The Ancient Israelites

1
The Ancient Israelites

• Section 3
• The Growth of Judaism

2
Did You Know?

• The Jewish Sabbath, or Shabbat, begins on Friday
  evening at sundown and ends at sunset Saturday
  evening.
• Jew commemorate the separation of Shabbat from
  the rest of the week with special ceremonies.

3
Exile and Return

• Exile when people are forced to live in a
  foreign land.
• During the Israelites exile in Babylon, their
  religion became Judaism.
• Sabbath Jews met each week on this day for
  worship and rest, in a synagogue (house of
  worship). At the meetings, the Jews prayed and
  discussed their religion.
• After the Persians defeated the Chaldeans and
  took control of Babylon, the Persian king, Cyrus,
  allowed the Jews to return to Judah.
• Persian official still controlled the Jews in
  Judah, so Jews looked to their religion for
  leadership.
• Jewish leaders became priests and scribes.

4
Exile and Return Continued

• The Hebrew Bible consists of 5 books of the Torah
  and 34 other books.
• These books describe Jewish history.
• Book of Genesis tells how God punished people
  for their bad behavior.
• Story of Noah is in this book.
• Genesis also explains why the world has different
  languages.
• Book of Daniel reminds Jews that God will rescue
  them.
• Jews, Christians, and Muslims share the idea that
  good will triumph over evil.

5
Discussion Question

• How does the book of Genesis explain different
  languages of the world?
• Genesis tells that the people Babel tried to
  build a tower to heaven.
• God disapproved of the tower and made all the
  people speak different languages and scattered
  them across the earth.

6
The Jews and the Greeks

• Judah came under the control of Alexander the
  Great in 331 B.C.
• He introduced the Greek language and ways to the
  Jews who stayed in Judah.
• Diaspora scattered refers to Jews who lived
  outside of Judah.
• The Greek ruler Antiochus wanted the Jews to
  worship Greek gods and goddesses.
• Judas Maccabeus and his followers formed an army
  known as the Maccabees to fight the Greeks.
• The Maccabees drove the Greeks out of Judah.
• They removed evidence of the gods and goddesses
  from their temple.
• Each year Jews recall the cleansing of the temple
  when they celebrate Hanukkah.

7
Discussion Question

• How did Jewish ideas spread at the time of
  Alexander the Great?
• Some Jews who learned the Greek language but were
  loyal to Judaism copied the Hebrew Bible in the
  Greek language. In this way, people who were not
  Jews could read about and understand Judaism.

8
The Jewish Way of Life

• Jewish laws influenced Jews daily life.
• Laws applied to clothing
• Men wore tunics, caps or turbans, and sandals.
• Women wore dresses and covered their heads with
  shawls. Wealthy women wore shoes, makeup, and
  jewelry.
• Sons were valuable in Jewish society.
• They carried on the family name and became the
  head of the family after the death of their
  fathers.
• They learned how to earn a living and how to
  worship God from their fathers.
• They learned how to read the Torah from religious
  leaders.
• Girls learned how to be good wives, mothers, and
  housekeepers.
• They also learned about Jewish laws and strong
  women of ancient Israel.
• Jewish laws stated that Jews could eat only
  certain animals, such as beef, lamb, and certain
  scaly fish.
• Today, food that is prepared according to Jewish
  law is called kosher.

9
Discussion Question

• How is kosher meat prepared?
• To be kosher, the animal is killed in a certain
  way. Then the meat is inspected, salted, and
  soaked. Jewish laws instruct Jews not to cook or
  eat milk products with the meat.

10
Jews and the Romans

• In 63 B.C., the Romans conquered Judah and
  renamed it Judea.
• King Herod, the most famous ruler of Judea, was
  known for his cruelty.
• After Herods death, the Romans replaced Jewish
  kings with Roman officials.
• The Jews had splintered into different groups
• Pharisees who were supported by the common
  people
• Sadducees who did not agree with many of the
  Pharisees teachings.
• Essenes
• The Dead Sea Scrolls probably written by Essenes
  and were found near the Dead Sea in A.D. 1947.
• Because the Jews had split into these groups,
  they were not as powerful after the death of
  Herod.

11
The Jews and the Romans continued

• Jews hated Roman rule.
• Many Jews were waiting for a messiah, or
  deliverer sent by God.
• Some Jews, known as Zealots, wanted to fight the
  Romans.
• They revolted in A.D. 66 and drove the Romans out
  of Jerusalem.
• The Jews revolted again, but the Romans stopped
  the revolt.
• This time, they forbade Jews to visit Jerusalem
  and gave Judah the name of Palestine, referring
  to the Philistines.

12
The Jews and the Romans continued

• Rabbis teachers of the Torah, became important
  leaders.
• They wanted to pass on teachings of the Torah.
• They combined the teachings in a book called the
  Talmund.
• Johanan ben Zakkai a famous rabbi, helped
  Judaism survive the destruction and loss of the
  temple.
• For 2,000 years most Jews lived outside Palestine
  and faced persecution.
• 1948 A.D., Palestine was divided, and a new
  Jewish nation called Israel was created.

13
Discussion Question

• What was the difference between the Pharisees and
  the Sadducees?
• The Pharisees were concerned with applying the
  Torah to daily life and the Jewish home and
  family.
• The Sadducees were concerned with how the Torah
  applied to priests in the Temple.