IVP INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE Story, themes and interpretation Edited by Philip Johnston Inter-Varsity Press Joote7. Between the Testaments Carl Mosser A. Times of great change Many people attempt to read the Bible like a modern book, straight through from beginning to end. Christians are sometimes encouraged to begin with the NT and then read the OT. However, the perceptive reader immediately notices that Jewish life and faith in the NT is very different from that in the OT. ‘The obvious reason is the gap of about 400 years between the end of the OT and the beginning of the NT. A great deal happened during this time to shape Jewish society. At the close of the OT story the Jewish homeland is a province of the Persian empire, and Aramaic is the language of diplomacy and commerce. Jews have recently begun returning from exile to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple. But when the NTT story begins Persia has long ceased to be a major power. Rome is the dominant empire but Greek, not Latin, is the language of diplomacy and commerce. The Jewish homeland a kingdom ruled by Herod the Great, an ethnic Idumean (see EandF elow) placed on the throne by Rome. Jewish piety is expressed in synagogues as well as the temple. There are religious and political 8roups like the Pharisees, Sadducees and Samaritans, but their origins and beliefs are not. explained. Knowledge of the developments that took Place during the intertestamental period will greatly assist our under- standing of the NT. This chapter will give a survey of the four centuries between theee 142 | IVP Introduction to the Bible testaments. For the social and literary developments of the final century or so, see New Testament Background in ch. 8. B. From independent kingdoms to Persian province Following Solomon’s death the twelve tribes of Israel were split between two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The Assyrians conquered Israel in 722 BC, exiled some inhabitants and brought in other displaced peoples to dilute their ethnic and religious identity (and reduce the likelihood of rebellion). These groups settled together and became known as the Samaritans. Though they later accepted the Jewish law, they were excluded from the Jewish people because of their mixed background. A century later the Babylonians conquered the Assyrians, and in 605 Bc Judah became their resentful vassal. Judah eventually rebelled, and in 587 Bc Babylon responded by destroying Jerusalem and the temple. Many of its inhabitants were exiled to Babylonia. The Babylonian empire was short-lived, and fell to an alliance of Persians and Medes in 539 pc. The Persian empire sought the loyalty of its inhabitants by reversing many Babylonian policies and permitting exiles to return to their homelands. They were also allowed to take the statues of their gods and other sacred items that had been removed from their national temples. A minority of the Jewish population took ae policy and returned to Judah, now a Persian province | The biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah recount many of the difficulties faced by several groups of returning Jewish exiles down to the late 400s, Relatively little is known about events in Judah after this time, but archaeological evidence suggests that the province eventually shes pial under Persian rule. We also know that Judeans served in the opie aiid For example, documents and the remains of a Jewish ie been discovered at Elephantine in southern Egypt. These Be a Jewish military garrison was stationed there to protect e south-west border of the Persian empire. oo significant events took place under Persian rule that would ina red o on Judaism. The Jerusalem temple was rebuilt, eae ne gran ara its predecessor. It remained the central focus of ea a until it was destroyed in ap 70. The priesthood came to high priest secular as well as religious affairs within the province. The autonomy, Hae Tule Jerusalem as a temple city with some degree of Gann y. i was viewed as the chief representative and leader of the People around the world, Jewish identity came to be determined Bete eee ess Masse Between the Testaments | 143 by descent through the mother. The study and interpretation of the law of Moses took on greater significance than it had in the pre-exilic period. C. Alexander the Great and the spread of Hellenism Another formative stage in the development of Judaism was ushered in by Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian empire in 333-330 BC. Alexander sought to unify his vast domain by spreading Hellenistic (ie. Greek) language and cultural institutions throughout his newly acquired territories. He did this primarily by founding hundreds of new cities, settling them with colonists from Greece and veterans from his army. These Hellenistic cities included an acropolis (central fortress), a market, temples dedicated to Greek deities, a theatre and a gymnasium. The gymnasium was particularly important as the primary centre for education and training in sports and combat. The goal was to train body, mind and soul in preparation for citizenship in a Greek city. Pious Jews objected to the gymnasium because athletic activities were conducted in the nude. They also objected because gymnasia were associated with homosexual activity, especially pederasty. : The Greek inhabitants of these new cities became a cultural elite. The indigenous peoples reacted in ways similar to the way people in modern non-Western countries respond to the encroachment of ‘Western ideals and fashions. Some embraced Greek culture and language. They did so because they were either enamoured by its chic ‘modernism’ or use doing so provided means of social and economic advance. Others considered Hellenism a threat to their traditional way of life and resisted it as much as possible. But as these Greek cities became permanent s in a region, the surrounding peoples were all affected by Hellenism to some degree, the Jews no less than others. D. Judea under the Ptolemies and Seleucids When Alexander died in 23 8c his massive kingdom was divided among is generals. After several wars between the generals, the non-European territories near the Mediterranean were divided between Ptolemy ~ Seleucus. The Ptolemaic empire was centred in Egypt. The Seleuci empire initially spread from eastern Syria to Afghanistan, but soon came centred in Syria and Asia Minor. Considerable numbers of Jews Made their homes in both empires. ioned to The Jewish homeland was included in territory initially assign®e leucus, but Ptolemy seized it in 301 BC and incorporated it into he holdings. This served as the pretext for a number of Seleucid invasions of