Sources, Resources, and Periods Class 1 Introduction Sources, Resources, and Periods

Do Now Write down: an event that happened during the Second Temple or Rabbinic Periods Your favorite site in Israel something interesting about yourself

Secular Nationalism, now You are a religious Jew and pray for the renewed state of Israel 20 times a day. Finally after 2000 years Israel wins its war of independence. However, the leadership are secular Jews who don’t want to see any Judaism in the Jewish state. Do you support the new government?

Secular Nationalism, then The Maccabees were great heros in 164BCE but the year is now 90BCE and the ruler is the Hasmonean Alexander Yannai who hates the Pharisees and has even murdered great sages who opposed him. Will you go to the Bet Hamikdash on Sukkot to see him perform the services?

Messianism You are a religious Jew and pray for Mashiah 30 times a day. There is a group of Jews who believe that Mashiah has already come but you don’t think they are right. Should you oppose them, tolerate them, support them…?

Conversion One million Russians have emigrated to Israel. 400,000 of them are not halakhically Jewish. You are the Chief rabbi. Do you allow them to convert?

Conversion You are on the Sahhedrin. John Hyracanus has forcibly converted thousands of Edomites in 110BCE. Can they be considrered part of the Jewish nation?

Primary Sources Tanakh New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha Ezra-Nehamiah, Daniel, Zechariah, Malakhi New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha Archaeology, Cuneiform Tablets Dead Sea Scrolls Josephus Greek and Roman Historians Talmud and Midrashim

Yosef ben Matityahu Lived 37-100CE Aka Titus Flavius Josephus

Works by Josephus 75 – Jewish Wars (Aramaic) 94 – Jewish Antiquities (Greek) 97 – Against Apion 98 – Life of Flavius Josephus

The Josephus Puzzle

Josephus the Apologist Apologetic to the Romans War says revolt was only by a few thugs. Tacitus says national rebellion, non-Roman Jews helped the Palestinian Jews War 6.241 says Titus urges that the Temple be spared. But compare Sulpicius Severus and Bavli Gittin 56b who say Titus demanded destruction of the Temple See L. Feldman in Miller reader p. 904.

Themes Dealing with Political Domination Nationalism Confronting External Cultures Tradition and Change Finding the roots of Judaism as we know it Unity and Diversity Interpretation and Text-centeredness Universalism and Particularism Messianism http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=0c74297a55c392b5f40a

History of Israel: The Big Picture Kings of Israel (1000-586BCE) Babylonian Period (586-539BCE) Tish’a be’Av Persian Period (539-332BCE) Purim Move back Hellenistic Period (332-164BCE) Septuagint Hasmonean Period (164-63BCE) Hanukah, Sectarianism Roman Period (63BCE – 395CE)

Homework Read 2 Kings 24-25 and Jer 52 carefully. Make note of the dates provided. List the last three kings of Judah. What happened to each of them and when?

Last Kings of Judah Jehoiakim 609-598BCE Jehoiachin 597BCE Vassal to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon Jehoiachin 597BCE Captured by Nebuchandezzar in a siege Imprisoned in Babylonia Freed in 562BCE by Amel-Marduk Zedekiah 597-586BCE Placed on throne by Nebuchadnezzar Rebelled and entered alliance with Egypt Watched children murdered before being blinded

Babylonian Kings Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605-562) Nabopolassar (r. 626 – 605) Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605-562) Amel-Marduk (r. 562-560) a.k.a אויל מרדך Nergal-sharezer (r. 560 – 556) Labashi-Marduk (r. 556) Nabonidus (r. 556 – 539)

Sources of Chronology Ptolemy’s Canon Uruk King List Ptolemy of Alexandria (85-165) Famous geographer and astronomer Passed on a canon of kings covering 900 years Uruk King List In Baghdad Museum (unless looted in 2003) Lists kings and years reigned from 647-226 http://www.livius.org/k/kinglist/uruk.html

Cuneiform VAT 4956 An Astronomical Diary

Absolute Dating From VAT 4956: “Year 37 of Nebuchadnezar, king of Babylon. Month I (the first of which was identical with) the 30th (of the preceding month), the moon became visible behind the Bull of heaven…Saturn was in front of the Swallow…Night of the 3rd, the moon was two cubits if front of…” This accurately describes 568 BCE and no other year.

“Chronology Papers” by W. Dolen “But not only did these tablets report on lunar eclipses, and one planet position with specific dates (month and day), these tablets report on many planet positions. By ascertaining through retro-calculation the position of these planets on certain dates, we narrow the dates down to the exact year in the Christian Era system. “For example the 523-522 BC tablet contains several positions of the planets Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, and Mars during this time period. Jupiter repeats its synodic period every 71 (70.987) or 83 solar years. Venus repeats itself every eight years. Saturn repeats itself every 59 years. And Mars repeats itself every 47 (46.979) years. These four planets will all be in the same position in relation to themselves and the stars on the same solar date approximately every 1,575,064 years.” (vol. 5 p. 112)

Summary of Methodology We find relative dates in Tanakh and Cuneiform documents. We can correlate those relative dates with an absolute calendar through king lists or astronomical data.