Exam 1 Flashcards
What is important about the placement of Israel?
It is central (the bullseye of the Eastern Hemisphere); known as “The Land Between”
What is the Fertile Crescent?
The large sickle of inhabitable and cultivatable land stretching from the Persian Gulf to Egypt
What is unique about Israel’s regional aspects and divisions?
Israel has a very diverse geography (think of it as similar to CA)
How do the different disciplines connect when talking about regional segmentation?
Geological Composition – Topography – Lines of Communication
THEREFORE, geology affects history
What are the 4 main longitudinal (north-south) zones moving from west to east?
- Coastal Plain
- Mountains or Central Hills
- The Rift Valley
- Trans-Jordan Plateau
What is the climate like in Israel?
Very similar to CA; Two Primary Seasons
Summer + Winter
In the Fall Transitional Period, there are the Sirocco (Khamsin) winds + the early (former) rains
In the Spring Transitional Period, there are the Sirocco (Khamsin) winds + the latter rains
CRITICAL CONCERN: Water!!
What are the 7 most prominent species of agriculture in Israel?
- Wheat
- Barley
- Grapes
- Pomegranates
- Olives
- Figs
- Honey (Most likely date honey)
What were the “Silent Years”?
The 400 year time period between Malachi to Matthew
- Predicted by Micah
- Realized during the Inter-Testamental Period
What are some of the most prominent Jewish Historical and Literary Sources?
Josephus (AD 37-100) Works
The Book of Maccabees [1+2]
Mishna (AD 200)
When was the Northern Kingdom exiled?
722 BC by the Assyrians
When was the Southern Kingdom exiled?
586 BC (when Jerusalem was destroyed) by the Babylonians – Ushered in the 70 Year Babylonian Captivity (Exilic Period)
What was a main difference between Persia and Babylon?
PERSIA: Repatriation: Limited autonomy as a client-state; Restoration
BABYLON: Expatriation: Remove and assimilate culturally (Daniel 1:4); Deportation
What ended the Exilic Period?
The Decree of Cyrus (Ezra 1:2-4)
Who is Alexander the Great?
- Ruled during the Hellenistic Period form 336-323 BC
- Famous Battle of Issus
- Prepared the way for Greek culture, with Greek becoming the universal language [Greeks gaining control of The Land Between]
- Alexander liked the Jews and the Jews liked Alexander
What happened in the Post-Alexandrian Division in 301 BC?
These are the two most important: Ptolemy gets EGYPT and ISRAEL
Seleucus gets SYRIA and PERSIA
Under which group’s rule was life good for the Jews?
The Ptolemies
What was the affect of the Maccabe Revolt?
It turned Israel into a buffer state between powerful nations, while enforcing Hellenism and striving to eradicate Judaism
When was the Feast of Hanukkah (The Feast of Dedication) established?
It was established during the inter-testamental period (Chislev 25–164 BC)
What was the Hasmonean Period?
143-63 BC
Reassertion of Jewish Autonomy
This is where we see the rise of the priest kings
The Hasidims versus the Hellenists
Hasidim: “Holy Ones”; strict adherence to religious laws and regulations – leads to the Pharisees
Hellenists: ethnic identification with allowance for cultural assimilation and integration of non-Jewish ideas and traditions – leads to the Sadducees
Who was Antipater II the Idumaean?
Father of Herod the Great
He appoints his sons to positions of power; basically running the state
Who was Herod Archelaus?
Ethnarch of Judea and Samaria (The Southern Area)
Rules of the Samaritans but loosely and doesn’t like them
Who was Herod Antipas?
He overlays Jesus’ life
Ethnarch of Galilee and Perea
Arrests and kills John the Baptist
Who was Phillip the Tetrarch?
Another contemporary of Jesus
Completes the Tetrarch
Controls NE Region of Galilee
