Study Set Content:
The religion of Israel starts with God and His promise to
ABRAHAM
It has developed in the course of about
2,000 YEARS
First leader
the patriarchal kind of leadership structure evolved.
Features of the religion
God-chosen leaders, Law or Torah, The prophets, the temple and synagogue, Priests and sacrifice, jewish feasts,
The patriarchs like, were the heads of their respective families and the whole tribe of Israel.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
The priesthood represented the union of Israel with God. The
structure was composed of a three-fold order:
Priests and Sacrifices__.
lower priest
levites
middle priests
priests
Highest priests
High priest
the judges ruled over the people after the conquest of
Canaan
Second leader
the patriarchal leadership evolved into a charismatic military leadership - the Judges
Third type of leader
the demand of people to have a king allowed the development of a monarchy in which the king and his family ruled.
Fourth type of leader
a “dummy” leadership evolved
were the spokesmen of God. Their main task was to proclaim
God’s will. They were forth-tellers warning of the coming punishment for the people who turned away from God.
The prophets
the nation of Israel was occupied and controlled by
Imperial powers such as Babylonia, Persia, Greece and Rome.
1. was established by God through
Moses at Mount Sinai to guide them in their way of life, and to have a right relationship with God and people. v
Law or Torah
center of worship
Temple
the place of study, prayer and assembly
synagogue
represented the union of Israel with God.
priesthood
was the context of the birth of Jesus.
Graeco-Roman world
