Final Exam Characters Flashcards
the king of Persia during the time of Esther, identified as Xerxes I (486-465); deposed Vashti and replaced her with Esther; sealed Haman’s edict to annihilate the Jews; honored Mordecai; hanged Haman; issued edict allowing Jews to defend themselves; promoted Mordecai
Ahasuerus
Seleucid king who persecuted the Jews of Judea during the Maccabean period; he called himself Epiphanes, meaning “divine one”
Antiochus IV
son of Nabonidus who ruled in is father’s absence; according to Daniel 5, he was king when Babylon fell
Belshazzar
Persian monarch who founded the Medo-Persian Empire in the sixth century BCE and allowed the Judean refugees to return to their homeland after the Babylonian exile
Cyrus the Great
a Judean who was taken into Babylonian captivity by Nebuchadrezzar; a Jewish hero
Daniel
a Jewish heroine of the Diaspora who became queen of Persia under Xerxes I, called Ahasuerus in the story; she secured the safety of the Jews when they were threatened with genocide; her story is told in the book that carries her name
Esther
a priest and teacher of the Torah; he led a group of Jewish refugees back to Judea from Babylonia in the fifth century BCE during the reign of Artaxerxes I and imposed the Torah of Moses as civil law
Ezra
the wicked opponent of Mordecai and the Jews in the book of Esther
Haman
a righteous man whom God tested by disaster and personal suffering; in the end, God restored his wealth and family
Job
a second-century BCE Judean who led the Jewish Maccabean revolt against the Hellenistic Seleucid occupation of Jerusalem and Judea
Judas Maccabee
the uncle of Esther who looked after her and urged her to do everything in her power to effect the deliverance of the Jews throughout the Persian Empire
Mordecai
Monarch of the Neo-Babylonian Empire who invaded Judah and destroyed Jerusalem in 587
Nebuchadnezzar
the Jewish cupbearer of Artaxerxes of Persia in the fifth century BCE; appointed governor of Judea, he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile
Nehemiah
the dynasty of Seleucus, a general of Alexander the Great, who ruled Syria and Asia Minor after Alexander’s death; rule in Palestine was ended by the Maccabees in the second century BCE
Seleucid
a prince of Judah who led the first return of Judean refugees from Babylonian exile in 538 BCE; temple rebuilding began, but due to economic hardship and local opposition it was not completed at that time
Sheshbazzar
a member of the royal Davidic line, an heir to the throne of Judah, who led a second group of Jews back to Palestine during the reign of Darius I; he was appointed governor of Judea by Cyrus, king of Persia; this group succeeded in completing the temple in Jerusalem in 515, called the second temple
Zerubbabel
deported to Babylon with Daniel; name changed from Azariah; refused defilement by food; refused idol worship; saved from furnace
Abednego
king of Persia; allowed rebuilding of temple under Ezra and of walls of Jerusalem under his cupbearer Nehemiah
Artaxerxes
king of Persia at the time of Zerubbabel’s return; the second temple was completed during his reign; the book of Esther also takes place during his reign
Darius
angel who interpreted Daniel’s visions
Gabriel
priest who started the Maccabean revolt
Mattathias
Hebrew exiled to Babylon; name changed from Mishael; refused defilement by food; refused to worship idol; saved from furnace
Meshach
archangel; warrior in angelic realm, protector of Israel; has special oversight over the people of Judah
Michael
Hebrew exiled to Babylon; name changed from Hananiah; refused defilement by food; refused to worship idol; saved from furnace
Shadrach
Persian queen replaced by Esther
Vashti
student of Aristotle; Greek military victor who conquers a majority of the middle east and assimilates Greek culture into the conquered nations; time before him is Hellenic and time after him is Hellenistic
Alexander the Great
