Transcript The Persian Period

Class 1
Introduction
Sources, Resources, and Periods
Do Now
► Write
down:
 an event that happened during the Second
Temple or Rabbinic Periods
 Your favorite site in Israel
 something interesting about yourself
State of the Relationship
► You
are Prime Minister Binyamin Netanahu.
President Obama calls you and asks you to
stop attacking Hamas in Gaza. What do you
do?
Monday Morning Monarch
► The
year is 589BCE. Nabuchadnezzar has
appointed you to be the king of Judea nine
years ago. You now feel pretty confident in
your power and do not want to keep paying
Nebuchadnezzar the exorbitant annual tax
that he demands.
► Would you rebel and not pay the tax or
continue being subservient?
Resisting Domination
► The
year is 1940. The British and not
allowing Jews to immigrate into Palestine.
You are the leader of the Zionist movement.
What do you do?
Resisting Domination
► The
year is 168BCE. The Syrian-Greeks are
in power. Many Jews have assimilated
Greek language, culture, and religion with
their Judaism. The Kohen Gadol is a corrupt
Hellenizer. You want to see the Greeks go
away and have an independent nation once
again.
► Your name is Judah and have gathered a
small following of militants. Would you risk
your life and those of your followers to fight
for freedom?
Secular Nationalism
► You
are a religious Jew and pray for the
renewed state of Israel 20 times a day.
Finally after 2000 years Israel wins its war
of independence. However, the leadership
are secular Jews who don’t want to see any
Judaism in the Jewish state. Do you support
the new government?
Secular Nationalism
► The
Maccabees were great heros in 164BCE
but the year is now 90BCE and the ruler is
the Hasmonean Alexander Yannai who
hates the Pharisees and has even murdered
great sages who opposed him.
Messianism
► You
are a religious Jew and pray for
Mashiah 30 times a day. There is a group of
Jews who believe that Mashiah has already
come but you don’t think they are right.
► Should you oppose them, tolerate them,
support them…?
Conversion
► One
million Russians have emigrated to
Israel. 400,000 of them are not halakhically
Jewish. You are the Chief rabbi. Do you
allow them to convert?
Conversion
► You
are on the Sahhedrin. John Hyracanus
has forcibly converted thousands of
Edomites in 110BCE. Can they be
considrered part of the Jewish nation?
Compromise for Peace
► The
year is 66CE. The Romans are ruling
over you. They usually try to be fair to
minorities but some local governors can be
very nasty. You wish for political
independence. You are a leader of one of
the political parties, you are Rabban
Yohanan ben Zakai. Your followers want to
know if they should rebel against the
Romans or tolerate them.
► What would you do?
Primary Sources
► Tanakh
 Ezra-Nehamiah, Daniel, Zechariah, Malakhi
► New
Testament
► Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
► Archaeology, Cuneiform Tablets
► Dead Sea Scrolls
► Josephus
► Greek and Roman Historians
► Talmud and Midrashim
Yosef ben Matityahu
► Lived
37-100CE
► Aka Titus Flavius Josephus
Works by Josephus
► 75
–
► 94 –
► 97 –
► 98 –
Jewish Wars (Aramaic)
Jewish Antiquities (Greek)
Against Apion
Life of Flavius Josephus
Josephus
► Apologetic
to the Romans
 War says revolt was only by a few thugs.
Tacitus says national rebellion, non-Roman
Jews helped the Palestinian Jews
 War 6.241 says Titus urges that the Temple be
spared. But compare Sulpicius Severus and
Bavli Gittin 56b who say Titus demanded
destruction of the Temple
Themes
► Dealing
with Political Domination
► Nationalism
► Confronting External Cultures
► Tradition and Change
► Finding the roots of Judaism as we know it
► Unity and Diversity
► Interpretation and Text-centeredness
► Universalism and Particularism
► Messianism
History of Israel: The Big Picture
► Kings
of Israel (1000-586BCE)
► Babylonian
Period (586-539BCE)
 Tish’a be’Av
► Persian
 Purim
Period (539-332BCE)
► Hellenistic
Period (332-164BCE)
 Septuagint
► Hasmonean
Period (164-63BCE)
 Hanukah, Sectarianism
► Roman
Period (63BCE – 395CE)
Homework
► Read
2 Kings 24-25 and Jer 52 carefully.
Make note of the dates provided.
► List
the last three kings of Judah.
► What
happened to each of them and when?
Last Kings of Judah
► Jehoiakim
609-598BCE
 Vassal to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
► Jehoiachin
597BCE
 Captured by Nebuchandezzar in a siege
 Imprisoned in Babylonia
 Freed in 562BCE by Amel-Marduk
► Zedekiah
597-586BCE
 Placed on throne by Nebuchadnezzar
 Rebelled and entered alliance with Egypt
 Watched children murdered before being blinded
Babylonian Kings
►
Nabopolassar (r. 626 – 605)
► Nebuchadnezzar
II (r. 605-562)
► Amel-Marduk (r. 562-560)
 a.k.a ‫אויל מרדך‬
►
►
Nergal-sharezer (r. 560 – 556)
Labashi-Marduk (r. 556)
► Nabonidus
(r. 556 – 539)