Overview#

• The Greek Period and Preliminaries

• The Maccabean Period

• The Roman Period

The Greek Period and Preliminaries#

From the Old Testament to Alexander the Great#

In Old Testament times the kings Saul, David, and Solomon ruled over all twelve tribes of Israel. Then the nation split into the ten-tribed northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin absorbed into the tribe of Judah.

The Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom and took most of its inhabitants as exiles into Assyria. Next, the Babylonians took control of the Middle East from the Assyrians, conquered the southern kingdom of Judah, and took most of its inhabitants as exiles into Babylonia.

The Persians then took control from the Babylonians and let exiled peoples, including Jews, return to their native lands if they so wished. Some did. Others did not. Under the Persians there began the intertestamental period, sometimes called “the four hundred silent years” because of a gap in the biblical record (though nonbiblical records have survived).

During this gap Alexander the Great came from Greece-Macedonia and conquered the Middle East by inflicting successive defeats on the Persians at the battles of Granicus (334 B.C.), ISSUS (333 B.C.), and Arbela (331 B.C.).

Hellenization#

The Greek culture, called Hellenism, had been spreading for some time through Greek trade and colonization, but Alexander’s conquests provided far greater impetus than before. The Greek language became the lingua franca, or common trade and diplomatic language. By New Testament times Greek had established itself as the street language even in Rome, where the indigenous proletariat spoke Latin but the great mass of slaves and freedmen spoke Greek, so that Paul wrote his Letter to the Romans in Greek. Alexander founded seventy cities and modeled them after the Greek style. He and his soldiers married oriental women. Thus the Greek and oriental cultures mixed to produce a Hellenistic culture.

Diadochi#

When Alexander died in 323 B.C. at the age of thirty-three, his leading generals (called diadochi, Greek for “successors”) divided the empire into four parts. Two of the parts became important for New Testament historical background, the Ptolemaic and the Seleucid.

• The Ptolemaic Empire centered in Egypt. Alexandria was its capital. The series of rulers who governed that empire are called the Ptolemies, after the name of its first ruler, Ptolemy. Cleopatra, who died in 30 B.C., was the last of the Ptolemaic dynasty.

• The Seleucid Empire centered in Syria. Antioch was its capital. A number of its rulers were named Seleucus, after the first ruler. Several others were named Antiochus, after the capital city. Together they are called the Seleucids. When the Roman general Pompey made Syria a Roman province in 64 B.C., the Seleucid Empire came to an end.

Because it was sandwiched between Egypt and Syria, Palestine became a victim of rivalry between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, both of whom wanted to collect taxes from its inhabitants and make it a buffer zone against attack from the other. At first the Ptolemies dominated Palestine for 122 years (320-198 B.C.). Generally, the Jews fared well during this period. Early tradition says that under Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.) seventy-two Jewish scholars began to translate the Hebrew Old Testament into a Greek version called the Septuagint. The work was done in Egypt, apparently for Jews who understood Greek better than Hebrew and, contrary to the tradition, probably by Egyptian rather than Palestinian Jews.

The Seleucids#

Seleucid attempts to gain Palestine, both by invasion and by marriage alliance, repeatedly failed. But success finally came with the defeat of Egypt by Antiochus III (198 B.C.). Among the Jews two factions developed, “the house of Onias” (pro-Egyptian) and “the house of Tobias” (pro-Syrian). Antiochus IV or Epiphanes (175-163 B.C.) replaced the Jewish high priest Onias III with Onias’s brother Jason, a Hellenizer who started making Jerusalem into a Greek-styled city.

A gymnasium and an adjoining race track were built. There, to the outrage of strict Jews, Jewish lads exercised in the Greek fashion—nude. Track races opened with invocations to pagan deities. Even Jewish priests attended these events. Such Hellenization also included attendance at Greek theaters, the adoption of Greek dress, surgery to disguise circumcision when exercising in the nude, and the exchange of Hebrew names for Greek names.

Jews who opposed this paganization of their culture were called Hasideans - “pious people”. Before launching an invasion of Egypt, Antiochus Epiphanes replaced his own appointee in the Jewish high priesthood, Jason, with Menelaus, another Hellenizing Jew, who had offered to collect for Antiochus higher taxes from his subjects in Palestine. Jewish priests were supposed to have descended from Aaron, the elder brother of Moses, but Menelaus may not have belonged to a priestly family. In any case, pious Jews resented the selling of their most sacred office of high priest to the highest bidder, especially when the money was to come from their own pockets.

Persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes#

Meanwhile, a false rumor reached the displaced high priest Jason that Antiochus had been killed in Egypt. Jason immediately returned to Jerusalem from his refuge in Transjordan and with his supporters seized control of the city from Menelaus. The embittered Antiochus, stung by his diplomatic defeat at the hands of the Romans, interpreted Jason’s action as a revolt and sent soldiers to punish the rebels and put Menelaus back into the high priesthood. In the process they ransacked the temple and slaughtered many Jerusalemites. Antiochus himself returned to Syria.

Two years later, in 168 B.C., he sent his general Apollonius with an army of 22,000 to collect taxes, outlaw Judaism, and enforce paganism as a means of consolidating his empire and replenishing his treasury. The soldiers plundered Jerusalem, tore down its houses and walls, and burned the city. Jewish men were killed, women and children enslaved. It became a capital offense to practice circumcision, observe the Sabbath, celebrate Jewish festivals, or possess scrolls of Old Testament books. Many such scrolls were destroyed. Pagan sacrifices became compulsory, as did processional marching in honor of Dionysus (or Bacchus), the Greek god of wine. An altar to the Syrian high god, identified as Zeus, was erected in the temple. Animals abominable according to the Mosaic law were sacrificed on the altar, and prostitution was practiced right in the temple precincts.

The Maccabean Period#

Revolt#

Jewish resistance came quickly. In the village of Modein (or Modin, as it is also spelled) a royal agent of Antiochus urged an elderly priest named Mattathias to set an example for the villagers by offering a pagan sacrifice. Mattathias refused. When another Jew stepped forward to comply, Mattathias killed him, killed the royal agent, demolished the altar, and fled to the mountains with his five sons and other sympathizers. Thus the Maccabean Revolt began in 167 B.C. under the leadership of Mattathias’s family. We call this family the Hasmoneans, after Hasmon, great-grandfather of Mattathias, or the Maccabees, from the nickname “Maccabeus” (“the Hammer”) given to Judas, one of Mattathias’s sons.

Judas Maccabeus led the rebels in highly successful guerrilla warfare until they were able to defeat the Syrians in pitched battle. The Maccabean Revolt also triggered a civil war between pro-Hellenistic and anti-Hellenistic Jews. The struggle continued even after the death of Antiochus Epiphanes (163 B.C.). Ultimately, the Maccabees expelled the Syrian troops from their citadel in Jerusalem, regained religious freedom, rededicated the temple, and conquered Palestine.

Independence#

After Judas Maccabeus was killed in battle (160 B.C.), his brothers Jonathan and then Simon succeeded him in leadership. By playing contestants for the Seleucid throne against each other, Jonathan and Simon gained concessions for the Jews.

• Jonathan began to rebuild the damaged walls of Jerusalem and its other structures. He also assumed the high-priestly office.

• Simon gained recognition of Judean independence from Demetrius II, a contestant for the Seleucid throne, and renewed a treaty with Rome originally made under Judas. Proclaimed as “the great high priest and commander and leader of the Jews,” Simon officially united in himself religious, military, and political headship over the Jewish state.

The subsequent history of the Hasmonean dynasty (142-37 B.C.) tells a sad tale of internal strife caused by ambition for power. The political aims and intrigues of the Hasmoneans alienated many of their former supporters, the religiously minded Hasideans, who split into the Pharisees and the Essenes.

The aristocratic and politically minded supporters of the Hasmonean priest-kings became the Sadducees. Finally, the Roman general Pompey subjugated Palestine (63 B.C.). Throughout New Testament history, then, Roman power dominated Palestine.

The Roman Period#

The Rise of Rome#

The eighth century B.C. saw the founding of Rome, and the fifth century B.C. the organization of a republican form of government there. Two centuries of war with the North African rival city of Carthage ended in victory for Rome (146 B.C.). Conquests by Pompey in the eastern end of the Mediterranean Basin and by Julius Caesar in Gaul (roughly equivalent to modern France) extended Roman domination. After Julius Caesar’s assassination in the Roman senate, Octavian, later known as Augustus, defeated the forces of his rival Antony and the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra in a naval battle off the coast of Actium, Greece (31 B.C.) and became the first Roman emperor. Thus Rome passed from a period of expansion to a period of relative peace, known as the Pax Romana.

The province of Judea broke the peace with major revolts that the Romans crushed in A.D. 70 and 135. Nevertheless, the prevailing unity and political stability of the Roman Empire facilitated the spread of Christianity when it emerged.

Roman Administration#

Augustus set up a provincial system of government designed to keep proconsuls from administering foreign territories for their own aggrandizement. There were two kinds of provinces: senatorial and imperial.

1. Proconsuls answered to the Roman senate, which appointed them over the senatorial provinces, usually for terms of only one year. Alongside the proconsuls stood procurators, appointed by the emperor, usually over financial matters.

2. Propraetors governed the imperial provinces. Also appointed by the emperor, the propraetors answered to him and exercised their civil and military authority by means of standing armies.

Roman Emperors#

Touching the New Testament story at various points are the following Roman emperors, who do not make up a complete list even for the first century:

• Augustus (27 B.C.—A.D. 14), under whom occurred the birth of Jesus, the census connected with his birth, and the beginning of emperor worship

• Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), under whom Jesus publicly ministered and died

• Caligula (A.D. 37-41), who demanded worship of himself and ordered his statue placed in the temple at Jerusalem, but who died before the order was carried out

• Claudius (A.D. 41-54), who expelled Jewish residents from Rome, among them Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:2), for civil disturbance

• Nero (A.D. 54-68), who persecuted Christians, probably only in Rome, and under whom Peter and Paul were martyred

• Vespasian (A.D. 69-79), who as a general began to crush a Jewish revolt, returned to Rome to become emperor, and left completion of the military task to his son Titus, whose army destroyed Jerusalem and the temple there in A.D. 70

• Titus (A.D. 79-81), who may have been ruling at the time the book of Revelation was written

• Domitian (A.D. 81-96), who some think persecuted the church and thus provided a background for the book of Revelation

Herod the Great#

The Romans allowed natives of Palestine to rule the country under them. One was Herod the Great, who ruled from 37 to 4 B.C. The Roman senate approved the kingship of Herod, but he had to gain control of Palestine by force of arms. Because of his Idumean ancestry, the Jews resented him.

An Idumean was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, the elder brother and rival of Jacob, who was also called Israel, the father of the twelve sons from whom the twelve tribes of Israel descended and took their names.

Scheming, jealous, and cruel, Herod killed one of his own wives and at least three of his own sons.

But Herod was also an efficient ruler and clever politician who managed to survive struggles for power in the higher echelons of Roman government. Secret police, curfews, and high taxes, but also free grain during famine and free clothing in other calamities, marked the administration of Herod. Among many building projects, his greatest contribution to the Jews was beautification of the temple in Jerusalem. This beautification did not represent his sharing of their faith, but an attempt to please them. The temple, decorated with white marble, gold, and jewels, became proverbial for its splendor: “Whoever has not seen the temple of Herod has seen nothing beautiful.”

As best we can tell, Herod died of dropsy, Fournier’s gangrene, and kidney disease or intestinal cancer in 4 B.C. He had commanded a number of leading Jews to be slaughtered when he died, so that although there would be no mourning over his death, at least there would be mourning at his death. But the order died with him.

Herod’s Dynasty#

Lacking their father’s ability and ambition, the sons of Herod ruled over separate parts of Palestine:

1. Archelaus over Judea, Samaria, and Idumea;

2. Herod Philip over Iturea, Trachonitis, Gaulanitis, Auranitis, and Batanea;

3. Herod Antipas over Galilee and Perea

John the Baptist rebuked Antipas for divorcing his wife to marry Herodias, the wife of his half brother. When in retaliation Herodias induced her dancing daughter to demand the head of John the Baptist, Antipas yielded to the grisly request (Mark 6:17-29; Matthew 14:3-12). Jesus called him “that fox” (Luke 13:32) and later stood trial before him (Luke 23:7-12).

Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, executed James the apostle and son of Zebedee and imprisoned Peter (Acts 12:1-19).

Herod Agrippa II, great-grandson of Herod the Great, heard Paul’s self-defense (Acts 25-26).

Roman Governors and Revolts#

The misrule of Archelaus in Judea, Samaria, and Idumea led to his removal from office and banishment by Augustus (A.D. 6). According to Matthew 2:21-23, this same misrule had influenced Joseph to settle with Mary and Jesus in Nazareth of Galilee when they returned from Egypt. Except for brief periods, Roman governors ruled Archelaus’s former territory.

• One of those governors, Pontius Pilate, sat in judgment on Jesus.

• The governors Felix and Festus heard Paul’s case (Acts 23-26).

• And a raiding of the temple treasury by the governor Florus ignited the Jewish revolt of A.D. 66-74, which reached a climax with the Romans’ destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70.

Mopping-up operations lasted several years till the capture of Masada, a fortress on the west side of the Dead Sea. There the last rebels and their families, numbering more than nine hundred, committed mass suicide just before the Romans entered. The Jews had suffered even greater loss of life at the destruction of Jerusalem. Both that destruction and the capture of Masada were preceded by long sieges. Apart from such events and in spite of the Herods and the Roman governors, however, Jewish priests and Jewish courts controlled most local matters of daily life.

From The First Jewish War to the Second#

Worship at the temple and its sacrificial system ceased with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. As a substitutionary measure Jewish rabbis established a school in the Mediterranean coastal town of Jamnia (also spelled Jabneh or Yavneh) to expound the Torah, the Old Testament law, more intensively.

Unsettled conditions continued in Palestine until Emperor Hadrian erected a temple to the Roman god Jupiter where the Jewish temple had stood. He also prohibited the rite of circumcision. The Jews revolted again, this time under the leadership of Bar Kokhba, hailed by many of them as the Messiah (A.D. 132). The Romans crushed this uprising in A.D. 135, rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman city, and banned Jews from entering it. Thus the Jewish state ceased to exist until its revival in 1948.

Summary#

Toward the end of Old Testament history the Assyrians took northern Israel into exile. Next, the Babylonians took southern Judah into exile. Then the Persians allowed the exiles to return to the land of Judah if they wished to do so, and some did. The intertestamental period of four hundred years ensued.

During that time Alexander the Great conquered the Middle East and spread the Greek culture. His successors the Ptolemies, based in Egypt, treated the Jews in Palestine relatively well. Other successors of Alexander, the Seleucids of Syria, gained control of those Jews and tried to impose on them the Greek culture, including its pagan religion. Pious Jews rebelled under the leadership of a family called the Maccabees, or Hasmoneans. The success of the rebellion led to independence under Maccabean rulers.

Just before the start of the New Testament period, the Romans conquered Palestine. Roman domination continued throughout that period. Under their jurisdiction, the Romans allowed rulers native to Palestine to rule it, though because of misrule, Roman governors were eventually sent to Judea. In A.D. 70 a Jewish revolt was crushed with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Another Jewish revolt was crushed in A.D. 135, not long after the close of the New Testament period.