When we left the Old Testament (Malachi) it was about 424 B.C., and Persia was the reigning world power, having defeated Babylon in 539 B.C. Under Persian rulers the Jews who wished to returned to Judah in several stages. The Persian rulers during that time were:
| Cyrus II (the Great) | 558 |
| Cambyses II | 529 |
| Darius I (Hystaspis) | 522 |
| Xerxes I (Ahasuerus) | 485 |
| Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) | 465 |
| Xerxes II | 424 |
| Darius II (Nothus) | 424 |
| Artaxerxes II (Mnemon) | 404 |
| Artaxerxes III (Ochus) | 359 |
| Arsos | 338 |
| Darius III (Codomannus) | 336 |
| Artaxerxes IV (Bossus) | 331 |
Meanwhile, during the end of Persian rule, Philip of Macedon (359-336) was uniting the Greeks and preparing to fight Persia. He was murdered, and his son Alexander succeeded him at age 20. He crushed a Grecian revolt in 335 and moved east. In 334 B.C. he crossed the Hellespont and at Granicus defeated the Persian forces. In November, 333 B.C. he defeated a hugh army of Darius III. Darius fled east and all Syria fell to Alexander. This marks the end of the Persian period of Hebrew history.
In 332 Alexander entered Egypt and founded Alexandria. He seems to have treated the Jews with tolerance, and many of them settled in Alexandria. He appointed a governor in Samaria, whom the Samaritans murdered in 331. Alexander returned from Egypt, took vengeance, settled Macedonians in Samaria, and gave border land to Judah. Thereafter the Jews were stronger than the Samaritans and the Samaritans' hatred of the Jews became worse.
Alexander continued east and defeated the last Persian ruler in 331. He continued into India and conquered there, but the mutiny of his troops caused him to return west. He died of a fever in Babylon in 323 B.C., aged 32. His territory was divided among his four generals. Of interest to us with reference to the Bible and the Jews are Seleucus in Syria and Ptolemy in Egypt (including Palestine).
| Ptolemy I, Soter | (323-285) | Seleucus I, Nicator | (306-280) |
| Ptolemy II, Philadelphus | (285-246) | Antiochus I, Soter | (280-261) |
| Antiochus II, Theos | (261-247) | ||
| Ptolemy III, Euergetes | (246-221) | Seleucus II, Callinicus | (247-226) |
| Ptolemy IV, Philopator | (221-203) | Seleucus III, Soter | (226-223) |
| Ptolemy V, Epiphanes | (203-181) | Antiochus III, the Great | (223-187) |
| Ptolemy VI, Philometor | (181-145) | Seleucus IV, Philopator | (187-175) |
| Antiochus IV, Epiphanes | (175-163) |
Egypt had ruled Palestine through the third century B.C. Then Ptolemy V was decisively defeated by the Syrian Seleucid, Antiochus III, in 198 B.C. He was evenutally succeeded by his son, Antiochus IV.
(Most of the following material,through page 5, is from The New Testament, An introduction to its history, literature, and thought by C. Milo Connick.)
Antiochus IV (175-163 B.C.) posed the greatest peril to the Jewish community since the Babylonian Exile. He called himself Epiphanes ("The Manifest" of Zeus), but his subjects soon tagged him Epimanes ("The Madman"). Just what motivated the Madman is a matter of dispute among historians. He was a fanatical devotee of the Greek way of life, and he doubtless resented Jewish resistance to Hellenization... Probably economic difficulties also stimulated his demonical deeds. Significant sums were required to control his far-flung holdings and to secure protection from his Egyptian enemies. But whatever his motives, his oppressive manners were unmistakable. Soon after his accession, he deposed the legitimate High Priest (Onias III) and sold the office to the highest bidder (Joshua). Joshua adopted the Greek name Jason and became the enthusiastic in-residence promoter of the Seleucids and all things Greek. He built a gymnasium in Jerusalem where young Jews followed Greek custom and exercised in the nude. Some even submitted to surgery to remove the marks of circumcision. Jason's successor permitted Antiochus to plunder the Temple. Such flagrant violations of the Law horrified the faithful and caused them to form an opposition movement called the Hasidim (Pious). It finally dawned upon Antiochus that he could not control the Jews until he destroyed their religion. An edict issued in 168 B.C. was designed to do precisely that. Temple rites were abolished. Circumcision, Sabbath observance, and possession of a copy of the Law were decreed capital offenses. An altar to Zeus was set up in the Temple, and swine were sacrificed upon it. This desecrating act (called "the abomination that makes desolate" in Daniel 11:31) bolstered the spine of Jewish resistance.
When a Syrian officer came to the village of Modein to enforce the royal decrees, he compelled a Jew to worship Zeus. Mattathias, a Jewish priest, killed them both. Then Mattathias, together with his five sons and other sympathizers, took refuge in the rugged hill country of Judea. He persuaded the Hasidim to join him...The combined forces resisted the Syrians in the name of their religion and their Law....The patriots were hopelessly outnumbered...they turned from orthodox warfare to guerrilla tactics.
Mattathias died in 166 B.C. and his son Judas (166-160) assumed command of the military operations. Judas proved to be such a ferocious fighter that he was named Maccabeus ("The Hammer"), and the resistance movement that he led became known as the Maccabean Revolt. Against insuperable odds, Judas and his men turned initial defeats into victory. Near the close of 165 they captured the Temple in Jerusalem, rebuilt the altar, and restored the worship of the Lord. Each year Jews commemorate this triumphal event through their celebration of Hanukkah (Dedication), the Feast of Lights.
Now that religious freedom had been assured, many of the Hasidim were ready to terminate the revolt. The Maccabees, though, were in no mood to surrender. Judea was not free, Syrian armies posed intermittent danger, Jews were maltreated in some places, the enemy controlled the Acra (a military fortress overlooking the Temple area), and a vigorous group of Jewish Hellenists continued to covet the high priesthood and court the Seleucids. So Judas and his followers valiantly continued the fight until his death. Since the Hasidim preferred the leadership of the Maccabees to that of the pro-Syrian priestly families, they had little choice but to render lukewarm support. What had begun as a struggle for religious freedom soon developed into a drive for political independence.
Jonathan (160-142 B.C.) succeeded his brother Judas as military leader. He proved to be a wily warrior and a daring diplomat. He capitalized on Syrian weakness to enlarge the territory under Jewish control and enhance his family name. Despite his proven ability and noteworthy accomplishments, he was lulled by flattery and seduced with pseudo promises. When he met death at the hamds of a contender for the Syrian throne, Simon stepped in to fill the void.
Simon (142-135 B.C.) was the last surviving son of Mattathias. He rebuilt the fortresses of the land, filled them with food, and backed the successful contender for the Syrian throne. The Syrian king reciprocated by renouncing all claims to Judea. Simon's followers gratefully proclaimed him High Priest even though he was not a member of the priestly family. The same year (142) they began to date their documents and contracts "In the first year of Simon, the great high priest and commander and leader of the Jews." A year later they bestowed upon him the title of ethnarch or governor and granted his heirs the right of hereditary succession.
Succeeding generations of ruler-priests, known as the Hasmonean dynasty (named after Hashmon, a Maccabean forebear), devoted themselves to the task of transforming Judea into a Jewish nation. Simon's son John Hyrcanus (135-105) ...marched east "beyond the Jordan," north to ravage the Samaritans and destroy their temple atop Mt. Gerizim, and south to subdue Idumea. He switched his sympathies from the popular and pious "Pharisees" to the noble and politically oriented "Sadducees." He symbolized his Hellenistic proclivities by changing the names of his three young sons from Judas, Mattathias, and Jonathan to Aristobulus, Antigonus, and Alexander Janneus.
Aristobulus I (105-104), the first to claim the title of king. He was succeeded by a brother he had imprisoned.
Alexander Janneus (104-78) set to work to conquer and convert Northern Palestine, succeeding on the west coast from Gaza to Mt. Carmel (except Ashkelon) and east of Jordan in Gadara and other cities. Under his leadership, the Hasmonean dynasty reached its territorial height. He lost the support of the Pharisees and had to resort to mercenaries to fight his battles since most Jews regarded him with distaste...Many began to mute the figure of the priest and to trumpet that of the Son of Man--a preexistent, supernatural being who would descend from the clouds at the end of the age to institute Final Judgment. [No documentation for this given by Connick.]...Sometime during the tenure of John Hyrcanus and his sons, an ultra-pious group of Jews retired to the hills overlooking the Dead Sea. They founded a semimonastic community at Qumran devoted to rigorous religious practices. From their scriptorium came the now-famous Dead Sea Scrolls.
Alexandra (78-69), widow of Alexander Janneus, ruled shrewdly and sensibly for nine years. She made peace with the Pharisees and granted them a large measure of authority in local matters. Since she could not serve as High Priest, she appointed her hapless son, Hyrcanus II, to that office. This infuriated his able and more ambitious brother, Aristobulus II. When the aged lady became ill and desired to leave the throne to Hyrcanus, Aristobulus recruited an army. At the Queen Mother's death, Aristobulus drove Hyrcanus from Jerusalem and moved into the palace.
Aristobulus II (69-63) was soon undermined by the intrigue of Antipater, an influential Idumean, who persuaded the deposed brother Hyrcanus to join him and seek the help of Aretas III of Arabia. Aretas was glad to help in return for a dozen cities taken from them by Alexander Janneus. With help from disgruntled Pharisees, he defeated Aristobulus whose men deserted him. Bitter civil strife ensued.
Since Rome was now in control of the collapsed Syrian domain, Hyrcanus (backed by Antipater) and Aristobulus sent separate delegations to Damascus in 63 B.C. to seek the support of Pompey. A third delegation, probably dispatched by the Pharisees, argued for abolition of the monarchy and return to pre-Maccabean nonpolitical priestly rule. While Pompey cogitated, Aristobulus acted. He captured the fortress of Alexandrium. The Roman commander interpreted the brash act as a threat, subdued the fortress, and marched his men toward Jerusalem.One hundred years of Hasmonean rule was ending.
Pompey beseiged Jerusalem for three months in 63 B.C. A breach in the city wall opened the way to terrible butchery. Although he spared the Temple treasures and allowed Temple worship to continue, he appalled the inhabitants by barging into the Holy of Holies.
Pompey's victory erased the last vestige of Jewish independence. The land fell under Roman control, Samaria and Galilee were appended to the Roman province of Syria, the Greek cities along the seacoast and beyond Jordan were freed, and the shrunken Jewish state was subjected to the administration of the Roman legate of Syria.
Pompey abolished the kingship and established Hyrcanus II as High Priest and ethnarch. The real power behind Hyrcanus, however, was Antipater, the wealthy and potent Idumean governor. Antipater scrupulously carried out Roman policies and managed to retain the favor of a succession of leaders during the terrible years of the civil war in Rome. Rome gratefully granted him citizenship and named his son, Herod, prefect of Galilee.
Herod (40-4 B.C.) As prefect of Galilee, Herod soon distinguished himself by capturing and executing some "bandits." Rome's response was larger responsibility for her efficient servant. In 40 B.C. the Roman Senate appointed him "king of the Jews." For three years disturbances in Jerusalem thwarted him from ascending the throne.
He was an astute politician in his relations with Rome, and his kingdom expanded until it included all of Palestine. As a promoter of Hellenism he had no peer. He rebuilt old cities in the Greek image and named them after relatives. New cities, like Caesarea, became the talk of the times. Hippodromes, theaters, amphitheaters, and stadiums were constructed. But by far the most famous of Herod's edifices was the rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. He gilded its stones with gold and stretched its size with courts and porticoes until it swelled the pride of the pilgrims. He also supported emperor worship and built temples in honor of the divine Augustus.
Herod's place in history is a matter of dispute. Some scholars acclaim him Israel's greatest king; others accuse him of destroying all that the Maccabees had valued. He maintained peace, promoted the arts, and gave unstinting loyalty to Rome. But he was also cruel and cunning, and most Jews saw him as a self-seeking, blood-thirsty tyrant. The despised his Idumean ancestry, and they decried his devotion to Hellenism, polygamy, and fratricide. His ambitious building programs were very expensive, and his suspicious nature flooded the land with secret police in search of the slightest scent of disloyalty. He coldly executed his mother-in-law, his favorite wife, and three of his sons because of their alleged designs on the throne. All were Hasmoneans, which provided the logic for his madness.
The death of Herod the Great in 4 B.C. plunged Palestine into a power struggle. His kingdom was divided among three sons -- Archelaus was named king of Judea, Idumea, and Samaria; Herod Antipas was made tetrarch of Galilee and Perea; and Herod Philip was designated tetrarch of the region northeast of Galilee. More about them when we get into the New Testament.
The Septuagint is a koine Greek version of the Hebrew Old Testament that was translated in the 3rd to 2nd centuries B.C. The name (Latin for seventy) comes from the legend that 70 translators (or rather 72, 6 from each tribe) who worked in separate cells each translated the whole, and in the end their translations were found to be identical. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the tradition that the translators were sent to Alexandria by Eleazar, the chief priest at Jerusalem, at the request of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.), a patron of literature, first appears in the letter of Aristeas to Philocrates, probably written toward the end of the 2nd century B.C. but possibly making use of older material. This letter advocates merely a revised version of the Pentateuch, which must therefore have already existed in an earlier translation. The prophetic books were translated into Greek in the 2nd century B.C., and the prologue to Ecclesiasticus (in the Apocrypha) c.132 B.C. may imply that the third division of the Hebrew Bible, the Writings, already existed in Greek translation.
The early Christian church, which mostly spoke Greek rather than Hebrew, used the Septuagint as their Bible. In it they found prophecies that were claimed to be fulfilled in Christ. So the Jews mostly quit using the Septuagint, especially after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. However, they also still needed a Greek version, so they made a new translation, or translations.The books of the Apocrypha (see below), which were not accepted in the Hebrew canon, were also included in the Septuagint, which was another reason the Jews did not like it. They were intermingled rather than grouped together at the end as we are accustomed to seeing them. And they may still be found that way in most Roman Catholic versions.
The importance of the Septuagint, apart from its interest as the oldest biblical translation of any scope, lies in the fact that it is the earliest witness to the Hebrew text, before the latter was standardized 1000 years later by the Masoretes. [quoting Encyclo.Brit.] (This was written before the Qumran texts showed the copy of Isaiah found there to be very nearly the same as the modern Hebrew text.) The LXX, as it is called, apparently does not have as good textual evidence as the many N.T. manuscripts that we have. So where it differs from the Hebrew, we can't be sure which is correct.
The meaning of the word "apocrypha" is "secret" or "hidden," but it has come to mean forged or unrecognized (uncanonical). When we speak of a story being apocryphal, we generally mean that it probably never happened. That was not the original idea of the word however.
I have consulted two lists of the books of the Apocrypha, and the two lists, both by evangelicals, give somewhat different dates for the writing of many of them. But they are all written after 200 B.C., with the possible exception of I Esdras.
The following information about the books of the Apocrypha is taken from notes on Hebrew History by J.Barton Payne for a class he taught at BJU in 1949.
I Esdras (200 B.C.-- Fiction) describes rebuilding the temple. 3--5:6 was a story of Darius I's time, not originally written about Zerubbabel.
II Esdras (100 A.D.-- Apocalypse) Prophecies to encourage oppressed Jews, put in mouth of Ezra.
Tobit (175 B.C.-- Fiction) About Tobias' trip; stresses the 3 pillars of Judaism -- prayer, alms, and fasting. Enforces Pharisaism, mentions guardian angels.
Judith (150 B.C.--Fiction) Jerusalem saved; nationalistic Judaism. Shows a ruthless nationalism under Hasmoneans.
Rest of Esther (125 B.C.-- Fiction) Additions to make Esther religious.
Wisdom of Solomon (40 A.D.-- Philosophy) Didactic poetry, long after Solomon. Teaches wisdom, but philosophically for Alexandrian Jews. Speaks of immortality.
Ecclesiasticus (180 B.C.-- Wisdom) Also didactic poetry, but leans toward Sadducees' views on angels, life after death. Considered a valuable ethical treatise (and the Apoc. book most often quoted in the Episcopal lectionary). See praise of famous men (44--50:21) and justification by works (3:3,14).
Baruch (200-100 B.C.--Legend) Letter to exiles put in mouth of Jeremiah's scribe. 3 independent works: confession in prophetic spirit, homily on wisdom, consolation.
A Letter of Jeremiah (included in some versions as chapter 6 of Baruch) (125 B.C.-- Polemic) A letter to the exiles, against idolators.
Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Holy Children (150 B.C.-- Fiction) An addition to the book of Daniel inserted in chapter 3.
The History of Susanna (150 B.C.-- Fiction) Originally just a story stressing virtue, prayer, and God's help. About a woman rescued; put at beginning of Daniel.
Bel and the Dragon (150 B.C.--Fiction) Two stories, variations on Daniel 3 and 6, against idolatry.
Prayer of Manasses (75 B.C.--Lyric) Penitent prayer of Manasseh, king of Judah. Would fit after II Chron 33:18-19 if authentic.
I Maccabees (75 B.C.-- History) A historical work of great value; pious; patriotic in favor of the Hasmoneans; no divine intervention.
II Maccabees (50 B.C.-- Legend) An inartistic abbreviation of a lost history of Jason. Theology is Pharisaic; stresses miraculous, and even purgatory and prayers for the dead; Hasmoneans not perfect. Compare 12:43-44 and II Cor 15:29.
During the Babylonian captivity when there was no temple and after the return when most of the people had become speakers of Aramaic rather than Hebrew, the scribes became important as teachers and interpreters of the Law. When the temple was rebuilt, the priests again became important, but the scribes and the synagogue also retained their place of importance.
There are four recognized divisions that developed among the Jews. They developed at different times, and they did not include all the people. The divisions were Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Essenes.
The Pharisees apparently were the philosophical descendents of the Hasidim (the pious ones). The name first appears in the time of the Hasmonean priest-kings. They wanted to control the religion of the state. They were always a minority group, but they had great influence and were often followed by the people. They believed the Babylonian Exile was caused by the failure of the people to keep the Torah--both individually and as a nation. They established that the Torah contained 613 commandments, 248 positive, 365 negative. Then they proceeded to "build a hedge around them." That is, to make more laws and traditions--such as what is work on the Sabbath--to assure the laws would not be broken. It seems there was a division between the more rigorous and the more liberal of the Pharisee teachers. The rich ones could afford to be rigid in keeping all things, but the more liberal teachers recognized the difficulty of the people in bearing such things as tithing on top of taxes, etc.
The Sadducees' name and origin are in dispute, and most sources about them are hostile, so it's hard to get a real picture. They didn't seem to have much following and came from the priestly and well-to-do classes. With the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. they mostly disappeared from the scene, and the Pharisees were left in charge of Jewish doctrine. They were conservative in that they accepted the validity of only the written laws of the Pentateuch -- no "fences" I guess. They did not accept the ideas of the soul and its afterlife, resurrection, rewards and retributions, angels and demons.
Josephus and other writers refer to the Essenes, but there are some differences in their descriptions. This may mean that there were actually differences in their practices. For example, there may have been a more monastic group that did not include women. But there were also communities that had families and lived in communal settings. According to Philo they paid scrupulous attention to ceremonial purity, held all property in common, abstained from animal sacrifices, practised celibacy, kept no slaves, made provision for the sick and elderly, did not swear oaths or take part in military or commercial activity. The Qumram buildings may have been the home of an Essene community. Although other ideas about that are now being put forth.
The important thing to note is that all of these groups were just that -- groups. The whole Jewish nation was not divided into these three philosophies of religion. Rather, they were leaders (or tried to be) and the common people were just that -- the common people. In John 7 we have the story where the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple officers to arrest Jesus. They returned without him saying "No man ever spoke like this man." The Pharisees answered (7:48-49) "Have any of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd, who do not know the law, are accursed." When they said the people didn't know the Law, they probably didn't mean they had no knowledge of Scripture. They meant they hadn't studied it under accredited teachers.
The Zealots were founded by Judas the Galilean in 6 A.D. in opposition to Rome and continued until the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. They opposed Rome for religious reasons (for example, they did not believe in paying taxes to a pagan ruler) and followed the example of Mattathias and his sons. Many of them were crucified by Rome for their activities against the government.