Download 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?
2. What two ideas emerged from God’s instructions to Abraham, and
why are they significant to Judaism.
3. What was the reason the descendants of Abraham left Canaan?
Where did they go?
4. Eventually the Egyptians enslaved the Hebrews, which set the
stage for Moses to liberated them. The process of Moses leading
the Hebrew (Israelites) peoples to freedom is historically known
as the Exodus?
5. What was the purpose of the Ten Commandments?
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?
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?
8. Prophets predicted that the era of the kings was coming to an
end. Define the word prophet, in the Jewish tradition.
9. Eventually Jewish independence and autonomy (political selfgovernment) would be dramatically altered by two military
conquests. What were they?
10.
How did the period of the Exile effect the way in which
Hebrew’s would worship?
11.
In 515 bce, what were Jewish people able to do with the
consent and help of the Persians?
12.
Define, Diaspora
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?
14.
What did the Roman’s do in retaliation?
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.