Exam #1 - NT Backgrounds Flashcards
(45 cards)
What significant event happened in 586 BC?
The fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzer (Ole Nebbie) and the deportation of many exiles to Babylon
What significant event happened in 539 BC?
Babylon falls to Persia. Some Jews go home, but others don’t (Diaspora)
Who is Cyrus the Great?
Persian ruler who conquered Babylon in 539 BC.
What happened in the 330s BC?
Alexander the Great begins expanding his empire, which eventually included Judea (etc.).
What was significant about Alexander the Great expanding his empire in the 330s BC?
linguistic and cultural hellenization (or “Greekification”) and the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew OT)
What was the Septuagint? How did it come into being?
it was the Greek version of the Hebrew OT and it came into being due to the hellenization of Jewish culture/life
What imperial powers did Israel fall under the control of? List two.
first the Ptolmies, then the Seleucids (Antiochus IV)
What significant event happened in 167 BC as a result of Israel’s new ruler?
What was the result of this event?
Antiochus had the Jerusalem Temple turned over to worshipping Zeus; pigs were even sacrificed by Greeks on the Temple altar.
The Maccabean War.
What was the result of the Maccabean War in the 160s BC (167-160)?
Jewish forces under Judas Maccabee regain control of temple and cleanse it (Hanukkah).
What dynasty begins in the early 140s-63 BC?
the Hasmonean Dynasty
What happens in 63 BC? Who rules at this time?
Roman rule begins with Pompey the Great
What happens in 37-4 BC? Who is the ruler at this time?
Herod the Great rules as “King of the Jews”
What happens in 4 BC? (think of the number 3)
Herod the Great’s kingdom splits between 3 sons (Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip)
What happens in AD 37? Who comes into power? And how does this ruler die?
Herod Agrippa I, a grandson of Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa the II’s rule follows after Herod Agrippa I is eaten by worms.
What war arises in AD 66-70? What is destroyed? What is the result?
the First Jewish War (destruction of the Second Temple, which Herod the Great had expanded/renovated).
The result is failure.
What war arises in AD 132-135? How did it begin and how did it end?
The Second Jewish War. Romans built a pagan temple in a Jewish city and oppressed their practices. Romans eventually completely took over the city and forbade Jews from entering it.
Why should we study the NT?
- theological reasons: God cares about the material world and historical particularity. We know this due to creation, incarnation, Jesus’ resurrection, and how God gave us Scripture - through particular people in particular times and places.
- epistemological reasons: words mean what they mean in particular contexts, and we read from our own different, diverse contexts
How do we study the NT?
we study the general history of the NT and the reception history that fills the gap between the “then” and the “now.”
What is “common Judaism?”
a selection of the schools of thought and practice within first-century Judaism, including (but not limited to) the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.
What are some examples of the practices that all Jews would observe? (“common Judaism”)
- observed Sabbath
- Torah = true law
- revere Temple
- male circumcision
- dietary laws
- practicing prayer
- mono-theistic
- following law = God’s grace (not a burden but an opportunity; a chance to live in right relationship w/ God)
Describe the Pharisees.
- Lay movement (not primarily priests; some overlap w/ scribes)
- emphasized accurate interpretation and observance of the Law; affirmed a hope in bodily resurrection.
- possibly the religious descendants of the Hassidim
- seem to have adhered oral tradition as well as the written Torah
- became dominant after fall of Jerusalem Temple (70 AD)
- sanctification of daily life; ALL of life
What are ways in which Jesus’ teachings and the Pharisees’ beliefs clashed?
- whether/how to interact with those who consistently don’t observe the Law
- what role interpretive traditions have in regulating approach to ritual purity
- Sabbath observance
- specific vs. interpretive differences (e.g., divorce)
Describe the Sadducees.
- upper-class, urban, some priests
- focus on temple-worship
- rejected oral tradition and Pharisees’ attempts to apply Law to all of life
- did not affirm the resurrection of the body (no life after death)
- based doctrine only on the Torah (in the first 5 books of the OT only)
- cooperation w/ Rome
- less prominent after 70 AD
- if it’s not in the law, it’s not in the law (oh, well)
Describe the Essenes.
- ascetic practices (e.g., fasting, celibacy, and other forms of bodily discipline)
- not named in NT (potential ties to John the Baptist; eating locusts, ceremonial washing)
- monastic settlement at Qunran (where Dead Sea Scrolls were found) was likely one expression of this group.
- objected to the calendar and priesthood of Temple
- emphasized studying Scripture (but had their own interpretations of it)
- apocalyptic hope
- dualistic worldview