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Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
SPRING QUARTER MIDTERM
58
Religious Studies
Undergraduate 4
04/17/2015
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Term
1550-1200 BCE
 Definition
Time period: LATE BRONZE AGE
Term
1005-965 BCE
 Definition
United Monarchy in Israel:
{King} David's reign
Term
968-928 BCE
 Definition

United Monarchy in Israel:
{King} Solomon's reign

 
Term
928-911 BCE
 Definition

Divided Monarchy:

JUDAH / King Rehoboam's reign
Term
928-907 BCE
 Definition

Divided Monarchy:

ISRAEL / King Jeroboam I's reign
Term
Mid-ninth century
 Definition
Prophet Elijah
Term
Mid-eighth century
 Definition
Prophet Amos, Prophet Hosea
Term
722 BCE
 Definition
Samaria captured
Term
639-609 BCE
 Definition
JUDAH / Josiah
Term
Late seventh to early sixth century
 Definition
Prophet Jeremiah / Rise of Babylon
Term
586 BCE
 Definition
JUDAH / End of Zedekiah's reign, Capture of Jerusalem
Term
538 BCE
 Definition
Some exiles return from Babylon
Term
520-515 BCE
 Definition
Second Temple built
Term
Aaron
 Definition
the first high priest, Moses’ brother and Levite (Ex. 4:14); he is inaugurated in Exodus (28-29).

Aaron was supposed to be the progenitor of the later priests, he is regarded as the prototype.
Term
Amarna Letters
 Definition

diplomatic* correspondence^ (*skilled in dealing with sensitive matters or people ^communication by exchange of letters)

 

from the reigns of the Egyptian pharaohs Amenophis III and Akhenaten

written in Akkadian cuneiform, that provide information about Canaan in the 14th cent. BCE
Term
Amorites
 Definition
according to the Bible, one of the native nations of Canaan. Amorites are attested in other

ancient Near Eastern documents from the third millennium BCE and onward as residents of Syria who migrated to

Mesopotamia and other areas. Their language was related to Hebrew.
Term
Anoint
 Definition
touch or rub with oil. Anointing was a sign that a person or thing was dedicated to God.
Term
Apodictic law
 Definition
Law stated absolutely, as in Decalogue’s “you shall not,” rather than casuistically (intellectually dishonest/over subtle), “if a person…”
Term
Ark of the covenant:
 Definition
the chest in the tabernacle or Temple that contained the text or tablets of the covenant, and that served as part of the throne of the LORD
Term
Asherah:
 Definition
(pl. Asherim) Canaanite goddess, wife or consort of El; her sacred symbol, a pole or tree was the
object of prophetic condemnation.
Term
Baal:
 Definition
(“master,” “lord,” “husband”) the chief god of Canaanite religion, a storm god
Term
Assyria:
 Definition
a Mesopotamian world power in the second and first millennia BCE. Its capital cities included

Ashur and Nineveh. The Assyrian empire conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE and exiled its

people. The Assyrians were well-known for their massive building projects, and for their cruelty in war.
Term
Babylonia:
 Definition
a Mesopotamian world power. Often competed against Assyria which it conquered in 612 BCE.

Its major city is Babylon (Akkadian “gate of the gods”). Its main god became Marduk. Babylonia destroyed

Jerusalem in 586, and was conquered by Persian king Cyrus the Great in 539.
Term
Babylonia exile:
 Definition
the forced relocation of some of the population of Judah, esp. the elite, after the

conquest by Babylonia in the early sixth century BCE. The exile ended w/ the permitted return to the land under

Cyrus in 538 BCE
Term
Bel:
 Definition
(Akkadian “master,” cognate to Baal) title of Marduk belomancy* a method of divination by choosing or

tossing down arrows on which names of potential victims are inscribed.
Term
Booths, festival of
 Definition
(Heb Sukkot) the autumn harvest festival, (also called the festival of ingathering), so

named because the harvesters lived in the fields in makeshift tents or booths, also called tabernacles.
Term
Canaan:
 Definition
in Mesopotamian and Egyptian documents and in some biblical texts, a name for the region in the

southern Levant part of which became biblical Israel, whose inhabitants are called Canaanites. Also a grandson of

Noah.
Term
Chaldean(s):
 Definition
a collective name for the tribes that were dominant in Babylon from the late sixth century BCE;

Chaldea is frequently associated with the area of southern Mesopotamia
Term
Cherubim:
 Definition
(sing. “Cherub”) mythical, composite creatures with body parts from various animals; they often

had wings and human heads. They were commonly guardians of temples and palaces in the ancient Near East.
Term
Circumcision:
 Definition
the removal of the foreskin of the penis.
Term
Covenant:
 Definition
(Heb berit) a contract or treaty. Some covenants have specific conditions or treaty stipulations,

while others are covenants of grant; often used of the relationship between God and Israel.
Term
Cyrus:
 Definition
king of Persia (559-530 BCE). He defeated Media in 550 and conquered most of the ancient Near

East, including Babylonia, allowing the Jewish exiles in Babylonia to return to Judah in 538.
Term
Davidic:
 Definition
having to do with the monarchic dynasty founded by David that ruled over Israel and, after the

division of the kingdom, the southern part (Judah) until the Babylonian conquest and exile of the sixth century

BCE; also the movement to restore the monarchy or to reproduce the self-rule that it represented.
Term
Day of the Lord:
 Definition
the time mentioned in many prophetic books when God will appear as a warrior,

sometimes fighting Israel, sometimes against Israel’s enemies.
Term
Deuteronomistic History:
 Definition
the account in the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings

that present the history of Israel in the promised land, interpreting it a partial failure to keep the covenant

faithfully, and the consequences of that failure. These books show significant theological and linguistic

similarities, suggesting that they have a common editor or editors.
Term
Diaspora:
 Definition
(Gk “dispersal”) the scattering of Jews from the promised land Israel, and hence any Jews from

the promised land Israel, and hence any Jews living outside Israel. Also dispersion.
Term
Documentary Hypothesis:
 Definition
a theory about the formation of the first five books of the Bible, Genesis

through Deuteronomy. The hypothesis holds that there are four traditions underlying these books, naming them

after a chief characteristic of each: “J” or the “Yahwist” (from the German spelling “Jahveh”) uses the divine

name “YHWH” (the LORD) consistently and contains much of the oldest material; “E” or the “Elohist” uses the

divine name “Elohim” (God) fairly consistently and contains traditions from the Northern Kingdom of Israel; “P” or

the “Priestly” writer is concerned largely with legal codes and masters of religious practice; and the “D” or the

“Deuteronomist” represents the traditions gathered mostly in Deuteronomy.
Term
Edom, Edomites:
 Definition
the territory and people to the south-east and south of Judah, first attested in late

second-millennium BCE texts. Edom is identified in Genesis 36 with Esau, Jacob’s brother. The enmity between

these brothers and between Judah and Edom mirror each other. Edom was later called Idumea.
Term
El:
 Definition
a Canaanite deity popular in the second millennium BCE. In texts from Ugarit, he is a significant deity,

but is often depicted as old and is largely supplanted by Baal.
Term
Ephraim:
 Definition
son of Joseph, for whom the most important tribe of the Northern Kingdom is named.
Term
Fertile Crescent:
 Definition
the agriculturally fertile areas of the Near East and Mesopotamia, forming an arc

through the modern countries of Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.
Term
First Temple:
 Definition
the Temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon in the tenth century BCE and destroyed by

the Babylonians in 586 BCE.
Term
Gentile:
 Definition
a non-Jew.
Term
High places:
 Definition
shrines, usually on a hill or raised platform, where worship, esp. in sacrifices, took place.
Term
Horeb:
 Definition
possibly another name for Sinai (see), primarily though not exclusively in Deuteronomy (e.g.

Deuteronomy 1.2; Exodus 1:3)
Term
Israel:
 Definition
the name for both the union of twelve tribal groups, of which David and Solomon were kings, and

for the northern section of this kingdom, which split off after the death of Solomon and began a separate

political existence under Jeroboam (1 Kings 12). See Northern/Southern Kingdom
Term
Juda, Yedhud, Judea:
 Definition
when the kingdom of Israel was divided, after the death of Solomon (1 Kings 12:1-

20), the southern portion (Southern King-dom) took the name of its major tribe, Judah (Heb, Yehudah) that

proper name “Yehud” during the Persian period (536-333 BCE),”Ioudaia” during Greek rule (333-67), and “Judaea”

or Judea under the Romans. The geographical territory had also been diminished until by the time of the Romans

it consisted of the area around Jerusalem, south of Samaria, west of Perea and the Dead Sea, and north of

Idumea. The inhabitants of the territory were Judeans (just as inhabitants of northern area west of Sea of

Galilee (Galileans). The term “Judaism” and “Jew” are derived from this name.
Term
Levites:
 Definition
the priests of Israel were deemed to be descendants of Levi, therefore members of the tribe of

Levi, or Levites. There is little evidence for this tribe, but religious authorities in early Israel claimed descent

from Aaron.
Term
Northern Kingdom:
 Definition
the political assembly of tribal groups that split off from the kingdom of Israel after

Solomon’s death. This newly formed kingdom was itself called Israel, and in some texts also Ephraim, after its

largest tribe.
Term
Passover:
 Definition
(Heb pesah) the festival that commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
Term
Philistines:
 Definition
a group of the Sea Peoples, who invaded and settled in on the southeastern coast of the

Mediterranean in the late second millennium BCE, having been repulsed in an invasion of Egypt (ca. 1190 BCE). The

five major Philistine cities (the Pentapolis) were Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza).
Term
Prophetic lawsuit:
 Definition
(Heb rib) a literary form in the prophets and elsewhere in which the people are accused

of breaking their covenant with God.
Term
Second Temple:
 Definition
the Temple constructed beginning ca. 515 BCE by returning the exiles, and continued and

expanded over the course of time, until its destruction by the Romans in 70 CE (Common Era).
Term
Tabernacle:
 Definition
the portable sanctuary used by the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness.
Term
Weeks, the feast of:
 Definition
(Heb Shavuot; “Pentecost,” Gk for “fiftieth” [day]) the spring harvest, occurring

according to Priestly texts fifty days (seven full weeks) after Passover.
Term
Zadokites:
 Definition
priests purportedly descended from Zadok, one of David’s chief priests and the only chief

priest under Solomon, who anointed Solomon king (1 Kings 1). Zadok was descended from Aaron (1 Chronicles 6).

Ezekiel’s vision of the restored Temple explicitly maintains that the Zadokites will be the priests, differentiated

from Levites (Ezekiel 48:11) The Qumran community wanted to restore source of the name Sadducees, those who

supported the religio-political elite centered on the Jerusalem Temple under the Roman occupation.
Term
Zion:
 Definition
the name of the fortified hill within Jerusalem and thus, by extension, an alternative name for

Jerusalem itself, especially in biblical poetry.
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