(Originally written January 4, 2006 in Notebook 20)
The Promise and The Blessing pg. 349-371
- 400 years in between the Old Testament and New Testament changes occurred in the Jewish culture. The Jews served under Persia an Greece then gained independence only to lose it again to Rome.
- The Apocrypha, Mishnah and the Pseudepigrapha were written
- Three bridges will be used to move from the end of the Old Testament to the New Testament over the 400 years of silence:
1) Literary Bridge
- just because there is a silent 400 years between the Old and New Testaments does not mean the Jews stopped writing
-The books written in this period are divided into three groups:
1) Apocrypha
2) Mishnah
3) Pseudepigrapha
- Apocrypha means, plural, "hidden" or "secret"
- The Apocrypha was not considered canonical by the Jews of the early church. However, the Catholics included it in their Bible
- The Apocrypha included a wide variety of books
- The Mishnah dealt with the Old Testament Law
- The Mishnah was a commentary on the Torah and a record of debate and conclusion among Jewish leaders
- The Gemorah was the completion of the Oral tradition and a commentary on the Mishnah
- The Mishnah and Gemorah together form the Talmud
- Modern Judaism is more based on the Talmud then the Torah
- The Tarsumin & Midrashim were translations written for Jews that did not read Hebrew, they were written in Aramaic and Greek
- The Pseudepigrapha includes many different types of works
- Pseudepigrapha is Greek for "written under a false name"
- These books mark a trend from the Israelites moving away from idolatry to being overly legalistic
2) Religious Bridge
- the major groups were the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenses
- These were also political affiliations
- After Ezra and Nehemiah the Jews split into traditionalists and accommodationists
- The traditionalists wanted to get back to their roots, the accommodationists wanted to set up a new culture
- Traditionalists - Hebraists; Accommodationists - Hellenists
The Hebraists:
- Lived in Babylon Or Palestine
- Followers of Ezra and Nehemiah
- Maccabean Revolutionists
- From the oral tradition
The Hellenists:
- Widespread
- Accepted other cultures as well
-The Sadducees were Hellenists
- Sadducees believed in free will, argued agains any resurrection, believed that the soul died with the body and did not believe in Angels or Demons
- The Sadducees were aristocratic
-The Pharisees were Hebraists
- The Pharisees believed in free will, but thought God was ultimately in control
- The Pharisees believed in resurrection, angels and demons and fought for the equality of all human beings
- The Pharisees were middle-class citizens
- The Essenes were much more conservative than the Pharisees
- The Essenes were a minority party and spread out thinly, thus their influence and significance in the New Testament is non-existence
- Scribes are either Pharisees or Sadducees that copied, read and interpreted the Law.
- The Zealots were the extreme nationalists that were determined to rid Judea of all foreign rule
3) The Political Bridge
Persian Rule then Greek Rule then Freedom, then Roman rule
-The Persians ruled the Jews at the end of the Old Testament
- Greece fought off the Persian advances and then were involved in a civil war
- Eventually Philip of Macedonia conquered all of Greece
- His son, Alexander then took over and captured Persia
- Alexander then died and four generals became the rulers of four divided lands
- The four eventually became two, the Kingdom of Egypt and the Syrian Kingdom
- Egypt fell to Rome in 30 B.C. Syria fell in 64-63 B.C.
- The Maccabees gained their independence from the Syrian Empire over a period of time
- They fought many bloody battles and aligned themselves with Rome against Syria
- Rome was originally a republic but Julius Caesar eventually became dictator for life
- After Julius Caesar was killed a civil war took place an Caesar's adopted son Octavian (Augustus) became the ruler
- Augustus ruled over a generally peaceful empire, the only serious problem was Judea.
- In 6 A.D. Rome took control of Judea
- In 70 A.D. Rome destroyed the Temple
- In 135 A.D. Rome exiled all of the Jews in Judea
Review Questions
1) The Old Testament ended with Malachi because none of the books written after were considered to be Canonical or as authoritative as the books in the Hebrew Scriptures
2) The Apocrypha was a collection of books written by Jewish authors between the Old Testament and New Testament times. They are viewed as less authoritative as the included Scriptures.
3) The Mishnah is a commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures and included debates of interpretation and the results of the debates. It is different than the Talmud because the Talmud contains the Mishnah as well as the Gemara. The Talmud is important because it is what modern Judaism bases its religion on.
4) The Pseudepigrapha are books that were written under false names. These books were written both prior to the New Testament and through the first century A.D. and beyond.
5) The Sadducees developed by trying to fit their religious beliefs into the cultural surroundings they were in.
6) The Pharisees developed out of a strong opposition to the Sadducees.
7) The Essenes were a strict, traditionalist sect of the Jews. They were important in that they practiced a strict way of the Law, but were a small minority and spread thin enough not to make an impact on the New Testament.
8) The scribes were the men who copied, read and interpreted the Law for the Jews. They were vital in the formation of Jewish doctrine and law.
9) Alexander's father, Philip, conquered and united much of Greece. After Philip was killed Alexander set out to conquer the world. He conquered the Persian Empire and his empire stretched from Egypt to India. Alexander's troops eventually revolted in India because they were tired of fighting. Alexander eventually died after a huge amount of eating and drinking.
10) After Alexander's death the kingdom was divided into four separate kingdoms.
11) The Ptolemies and the Seleucids were the rulers of Egypt and Syrian empires, respectively. They fought each other until they were both conquered by the Romans.
12) The Maccabees are a rebellious family that fought the Syrian Empire. They eventually gained freedom for Judea.
13) Herod became King of Judea by fleeing to Rome and convincing the Romans to name him King of Judea. They did and he returned to Judea with the Roman Empire.
14) Rome made Judea a part of the empire by revoking its independence and status in 6 A.D.
Jesus was counter-cutlrual, he disregarded some Jewish cultural customs.
The Samaritans came from the leftover Jews in the Northern Kingdom after the Assyrians exiled the majority of the Jews that intermarried with the local gentiles.
Key Dates in the Old Testament History
722 B.C. - Israel taken captive by Assyria
587 B.C. - Judah taken captive by Babylonia
539 B.C. - Persia defeats Babylon, ending Jewish captivity
Persia, 539 - 332 B.C.
Persia deposed Babylon; which, under Cyrus the Great, allowed the Jews to return Home.
Greece or Hellenistic Period, 333 - 63 B.C.
Greece deposed Persia; which, spread Hellenism and a common language throughout the world.
After Alexander the Great died the Empire was split into four kingdoms, two of which are important to New Testament History
1) The Ptolemaic (Egypt) 323 - 198 BC
- Ptolemy Philadelphus translated the Old Testament into the common language of Greek, which was called the Septuagint
2) The Seleucid Empire (198-143 B.C.)
- Antiochus IV, the prototype for the Anti-Christ in the 1st century A.D. Jews. He killed the Jews, destroyed the Torah, denied the Jews the rites of circumcision of their children and eventually desecrated the Temple of the Lord by sacrificing to Zeus on the altar.
The Hasmonean or Maccabean Period (143-63 B.C.)
Matthathias and the Maccabean revolt in 167 B.C. Judas Maccabaeus (The Hammer) and his men cleansed and rededicated the temple in 163 B.C. and waited for a prophet to come to fully restore it.
The Roman Period (63 B.C. on)
The Pax Romana (Peace of Rome) and the Roman road system aided in the spread of the gospel through the world.
Herod the Great, King of Judea 37 - 4 B.C.
- Ordered the slaughter of the innocents
Archelaus, tetrarch of Judea and Samaria, 4 B.C. - 6 A.D.
- Joseph and Mary fled from him
Herod Philip, tetrarch, 4 B.C. - 34 A.D.
Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, 4 B.C. - A.D. 39
- had John the Baptist beheaded
- was ruler when Jesus was killed
Herod Agrippa I, King of Judea 37 - 44 A.D.
- Had James, the half-brother of Jesus killed
Herod Agrippa II, king of Judea
Titus and the Fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70)
The Apocrypha
- Tobit
- Judith
- Additions to Esther
- Wisdom of Solomon
- Ecclesiasticus
- Baruch
- Letters of Jeremiah
- Prayer of Azariah
- The Song of the 3 Jews
- Bel and the Dragon
- I & II Maccabees
- I & II Esdras
- Prayer of Manasseh
Jewish Religious Parties
The Sadducees
- Influenced by power & wealth
- Aristocratic class
Sadducees References in the New Testament: Matthew 22:23, Acts 4:1, Acts 5:17
The Pharisees
- Legalistic
- Rules and Regulations, but little joy
Pharisees References in the New Testament: Matthew 11:9, Mark 2:16, Luke 15:1-2, Luke 19:7. Matthew 5:43-48, Mark 11:25, Luke 19:10, Luke 21:20-24
The Pharisees vs. Jesus
-The Pharisees Separated from unholy sinners, Jesus associated with them
-The Pharisees believed the Messiah would gather and sanctify his people, no evil or unrighteousness allowed; Jesus came to seek and save the Lost
- The Pharisees believed in victory for Israel and Jerusalem based on violent exclusion of the Gentiles; Jesus preached forgiveness to the enemy and the destruction of Jerusalem by the gentiles.
The Essenes
- Abdicated responsibility to confront the culture, as they retreated to the desert where they died, oblivious of the Teacher of Righteousness they sought
Significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls
- The Oldest of the Old Testament Documents was the Masoretic Text (A.D. 900).
- The Dead Sea Scrolls come from 150 B.C. - A.D. 68
- We can now check the accuracy of our copying technicians and how accurate the Masoretic Text was
The Scribes
- Teachers of the Law
- Neither a religious sect or political party (but most were Pharisees)
The Zealots
- Revolutionaries dedicated to overthrowing Roman power
- Refused to pay taxes, were not loyal to Caesar, led the Jewish Revolt that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
Judaism's response to Hellenism
- Wealthy Jews caved into Hellenism
- Poorer Jews reacted bitterly to Hellenism
- Early Hasmoneans reacted violently
- The Hasideans reacted passively
- The Pharisees expressed a separation by strict adherence to the law of the covenant
- The Essenes withdrew from society and into the desert
Proselytes (Gentiles who worship God and got circumcised) and God Fearers (Gentiles who worshipped God, but didn't snip)
- Syncretism: the combo of different forms of practice and belief
- Pagans were synchronistic
- Jews and Christians were exclusivistic
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