Download ANCIENT ISRAEL, RABBINIC JUDAISM, AND EARLY

ANCIENT ISRAEL, RABBINIC JUDAISM, AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY
SOME SIGNIFICANT DATES
BCE
Ca. 1280
Exodus from Egypt
Ca. 1250-1200
Conquest of Canaan under Joshua
Ca. 1050
Samuel
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UNITED MONARCHY IN ISRAEL
ca. 1025-926 BCE
Ca. 1025-1005
Saul
First King of Israel
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FIRST TEMPLE PERIOD
ca. 1005-586 BCE
1005
950
David (ca. 1005-962)
Solomon (ca. 962-926)
926-586
Divided Monarchy
Captures Jerusalem
Completes the Temple
Israel (Northern Kingdom)
870-850
Elijah
850-800
Elisha
750-745
Amos
750-745
Hosea
722
Samaria, the capital of the Northern
Kingdom, falls to Assyrian forces after
a three-year siege; the deportation of
30,000 Israelites (the ten Northern
Tribes) to Assyria in central Asia; they
“disappear” from history
Judah (Southern Kingdom)
742-700
Isaiah, chs. 1-23, 28-39
722-701
Micah
701
Sennacherib, the King of
Assyria, conquers the
city of Lachish
Reforms of Josiah
Jeremiah
Nebuchadnezar II, the
King of Chaldea,
conquers Jerusalem
Fall of Jerusalem
Deportation to Babylon
Book of Lamentations
Isaiah 24-27, 40-55
639-609
626-586
597
587-86
586-539
Babylonian Exile
585
540
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SECOND TEMPLE (post-exilic) PERIOD
539 BCE-70 CE_
539-333
Persian Period
539
538
520-515
515
515-500
500-450
450-400
Ca. 500-375
333-63
Hellenistic (Greek) Period
332
250-100
175-64
167-64
164
164-63
Cyrus, the Persian king, conquers Babylon
“Decree of Cyrus” allows Jews living in Babylon to return to Israel.
After the initial return, Jews in Babylon continued to return to Israel.
Beginning of restoration
Construction of the Second Temple
Dedication of the Second Temple
Isaiah 56-66
Malachi
Jonah
The “Five Books of Moses” (Torah) become normative (are
canonized)
Ezra assembles a community of Jews bound by faithfulness to Torah
Alexander the Great conquers Judea
Septuagint: translation of Hebrew Bible into Greek
Reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes; profanation of the Temple in
Jerusalem
Maccabean Revolt: Jewish resistance to the rule of Antiochus IV
Epiphanes begins with Mattathias, of the priestly Hasmonean family,
together with his sons Jonathan, Simon, and Judas Maccabeus
Retaking of Jerusalem and rededication of the Temple in
December (Hanukkah). This period saw the beginning of the
Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes of Qumran
Hasmonean Rule of Judea
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EARLY ROMAN PERIOD
63 BCE-135 CE
63 BCE
Pompey, a Roman military leader and statesman, intervenes in a civil war in Judea,
captures Jerusalem after a three-month siege of the Temple; Rome takes control of
Judea
Shammai (50 BCE-30 CE) and Hillel (30 BCE-10 CE) are Jewish Sages who
founded two schools of thought that were pivotal in the development of what would
later become rabbinic Judaism.
40
37
Rome names Herod king of Judea
Herod captures Jerusalem
30
20-12
Herod rules over all of Palestine
Herod rebuilds the Temple in Jerusalem
Ca. 7-4
Birth of Jesus of Nazareth
4 BCE
Herod dies at Jericho and is buried at Herodium. At his death, Herod’s kingdom is
divided among his three sons:
Archelaus
(4 BCE-6 CE)
Judea and Samaria
Herod Antipas (4 BCE-39 CE)
Galilee and Perea
Philip
(4 BCE-34 CE)
Northern Transjordan
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COMMON ERA
6-41
Roman prefects govern Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from Caesarea
26-36
Pontius Pilate is governor of Judea
Ca. 27
John the Baptizer begins his public ministry
Ca. 28
Jesus of Nazareth begins his public ministry
Ca. 31-33
Jesus of Nazareth is executed by the Romans in Jerusalem
Ca. 37
The Jesus movement begins to spread
Ca. 36-45
Saul/Paul receives his “commission” on the Damascus road, becomes the Apostle to
the Gentiles, sets out on his missionary travels to Asia Minor, and begins preaching
in Syria and Cilicia.
47
In Antioch, the word “Christian” is first used to identify the followers of Jesus
Ca. 49-50
According to the Acts of the Apostles,
• The “Christian” Council of Jerusalem meets and formally ratifies a policy
regarding the admission of Gentiles into the Christian community without first
being circumcised
• In Antioch, Paul accuses Peter of hypocrisy in a dispute over dietary practices
• Paul begins his journeys throughout Greece
•
The Emperor Claudius expels Jews from Rome, among whom were followers of
Jesus
51-58
Paul writes his letters to the various churches in the Diaspora
58
Paul journeys to Jerusalem with the collection from the Gentile churches, is arrested
by the Romans, and eventually taken to Rome for a legal decision
Ca. 62-64
Peter and Paul are executed in Rome
64
The first known persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire occurs under Nero
and continues intermittently until 313 when Constantine first legalizes and
subsequently declares Christianity to be the religion of the Roman Empire
66-74
First Jewish Revolt against Rome
Josephus, commander of the Galilee, defects to Rome
69-70
Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Roman Legate Titus
68-72
The Gospel according to Mark
74
Masada, the last Zealot stronghold, falls to the Roman Legate Silva
78
Josephus writes The Jewish Wars
80s
Tensions begin to develop between an increasingly Gentile church and the Jewish
community and its leaders; the gradual partings of the ways begins
Mid-late 80s The Gospels according to Matthew and Luke
Early 90s
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai sets up a house of study in Yavneh
93
Josephus writes The Antiquities of the Jews
Mid-90s
The Gospel according to John
109-117
Persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Trajan
132-35
Jews in Jerusalem revolt
135
Simon bar Kochba, leader of the Jewish revolt, is killed in a last stand at Bethar
• Rabbi Akiva, who had proclaimed bar Kochba the Messiah, and many other
rabbis are martyred by the Romans
• Hadrian orders Jerusalem to be plowed under
• Hadrian rebuilds Jerusalem as the Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina
• Judea is renamed the Roman province of Palestine
144
Excommunication of Marcion (85-160), a well-known Bishop of the early church,
and rejection of all his teachings. Among these are his distinction between the
Supreme God of Goodness, of whom Jesus was the messenger, and the inferior God
of justice, who was the god of the Jews; and his assertion that, as a consequence of
this distinction, the Old and New Testaments could not be reconciled, and therefore
the church should totally reject the Old Testament. The condemnation of Marcion’s
teachings by the early Church had a profound and lasting effect on the formulation
and formation of the Christian Bible which includes both the Old and the New
Testaments.
Ca. 200
Mishnah, the oldest authoritative collection of Jewish oral law which reflects
centuries of Jewish legal traditions, is compiled, edited, and given its final form in
the 3rd century CE in Israel by Rabbi Yehudah ha-Nasi
Midrash is a collection of verse by verse commentaries on the Hebrew Scriptures
and Jewish oral traditions. There are two kinds of midrashim: legal midrashim
(Halakhah), which deal with the legal portions of Scripture, and non-legal midrashim
(Aggadah) which deal with biblical lore. Classical midrashic activity begins to
emerge in the 2nd century CE, although many generations of development preceded
any written midrashim. The oldest written aggadic midrash is Genesis Rabbah, dated
ca. 450 CE. This interpretive genre of literature continues into the present day.
Talmud is the authoritative body of Jewish law and lore accumulated over a period
of approximately seven centuries (ca.200 BCE-ca. 500 CE). It incorporates the
Mishnah and rabbinical discussions of the Mishnah, known as the Gemara. There are
two Talmuds, the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud.
212
Jews become Roman citizens
250-51
Wide-spread persecution of Christians under the Emperor Decius (ca. 190-251)
300-400
The Jerusalem Talmud is compiled
312-337
The Emperor Constantine becomes the absolute ruler of the Western Roman Empire
313
The Edict of Milan
• The Roman Empire legitimizes Christianity
• Christianity becomes the religion of the Empire
Ca. 347-420
Saint Jerome, a priest, is best known for his translation of both the Old and New
Testaments into Latin (known as the Vulgate). It was, for hundreds of years, the only
Bible in universal use in Europe
354-430
Saint Augustine of Hippo (in North Africa) was a Bishop, philosopher and
theologian whose writings were very influential in the development of Western
Christianity
Ca. 499
The Babylonian Talmud is completed. Together, the Jerusalem Talmud and the
Babylonian Talmud form the basis of Jewish law and interpretation.
570-632
The prophet Mohammed