Vocabulary Terms:
1) Talmud – teachings about the Torah and record of Jewish law
2) Monotheism – belief in only one God
3) Exile – period of forced absence from one’s country or home
4) Sabbath – weekly day of worship and rest for the Jews
5) Rabbi – Jewish leader and teacher of the Torah
6) Synagogue – Jewish house of worship
7) Kosher - food prepared according to Jewish dietary laws
8) Prophet – a person believed to be instructed by God.
9) Messiah – a deliverer sent by God
People to Know:
1) Solomon – Jewish king who was disliked by many and finished
building the temple in Jerusalem.
2) Nebuchadnezzar – Chaldean king who captured Jerusalem and
exiled 10,000 Jews
3) Ruth – role model of devotion to family for Jewish girls
4) Jacob – Abraham’s grandson whose 12 sons headed up the 12 tribes
of Israel
5) Israel – “one who struggles with God”
6) Daniel – survived the Chaldean’s lion’s den; this story taught that
God would protect the Jews
7) Saul – the man who the Israelites chose as their first king, but he was
disobedient, so God chose a new king, David.
8) Moses – led the Israelites out of Egypt and parted the Red Sea
9) Ezra – helped the Jews translate the Torah
10)
David – defeated Goliath with a slingshot and five stones
11)
Alexander the Great – Greek king who introduced Greek ways
and language to the Jews and conquered Judah, but allowed the Jews
to stay in their homeland.
12)
Cyrus – the Persian king who allowed the Jews to return to
Judah; defeated the Chaldeans and took over Babylon.
Main Idea Questions:
1) Why did the Assyrians and Chaldeans want control over
Canaan? They wanted more land and control of the trade routes.
2) What are the Ten Commandments and why are they
important? They are God’s rules of right and wrong and helped
shape the moral laws of many nations.
3) What does Israel mean? One who struggles with God
4) What does Hanukkah celebrate? It celebrates the victory of the
Maccabees and cleansing of the temple of Jerusalem of all the
Greek gods and goddesses.
5) What is the Sabbath Day? The weekly day of rest and worship
for the Jews
6) Describe why the pharaoh finally told the Israelites to leave
Egypt. After the tenth plague, which killed the pharaoh’s son, he
said, “GET OUT!”
7) Who was responsible for translating the Hebrew Bible into
Greek to spread ideas? Ezra and Jews of the Diaspora translated
the Bible.
8) Who were the Zealots? Jews who fought the Romans for
freedom.
9) What is the rule of law? The rule of law is the idea that law
should apply equally to everyone.
10) Describe the life of the Israelites after the Assyrians and
Chaldeans began building in Southwest Asia. Jews of the
Diaspora translated the Bible into Greek, some Jews stayed behind
in Babylon to build Torah schools, and Jews learned to speak
Greek.
11) How are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam similar? Judaism,
Christianity and Islam are all monotheistic and share the idea that
good will triumph over evil.
12) Why did the Israelites fear the Philistines? The Philistines
were mighty warriors with iron weapons, and they had a giant
named Goliath to take down their enemies.
13) Do you think that Jewish beliefs and values would have
spread so widely if the lands of Israel and Judah had not been
conquered by other people? The Jewish beliefs and values would
not have spread so widely because they had to fight for their
beliefs and translate the Hebrew Bible to help spread their religion.
If those people had not come into their territory, the religion might
have died with them.