Ancient Jewish History Midterm

P. Murabbat 18

A loan document in which two parties agree to pay back a loan, even during a sabbatical year, otherwise, the lender will pay a fine, which shows how biblical law might have been realized in practice. (30 CE)

Epispasm

A form of foreskin restoration to reverse circumcision. Historically practised among some Jews in Hellenistic and Roman societies as it was the only way to escape persecution and improve the social and economic status of the man in question. The baring of the glans penis in the circumcised male was viewed with distaste, vulgar and was considered indecent.

Heliodorus

A legate of Seleucus IV Philopator (2nd century BCE). After being sent to Jerusalem to seize the treasure of the Temple, he was stopped by three spiritual beings who took the form of humans and scourged him pitilessly. Heliodorus was carried out of the Temple insensible; and only by the offering of the high priest was he restored to consciousness. He left the treasure untouched, and returned to Seleucus with an account of his experience. Questioned by him as to whom he should next send to Jerusalem for the treasure, Heliodorus advised him to send his worst enemy, the enemy whose destruction he most desired

Alcimus

A High Priest of Israel for three years, 162-159 BCE, who supported the imperiled authority of Syria in Judea. He was (forcibly) established as the high priesthood at Jerusalem. He was eventually overthrown by Hasmonean Judah Maccabee attacked and went to Syria. There he secured from Demetrius another army. He was established as the high priest again until his sudden death

Udjahorresnet

An ancient Egyptian high official who lived between the end of the 26th Dynasty and the beginning of the 27th Dynasty. His autobiography is on a well known statue depicting him. Comparing the autobiography with The Book of Ezra , which is believed to be written around the same time, may help to clarify some aspects of the literary character of these memoirs and to situate the events described in them more precisely against the background of Persian imperial policy.

Elephantine

An island in the Nile in northern Nubia. The Elephantine papyri are caches of legal documents and letters written in Aramaic, which document a Jewish community, perhaps made up of mercenaries, dating to sometime in the 6th century BC.[4][5] They maintained their own temple (also see House of Yahweh), in which sacrifices were offered, evincing polytheistic beliefs[citation needed], which functioned alongside that of Khnum.[6] The temple may have been built in reaction to Manasseh's reinstitution of pagan worship or simply to serve the needs of the Jewish community

Aniconism

Aniconism is the absence of material representations of the natural and supernatural world in various cultures, particularly in the monotheistic Abrahamic religions. In practice, many Jews throughout history have either accepted more permissive interpretations of the prohibition, or partly ignored it. Many art historians have long believed that there was a tradition in antiquity, with no surviving examples, of luxury illuminated manuscript scrolls of books from the Tanakh among Hellenized Jews.

Ben Sira

Ben Sira (fl. 2nd century BCE) was a Hellenistic Jewish scribe, sage, and allegorist from Jerusalem. He is the author of the Book of Sirach, also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus. He wrote his work in Hebrew, possibly in Alexandria, Egypt ca. 180-175 BCE, where he is thought to have established a school.

Alexander Balas

Defeated his brother Demetrius Soter for the crown in 150 BC. Ruling briefly, he lost the crown to his brother during his defeat at the battle of Antioch (145 BC) in Syria, dying shortly after.Indirectly, Alexander became the actual cause of the final displacement of the pro-Hellenic party in Judea and contributed to the advancement of the Jews, both in their internal and external affairs

Merneptah Stele

Discovered by Flinders Petrie, its a stone slab engraved with a description of Merneptah, a Pharaoh who ruled over Egypt in the late 13th century BCE, military victories in Africa and the Near East. The Nation of Israel is on the list of conquests, which scholars believe is the earliest reference to Israel outside the Bible.

Gaius (Caligula)

Emperor of Rome; 37 C.E-, 41.CE . He formed a strong friendship for the Jewish king Agrippa, who, as the Romans thought, influenced him for the worse. Riots erupted in Alexandria in CE 40 between Jews and Greeks. Jews were accused of not honoring the emperor. Jews were angered by the erection of a clay altar and destroyed it. In response, He ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem, a demand in conflict with Jewish monotheism. In this context, Philo wrote that He "regarded the Jews with most especial suspicion, as if they were the only persons who cherished wishes opposed to his".

Hasidim/Hasideans

Essenes ( is a Hellenized form of the word "Hasidim" or "Hasid" ("pious ones")) were a sect of Second Temple Judaism that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests. The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result of the discovery of an extensive group of religious documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are commonly believed to be the Essenes' library. These documents preserve multiple copies of parts of the Hebrew Bible untouched from possibly as early as 300 BCE.

Jason

High priest from 174 to 171 B.C. During the absence of Onias, who had been sent to Antioch to meet charges brought against him by the Hellenists, ______ joined hands with his brother's enemies. Through the payment of large sums he obtained from Antiochus the transfer of the high-priesthood, permission to erect at Jerusalem a gymnasium and grant the inhabitants of Jerusalem of the privileges and title of citizens of Antioch; During the three years of ____'s administration the influences of Hellenism in Judea reached its climax. But notwithstanding his zeal, He was deposed at the end of the third year by Menelaus.

Idumea

Idumea in Hebrew was the region south of Judea originally inhabited by the reputed descendents of Jacob's brother Esau. Idumea was periodically subjected to Judea (under David & Solomon [10th c. BCE] & the Maccabees [2nd c. BCE]). There were no natural boundaries between Idumea & Judea, so the borders were always in flux. The distinction between Edomites & Jews was blurred by Johanan Hyrcanus' forced conversion of Idumea to Judaism [ca. 130 BCE].

'holy seed'

In the Torah exogamy is accepted when the non-Isralite partner joins fully as a member of the Israelite community and does not turn the Isralite partner to the worship of idols, but after the Babylonian Exile, the priest Ezra changes the rules to the effect that through intermarrage the "holy Seed" of Israel becomes intermingled with "profane seed", which entails a permanet and Universal prohibition on intermarriage. In post-bibilical Judasim this absoute prohibition is usually regarded as a Mosiac rule, so it's maintained, but often this argument is replaced by moral-religious considerations.

Gymnasium

In the years preceding the Maccabean Revolt (around late 2nd century BCE), the High Priest Jason, constructed in Jerusalem a gymnasium, which was traditionally one of the most important of Greek cultural institutions where citizens practised athletic and cultural activities according to the Greek way of life. The establishment of this gymnasium was perceived as a turning-point, and was the cause of subsequent ideological and political conflicts as these activities were considered dangerous and potentially damaging to the political hierarchy, social behaviour and religious principles of the Jewish nation.

Judah Aristobolus

King of Judea, eldest son of John Hyrcanus; born about 140 B.C.; died 104. Then he ascended the throne, and became the first Jewish king after the Babylonian exile—an interval of nearly five hundred years.

Agrippa I

King of Judea; (10 BCE- 44CE) His career, with its abundant and extreme vicissitudes, illustrates in a remarkable manner the complete dependence of the royal family of Judea, upon the favor of the Roman emperors of the first century. His people regarded him with love and devotion, because he healed with tender hand the deep wounds inflicted upon the national susceptibilities by brutal Roman governors. He sought to lighten taxation, remitting the impost on houses in Jerusalem On the coins minted by him he carefully avoided placing any symbols which could offend the people's religious sentiment. Thus, prosperity and comfort seemed to be dawning anew for the Jews.

Florus

Last Roman procurator of Judea (64-66 CE). He was noted for his public greed and injustice to the Jewish population, and a practice of favoring the local Greek population of the city over the Jewish population. With increase anger among the Jews and the rise of anti-taxation protests and attacks upon Roman citizens, he responded by plundering the Jewish Temple, claiming the money was for the Emperor, and the next day launching a raid on the city, arresting numerous senior Jewish figures. This prompted a wider, large-scale rebellion and the Roman military garrison of Judaea was quickly overrun by the rebels, while the pro-Roman king Agrippa II, together with Roman officials, fled Jerusalem He is is credited by Josephus as being the primary cause of the Great Jewish Revolt.

Azazel/Semihaza

Name of the fallen angel. Denotes the two angels Shamḥazai and his companion Azael, who fell from heaven and dwelt on earth "in those days," that is, at the time of the Flood. According to the Book of Enoch, Semyaza, as Shamḥazai is there called, did not descend to hallow the name of God on earth, but fell, together with Azael and his host of 200 angels, because of his infatuation for the daughters of men. He was therefore bound by Michael at the command of God, and lies in prison beneath the mountains; there he will remain until the day of judgment, when punishment will be measured out to him and to his companions

Sheshbazzar

Originally believed to be the same as Zerubbabel, Prince of Judah, at the head of the first Jews that returned to Jerusalem after the Exile. In 539-538 B.C. Cyrus granted the exiles permission to return. On arrival at Jerusalem, Sheshbazzar seems to have become involved in controversies with the conservative party. It's believed that he was killed on arrival but the evidence is slim.

Gnaeus Pompeius (Pompey)

Roman general who subjected Judea to Rome in the year 63 B.C. The capture of the Temple mount was accompanied by great slaughter. The priests who were officiating despite the battle were massacred by the Roman soldiers, and many committed suicide; while 12,000 people besides were killed. His conquest of Jerusalem, spelled the end of Jewish independence and the incorporation of Judea into the Roman Republic as a client kingdom.Pompey's conquest of Jerusalem is generally believed to form the historical background of the Psalms of Solomon.

Salome Alexandra

She was of one of only two women to rule over Judea, she was the last woman ruler of Judea, and the last ruler of ancient Judea to die as the ruler of an independent kingdom from 76 to 67 BCE. Her sons start the civil war that lead to the destruction of Judea

Zerubbabel

Son of Shealtiel and grandson of Jehoiachin. He led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia (Ezra). The date is generally thought to have been between 538 and 520 BC.[1] Zerubbabel also laid the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem soon after. Nothing further is certainly known of Zerubbabel, although a Jewish tradition says that he returned to Babylon and died there

Onias II

Son of Simon the Just. He was a high priest & He was a covetous man and of limited intelligence, whose refusal to pay the twenty talents of silver which every high priest was required to pay to the King of Egypt threatened to imperil both the high priest and the people; but Joseph, the nephew of Onias, succeeded in pacifying King Ptolemy III. Onias is said to have died, almost simultaneously with his nephew Joseph, during the reign of Seleucus Soter, hence about 181 B.C. His successor in office was his son Simon II.

Sefer Torat Moshe

The first five books of the Bible traditionally believed to have been written by Moses. The law attributed to Moses, specifically the laws set out in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, as a consequence came to be considered supreme over all other sources of authority The book of the Torah of Moses, is firmly established in the Book of Ezra, darting from the Persian period (fourth-third centiuries BCE) and its central place in the Jewish comminity is without question. But what exactly Ezra's Torah of Moses included is unclear, and some laws ascribed to it are not to be found in any Torah version that has survived

Cyrus

The founder of the Persian empire in the 6th century BCE Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East,expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much of Central Asia and the Caucasus. Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered. Cyrus the Great left a lasting legacy on the Jewish religion, where, because of his policies in Babylonia, he is referred to by the Jewish Bible as Messiah (lit. "His anointed one") (Isaiah 45:1),[15] and is the only non-Jew to be called so. Cyrus the Great is said in the Bible to have liberated the Jews from the Babylonian captivity to resettle and rebuild Jerusalem, earning him an honored place in Judaism.

Antigonus Mattathias

The last Hasmonean king of Judea; Was able to gain support among the aristocratic class in Jerusalem and the leaders of the Pharisees due to the excessive taxation by the Romans. In 37 BCE Herod, ( who was declared king of Judea by Rome) handed him over to the Romans for execution, after Antigonus's three-year reign during which he led the Jews' fierce struggle for independence against the Romans.

Henotheism

The worship of a single god while not denying the existence or possible existence of other deities. Rabbinical Judaism as it developed in Late Antiquity is monotheistic, but its predecessor, Hellenistic Judaism, have been described as henotheistic.

Qumran

This Hellenistic period settlement was constructed during the reign of John Hyrcanus, 134-104 BCE or somewhat later, and was occupied most of the time until it was destroyed by the Romans in 68 CE or shortly after. It is best known as the settlement nearest to the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden, caves in the sheer desert cliffs and beneath, in the marl terrace. Many scholars believe the location was home to a Jewish sect, probably the Essenes.

Toriaion inscription

This inscription proved the hypothesis that the persecution by the Seleucid state (in 167 BCE) was in fact the result of petition by "modernizing" Jewish elites (- anti-Ezra figures, keen to break down the traditional barriers between Jews and non-Jews, and to integrate) In the inscription, we can observe local initiative and the central role of the gymnasium in constituting a citizen body. The new Antiocheia likely existed side-by-side with the older Jewish community and its shrine, with certain elite elements both citizens of Antiocheia and priests in Jerusalem.

Mariamme

Was a Hasmonean princess and the second wife of Herod the Great. She was known for her great beauty, as was her brother Aristobulus III. Herod's fear of his rivals, the Hasmoneans, led to him executing all of the prominent members of the family, including Mariamne. (29 BCE)

Lysias

a 2nd-century Seleucid General and governor of Syria under the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus IV Epiphanes (circa 166 BC) left him with the government of Southern Syria. He wanted "to conquer Judea, enslave its inhabitants, utterly destroy Jerusalem and abolish the whole nation." According to II Maccabees, this campaign took place after the consecration of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus. The same source states also that He made peace with Judas and granted the demands of the Jews

Sanballat

a Samaritan leader who lived in the mid to late 5th century BC and was a contemporary of Nehemiah when he was building the walls of Jerusalem and carrying out his reforms among the Jews. Five different times He and his confederates challenged Nehemiah and the Jews to meet them in battle in the plain of Ono.

Cave of the Machpelah

a series of subterranean chambers located in the heart of the old city of Hebron. According to tradition that has been associated with the Torah, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot.The Hebrew name of the complex reflects the very old tradition of the double tombs of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah, considered the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish people, who are all believed to be buried there. (except Rachel, who is believed to be buried at Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem)

Bacchides

ruler over Mesopotamia and a faithful friend of both Antiochus Epiphanes and Demetrius Soter, established at the request of the latter the rulership over Judea for Alcimus (161 B.C.), who, desiring to become high priest, had made false accusations against Judas Maccabee He is sent the second time to Judea after Judas Maccabee had gained control of the government. After an unsuccessful battle with the Jewish Army was forced to make peace with Jonathan, the brother of Judas Maccabee.

Antipater

was the founder of the Herodian Dynasty (in 60 BCE) and father of Herod the Great. Antipater became a powerful official under the later Hasmonean kings, later became a client of the Roman general Pompey the Great (and after Julius Caesar defeated Pompey, he was made chief minister of Judea) . The diplomacy and artful politics of Antipater, as well as his insinuation into the Hasmonean court, paved the way for the rise of his son Herod the Great, who used this position to marry the Hasmonean princess Mariamne, endear himself to Rome and become king of Judea under Roman influence.