The Second Temple Period

Question 1

When was the second temple period

Answer 1

515 BCE - 70 CE

Question 2

What happened after the Babylonian Exile in 539 BCE?

Answer 2

The Babylonians who forced the Israelites into exile were themselves conquered by the Persians in 539 BCE.

Question 3

What happened that ended the Babylonian exile?

Answer 3

the persian conquest of babylonia

Question 4

After how many years in exile did some jews return to jerusalem?

Answer 4

50

Question 5

What led to the rebuilding of the Second Temple? When did it last until?

Answer 5

With the help of the Persians, they rebuilt the Second Temple which lasted until 70 CE.

Question 6

Second Temple Period, almost___years after the second temple was destroyed by the___.

Answer 6

• 600

- Romans

Question 7

Who was Alexander the Great’s former teacher?

Answer 7

Aristotle.

Question 8

How old was Alexander the Great when he became leader?

Answer 8

20

Question 9

What is Alexander the Great known for?

Answer 9

As he and his troops travelled across Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and down into the Mediterranean basin, he introduced Greek culture, architecture, and language.
-People from Asia Minor would understand the language spoken in North Africa.

Question 10

What is ‘Koine’?

Answer 10

‘Koine’ or common Greek language became the lingua franca of the region.

• This is a very important achievement.
• Why so many people in these regions share cultures and customs.

Question 11

Who brought an end to Persian control of Jerusalem?

Answer 11

Alexander the Great

Question 12

What is hellenization?

Answer 12

The spread of Greek culture outside of the Greek borders.

Question 13

What was the Jewish response to Hellenization?

Answer 13

Jewish responses to Hellenization varied. Some Jews embraced Greek ideas ad customs enthusiastically, while others resisted as contrary to Jewish life.

Question 14

What may be considered a political tool to force citizens to assimilate (political unity)?

Answer 14

Hellenization

Question 15

Who forced Jews to assimilate into Greek culture?

Answer 15

Antiochus IV Epiphanies (r. 175-163 BCE)

Question 16

In what ways did Antiochus IV Epiphanies fore Jews to assimilate into Greek culture (3)?

Answer 16

• prohibited the reading and the teaching of Torah
• observation of the Sabbath was a crime punishable by death
• women who had had their son circumcised be put to death

Question 17

How did Antiochus disrespect Jewish temples and dietary customs?

Answer 17

• erected alters to other gods and placed the statue of Zeus in the Temple’s courtyard
• he also sacrificed pigs animals considered inappropriate for Jews to eat, let alone to offer in ritual sacrifice

Question 18

Who revolted against Antiochus? When?

Answer 18

a family of priests known as the Hasmonean in 167 BCE

Question 19

What was the revolt against Antiochus known as?

Answer 19

• The leader of the revolt was Judah, whose nickname was Maccabee (the hammer)
• The Maccabean revolt

Question 20

What was the result of the Maccabean revolt?

Answer 20

The Maccabees recaptured the Temple rededicated it to its rightful deity in 164 BCE

Question 21

Was holiday resulted from the rededication of the Temple to Jewish rituals?

Answer 21

Hanukkah holiday

Question 22

For how long did the Hasmonean family rule for?

Answer 22

164-63 BCE

Question 23

When did the Romans take over control of Judea?

Answer 23

63 BCE

Question 24

Who did the Romans appoint as King of Israel?

Answer 24

Herod the Great

Question 25

Why did many Jews not accept Herod’s authority as legitimate?

Answer 25

He was not of Judean descent – his ancestors converted to Judaism.

Question 26

How does Herod appearing the Christian New Testament?

Answer 26

as the ruler of Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus

Question 27

In which was was Herod one of the most successful leaders in all Jewish history?

Answer 27

He built many cities, public infrastructures, including renovating the Temple in Jerusalem.

Question 28

How supposedly ordered the massacre of the innocent?

Answer 28

Herod

Question 29

What are the Sadducees?

Answer 29

• the power elites, came primarily from the upper echelon of society
• they have had close connections with the priests; some of them were priests themselves

Question 30

What did the Sadducees believe in?

Answer 30

they did not believe in a future resurrection of the dead, including the day of judgment

Question 31

Who administered the state and collected taxes?

Answer 31

the Sadducees

Question 32

What did the sadducees regard as the only authoritative text?

Answer 32

the pentateuch

Question 33

Who were the precursors of the rabbis – Rabbinic Judaism?

Answer 33

the pharisees

Question 34

Unlike the sadducees, what did the pharisees believe in?

Answer 34

The Pharisees believed in resurrection and the future day of judgment

Question 35

How did the Pharisees interpret scripture?

Answer 35

They interpreted the scriptural texts broadly in order to facilitate Jews to follow God’s law and to help other do likewise

Question 36

What was the only group to survive after the Romans destroyed the Second Temple?

Answer 36

The Pharisees

Question 37

What is ‘Mishnah’?

Answer 37

The oral interpretation of the Torah by the Pharisees. It survived the destruction of the Second Temple and was canonized around the year of 220 CE.

Question 38

Who were the Essenes community (4 points)?

Answer 38

• the Essenes was a monastic community of observant priests
• they thought of themselves as the new children of Israel
• they would take back the promised land from what they saw as the corrupt leadership of the Hellenized Jews
• they sought to apply the Bible to their daily life in a rigorous manner

Question 39

Who were the Zealots?

Answer 39

• a group of Jews who refused to cooperate with Romand encourage fellow Jews

Question 40

When did the Zealots form an organized group?

Answer 40

the first century CE

Question 41

What is the Zealot revolt agains the Romans known as? When did it take place?

Answer 41

The First Jewish Revolt (66-73), also ‘Great Revolt”

Question 42

What are 4 points of consensus among the different Jewish groups?

Answer 42

1. The oneness of God (By the Second Temple period, Judaism was a monotheistic tradition, entered on the idea of a single, all-powerful God).
2. The authority and sacred nature of the Torah
3. The special status of Israel as the “chosen people” in the “land of God”
4. The status of the Temple in Jerusalem as the place where God and his people met.

Question 43

What is Judaism as we know it today?

Answer 43

• is a religious tradition that was defined by the interpretation of the rabbinic movement

Question 44

What are rabbis?

Answer 44

• the rabbis are the successors of the Pharisee

- they played important role in leading Jewish community after the devastating loss of the Second Temple

Question 45

What did rabbis replace the priests and the practice of sacrifice with?

Answer 45

liturgical prayer and an emphasis on ethical behaviour

Question 46

Where do Jews meet to learn and read the Torah?

Answer 46

in a synagogue

Question 47

Who is Rabbi Hillel?

Answer 47

He is an important figure among the rabbis.

• known to have been a humble and pious scholar
• many of his thought and arguments are recorded in the Talmud