Judges, Kings, Prophets
• Israelites were nomadic people in the Sinai for 40 years• Lead by people known as shofetim (translated as
judges)• They were charismatic leaders that led Israel out of
times of crisis
Judges, Kings, Prophets
•Around 1000 BCE, the Hebrew people felt began to want a king, God is reluctant• Eventually gave them their first king Saul because of
the Philistine threat
Judges, Kings, Prophet
• Saul was succeeded by David• Triumphs over the Philistines as a military leader and
establishes Jerusalem as the capital•His son Solomon builds the temple that would serve
as the center of worship for the Jewish people
Judges, Kings, Prophets
•After the death of the Solomon, the kingdom divides• The northern tribe is known as Israel and the
southern tribe with Jerusalem is Judah• The end of the reign and era of the kings occurs soon
after this
Judges, Kings, Prophets
• The end of the reign of the kings was fortold by the prophets•Prophets can be one of two things in modern usage:• People who speak on behalf of God• People who tell the future• In the Bible, Prophets normally receive God’s message
and deliver it to His people
Judges, Kings, Prophets
• In the Bible, Hebrew prophets warned of coming crises based on infidelity to God and his covenants•Prophetic tradition that is shared between Christianity
and Judaism•Belief that God uses specific people to deliver his
message to people
Judges, Kings, Prophets
•Word of God through the prophets survive in the Jewish Scriptures such as the Tanakh•Prophetic writings are a combination of practical
advice, social criticism, and poetic beauty
The Exile
• The Jewish independence was altered by two military conquests• In 721 BCE, the Assyrians invaded and captured Israel
and its people• In 586 BCE, the Babylonians captured Judah and
destroyed Solomon’s temple
The Exile
• Jewish leaders were captured and sent into exile in Babylon• This event is known as the Exile or the Babylonian
Captivity• This would remain until in 538 BCE the Persian King
Cyrus the great freed them
The Exile
•With Solomon’s temple destroyed, the Jewish people needed to find a new method of worship• During the exile, places for congregational worship,
synagogues, were created• Also began the studying of the scripture by people known as
rabbis
The Exile
•Rabbis tried to interpret scripture so the average person could understand• The period of the exile also called the development of
the of a belief in a divine kingship• This was characterized by the Messiah, or “the
anointed one”
The Exile
•After the Babylonians were conquered by Cyrus, the Jewish people were set free •Under the leadership of the Ezra and Nehemiah, they
rebuilt the temple in 515 BCE•During the Exile, the Jewish people evolved from a
tribal faith to a world faith
The Diaspora
• The Diaspora is the Greek word meaning “sowing of the seed” or “dispersal”• Term used to refer to the Jewish population living
outside of Israel•By the third century BCE, most Jewish people lived in
the Diaspora
The Diaspora
• For the Jews that did not return from Exile they created a new set of standards of faith•Practical worship centered around the synagogue,
and scholarly analysis by the rabbis continued•More Jewish communities started up around the
Mediterranean Sea
The Diaspora
• In 332 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered much of the known world•At this time, the Jewish people fell under Greek
influence, known as the Hellenization• The Jewish people embraced Greek culture and for
the first time translated the Scripture to Greek
The Diaspora
• The scripture, when re-translated, was called the Septuagint• This supported the Jewish community living in the
Diaspora for centuries
The Maccabean Revolt
• The next significant event was in 168 BCE• The temple was converted into a shrine for Zeus by
Antiochus IV Epiphanes•A group Maccabees used the general public
sentiments against the Greeks
The Maccabean Revolt
•By 164 BCE, the Maccabees regained control of the temple and Jerusalem• The temple was rededicated to God and the dynasty
endured until the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire• In 64 BCE, the Roman General Pompey entered
Jerusalem as a campaign to expand the Roman Empire• The Jewish people were subject to foreign domination• Several distinct Jewish sects emerged, as well as a
sophistication of the Jewish belief• This led to the emphasis of the coming of the
Messiah, the anointed one of God to deliver them from opression
Rabbinic Judaism
• The Jewish people endured hardships under the Romans which challenged their faith• Taxation, unfair administration of justice, and Roman
control of the temple and priest was excessive• In 66 CE, the Jewish people revolted and gained
power over the Temple Mount (The Second Temple)
Rabbinic Judaism
• In 70 CE, the Romans responded with force and a five-month siege occurred• Jerusalem is taken, the temple is destroyed• The temple was never rebuilt, and the only surviving
part was the Western Wall, which is a place of prayer and devotion for the Jews today
Rabbinic Judaism
•After the Jewish rebellion was supressed, the Jewish faith faced reformation or destruction•Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai convinced the Romans to
allow the Sanhedrin to relocate into Yavneh• In Yavneh they maintained their scriptures, wrote
commentaries on the law, and developed a Jewish calendar
Rabbinic Judaism
•Rabbinic Judaism was ready to emerge after these events• The Sadduccees were a priestly caste without a
temple• The Pharisees were in need of a restructuring
Rabbinic Judaism
• The old priests were replaced by Rabbis, synagogues became the central places of worship•Prayer practices, which were part of temple practices
became home and synagogue practices
Rabbinic Judaism
• The most significant contribution to the rabbinic movement was the Judaism of Dual laws• They were found in the written Torah, the interpretive
tradition of the Mishnah, and the Talmud later• The rabbis eventually compiled a substantial body of
commentary on the Bible known as the Midrash• The Midrash looks at puzzling Biblical situations and
poses explanations for these problems
Rabbinic Judaism
•Rabbinic interpretation was extended to the law• The rabbis, through continuous studying could write
commentaries on the law•By the middle Ages, Judaism had established deep
intellectual and spiritual roots