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Course: AP®︎ World History > Unit 2
Lesson 6: Early JudaismLesson summary: Early Judaism
Key terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Judaism | ancient monotheistic religion, based on the belief in a covenant, or agreement, between Jewish people and their God. |
| monotheism | the belief in and worship of a single god; early Hebrew monotheism later influenced Christianity and Islam. |
| polytheism | the belief in and worship of multiple gods; polytheism was common in many early societies. |
| Babylonian Exile | period after the conquest of Jerusalem when many Hebrews from the Kingdom of Judah were forced to live in the Babylonian Empire |
| Second Temple period | period after the Babylonian Exile when people of Judah rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem; during this period the people of Judah started to become known as the Jews and Jewish monotheism became fully formed. |
| Bar Kochba Revolt | second-century CE revolt against Roman rule of Judea; Jewish rebels who wanted to establish an independent Jewish state rose against and were defeated by Rome; Judea and Jerusalem were renamed, and many Jews forced to leave the region. |
| diaspora | term for a dispersal of a group of people across a broad area; due in part to various conquests by large empires, communities of Jews spread around the Middle East and Mediterranean. |
Key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| c. 1200 BCE | Kingdom of Israel established |
| c. 930 BCE | Kingdom of Judah, based in Jerusalem, split apart from Israel |
| 586 BCE | Babylonian Empire captured Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple of Solomon, and deported many Jews to Babylon |
| 539 BCE | Cyrus the Great allowed the people of Judah to return to Israel from Babylon |
| 539 BCE—70 CE | Second Temple period |
| 63 BCE | Conquest of Jerusalem by Rome |
| 132 CE—135 CE | Bar Kochba Revolt |
Key themes
Culture: Religious belief systems developed in part based on interactions and exchanges between cultures. In the case of Judaism, monotheism likely arose due to an interaction with other Middle Eastern religious traditions. The Babylonian Exile may have introduced the people of Judah to Zoroastrianism, and the Second Temple period saw the codification of Jewish religious texts.
State-building: The Kingdom of Judah and later Jewish states experienced several conquests, notably by the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Roman empires. In each case, conquest by a large empire contributed to the dispersal of the populations, which in turn led to the formation of Jewish diasporic communities around the Middle East and Mediterranean.
Review questions
- What were some possible influences on the development of Jewish monotheism?
- What was unique about Jewish monotheism in the ancient world?
- How did interactions between the Jewish states and major empires lead to the creation of Jewish diasporic communities?
Want to join the conversation?
How did interactions between the Jewish states and major empires lead to the creation of Jewish diasporic communities?(1 vote)
Why did the Kingdom of Judah break apart from the Kingdom of Israel?(0 votes)
When Solomon's successor Rehoboam dealt tactlessly with economic complaints of the northern tribes, in about 930 BCE (there are differences of opinion as to the actual year) the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah split into two kingdoms: the northern Kingdom of Israel, which included the cities of Shechem and Samaria, and the southern Kingdom of Judah, which contained Jerusalem; with most of the non-Israelite provinces achieving independence. It split because of economic complaints and Solomon's ruthless successor.(3 votes)
- what was unique about jewish monotheism in the ancient world(2 votes)
- It was one of the only monotheism in the ancient world, because many other ancient society's were polytheistic.(1 vote)