Rise and Fall Foundations of the Monarchy The “United” Monarchy: Saul, David, and Solomon

2. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books • Rise and Fall • Foundations of the Monarchy • The “United” Monarchy: Saul, David, and Solomon • The Divided Monarchy • The Last Days of the Independent Monarchy • Exile and Return • Tracing Jewish History to the Roman Rule

3. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books The Historical Books 1. Tell how the Hebrews lived out the covenant in the Promised Land 2. The theological perspectives include these themes:  God remains with the Israelites when they most need his help  Israel’s leaders, including King David, reflect Israel’s pattern of infidelity in their own lives  God’s mercy preserves Israel from it enemies

4. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Attitudes Towards Formation of a Monarchy Samuel’s view: He will tithe your flocks and you … will become his slaves … you will complain against the king whom you have chosen, but on that day the Lord will not answer you.(1 Sm 8:17–18) Israel’s view: Not so! There must be a king over us. We too must be like the other nations, with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare and fight our battles.(1 Sm 8:19–20) Post-exilic view: We are not meant to have any king but YHWH.

5. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Positives and Negatives of the Monarchy   David’s ill fated affair with Bathsheba Solomon, who compromised his faith in God for the sake of political alliances Other kings who oversaw an economic systems that favored the rich while hurting the poor Israel became a nation with a strong central leadership A holy city was built in Jerusalem A dynasty was formed with an ancestral line that eventually led to the birth of a messiah connected to the Davidic line

6. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books King Saul 1. As much the last of the judges as he was the first king 2. He ruled over a loose-knit organization of tribes and people who were mostly farmers 3. He was essentially a warrior with limited success against the Philistines – especially in the southern Israel hill country 4. His unfaithfulness to YHWH and the charismatic rise of one of Saul’s assistants, David, led to his downfall

7. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books King David 1. The story of his rise to power varies, but his path to the throne is clearly won through military conquests 2. David was less a king over a vast kingdom and more a military leader who enforced submission in a large territory 3. The central promise made to David by the Lord: And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. . . . your throne shall stand firm forever.(2 Samuel 7:8 ff)

8. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books King Solomon David’s son and the great builder in the Bible Negatively he engages in political marriages with pagan women and very likely enslaved his own people as well as foreigners to complete his extravagant projects Positively, Solomon is a king who wisely settles a dispute between two women and his request from God for “an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong”

9. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books The Divided Kingdom after Solomon Israel The northern kingdom The other ten tribes Selected Jeroboam as king The unequal division of tribes suggests the majority of the united kingdom rejected Judah  Built temples in Dan and Bethel JudahThe southern kingdomTribes of Benjamin & JudahSelected Rehoboam as kingThese kings consider themselves to be the legitimate rulers because their ancestors can be traced to David

10. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Worship in the Northern Kingdom YHWH Worship  Strongly represented by the prophets  A more radical orientation on the Law  Supported a community where the rich shared with the poor, the social balance was maintained, justice was practiced, and land was distributed fairly Establishment Religion Allowed the worship of other lesser deities in addition to YHWH Identified in the Bible as a form of paganism  Closely identified with the ancient polytheism of the Canaanites and with the kings and landowning classes

11. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Assyrian Conquest 1. The northern kingdom of Israel was obliterated by the Assyrians in 722 BC 2. A substantial number of the northern elite – later referred to as the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel” – were exiled according to the military strategy of deportation and these exiles are never heard from again 3. The southern kingdom of Judah survived an unsuccessful attack by the Assyrians in the early 7th century BC and continued for another 135 years

12. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Babylonian Conquest 1. The final days of Judah were largely determined by the rivalry between the empires of Egypt and Babylon 2. In defeating Jerusalem in 597, Nebuchadnezzar chose Zedekiah as a figurehead of Babylonian rule in Jerusalem 3. Initially loyal to Babylon, Zedekiah was persuaded to join an unsuccessful Egyptian revolt against the Babylonians 4. Nebuchadnezzar’s forces returned to Jerusalem in 587 BC and devastated the city 5. The Chosen People are blamed by the biblical writers for creating kings other than YHWH and for breaking the covenant by worshipping foreign gods

13. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Exile and Freedom 1. The Old Testament describes the exile in very dark terms 2. The Babylonians destroyed the Temple and captured many religious implements of worship which they placed in the temple of Marduk, their main state god 3. The Persians eventually defeated the Babylonians and allowed some of the exiles to return to their homeland 4. The exiles who had remained faithful to YHWH during the time of captivity are known as God’s remnant 5. The post-exilic books of the Old Testament all carry messages meant to inspire people to remain faithful and brave during troublesome times

14. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Post-exilic Period 1. 1 and 2 Chronicles– Two of the main themes of both books was true worship and true kingship in Israel 2. Ezra and Nehemiah – Tell of problems faced by the returning exiles, the attempt to rebuild the Temple and preserve the Jewish nation 3. Daniel – The first section tells stories of a young Hebrew living in Babylon who carefully observe Jewish laws while the later section tells of apocalyptic visions

15. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Post-exilic Period 4. Tobit – Emphasizes the benefits of traditional forms of Jewish piety and reminds Jews that God will never abandon them as long as they remain faithful to him 5. Judith – The story of a fictional woman who urges faithfulness to YHWH during the Diaspora 6. Esther – The story of a beautiful Jewish maiden who illustrates that cooperation with the civil rulers and the refusal to compromise in religious matters, along with traditional elements of Jewish faith, will ensure God’s protection

16. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Persian Rule 1. Both books of Maccabees take place in the context of the second century BC during Persian occupation 2. The Persians ruled over Palestine from 539 to 333 BC – from the time the Babylonians were conquered by Cyrus until they were conquered by Alexander the Great 3. The Jews were given a fair amount of religious and personal freedom, but not political rights 4. The Persians followed Zoroastrianism and influenced Judaism’s growing belief in angels and in the larger role assigned to Satan, the fallen angel

17. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Hellenization 1. Alexander introduced Greek ideals, language, learning, dress, and customs to the lands he controlled 2. Greek remained the common language of the Middle East until AD 500, when it was supplanted by Latin 3. The Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures and the entire New Testament were written in Greek 4. The principal biblical sources describing Hellenistic influence on the Jews are 1 and 2 Maccabees and the Wisdom books of Solomon

18. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Ptolemies 1. A dynasty that descended from Alexander’s general Ptolemy, controlling Palestine from about 320-200 BC 2. Allowed religious autonomy and made no efforts to impose Hellenization on the Jews 3. Jews divided into ruling factions: those who began to adopt Greek customs versus those who were staunchly opposed to any Greek assimilation 4. When Alexandria became an important cultural and economic center, it also became an important center of Jewish culture in the Diaspora for centuries after this 5. It’s likely both the Book of Wisdom and the Septuagint were formed in Alexandria

19. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books The Seleucids & Temple Controversy 1. Came to power in Palestine under Antiochus III after driving out the Ptolemies in about 200 BC 2. Jewish life deteriorated and the Romans were gaining strength in the region 3. As the economic importance of the Temple began to increase, Jewish factions struggled over who would be the high priest and thus earn the right to negotiate financial and trade deals with the Seleucids 4. The internal struggle was complicated by the fact that a growing number of Jews continued to be Hellenized and less scrupulous in observing Jewish tradition

20. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Antiochus IV 1. The squabble Jewish factions led to a confrontation over the head of the Temple 2. Intervening in the squabble, Antiochus, who zealous about promoting Hellenization, appointed a series of high priests that supported him 3. Because he believed the Jews were the cause of many of his problems, he virtually banned the practice of traditional Jewish religion 4. His decisions were often supported by Hellenized Jews w ho wanted to gain permanent advantage over the traditionalist Jews

21. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books The Maccabees 1. As resistance to his policies mounted, Antiochus enacted sterner measures, eventually issuing an edict forbidding the practice of Judaism in all traditional forms 2. When Antiochus erected an altar to Zeus in the Temple, the Jews considered it a defilement of the entire Temple 3. Finally, in a revolt led by the Maccabees, the Jews regained control of the Temple in December 164 BC 4. The Temple was purified and rededicated, an event is still commemorated by Jews in the celebration of Hanukkah 5. Between 160 and 63 BC, the Hasmoneans led the Jews in securing some independence

22. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books Jewish Sects Sadducees • Originally aristocratic Jews • Favored a strict observance of the Torah • Regarded Temple worship and sacrifice as essential • Denied the doctrine of the afterlife or the resurrection of the dead Pharisees • Emphasized study of Hasmonean Dynasty • Exhibited great respect for their learned teachers • Preserved the written commentaries of the teachers with great reverence • Strong emphasis on pious religious rights in the home • Introduced two new institutions within Judaism: the synagogue and the rabbi Essenes • Withdrew to the desert near the Dead Sea • Brought copies of most books later made into the Old Testament • Wrote apocalyptic books • Believed coming devastation would place them back in authority in Palestine

23. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1C The Historical Books The Romans 1. The internal bickering among the Hasmoneans opened the door for the Romans, the major military power in the region, to intervene in Palestine in 63 BC 2. Palestine was made part of the Roman province of Syria 3. Pompey appointed his own high priest and set up a puppet king 4. The Jews remained under Roman control until the seventh century AD 5. In 37 BC Herod became king of Judea and was known as a brutal ruler and a great builder, including the restoration of the Second Temple