or Babylonian Captivity.

10. How did the period of the Exile effect the way in which Hebrew’s would worship?

Synagogues created out of necessity.

Beginning of intense scholarly analysis of scripture and the emergence of Rabbis. Also the notion of the belief in a divine kingship characterized by a Messiah developed.

11. In 515 BCE, what were Jewish people able to do with the consent and help of the Persians?

Rebuilt the Temple. During these times Judaism had evolved from a Tribal Faith to the ‘World’ Faith that it is to this day.

12. Define, Diaspora?

“dispersal” + refers to the Jewish population living outside of Israel.

In 332 bce, Alexander the Great conquered much of the known world including Persia, Egypt, and India. This, the Jewish people, particularly those in the Diaspora, fell under the influence of Greek culture, a process called Hellenization. Eventually the Greek influence became too great. Antichus IV Epiphanes converted the temple into a shrine to the Greek God Zeus and installed his own candidate to the Jewish high priesthood.

By 164 BCE the Maccabees (a Jewish rebel group) had regained control of Jerusalem;they would rule until the Roman’s decided to expand their kingdom into the Jewish homeland. Once again Jews were subject to foreign domination.

By this time there were several distinct Jewish Sects that had emerged: Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and Samaritans.

13. The Jew’s endured tremendous hardship at the hands of the Romans: Heavy taxation, unfair administration of justice, and Roman control of the temple and the high priest. As a result, what did the Jews do?

Revolt, once again regaining control of the Temple. Jews outside of Jerusalem also challenged Roman authority by attacking occupiers in their cities.

14. What did the Roman’s do in retaliation?

Responded with force. In 70 CE, after a 5 month siege Jerusalem was taken and the temple destroyed for the last time. With Jewish resistance destroyed, the Jewish faith was once again faced with a potential dual fate: disintegration or reformation.

Eventually the Jews convinced the Romans to allow the Sanhedrin (supreme judicial body of the Jews) to relocate to the town of Yavneh. This provided the Jews the opportunity to preserve their way of life and redefine themselves. Despite apparent destruction of the Jews, their will to survive prevailed.

The stage was set for the emergence of rabbinic Judaism. The priest of old were replaced by Rabbis. By the middle ages, Judaism had established deep intellectual and spiritual roots that would ensure its survival.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download