Transcript The Growth of Judaism

The Growth of Judaism
Growth of Judaism

During their time in exile, the Israelite
religion became known as Judaism
– Forced to live in a foreign land
Growth of Judaism

While in Babylon, Jews met on the
Sabbath
– weekly day of worship

These meetings took place at
synagogues
– Jewish houses of worship
Why Did Jews Return to Judah?
In the 500s BC, the Persians conquered
the Chaldeans and took over Babylon
 The Persian king allowed Jews to return to
Judah
 Some went back and rebuilt the temple

Why Did Jews Return to Judah?

Jews then wrote the five book of the
Torah (writings of Moses) on parchment
– sewed them together
– these and other writings would become the
Hebrew Bible
What Is in the Hebrew Bible?

Includes the 5 books of the Torah and 34
other books
– Describes events in Jewish history
The Jews Look to the Future

Parts of the Bible described God’s plan for
a peaceful future

The Jews believed that evil and suffering
would eventually be replaced by goodness
The Jews and the Greeks

In 334 BC, Alexander the
Great began taking over
kingdoms around the
Mediterranean

In 331, he defeated the
Persians and Judah came
under his control
– Alexander introduced the
Greek language and Greek
ways to Judah
The Jews and the Greeks

Jews that were outside of Judah were
known as the Diaspora (Greek for
“scattered”)
– They learned the Greek language and copied
the Bible into Greek
 This helped spread Jewish ideas to the non-Jewish
world
Who were the Maccabees?

In 168 BC, a Greek
Ruler name Antiochus
controlled Judah
– Tried to force Jews to
worship Greek gods
and goddesses
Who were the Maccabees?

Under command of a priest names Judas
Maccabeus, an army of Jews forced the
Greeks out of Egypt.
– They rid Judah of all gods and goddesses
Hanukkah
Made the temple a worship place for the God of Israel
alone
 Today, Jews celebrate Hanukkah to remember the
cleansing of the temple

The Jews and Romans

In 63 BC, the Romans took over Judah
– Renamed it Judaea

They allowed Jewish rulers to run Judaea
(at first)
The Rule of King Herod

Herod was the king
who ruled Judaea
when Jesus was born
– Known for his cruelty

After he died, the
Romans replaced
Herod with Roman
officials
The Rule of King Herod

One group of Jews was known as the
Pharisees
– They taught the Torah and how to apply it to
everyday life
The Rule of King Herod

Another group, the Sadducees, were more
concerned with how the Torah applied to
priests
Jewish Revolts

During the AD 60s, Jewish hatred for
Romans was at its peak

A groups of Jews known as the Zealots
revolted and drove the Romans out of
Jerusalem
Jewish Revolts

4 years later, the Romans retook the city
– They destroyed the temple
 The Western Wall is all that remains today
Jewish Revolts

The Jews revolted again in 132 AD, but
were shut down easily
– The Romans then forbade Jews from living or
even visiting Jerusalem
– They renamed it Palestine
Jewish Teachers

The Jews no longer had priests, but
instead they had rabbis
– Teachers of the Torah

Many rabbis founded Torah schools in
order pass on its teachings

In 1948 Palestine was divided and a new
nation called Israel was created