Download Score: ______ Name 90 History (102) Per ___Date ______ (each

Score: ______
90
Name _________________________________
History (102) Per ___Date _________
#=_________ c/b____________________
(each worth 3 pts)
Chapter 11 & 12 Reading Comprehension Activity
Part 1-Chapter 11 & 12 Reading Comprehension
1. The Hebrew civilization developed gradually after 1800 BCE and flourished until 70
CE. The people who became the Hebrews originally lived in Mesopotamia , but around
1950 BCE under the leadership of Abraham they migrated/moved/travelled from
“the land between the rivers” to Canaan which is modern-day Israel.
2. The Hebrews were the founders of Judaism, which is the Jewish religion.
3. In ancient Babylonia laws called Code of Hammurabi were posted on large stone stele
while in ancient Egypt rules for the afterlife called the Book of the Dead were painted on
the walls in tombs, and in ancient Canaan the basic laws of life or “sacred text” was called
the Torah.
4. Only one wall of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem remains standing. Today, Jewish people
from all over the world pray at this site called the Western Wall.
5. According to section 11.4, a covenant is a sacred agreement which simply (and in my
own words) means holy promise (answers may vary).
6. According to the paragraphs in the “Abraham’s Covenant with God” section of chapter
11, descendants are children and the generations that would follow In contrast, an
ancestor is relatives of the past.
7. Moses is most famous for two things: a) according to the Torah, he lead enslaved
Hebrews out of Egypt in an event called The Exodus and b) Moses gave to the escaped
Hebrews a set of 10 basic laws said to be given to Moses by God called The Ten
Commandments.
8. David united two lands in Canaan, Israel and Judah into a single kingdom called Israel
and then chose the city of Jerusalem as the capital of this united land.
9. King David had two sacred objects of the Hebrews brought to his new capital. They
were the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments which were held inside.
10. King David’s son Solomon became king and decided to build a magnificent temple but
many were angered when he used questionable methods to get this project done. He first
forced people to work on the construction and then tax the people heavily to buy gold,
wood, copper, and other materials.
11. In 931 BCE Hebrews angered over King Solomon’s actions broke away from his
united kingdom to form the separate northern kingdom of Israel and King Solomon’s
descendants ruled the southern kingdom of Judah
12. David and Solomon made many contributions to Judaism: A) They laid the foundation
for governance by kings; B) David established Jerusalem as the holy city; and C) Solomon
built first great temple of Jerusalem.
Chapter 12 discusses what happened to the Hebrews when David’s united kingdom of
Israel split into two separate kingdoms. Once the two kingdoms divided, they became
weaker and were conquered by other empires.
13. In 722 BCE the northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians who were known
for their cruelty/ military/leadership. The northern kingdom’s leaders were marched off
to Mesopotamia.
14. In 597 BCE the southern kingdom of Judah was conquered by King Nebuchadrezzar
of the Babylonian OR Neo-Babylonian Empire who burned down the Temple of
Jerusalem and took most of the kingdom’s people to Babylon as captives.
15. Eventually, people of the Jewish faith were in many different kingdoms and no longer
together in a single homeland. This idea is called the “scattering or Jewish diaspora
16. The four central beliefs of Judaism explored in our text are a) monotheism ;
b)following god’s law; c)_equality and social justice; and the importance of study.
17. According to section 12.2, morality is standards of right and wrong.
18. Judaism is thought to be the oldest, continuously practiced, monotheistic religion.
19. According to section 12.2, a rabbi is religious teacher.
20. Both the Ten Commandments and the Code of Hammurabi contain laws engraved on
stone, but the Code of Hammurabi is the only one to also include
punishments/consequences for breaking the laws.
Part 1 #= __________ c/b________________________________
Part 2-Sections 12.3 & 12.4
Read the aforementioned sections on pages 114-117. Answer the following questions.
When you are done, take thorough notes on the four pages. Focus your note taking on the
main ideas and supporting details highlighted in the following questions and those from
your study guide. Follow the note taking tips.
Student name_______________________ Per. ___
21. The Neo-Babylonians who conquered Judah (the southern kingdom of Israel) called
their captives Judeans after their homeland; this name was later shortened to Jews.
22. In 539 B.C.E. the Neo-Babylonians were then conquered by Cyrus , the king of Persia
This king released the Jews. Many of them (Jews) returned to their homeland of Judah
and started building a new temple while others stayed in Babylon.
23. For the next 400 years, the people who returned to Jerusalem were ruled by other
empires that conquered and controlled their homeland. Greeks who conquered the city
eventually tried to force the Jews to worship idols of Greek gods in the Jewish temple. As
a direct result, in 168 BCE Jews rebelled and started a war. The war ended when they
drove the Greeks from Jerusalem and reclaimed and purified the temple. Jewish
people in today’s world celebrate Hanukkah to honor this event.
24. After the war with the Greeks, Jews living in Judah (Judeans) had an independent
kingdom until 63 BCE when they were conquered by the Romans who executed anyone
who showed signs of rebellion.
25. In 66 CE the Jews of Judah rose up against their Roman conquerors and fought them for
three years until in 70 CE Roman military leader Titus defeated them and destroyed both
the city of Jerusalem and the temple. Al that remained of the temple was the western
wall which to this day Jews all over the world consider sacred.
26. The Romans drove the Jews out of Judah and forbade any Jews from entering
Jerusalem; they (Judean Jews) had lost both their homeland and their holy city
27. People of the Jewish faith were scattered among many gentiles or non-Jewish lands.
They found new ways of preserving their faith and spreading their ideas and support to all
the many lands that their people now lived.
28. Yohanan ben Zaccai was a rabbi who started a school in the city of Yavneh.
29. Read the 1st 5 paragraphs on page 117 and summarize them in your own words here:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________Answers May Vary___________________________________________________________________
30. About 66 years ago in 1948 , a new Jewish state named Israel was created in part of
the lands that in ancient times was called Judah.
Part 2 #= __________ c/b________________________________