PEOPLES & EMPIRES
Focus Questions
· In what ways was the Jewish faith` unique in the ancient Near East, & how did it evolve over time?
· Who were the neighbors of the Israelites, & what was their significance?
· What methods & instructions did the Assyrians use to amass & maintain their empire?
· What was the significance of the Neo-Babylonian Empire?
· What methods & institutions did the Persians use to amass & maintain their empire, & how did these differ from those of the Assyrians?
· The ______of the Hittite kingdom & the weakening of ______around 1200 B.C. temporarily left a power vacuum in the Near East allowing petty kingdoms & city-states to emerge especially in ______& ______
· One of these small states, the nation of ______, has played a huge role in Western Civilization even though it is such a ______area of land
· Their spiritual heritage (Judo-______values) is one of the basic ______of W.C.
Where & How Did It Start?
· After the ______of the Earth via “the flood” one of Noah’s ______“Abraham” was an old fellow (75 years old) living in ______around 2,000 B.C.
· It is ______belief that ______was summoned by God "Yahweh" to leave his land, family & household in Mesopotamia in return for a new land, family & inheritance in ______“the promised land” (modern-day Israel/Palestine)---establishment of the “______”
o If ______& the wealth & ______that they had acquired would follow he “Yahweh” would make of him a great nation, bless him, make his ______great, ______those who blessed him & curse those who ______him so they traveled to Shechem (small city) in Canaan
· There was a severe ______in the land of Canaan so Abraham & his followers left their households, travelled south to ______until they were forced out by the Egyptian ______
o Back in Canaan the word of ______” came to Abraham in a vision & repeated the promise of the land & ______as numerous as the ______
o He was also told of the future ______of Israel or the ______in ______
o God described to Abraham the land that his ______would claim: "the land of the ______, Amorites & ______”
· Abraham was ______many times to portray or prove his faith in “Yahweh” until he himself died & the rest of his followers would end up in Egypt due to severe ______& be held captives for the next 600 years
o While in ______the population of the Israelites ______rapidly & forced the Pharaoh to murder all the infant ______by tossing them off a cliff into the Nile River except for one child who would be ______& raised by the royal family---his name was “______”
· Moses was ______from Egypt & found himself on ______in the Sinai Desert when he too like Abraham would have a vision (burning bush) telling him to go to Egypt & set his people ______
· Upon his return he was ______by the Pharaoh (step-brother) where he would demand in the name of “Yahweh” that the Israelites be set free---of course being ______every time
o He ______of terrible ______---turned the Nile River red, death of the 1st born---all that stuff & was eventually set free
· While ______out after the death of the Pharaoh’s son he vowed to ______his death & bring the Israelites back to captivity so he followed them to the banks of the Red Sea (parting---all that stuff)
· Moses & his followers ______through the desert & it was here where Moses got the ______(10 Commandments) from Mt. Sinai where he had his first revelation/vision
· It was here that he & his ______would ______Abraham’s promise to “Yahweh” to follow his ______in return for being shown the Promised land” or land of milk & honey
The Hebrews “Children Of Israel”
· The ______were a Semitic-speaking people who had a tradition concerning their origins & history that was eventually ______down as part of the ______Bible (Old Testament)
o They were ______who organized into clans
o ______of the patriarch (man who exercised authority over an extended family ) Abraham who had migrated from ______(Sumerian city of Ur)to the land of ______where they became identified as the “Children of Israel”
· ______caused many Hebrews to migrate to Egypt until being ______by the pharaohs where they remained slaves until Moses led his people out of Egypt ______many years in the desert until they entered Palestine
o In ______tribes they entered into a conflict with the ______(lived on the coast of Palestine) eventually establishing a united kingdom known as Israel (god wanted them to have the land)
The United Kingdom
· ______was the 1st king of the Israelites (1020-1000 B.C.)
o Achieved some ______with the ongoing ______with the Philistines
o Killed in battle with the enemy & ______(absence of government or lawlessness) ensued
· ______(one of Saul’s lieutenants) reunited the Israelites & ______the Philistines (1000-970 B.C.) & established ______over Palestine
o Among his conquests was the city of ______, which he made the capital of a united kingdom
o He ______Israel’s political organization & accelerated the integration of the Israelites into a ______community based on ______& urban life
· ______(David’s son) (970-930 B.C.) did even more to strengthen ______power
o He expanded the political & ______establishments & was especially active in extending the ______activities of the Israelites
o He is best known for his ______projects (most famous is the ______in Jerusalem)
o The Israelites viewed the Temple as a ______center of their ______& hence of the kingdom of ______itself
o Under Solomon, ancient Israel was at the ______of its ______but his efforts to extend royal power throughout his kingdom led to dissatisfaction among some of his ______
The Divided Kingdom
· After Solomon’s death, tensions between the ______& ______tribes in Israel led to the establishment of two separate ______
o Kingdom of ______, composed of the northern tribes with its capital in ______
o Southern kingdom of ______, consisting of two tribes with its capital at ______
o Israel (under ______leadership) later joined forces with the smaller ______states to stop the onslaught of the ______to the northeast
o Israel’s power ______after Ahab & by the end of the 9th century the kingdom of Israel was forced to pay tribute to Assyria until the following century when Israel itself was ______
o The Assyrians ______the kingdom, destroyed the capital of ______in 722 B.C. & ______many Israelites to other parts of the Assyrian Empire
o These dispersed Israelites (the “ten lost tribes”) merged with neighboring peoples & gradually lost their identity
· The ______kingdom of Judah was forced to pay tribute to Assyria but managed to ______as an independent state as Assyrian power ______& a new ______appeared
o The ______first demolished Assyria & then under King Nebuchadnez-zar II conquered ______& completely destroyed ______in 586 B.C.
o Many ______people from Judah were sent to ______in exile but the captivity did not last
o Upon the ______of the Chaldean kingdom by the ______, the people of Judah were allowed to ______to Jerusalem & ______their city & the Temple
o ______remained under ______control until the conquests of Alexander the ______in the fourth century B.C.
o The people of Judah survived, eventually becoming known as the ______& giving their name to ______, the religion of ______, the Jewish God
The Spiritual Dimensions Of Israel
· The ______perspective of the Israelites evolved over time with many Israelites worshiping other ______as well as Yahweh
· Around 1600 BC, one of the nomadic tribes ______into ______
· They may have been ______in to help the ______beat out the Hyksos & eventually the Egyptians gained control & had no use for the ______
· Finally, ______- became the leader of the Jews lead them out of ______& on the way out, they picked up a new ______named ______ (pronounced "Yahweh"–In the King James Version of the Bible, he's called "______" by mispronunciation)
· Moses got the ______Commandments for YAHWH, who was a war ______
· It was among the ______exiles in the 6th century B.C. that ______(God of Israel) came to be seen as the only ______
· After the return of these exiles to ______, their point of view eventually became ______, & pure ______(belief that there is only one God for all peoples) came to be the ______tenant of Judaism
o According the Jewish conception, there is but ______God, whom the Jews called Yahweh (he causes to be)
o God is the ______of the world & ______in it, he ______the world & was subject to ______
o All peoples were his ______, whether they knew it or ______
o The ______, ______, ______, ______, & other natural phenomena were not divinities as other civilizations previously believed, but were God’s ______
o All of God’s ______could be admired for their awesome beauty but not worshiped as ______
o People who did not ______his will would be ______even though he was a god of ______& ______
· The ______message also emphasized that each ______could have a ______relationship with this powerful being
o The chief source of ______about these conceptions is the ______Bible which is the ______Testament of the Christian ______
o It’s purpose was to ______the essential ______about the god of Israel after the Babylonian captivity of the Jews which they ______
o These recording or ______became the ______of the Hebrew Bible
o The first 5 books (______) which covers the time from the beginning of the ______until the Israelites ______in Palestine make up the “______” (law codes) that govern the lives of worshipers & their ______to one another & to the non-Jewish ______
o The Hebrew Bible focuses on one basic ______: the necessity for the Jews to ______their God
· There are ______aspects of the ______religious tradition that has special significance
o ______ – The Israelites believed that during the Exodus from Egypt, when ______supposedly led his people out of bondage into a ______of plenty promised to them by Yahweh, a special event occurred that ______the Jewish experience for ______time
§ ______entered into a ______(contract) with the tribes of Israel who believed that Yahweh had spoken to them through ______
§ They ______to ______Yahweh & ______his law & in return he promised to take special ______of his people
§ Could only be fulfilled by ______to the ______of God
o ______ – Became a crucial element of the Jewish world & had a number of different dimensions
§ The ______characteristic of God was his ______so therefore ethical concerns stood at the ______of the law----“You shall ______murder. You shall ______commit adultery. You shall ______steal”
§ These concerns were also ______in relation to economic, social, & political life of the community----God’s laws applied to ______areas of ______
§ These laws made ______class distinctions & emphasized the ______of the poor, widows, ______, & slaves
o ______ – The Israelites believed that certain religious leaders or ______men (prophets) were sent by ______to serve as his ______to his people
§ They warned of ______retribution that Yahweh would exact from the ______if they did not keep the ______to remain faithful to ______alone & just in their dealings with ______another
§ The ______age of ______began in the mid-eight century & continued during the time when people of Israel & Judah were threatened by Assyrian & Chaldean ______
§ These “men of ______” went through the land ______the Israelites that they had failed to keep God’s ______& would be punished for ______the covenant
§ From the prophets words came ______concepts that enriched the ______tradition & ultimately Western Civilization (______& a yearning for ______justice)
§ Preached that ______nations would someday come to the ______of Israel thus eliminating ______& establishing a ______for all the nations of the ______
§ Prophets condemned the ______for causing the ______to suffer, denounced luxuries as ______, & threatened Israel with prophecies of dire punishments for these _____
§ God’s command was to live ______, ______with one’s neighbors, ______for the poor & the unfortunate, & act with ______
§ To remain ______to their God, they might even have to refuse ______to political leaders
The Social Structure Of The Hebrews
· The Israelites had a new ______structure or social patterns that had evolved by the time the Israelites ______in towns & villages with “______of the population” evident
o The “men of ______& influence” formed a special group of considerable importance in Hebrew ______
o They included officials of the king, ______officers, ______officials, & ______
o The ______people “people of the land” remained a body of ______people having basic civil ______
o They were ______& ______who sold their own produce & products ______to buyers in markets in their ______town or village squares----eliminating the ______man
· ______was the central ______institution in Hebrew life & consisted of individuals connected by common ______& a common living place
o Husband, wife, married sons & their wives with their children was a ______household or “______l” family
o The husband or father was ______of his wife & possessed absolute ______over his children, including the power of ______& ______
· ______was an important aspect of Hebrew ______life
o In ancient Israel, ______was an accepted form of marriage especially for ______& wealthy ______
o Hebrew ______limited kings to _____ wives (harem) & citizens to _____
o Many Hebrews believed that ______was the preferred form of marriage where wives were ______for their faithfulness & ______to their ______
· ______were valued but their work was ______done
o The Hebrew Bible (______edited work) reveals a society ______by men also included stories of women who played ______roles in early history of Israel (_____ the norm)
o In the Hebrew Bible women are ______on men & a married woman was ______to her husband’s ______
o ______dowry (land) from the bride’s parents (like the Mesopotamians) but the ______parents did pay a ______of money to the brides family for the ______of their daughter
o A married woman ______her parents home, ______with the husband’s family & became a member of their ______along with the children