Study Guide for Second Mid-term
Please note: The main question on the mid-term is a "take home"; it was handed out in class and also attached to the syllabus. In class we will ask you to answer two questions, each with several sub-parts. The first will ask you to identify a text and explain its importance in the context of Jewish history. The second will give you a number of names, dates, etc. and ask you to identify them briefly (again in the context of Jewish history). We expect you to be able to answer these two questions in about 20-30 minutes, but you will have the entire 50-minute period if you want it. Your typed 2-page answer to the main question should be included in the exam booklet and handed in with it. Be sure to put your name and section clearly on both.
The check list below is intended to help you decide whether you have covered the material adequately. If you have thought about these concepts and can identify these people and dates you will have the resources in your mind to be able to grapple with the test questions.
I. Broad Concepts
What was Hellenism and what was its effect (political, religious, social)? How does Alexander's conquest in 332 BCE affect the development of Judah? What are some of the political and social changes?
What are the conditions, from which the Hasmonean revolt develops? What is its outcome?
Describe the different religious groups that emerge during the Hasmonean rule. Outline their vision of Judaism and source of authority.
How does foreign political domination shape religious, social, and political development in Judea?
Analyze the significance of Herod's rule in Judea. Why is his legacy problematic?
How did the diaspora develop and what was its significance?
How can one explain the emergence of numerous Judaic sects during this period? What was their significance?
How does Judaism cope with the destruction of the Second Temple?
What led to the emergence of Rabbinical Judaism? What are its main features? Why is it important? Who are some of the major figures in this development?
Describe the major turning points in the Great Revolt (66-73) against Rome and explain their implications for Jewish society and the Judaic religion.
Describe the stages in the development of the textual traditions of Rabbinic Judaism, and explain the relationship between Mishna, Talmud, Midrash, Halakha and Aggada.
II. Personalities & Groups
Alexander the Great
Antiochus IV
Ben Sira
Judah Maccabee
Seleucids
Ptolemies
Hasmoneans
Pompey
Herod the Great
Caesarea
Sadducees
Pharisees
Essenes and Qumran
Philo of Alexandria
Jesus
Paul
Titus
Josephus
Massada
Yohanan ben Zakkai and Yavneh
Trajan
Hadrian
Rabbi Akiva
Bar Kokhba
Rabbi Judah the Exilarch
Abba Arikha (Rav) and Samuel
Rav Ashi
III. Concepts & Places
Hellenism
Judea
Diaspora
Passover Haggada
Hanukah
Halakhah
Aggadah
Midrash
Mishna
Talmud
Gemara
Synagogue
Bet midrash
IV. Dates
332 BCE Alexander the Great’s Conquest of Judea
167 BCE Antiochus IV bans Judaism in Judea
167-141 BCE Hasmonean Revolt
104 BCE Hasmoneans declare themselves kings
63 BCE Pompey defeats Hasmoneans
37-4 BCE Reign of Herod the Great
66-73 CE Great Revolt
70 CE Jerusalem and Second Temple destroyed
115-117 CE Revolt against Trajan
132-135 CE Bar Kokhba Revolt
217 CE Death of R. Judah the Patriarch (Ha-Nasi; the "Prince")
V. Readings
Another way to study for the test is to ask yourself what the point of a given reading was.
For example, Chapter 4 of Martin Jaffee's book is entitled "The Social Foundations of Early Judaic Worlds." The title intentionally uses the plural to talk about the Jewish people ("worlds"). Why? What is the point that Jaffee is addressing? Read the introduction. He speaks of Jews as seeing themselves, and being seen by others, as a single group despite the fact that they follow multiple ways of life and religious cusstoms. Jaffee is looking for common denominators that allowed Jews to see themselves as a single group and that led others to see them in the same way. Make a list for yourself of what these common features are.
Another model: You were asked to read certain sections from the Book of Acts and the Epistle to the Romans. What can these texts teach us about how Jews saw themselves? about how the authors of the New Testament text understood the Jews of the time? about the Pauline attitude to the Law and the observance of the Law?
Another model: You read the inroduction and first chapter of Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sirah). When and where was the text written? translated? What do these texts demonstrate about the source of authority and religious knowledge within Judaism of the period? Are there still prophets and is prophecy still viewed as a form of direct divine inspiration of man? What does the history of this book tell us about the translation (transportation) of Jewish culture between Judaea and the Hellenistic world? What other texts do we know that illuminate this process?
Good luck