1. HRE 2O Christ and Culture Chapter 3 Jesus of History, Christ of Faith Thomas Zanzig Created by Mr. Taraschi

2. Abraham  Sometime between 1900 and 1750 BCE, nearly 2000 years before the time of Jesus, Jewish history began  At that time, the Jews were simply part of a number of tribes collectively known as Hebrews  Their history started with a religious experience by a man named Abram, who followed one living God in a time when many people were following many Gods  The God of Abram called him into a very special kind of personal relationship and as a sign of this relationship God gave Abram the new name of Abraham  This type of special relationship between God and people, whether it be on an individual or community basis is known as a Covenant

3. Abraham  In the covenant, God promised to take care of Abraham’s people and give them a land of safety and well-being in which to live so long as Abraham and his people worship God loyally and lovingly Isaac and Jacob  Abraham and Sarah (both in their old age) give birth to a son named Isaac  Abraham is called to sacrifice Isaac as a testament to Abraham’s loyalty to God, but God withdraws this sacrifice after seeing Abrahams willingness to do this and the strength of the Covenant they share  Isaac and his wife (Rebekah) give birth to a son named Jacob  The covenant is renewed in Jacob

4. Isaac and Jacob  Jacob fathers 12 sons and later, like Abraham, is given the name of “Israel” by God as a sign of his special relationship with God Joseph  One of Jacobs 12 sons is named Joseph and is a favorite of Jacob  The rest of Jacob’s sons are jealous and sell Joseph off to wealthy merchants as a slave in which Joseph is brought to Egypt  Joseph serves the rich family but slowly works his way up the ranks to becoming prime minister of the county  He calls his father and brothers to live with him in Egypt  Jacob eventually dies but the Hebrews are well off in Egypt

5. The End of the Patriarchal Period  The settlement in Egypt ended the patriarchal period of Jewish history. The period was dominated by the three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob  Because Jacob had been given the name “Israel” by God, his people became known as the “Israelites” during the period of history that centered around him and his sons  The prosperity in the land did not last. About 150 years of living under Pharaohs that were of their own kind, the Israelites lost their power and were soon dominated by Egyptian Pharaohs and were enslaved  The enslavement was miserable. They were given backbreaking labour jobs of construction and bricklaying  The one who would lead them out of slavery and into freedom did not come for several generations

6.  The man called to free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt was the powerful figure of Moses  Moses sensed God’s call during a profound religious experience (Exodus 3:9-10)  It is at this point that God reveals the name of God to Moses  God’s revelation to Moses at Mt Sinai is found in (Exodus 3:13-15) Yahweh  The most important name for God is Yahweh and comes from the Hebrew verb “to be” and signifies that God is the Creator, the ruler of all nature, history and is always present  For the Israelites, the act of naming anything indicated the power of the namer over the named. By revealing God’s name first, God claimed sovereignty over the people.

7. Yahweh  Over the years, the Israelites would come to regard the name that God revealed to them as very sacred and would not even pronounce the name for fear of misusing it.  In the scriptures, the word is spelled YHWH and accompanied by the word (Adonai) “my great lord” to remind the reader to say Lord rather than Yahweh because to call God by his name would be the biggest disrespectful act the Israelites could do The First Passover  Moses is sent by God to convince Pharaoh to free the Israelites from bondage  God helps Moses by sending a series of ten plagues to help Moses accomplish this mission

8.  The First Passover  It was the tenth plague that ultimately freed the Israelites from Pharaohs grip  The tenth plague was to cause the death of all the firstborn children in Egypt  God gave the Israelites a sign so they would not be harmed  They were to slaughter either sheep or goats from their flocks, take some blood from the slain animal, put it on the door posts above their homes and then eat the animal along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs  The Israelites followed God’s orders and were passed over  The Egyptians released the Israelites from oppression  This day was declared a day of remembrance

9. The covenant as Mt Sinai  Following the Exodus, the Israelites wandered the desert  After 50 days God ratified his covenant with his people in one of the most important events in the scriptures  God called Moses up to the top of Mt Sinai and extended the offer of the covenant to the entire people  God transformed a crowd of poor slaves into a nation and made them God’s people  God gave them the Law to follow, of which the cornerstone was the Ten Commandments and “their end of the bargain”  At Mt Sinai, the people of God were born with the special name Israel and became a covenant community  The Lord was indeed their God and they were God’s people

10. Life in the Promise Land  Following the death of Moses, the Israelites in 1250 BCE crossed the Jordan River into the land that was promised to them by God: the promised land of Canaan  The next few hundred years was brutal and saw endless turmoil and war as they sought to settle into a land already occupied by people  As land was gradually conquered, it was divided among the 12 tribes of Israel (one tribe descending from each of the 12 sons of Jacob)  In about 1050 BCE, 200 years after the conquest into Canaan, Israel was confronted by a new enemy: The Philistines  They were much to powerful, with new weapons and captured the treasured ark of the covenant (Ten Commandments)  If the Israelites were to defeat the enemies and survive as a people, they would need a strong leader.  As a result they appointed their first king, a man by the name of Saul in about 1020 BCE

11. Saul: A Warrior King  When Saul became king, the 12 tribes of Israel were divided into two major groups:  Israel: occupied the ten tribes and was mostly north of Jerusalem  Judah = two tribes living to the south of Jerusalem  Although the 12 tribes recognized Saul as their first king, the two groups disagreed about who should be Saul’s successor  The Northern Tribes wanted one of Saul’s son as their new king, while the South wanted David as their King  In the end, Saul’s son was a weak leader and was murdered after just a short time on the throne

12. David  After the death of Saul’s son, the people turned to David as their only king  He was 37 years of age when he united all the 12 tribes of Israel into one united nation in around the year 1000 BCE  He lead Israel into defeating the Philistines and conquering the land  Jerusalem became known as the city of David where he built a palace and desired to build a great temple to house the arc of the Covenant  Jerusalem now became the center of political and religious life and King David is still recognized as the greatest of all Kings of Israel

13. Solomon  Before David died, he made sure his son Solomon was crowned his successor to the thrown  This was a great period of prosperity for the Jewish people who saw increased trade and King David’s dream temple built  The temple was beautifully built and attracted many to worship their one true God

14.  After Solomon dies, one of his sons is proclaimed king of the two tribes in the south  He could have been king of all the northern tribes if he had listened to their demands  The northern tribes wanted relief of taxes and labor  Solomon’s son did not listen and the northern tribes formed their own Kingdom of Israel, thereby, destroying the united kingdom of David Time of the Prophets  During this time in Jewish history, there were weak kings and religious disgrace  Great prophets arose, trying to call the people back to the covenant but it was no use, the people continued to weaken

15. Time of the Prophets  In 721 BCE, the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians  Many prophets warned of a coming future destruction to the people of Israel if they did not come back to the covenant  Isaiah 11:1-9 tells of this futuristic event

16.  In 597 BCE, Jerusalem was overturned by the Babylonians and the citizens of Judah were exiled off to Babylon  The kingdom was destroyed, just as the prophets predicted  Back in Jerusalem, in 587 BCE, the city itself including the temple was destroyed and thousands more were captured and lead into the Babylonian exile  Many of the people who were not captured left the land and set up small communities along the Mediterranean sea and established small colonies  This was known as the Diaspora, derived from the word meaning “dispersion or those who have been dispersed”  The prophet Jeremiah re-laid God’s message to his people of an everlasting love for them and a new covenant. They would not be abandoned

17.  While in exile a certain number of these people called the “remnant” (meaning a small part) began to be more closer to God than ever before  This exile was seen as God’s way of bringing people back to recognition of the fact that they are God’s chosen people and not as a punishment  In 538 BCE, the Persians conquered the Babylonians and allowed the exiles back into their native land with the freedom to worship their God  This was predicted by an unknown prophet who’s writings can be found in Second Isaiah  One of his famous passages is “The Suffering Servant” (Isaiah 53:1-12)

18. The Return to Judah  Once allowed back in their homeland, the Jews began on rebuilding the temple (which was completed in 515)  They were no longer a political nation under a king but a religious community The Religious community  The leader was the high priest  There were two main classes:  Priests = responsible for offering sacrifices in the temple  Scribes = responsible for teaching the Law of Moses  It was at this point that Judaism as we know it began to arrive and the term “Jew” was used to point to those that followed the faith

19. A Brief History of the Jewish People: Part 2 HRE 2O Christ and Culture Chapter 3 Jesus of History, Christ of Faith Thomas Zanzig Created by Mr. Taraschi

20.  There was a great man that dominated the world roughly 300 years before the time of Jesus. His name was Alexander The Great  Though born in Macedonia, he was Greek in spirit, educated by Aristotle and was convinced that the Greek vision of life offered civilization its best chance for fulfillment  He won the hearts of many Greeks by leading his armies in victory over all the enemies of Greece  By the time he died in 323 BCE, he had conquered much of the Mediterranean world and lands as far east as India

21.  For about the first 100 years, after Alexander’s death, the people of Israel were ruled by the power located in Egypt  Because of the distance that separated Egypt from Palestine, the Greek power seldom interfered in the internal affairs of the Jews  However, Greek culture fell on the people who inhabited Palestine  In Galilee, Greek culture influenced all levels of Jewish life so much that the Bible refers to this region as Galilee of the Gentiles. (Gentiles are non-Jews and by this time, a Jew from Galilee-like Jesus, was looked down upon

22.  In 198, the tolerant Greek occupation comes to an end when all of Palestine comes under control of the power to the north in Syria.  The Romans then defeat the Syrian Greeks in a navel battle and then demanded an enormous amount of money as part for defeat  The rulers of Syria began a heavy taxation of the Jews. Any good will between the Greeks and Jews were now obsolete

23.  2 basic reactions to the Greek influence on the people of Israel:  Jewish leaders, wealthy landowners and the priestly class tend to get along with the Greeks because they had the most to lose in any conflict with them  Another, group called the “Hasidim” ( pious ones) resented the Greek rulers and felt that any compromise with them would amount to a rejection of the Jewish faith  Out of the views comes many factions in the Gospels such as the Sadducee’s and the Pharisees

24.  The Greek domination of Israel led to one of the greatest events in Jewish history (In which the current Jewish tradition dedicates a festival in its honor) So what happened  Rebels within the Jewish community tried to overthrow their Greek overlords  Already angry about being defeated by the Romans, the Greek leaders in Syria took out their frustration on the rebelling Jews by sacking Jerusalem and desecrating the temple. They even built an alter to the Greek god Zeus in the holy of holiest places in the temple  The Greeks went too far

25.  All of Judea erupted in outrage at what the Syrian Greeks had done  With the odds stacked against them, the rebelling Jews defeated the oppressors  The revolt became known as the Maccabean Revolt after one of the Jewish leaders named Maccabeus  This event is told in the two books of the Old Testament (Maccabees 1 and 2)  By 142 BCE, the Greeks granted complete freedom to Israel and then a century later, national freedom followed. A period of Independence would not follow until 1948 thereafter

26. The High Priest  High priest was head of the priestly caste  He was more than a special leader  Anointed the same way as kings  As spiritual leader, he had much influence that politicians always wanted to stay on his good side  During the trial of Jesus, the high priest is a man named Caiaphas. Pontius Pilot treats Caiaphas with real caution and consideration due to his importance among the Jewish people

27. Sadducees  The Sadducees were mainly the aristocracy of the priestly class and were part of the Jewish upper class meaning they had a lot of political power  They were liberal in politics and conservative in religion  Rejected belief in a resurrection after death, which was a rather recent religious belief among some Jews

28.  Pharisees  Chief political and religious rivals of the Sadducees  There was often tension between the two groups( sort of the modern day Liberals vs. Conservatives)  More liberal in religious matters than the Sadducee’s  More committed to the law than the Temple  The Judaism of today is derived from Pharisaism  Pharisees were conservative politically

29. The Essenes  They reacted so strongly to the weakness of the Jewish political leaders that they withdrew from society in order to observe strict religious traditions  Never mentioned in the Bible but Jesus would have known about them

30. The Zealots  In the time of the New Testament, the Zealots were the Jewish faction dedicated to achieving Jewish independence from the Roman Empire through a military overthrow of the Romans

31.  The Samaritans were among the descendants of the old northern tribes of the Kingdom of Israel (conquered by the Assyrians in 721 BCE). They had not been sent into Babylon during the Exile and lost touch with their Jewish counterparts to the south  As a result, many of the Samaritan’s religious practices and traditions differed from those of their mainline Jewish counterparts to the south, and when the remnants returned from the Exiles, they completely rejected the Samaritans