The Growth of Judaism
Chapter 3, Section 3
Exile
• The Jews called their time in Babylon an
exile
• Exile-forced to leave their homeland
• During the Israelites’ exile in Babylon,
their religion became what we call
Judaism
Sabbath
• Jews met each week on
the Sabbath
• Sabbath - day of worship
and rest in a synagogue
• synagogue - Jewish
house of worship
Why did Jews Return to Judah?
• The Persians defeated
the Chaldeans and
took control of Babylon
• In 538 B.C. the Persian
king Cyrus permitted
Jews to return to Judah
Jewish Leaders
• Jews looked to
their religious
leaders, priests
and scribes, for
guidance
The Torah
• The Torah and writings that
were added later made up
the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible
• Made up of 34 books
• Describe Jewish history and have poetry,
proverbs, and literature
The Book of Genesis
• Is the first book of
the Torah
• God punished
bad behavior
• Noah
• Explains why the
world has
different
languages
The Book of Daniel
• Reminds Jews that
God will rescue
them
• Jews, Christians,
and Muslims (three
monotheistic
religions) share the
idea that good will
triumph over evil
Alexander the Great
• Judah became part of
Greek empire under
Alexander
• Introduced Greek ways
and language to Jews
Diaspora
(scattered)
• Jews were living in
– Babylon
– Egypt
– Other lands around Mediterranean
• Diaspora - The scattering of the Jews
outside of Israel and Judah
The Spread of Jewish Ideas
• Jews of the Diaspora
– Learned Greek
– Stayed loyal to Judaism
• Hebrew Bible into translated into Greek
• This spread Jewish ideas
• Trade spread Jewish ideas
The Maccabees
• Judas Maccabeus – a priest who fought
the Greeks
• Maccabees – His followers
• Maccabees drove the Greeks out of Judah
• Removed evidence of the Greek gods and
goddesses from their temple
Hanukkah
• Hanukkah – celebrates the cleansing of
the Temple (removal of Greek gods)
Jewish Laws
• Jewish laws - influenced Jew’s daily life
• Emphasized self-control and reminded
Jews of their religion
Jewish Law
Clothing
• Can’t mix fabrics
Jewish Diet
• No pork
• Kosher – food prepared according to
Jewish law
• Kosher – no meat together with milk
products
• Meat must be inspected, salted and
soaked
Romans conquer Judah
• Renamed it Judaea
• King Herod - most famous
ruler of Judaea
• He made the temple in
Jerusalem awe inspiring
Pharisees
• group of Jews supported
by common people
• Oral tradition helped
people obey 10
Commandments
The Sadducees
• Group of Jews that worried about how
Torah affected the priests in the temples
The Essenes
• Broke away from the temple
• Lived in desert praying to God to deliver
them from Romans
The Dead Sea Scrolls
• Found in 1947
Jewish Revolts
• The Jews hated Roman rule
• Many Jews were waiting for a messiah, or
deliverer sent by God
• Zealots – Jews who wanted to fight the
Romans
• They revolted in A.D. 66 and drove the
Romans out of Jerusalem
Romans Regain Control
• Killed
thousands of
Jews
• Destroyed
temple
• What remains
today is the
Western Wall
The Jews Revolt Again
• but the Romans stopped the revolt
• Destroyed Jerusalem
• Renamed Judah Palestine
Jewish Teachers
• Rabbis, teachers
of the Torah,
became important
leaders
Yohannan ben Zaccai
• A famous rabbi
• Helped Judaism survive the destruction
and loss of the temple
• Created a school for the study of the Torah
Israel
• For 2000 years most
Jews lived outside
Palestine and faced
persecution
• In A.D. 1948 Palestine
was divided, and a new
Jewish nation called
Israel was created