Chapter 11: Israelite Laws
Alexander the Great - ANS-the Macedonian king who conquered the Mediterranean world in
333-323 BCE & played a major role in disseminating Greek culture throughout the entire area
apodictic laws - ANS-laws stated as categorical imperatives: Do this! Do not do that! (from the
Greek APODEIKTIKOS), which means "clearly proven" or "incontestable") // the best-known
examples of apodictic laws are the Ten Commandments
Babylon exile - ANS-the exile of the people of Judah in Babylon beginning with the surrender of
Jerusalem in 597 BCE & the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE // in exile, Jewish teachers
began to focus intently on the Mosaic laws, which came to have a much more profound effect
on the people than when they lived in Judea
casuistic laws - ANS-laws that use the following form: IF/WHEN ______ circumstance happens,
THEN ______ consequence should follow
Cyrus - ANS-Persian king who conquered the Babylonian empire & in 539 BCE allowed exiled
Judeans to return to Judah to rebuild their temple
Demiurge - ANS-the lesser deity whom Plato & other Greek philosophers believed was
responsible for creating the physical universe
Deuteronomy - ANS-the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, whose English title comes from the
Septuagint // in Greek, DEUTERO means "second," & NOMUS means "law"; thus,
Deuteronomy means "Second Law"
Jesus Ben Sira (aka Sirach) - ANS-a Jewish wisdom teacher, writing about 180 BCE, who
identified the divine wisdom personified in Proverbs 8:22-31 with the law of Moses // by
connecting wisdom with the laws of Moses (see Sirach 15:1-15; 24:8, 23), Ben Sira paved the
way for the belief that the laws of Moses predate the creation of the world
Kosher (KASHRUT) - ANS-designation for foods that are considered appropriate for Jewish
people to eat // from the Hebrew word meaning "proper"
Laws of Eshnunna - ANS-collection of laws written in Babylon about 1770 BCE
Laws of Hammurabi - ANS-a collection of 282 laws carved in cuneiform script on an
eight-foot-high, black basalt stele that originally stood in the temple of Marduk in Babylon // the
top of the stele depicts Hammurabi (king of Babylon from 1728-1686 BCE) receiving the laws
from Shamash, the sun god & patron of law & justice
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