Also I am planning to out together a supplement that covers today's
lecture and Zoroastianism Wednesday evening.

Janet


REL 202 Study Guide
Hi everyone.
Here is the study guide.  As you go through it, try to think both
about FACTS and SIGNIFICANCE. Make sure to include the time period
when the event happened/person lived/ text was written etc., and
explain why it is important.  For example:

The Exile.
The Exile began in 586 BCE when the Babylonians conquered the
Southern Kingdom and destroyed the Temple.  It continued until 538
BCE when the Persians conquered the Babylonians and allowed the
Israelite leaders to return.   During the Exile the scriptures were
reworked in light of the destruction of the Temple.  The Exile is a
point of transition between the ancient Israelite religion and
Judaism, because people needed to rethink how to follow the law and
how to worship in a new context.  The institution of the Synagogue
began during this time because people couldn't worship in the Temple
anymore.   This is also when the Diaspora began, because the
Israelites were scattered and not all of them returned in 538 BCE.

Other suggestions:
? Review your lecture and discussion notes
? Study the glossaries in Oxtoby and Kessler
? Study the timeline at the beginning of Oxtoby's chapter on Judaism

I will send out another study guide on Wednesday or Thursday that
covers those lectures.

Good luck! Feel free to email me with questions.
Janet

? What were the 4 political entities that held sway over the 'Fertile
Crescent'? Put them in chronological order.
? The Epic of Gilgamesh.  When and where is it from? what is the plot
and main characters? What biblical story is similar? Which came first?
? Enuma Elish.  When and where is it from? Compare and contrast with
the creation stories in Genesis.
? What 2 words can describe the religions of Mesopotamia that we
studied?
? Why was Pharaoh Amehtop IV important?
? Exodus: when, where, how, who? Review the reading in Kessler.  What
major things in this reading would let you know it's from Exodus?
? What happened at Mt Sinai?
? When did the Southern and Northern Kingdoms separate?
? When did the Northern Kingdom fall and to whom?
? What were some main themes in prophetic literature? Find an example
in the Isaiah reading assigned in Kessler.
? How did Judaism respond to the destruction of the first Temple?
? The Exile: when did it happen? Why is it important? Include the
Diaspora.
? Genesis + Exodus + Leviticus + Numbers + Deuteronomy = _______ ?
? The Documentary Hypothesis.  What does it try to explain? What are
J,E,D,P? Where and when do people think the traditions originated,
and how are they different. Classify the creation myths in Genesis 1
and 2:4 according to this theory.
? TANAKH stands for what?
? Name the three covenants.   Who did they apply to? What is the sign
of these covenants? What does God promise? Do the people have to do
anything?
? What is the significance of the Noachic covenant for non-Jews?
? What happened to the Davidic Kings?
? Messiah and Messianic hopes.
? When does the second temple period begin? What are some important
cultural developments during this time?
? What was Antiochus IV Epiphanes' big mistake? What did it lead to?
? Maccabees.
? What happened in 64 BCE?
? What are the differences between the Sadducees and the Pharisees?
? What kind of beliefs did the Essenes have? Where did they live and
when?
? Apocalyptic and eschatological: what do these terms mean? What
groups are associated with them?
? Who are the Samaritans?
? Who were the Zealots and what did they believe?
? When was the fall of the 2nd Temple?
? Philo.  Where did he live? When? What is he known for?
? What does the term "Hellenistic" refer to?
? What language is the Septuagint written in? Where is it from?
? How did Christianity in the first century CE differ from other
Jewish sects?
? What are the 2 forms of Judaism that survive the fall of the 2nd
temple? (This is kind of a trick question.)
? Where does Rabbinic Judaism come from? What does it focus on? How
does it define what it means to be a Jew? What is the rabbi's
function?
? How is keeping kosher an example of "building a wall around the
Torah?" Can you think of other examples?
? What kind of things make you unclean? How is being unclean
different from sin?
? Mikveh
? What is the Mishnah? What does it discuss? What selections in
Kessler are from the Mishnah? Review them.
? Yiddish is a dialect of what?
? What writings are included in the Talmud? What are the 2 Talmuds,
when and where are they from?
? Name the different kinds of legal writings.
? Tosefta.
? Tannaim.
? What are the Kabbalah and the Zohar? Look at the selection in
Kessler from the Zohar.
? What is the Dual Torah?  What does Torah mean?
? Who were the 2 main groups that emerged during medieval Judaism?
Where did they live?
? Karaites and Falashas.  Who are they? How are they different from
rabbinic Judaism?
? Khazars.
? Who was Gluekl of Hamelin?
? Who was Maimonides? What was his most important contribution?
Review the 13 principles in Kessler.
? Who was Sabbatai Zvi?
? What is a Midrash? Who was Lilith?
? Who is the founder of Hasidism? When and where did he live? What
did he think was most important? What is Hasidism like today?
? Lubavitcher.
? What are the differences between Reform, Reconstructionist,
Conservative, and Orthodox Judaism? Are the differences in belief or
practice?
? Yom Kippur.
? What does the holiday of Passover celebrate?
? What is Zionism? Who is Theodor Herzl? What things/events is
Zionism a response to?
? What was the Holocaust? How has Judaism responded to the Holocaust?
? When was the state of Israel founded?
? Define orthodoxy and orthopraxy, and name examples.

Zoroastrianism

What are the three periods of Persian history?

Avesta, Yasna, and Gathas. How are the Gathas distinguished from the Yasna?

What are some of the principle beliefs in Zoroastrianism? Who are

the two main deities? How do humans participate in the cosmic

struggle?

In what ways might Zoroastrianism have influenced Judaism?

What are the probable dates of Zoroaster's life?