Ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible 2000 B.C.E. 1st Century
C.E. (Before the Common Era Common Era)
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Ancient Israel On the intersection of multiple ancient cultures
: egyptian, mesopotamian, foinician, etc. Borders: W: Medditeranean
Sea E: moving boundaries according to the cultivated area x desert
N: the city of Dan and Hermon mountain chain S: Negev Desert and
the city of Beersheba Before the arrival of the Israeli tribes this
territory was settled by principally the semitic Canaanites and
other smaller ethnical groups such as the Philistines that came
here from the greek area Canaan - under egyptian influence 1250
B.C.E. Arrival of Israeli (Hebrew) tribes Five Books of Moses -
what happened before the arrival of Israelis to Canaan = Torah
(hebrew) = teaching/ law; Sefer Torah (scroll) = (printed) amishah
umshei Torah (Five Books) = Pentateuch (greek) = Five Books = a
saga describing the destinies of the forefathers of the Israeli
tribes (Abraham, Isac, Jacob, Joseph et al.) that were semi-nomadic
and travelled in the Middle East = abstract complex of Gods
will
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Ancient Israel Abraham forefather of Israelis -Told by God to
lead Israelis from Mesopotamy to Canaan -God promised him and his
descendents, Isaak and Jacob (Israel) the Holy Land -Jacob (Israel)
had 12 sons A part of Israelis settled in Egypt - became enslavend
freed by Moses = founder of the Jewish religion = Judaism
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Moses Born in Egypt His parents were from the Levi tribe Killed
the egyptian tyrant escaped the Lord appeared to him in a burning
bush and told him to lead his nation from Egypt to Canaan, the
promised land They wandered 40 years in the desert where the Lord
revealed himself to Moses on the mount Sinai and gave him the Gods
Law and made a covenant, a religious treaty with the people of
Israel it became the people of God and God became their Lord
Monoteism = trust in existence of one God Ten Commandments
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Moses Ten Commandments Deuteronomy 5:4-21 4 The L ORD spoke
with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the
fire, 5 while I stood between the L ORD and you at that time, to
declare to you the word of the L ORD. For you were afraid because
of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: 6 I
am the L ORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery. 7 You shall have no other gods before
[a] me.a 8 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any
likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the
earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall
not bow down to them or serve them; for I the L ORD your God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children
to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but
showing steadfast love to thousands [b] of those who love me and
keep my commandments.b 11 You shall not take the name of the L ORD
your God in vain, for the L ORD will not hold him guiltless who
takes his name in vain. 12 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy, as the L ORD your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall
labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to
the L ORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your
son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant,
or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the
sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your
female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that
you were a slave [c] in the land of Egypt, and the L ORD your God
brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched
arm. Therefore the L ORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath
day.c 16 Honor your father and your mother, as the L ORD your God
commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well
with you in the land that the L ORD your God is giving you. 17 You
shall not murder. [d]d 18 And you shall not commit adultery. 19 And
you shall not steal. 20 And you shall not bear false witness
against your neighbor. 21 And you shall not covet your neighbor's
wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or
his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or
anything that is your neighbor's. http://www.biblegatew
ay.com/audio/mclean/e sv/Deut.5.4-Deut.5.21 http://www.biblegatew
ay.com/audio/mclean/e sv/Deut.5.4-Deut.5.21
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Ancient Israel - Bible Exodus (Shemot) from Egypt Different
Israeli tribes arrived to Canaan in multiple waves United by a
faith in one God With time became a prevailing ethnicity in the
country that they called the land of Israel ( = God fights/ God
reigns) Judges = destinies of the leaders of the Israeli tribes
Tribal system evolved in a kingdom Saul David Solomon
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Ancient Israel - Bible Saul David, about 1000 B.C.E. Books of
Samuel, Kings, Chronicles Unified the Israeli tribes Jerusalem
capital of his new kingdom Fortified and rebuilt the city Wrote
Psalms Solomon Rembrandt, David playing for Saul
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David Commanded his son Salomon to build a Jerusalem Temple on
Mount Moriah (destroyed 70 C.E. By the Roman Emperor Titus). This
work took seven years followed by thirteen years of building of a
royal complex to the south of the Temple. New walls were built to
connect this area with Davids city. Israels first permanent
sanctuary Wise man : wrote Proverbs, Kohelet and the Song of Songs
( ) Ancient Israel - Bible
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Kingdom Kingdom split in two parts North Israel kingdom Samaria
The cult of Baal was allowed Asyria conquered Samaria in the 8th c.
BCE disintegration of the Kingdom of Israel South Kingdom of Judea
Jerusalem Among two mighty states : Egypt and Neo-Babylonian realm
587 Nabuchodonozor conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the 1st Temple
Babylonian captivity of the elites the end of the Kingdom and of
the dynasty of David Ended with the Persian conquest of Babylonia :
the Persian king Kyros permitted Jews to go back to Judea and to
renew the Temple (hailed as a divine angle Isaiah) Ezra , Nehemia :
Persian province Jehud area of 20 x 50 km around Jerusalem Ezra the
Scribe lived about 100 years after Kyros; organized return to
Judea; played an importnat role in the redaction of Torah; perhaps
author of the Chronicles (end of Ketubim) Since 518 BCE renewal of
the Temple already without Aron ha-kodesh; from the 1st Temple only
the Menorah survived
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Jerusalem Temple, reconstruction
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Judea Greeks Under Ptolemai dynasty untill cca 200 BCE when the
Seleuk dynasty takes power 164 BCE Juda Makkabes uprising against
Antiochos IV Epiphanos who tried to force Jew to hellenisation
Jerusalem was reconquered and the Temple reconsecrated Romans The
Hasmonean dynasty (from Makkabes) was superated by the Romans (63
BCE Pompeius conquered Jerusalem) Under Romans the Jewish society
polarized Sadducees Pharisees Essenes Zealots
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Judea Sadducees elitists who wanted to maintain the priestly
caste open to incorporate Hellenism into their lives (something the
Pharisees opposed) rejected the idea of the Oral Law and insisted
on a literal interpretation of the Written Law; (consequently, they
did not believe in an afterlife, since it is not mentioned in the
Torah) the main focus : rituals associated with the Temple
disappeared around 70 CE after the destruction of the Second Temple
None of the writings of the Sadducees survive Pharisees the
spiritual fathers of modern Judaism Oral Law Believed that God gave
Moses on Sinai a written law and the knowledge of what these laws
meant and how they should be applied. This oral tradition was
codified and written down roughly three centuries later in what is
known as the Talmud
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Judea Essenes moved out of Jerusalem and lived a monastic life
in the desert, adopting strict dietary laws and a commitment to
celibacy. may have been the Temple priests who went into self-
imposed exile in the 2nd c. BCE, after kings unlawfully assumed the
role of high priest Zealots Advocated violence against Romans and
the Sadducees Criticised in Talmud for their blind militarism The
leading role in the Jewish Revolt of 66: took over Jerusalem and
held it until 70, when the son of Roman Emperor Vespasian, Titus
retook the city and destroyed the Temple. After the destruction of
the Temple took refuge in the fortress Masada committed a group
suicide when the fortress was conquered by the Romans
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Exile -Diaspora Jewish communities living outside of Israel
-God rules the world through His love and justice and He dwells in
the world in the form of shekhina (Gods presence)
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Ancient Israel - Bible God ha- Shem Adona Contrasts with the
Middle East polytheism Eschatology Monoteism : judaism,
christianity, islam Bible: ta biblia (greek) = books Old Testament
mainly in hebrew canonical for Jews New Testament in greek
tradition about life and teaching of Jesus Christ Written 2nd c.
BCE 1st c. CE
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Ancient Israel - Bible Hebrew bible = Tanakh Torah - Five Books
of Moses: Bereshit (Genesis), Shemot (Exodus), Vayikra (Leviticus),
Bemidbar (Numbers), Devarim (Deuteronomy) Divided in 54 parashiyot
for every Shabbat starts again on Simchat Torah Naviim (Prophets) :
Isaiah, Jeremy, Ezechiel, small prophets... Ketubim (Scriptures):
Psalms, Song of Songs (love poetry), Job, Kohelet, Proverbs, Ruth,
Daniel...
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Shema Israel Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is
one. And you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul and with all your capability. And these words that I
command you today shall be in your heart and you will teach them to
your sons and you will pronounce them while you dwell in your
house, while you are on your way and while you lie down and while
you rise up. And you will bind them to your hand and they will be
among your eyes and you will write them on your the doorposts of
your house and on your gates.
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Rabbinic Judaism and Talmud 1st C. 5th C. CE
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Talmudic Times Sanhedrin (the Jewish High Court) continued to
work after the destruction of the 2nd Temple in the year 70 but was
allowed only to deal with religious matters Formulation of the
canon of the biblical books Oral Law- adaptation of Torah to the
actual problems United Jews in Diaspora Rabbi Akiva Romans tried to
interrupt the Jewish traditions uprising of Bar Kochba, 132 CE
Romans reconquered Jerusalem
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Talmud Galilee new center of the Jewish litteracy and the High
Court
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Talmud Hillel ( ) c.110 BCE, died 10 CE associated with the
development of the Mishnah and the Talmud founder of the House of
Hillel school for Tannam (Sages of the Mishnah)Tannam Jehuda
ha-Nasi (2nd c.) codified Mishna (teaching) oral law Law regulating
the agriculture, holidays, marriage, civile law, cult, ritual
purity Mishna based on Torah and halakha, religious law which
originates in the Written (Torah she-bikhtav) and Oral Torah (Torah
she- bal peh) Babylonia Extensive commentary to Mishnah = Gemara
MISHNA + GEMARA = TALMUD Talmud Jerushalmi 5th c. Talmud Bavli 6th
c. more authoritative
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Talmud Stimulates to raise questions Besides the religious law
and disputations (halakha), the Talmud contains different narrative
stories (aggada) Jerusalem Talmud 2/3 aggada, 1/3 halakha
Babylonian Talmud 5/6 halakha = to narrate; to put on the table in
individual details Aggada collected fragments on individual rabbis
Creative filling of biblical gaps Halakha a part of everyday life
does need to change; aggada does not Aggada : everything that is
not halakha (constitution); creative Halakha is superior to aggada
Prior, necessary, a priviledge to fulfill it since the revelation
of the Torah on Sinai
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Talmudic Ethics Rabi Shimon ben Gamliel says: "The world is
sustained by three things, by justice, by truth and by peace. Rabi
Natan says: Do not blame others for your own mistake. Hilel says:
Dont do unto others what you would not want do to you that is the
whole Torah; the rest is commentary. Go and learn! "Do not say 'I
will study when I have the time', for perhaps you will never have
time." Pirkei Avot 2:5
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Talmudic Times Formation of a synagogue = place of gathering
Religious service and school Oldest synagogues in Galilee, Bet
Alpha, 6th c. CE Mosaic floor Place of reading of Torah written on
parchemin kept in a sanctuary, wrept in precious, often embroidered
cloth
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Mosaic floor in Bet Alpha, Galilee
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Geonic Period Geonim: Rabbinic leaders in Babylonia in the 7th
- 10th c. Responsa Talmudic academies in Babylonia These schools
(yeshivot) had the same function as Sanhedrin Sura, Pumbedita
Arabization and islamization of the Middle East, Egypt, northern
Africa, most of Spain Besides hebrew and arameic ( the language of
Talmud; a language spoken in entire Middle East 2000 years ago ),
Jewish scholars start to use arabic, especially for scientific and
philosophical treatises 10th c. Andalusia new center of the Jewish
education Flowering of Jewish philosophy, science and poetry