CLASSICS 2LW3 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Yehud Medinata, Ancient Near East, Artaxerxes I Of Persia

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Late Bronze Age Israel: Laws of Moses and The Judges
Yahweh the Conqueror (Yahweh Sabaoth)
Ark of the Covenant, a apotropaic and beneficent talisman
Book of the Wars of Yahweh, a list of campaigns now lost but mentioned in the Book of Numbers
Sacrificial cultures, circumcisions, dietary restrictions
Sources from the period include the Torah, material evidence, and contemporary ANE documents from Persian,
Hebrew, and Greek sources. It is not clear which laws were being followed at which times, although many
references to the following appear in historical record:
Kingdom of Israel and Judah
905 BC - Solomon builds first permanent place for god and Solomon's Temple becomes a repository for
sacred texts
Under Solomon, there was a centralized and institutionalized worship of Yahweh, with daily animal sacrifices
and more than 1000 priests devoted to temple services by the 6th century BC.
Ba'al and Asherah
Mesopotamian gods particularly associated with weather (similar to Zeus) and fertility, both important concerns
of agricultural societies in the Ancient Middle East.
622 BC - Reforms of Josiah
There was a reinstating of old ways, a common practice during new regimes
Most temple practices except for the worship of Yahweh were abolished and Monolatry was stressed
After the conquest of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Neo-Assyrians, Judah underwent many religious
changes. The survival of Judah vindicated their faith in Yahweh and new texts (Deuteronomist historian) were
formed to legitimize reforms in the creation of a proto-Deuteronomy.
Exilic Age and the Rise of Sopherim
The Mesopotamian Judahites had no temple to serve as a focal point, so texts became the focus of religious and
social practice. Scribes, known as Sofer gained prominence and became authorities in law
538 - 520 BC - Zerubbabel Leads the First Group Of Jews to Yehud Medinata
Yehud Medinata was a Persian province roughly corresponding to Judah. According to tradition, the Second
Temple was build during this time after the first waves of Judahites returned.
450 BC - Ezra the Scribe
A Sofer versed in the Torah, he led a group of Judean exiles living in Babylon to Jerusalem. Records state that he
was active during the time of Artaxerxes. Sent to Jerusalem with Persian backed authority to repatriate stolen
treasures, he found Jerusalem full of debauchery and interracial marriages with gentile women. He was
described as exhorting the Israelite people to follow the Torah Law.
445 BC - Nehemiah Rebuilds the Walls of Jerusalem
The Judahites who left Judah adhered to the Torah, while the remnant population did not, and resisted
repeated attempts to enforce it
A cup-bearer to Artaxerxes I, he took measures to repopulate the city of Jerusalem and enforce Jewish customs
after finding foreigners conducting business in the temple on the Sabbath. He was made governor of Judah,
revealing to historians that exilic Judahites could attain high placement within the Persian court.
The Law Between Babylon and Judah
September 25, 2017
4:01 PM
Ancient Law Page 1
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Document Summary

Late bronze age israel: laws of moses and the judges. Sources from the period include the torah, material evidence, and contemporary ane documents from persian, It is not clear which laws were being followed at which times, although many references to the following appear in historical record: Ark of the covenant, a apotropaic and beneficent talisman. Book of the wars of yahweh, a list of campaigns now lost but mentioned in the book of numbers. Under solomon, there was a centralized and institutionalized worship of yahweh, with daily animal sacrifices and more than 1000 priests devoted to temple services by the 6th century bc. 905 bc - solomon builds first permanent place for god and solomon"s temple becomes a repository for sacred texts. There was friction between tribal populace and centralized kingly authority, which demanded (officially) henotheism (belief in a supreme god) and monolatrism (worship of one god) - compare monotheism (belief in a single god)