world history: chapter 5: Judaism and the Israelite Kingdoms

effects of the diaspora

The rulers wanted to exile the Jews and get rid of Judaism, but in time, Judaism ended up spreading to more territory and more people and survived for thousands of years.

abraham

a Mesopotamian shepherd, to which God spoke to and told him to take his family to Canaan.

hebrew bible

a collection of ancient religious writings

talmud

a collection of writings by early rabbis, discussion of the torah and other jewish laws

confederation

a group of allies

exodus

a journey from slavery to freedom that occurred in the 1200s B.C.

saul

a king the israelites appointed to rule over them. he defended against the philistines and other enemies.

moses

a man that God chose to help the Israelites escape from Egypt.

ten commandments

a religious, moral, and civil code that reaffirmed and expanded the Israelites covenant with God.

torah

a section of the Hebrew Bible, consists of the five books of moses, "the teachings", Jews believe that it contains the word of God as revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai.

covenant

a special religious agreement with God. according to it, God would protect the Hebrews if they accepted no other god and did what God asked.

rabbi

a spiritual leader or "teacher" who conducted religious services.

seleucids

a syrian empire who conquered Judah in 198 B.C., they treated the Jews well until their king tried to force the Jews to worship Greek Gods.

sabbath

a weekly day of rest where you did not work.

jacob

abraham's grandson, descendants were called israelites

Canaan

abraham's promised land

david

after saul died, he was crowned king. he united the tribes and continued the fight against the Philistines and other enemies. He captured Jerusalem and made it his capital.

nebuchadnezzar

babylonian king who led his army to overrun Judah.

Abraham's journey to the Promised Land

began in Ur along the Euphrates, ended in Canaan

what was the result of the battle between the zealots and the Romans?

burning of the temple, diaspora, destruction of Jerusalem

solomon

david's son who inherited a peaceful kingdom, he built a great stone temple in Jerusalem, this temple became the focus of religious taxes to fund other huge building projects.

merneptah stele

discusses conquests of pharaoh merneptah, mentions a tribe in Canaan called "israel"

what happened in Canaan?

drought, abraham's offspring moved to egypt, became slaves of the pharaoh

merneptah

egyptian pharaoh who took the jewish people as slaves

ethical monotheism

emphasized morality and justice rather than sacrifice and ritual

maccabees

family that led the Jewish rebellion against the seleucids, their small army defeated them and rededicated the second temple to judaism.

kosher

foods that were specially prepared according to Jewish dietary laws

what did saul achieve as the first king of the Israelites?

he defended israel against the philistines and other enemies.

what religions stem from Judaism?

islam, christianity

what where jacob's descendants called?

israelites

cyrus the great

king of the persian empire, conquered babylon in 539 B.C., he helped the Jew's efforts to maintain their faith, he freed the Jewish people in babylon and encouraged them to return to their homeland and rebuild the jewish state.

yahweh

main hebrew deity (i am who i am), created the world and everything in it

who did God give the ten commandments to?

moses

how were the ten commandments received?

moses climbed mount sinai, where God gave them to him

judah

one of the kingdom's israel was divided into, located in the south.

israel

one of the kingdom's israel was divided into; located in the north

seven values of Judaism

respect, peace in the home, in god's image, communal responsibility, guard your tongue, love thy neighbor as thyself, solidarity

zealots

revolutionaries who favored armed rebellion

what kind of people were the early hebrews?

semi-nomadic, semitic speaking

who started calling the Hebrews Israelites?

the Egyptians

polytheism

the belief of many different gods

monotheism

the belief of one true god

what happens when a good king dies?

the civilization often collapses, rebellion occurs

exile

the forced removal of one's native country

what important religious beliefs set the israelites apart from other ancient cultures?

the israelites believeed in one God (monotheism), other ancient cultures were mostly polytheistic (worshipped many different gods).

diaspora

the migration of Jews to places around the world, which began with the babylonian exile.

babylonian exile

the removal of some of the Jewish people from their homeland to faraway Babylonia

why is the torah the most important holy book in judaism?

the torah is the first part of the Jewish Bible. It is the central and most important document of judaism and has been used by Jews through the ages. They believe that the torah shows how God wants Jews to live.

egypt

took over the jewish homeland, rulers tolerated Judaism and largely left Judah alone.

synagogues

"places of assembly", the place where Jews would gather to worship

what groups took over the Hebrew people?

(in order) Egyptians, Assyrians, Chaldeans Greeks, Romans

12 tribes of Israel

Asher, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun, Judah and Benjamin

what did the israelites believe God wanted them to do in order to fulfill their special covenant?

God would protect the Hebrews if they accepted no other god and did what God asked.