Chapter 3

What did Herod the Great build?

He rebuilt a few places such as, Herodium and Samaria. He built Masada and numerous cities.

What did Matthias refuse to do?

He refused to offer a pagan sacrifice.

Describe Herod the Great

He was Greek by birth but loyal to Rome. He restored and built multiple cities and fortresses. Power was what he lived for, he would kill anyone who got in his way of securing power.

Alexander the Great

He was a Greek King, he granted freedom to the Jews to continue their religious faith and practice.

Domitian

He was first to enforce emperor worship.

Who was Roman governor of Judea when Jesus was born?

Herod

Dead Sea Scrolls

Religious group of Judaism. Thought to have come out of the Hasidim during the Maccabean period.

Intertestamental period

The period between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Hellenization

The spread of ancient Greek culture and language. The worship of Zeus

Mystery Religions

included the cult of Cybele, the Great Mother (Asia), the cult of Isis and Osiris (Egypt), the cult of Mithra (Persia), and many other local cults.

What parallels do you see between the theological and cultural conditions of Juadism in the 1st century and that of the Christian church today?

1. We both believe in Jesus. 2. We both read scripture. 3. We both have a place of worship. 4. We both have people leading services or gatherings. 5. We have similar ways of worship, such as prayer, reading scripture, singing, a sermon.

When did the Hasmonean dynasty rule Israel?

142 to 63 B.C.

Matthias

A local priest, he cut down both the apostate Jew and the soldier that broth the royal decree. Joined freedom fighters against the Greek army.

Shammai

A school in the Pharisaic movement, was a conservative movement.

Hillel

A school in the Pharisaic movement, was more liberal and popular. Emphasis on the significance of the Law to everyday life.

Vespasian

A Roman Emperor who founded the Flavian Dynasty.

Who died in 333 BC that changed the future of the Jews?

Alexander the Great died in 333 BC that changed the future of the Jews.

Ptolemic Dynasty

An ancient dynasty of Macedonian that controlled Egypt for about 300 years. The last ruler was Cleopatra.

What did Antiochus Epiphanes IV impose upon the Jews?

Antiochus Epiphanes IV imposed Hellenization upon the Jews.

Who was the first Roman emperor to enforce emperor worship?

Antiochus IV Epiphanes was the first Roman emperor to enforce emperor worship.

Titus

He is the son of Vespasian. He was sent to bring reinforcement from Egypt. When Vespasian became emperor he assigned the military campaign against Jerusalem to Titus.

Samaritans

Despised by the Jews. Samaritans considered themselves the true keepers of the Law and worshipers of Yahweh.

Where did many Jews settle during Ptolemic rule?

During the Ptolemaic rule, large numbers of Jews made Egypt their home, and a substantial number settled down in Alexandria.

Essenes

Established themselves as a self-exiled religious community at Qumran, near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea.

Who were the leaders that led this effort?

Ezra and Nehemiah were the leaders that let the Judeans come back to rebuild the temple and continue their worship.

What holiday celebrates the victory of the Maccabean war?

Hanukkah is the holiday that celebrates the victory.

Herodium

Is a fortress in Bethlehem. One of Herod's greatest.

Masada

Is another one of Herod's great fortresses in the southern land.

Scribes

Jewish scholars who were the authoritative interpreters of the Law.

Judas Maccabeas

Judas took over as leader of the Hasidim after his father Mattathias died. He led the Jews in the Maccabean War.

Herodians

Likely a political party rather than a religious movement. Seemed to have exercised their influence in the Galilean area

Pharisees

Loyal and pious Jews who were staunch allies and supporters of the Maccabean family

Zealots

Not a religious movement but a fanatical and political movement that opposed the foreign rule of Judea by the Romans.

Antipater

Son of Herod the Great. Conspired against relatives for power and was eventually caught and executed.

Hanukkah

The Jewish festival Hanukkah commemorates the Maccabean victory over the Greeks.

Sanhedrin

The Jewish supreme court. They handled all religious violations and breaking of the rules of the Torah. They controlled every aspect of Jewish life.

When did the Jewish people revolt against Rome?

The Jews revolted against Rome from A.D. 70 to A.D. 73.

When did the exiled Judeans return home to rebuild the temple?

The Judeans came back because they wanted to reestablish their worship and to learn more about the Law of Moses.

48. What empire ended the Hasmonean Jewish dynasty?

The Roman Empire ended the Hasmonean Jewish Dynasty.

What was the Jewish religious court that tried Jesus?

The answer is the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was made up of Sadducees, not Pharisees.

What was the center of Jewish life and worship during this time period? In Judea? In other places?

The answer is the synagogue for the first question, and the Temple for Judea.

Oral Law

The interpretation of the Law handed down by previous generations of great rabbis.

The people of the land

The mass of Jewish people, who were ignorant of the Law and who were indifferent to the customs of the Pharisees.

Where did Matthias and his sons go after this?

They fled to the hills and joined the Jewish freedom fighters.

Why did Judea lose control of Samaria?

They lost control of Samaria as a part of the Roman province of Syria.

Hasidim

They strived to maintain their traditional faith in the midst of the growing and intense prosecution.

Priests

They would take turns officiating in the Temple. They had to be descendants of Aaron.

Diaspora Jews

Those who lived outside of Palestine.

Septuagint

Translation of the Hebrew Scripture into Greek.

Herod the Great

Was a skillful and cunning diplomat, a military strategist, and a ruthless and murderous ruler.

Seleucid dynasty

Was founded by Seleucus, the Seleucid wanted to control Palestine. They finally took over Palestine with a military man named Antiochus III.

Hasmonean dynasty

Was the era when the Jews had an independent kingdom. It was a ton of struggle for power and rivalry. In the end the Jews became apart of the Roman Empire.

Maccabean war

Was the struggle for freedom that the Jews went through. The Jews emerged victorious.

Sadducees

Were the priestly aristocracy in Jerusalem. They were made up of families that controlled much wealth and power in the land of Palestine.

Synagogue

meaning "assembly"; it became the center of Jewish life throughout the Greco-Roman world. It served not only as a center for religious education but as a place of prayer and worship as well.

Temple

the center for sacrificial worship in first-century Palestine

Torah

the first 5 books of the Old Testament (Genesis, Exogdus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy); 5 books of Moses and the whole will of God. Provides necessary guidelines for Jewish life and conduct.