Midterm Essay prep

Enmeduranki: The Babylonian counterpart to Enoch since both are seventh in a list of primordial patriarchs who all live longer than normal lives. Enoch lives 365 days which is the length of the solar calendar while Enmeduranki is associated with the Babylonian Sippar god of the sun.

Asael: One of the leaders of the fallen angels in the book of the Watchers Enoch apocalypse. This character showed earthly women how to beautify themselves, a sinful activity to make men sin. This character’s name Asael was merged with the name with Azazel, a angel well-known for being a scapegoat.

Semiyaza: This is one of the leaders of the fallen angels in the enoch literature who makes a pact with the other angels to sleep with the women. He led this up. Yah in his name may come from the name for god in other traditions.

Michael: an archangel who in Daniel 10 fights the prince of Persia. He is the traditional defender and fighter for Israel.

Gabriel: an angel also sent to Daniel but instead of as a protector against the Prince of Persia was a messenger who explained the ram and the he-goat in Daniel 8. He announces Jesus birth and the Quran later.

Wars of Diodachi: These were wars between the major generals of Alexander after his death and were over the bast lands left behind. The Seleucids ended up controlling the land of Israel for a time under a period of relative ease but during which many wanted to Hellenize. This caused apocalyptic writers to denounce those who wanted to follow the ways of the greeks.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes: a Seuleucid ruler who caused especially fervent uproar among the Israelites because he replaced their twice-daily sacrifices with pagan sacrifices (why the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was encouraging to readers of Daniel).. Antiochus desecrated the temple and made Judaism outright illegal to practice.

Jason: a priest that essentially bought his way to power and was infamous for wanting to build a polis in Jerusalem. Jason takes the high priest position after Onias III is murdered.

Onias III: the high priest who is killed by his brother Jason and is related to the apocalypses because Daniel 9:26 and 11:39 make reference to him as someone who was “cut off”

Judas Maccabee: He and his sons started a revolt in 167 BCE against Antiochus IV that was initially unsuccessful but ultimately sparked a revolution that gained Israel their independence.  He is referenced in the animal apocalypse as a lamb hat rises up.

Hasmoneans: These were a series of rulers after Israel gained their independence. The rulers were descendants of Judas Maccabee until finally falling to Herod the great.

Darius the Mede: a supposed king of Babylon between Belshazzar and Cyrus the great, but the Medes were an empire that never controlled the Israelite nation.

The Maskilim: the wise in Daniel who are the people of the holy ones and who are called this insead of the wise because the wise makes you think of the wisdom teachers of proverbs.

Teacher of righteousness: a leader of the Qumran community mentioned in the Community Rule who teaches the sons of light the ways to act.