But I thought I would blog here (and then email the class) the "on the test" notes, plus a little more. So here's a doubly abbreviated sketch of the history of the intertestamental period.
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The phrase "intertestamental period" is actually somewhat vague. When did the OT end? Malachi is probably late 400's. Non-evangelicals would date Daniel to the early 100's. "Second temple period" is better, and scholars generally refer to "Early Judaism" now in relation to this period (as opposed to the older and skewed term "Spatjudaismus" or "late Judaism" of another day). By the way, we speak of Israelites before the captivity and Jews afterwards. Jew is related to Judah, which of course is the primary tribe to survive the Assyrian conquest in the late 700's.
Some dates:
586 -- Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians
538 -- Cyrus, king of Persia, allows Jews to return to Jerusalem if they wish
516 -- Temple rebuilt by Zerubbabel, beginning of the Second Temple Period
Of course the OT is not fully "cooked" yet at this time by any reckoning, conservative or otherwise. There is Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, 1-2 Chronicles, and Malachi yet to be written at the very least.
In 539, the Persians defeat the Babylonians. The Persians will be the ultimate rulers of Israel until 332 when Alexander the Great takes over the region. We know very little about Israel during this period except:
- The high priests seem to be the focal point of political power.
- There are pockets of Jews in Babylon, Ecbatana, Egypt, etc.
- A Jewish settlement exists in Egypt at Elephantine in the 500's and 400's. They build a temple (where sacrifices are offered) and have a military "base" on an island.
- The Elephantine papyri are the earliest Jewish writings we have (in terms of copies... much of the OT is of course older). They are syncretistic.
Meanwhile Alexander endorses the building of a temple to Zeus at Samaria, dealing with one of the descendants of the Sanballat who opposed Nehemiah's reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem a little more than 100 years earlier.
After Alexander the Great died in 323, his generals vied for control of his conquered territory. For our purposes, the two most important heirs were Ptolemy, who eventually secured control of Egypt and Jerusalem, and Seleucid, who controlled Syria and the East. The Ptolemies would be in charge of Israel from that point until 198BC, when the Seleucids finally beat them.
We know little of the 200's for Israel, except that the high priests continued to be the chief political power. Events in Egypt are perhaps more significant. In around 250, the Pentateuch is translated into Greek at Alexandria. We also have a bit of "competative historiography" going on. An Egyptian named Manetho had written a slanderous version of Jewish history, with Moses ousted as the leader of a leper colony. In the late 200's, Demetrius the Chronicler and Artapanus will try to set the record straight.
Demetrius is the first datable Jew to write in Greek. Of course Artapanus' version was less than desirable. He has Moses being the one who taught the Egyptians their animal gods.
In 198 the tide changes, and the real background to the NT really gets going. The Seleucids now control Israel from Syria. Of course they don't enjoy the victory long, for the Romans subjugate them at the Battle of Magnesia in 190. They pass the pain along to Israel.
The next 20 years are some of the most crucial in the history of Israel. Jason and Menelaus will wrest the high priesthood from Onias III and go Greek. There will be a Greek gymnaseum in Jerusalem and the Syrian king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, will try to stop Jewish observance of the law.
But also during this time is the writing of Sirach and the flourishing of the Enochic Jews responsible for 1 Enoch.
Antiochus pushes just a little too far and the Maccabean revolt begins. He desecrates the temple in 167BC, setting up a statue of Zeus. This is the subject of Daniel 11.
The Hasidim resist valiantly, but die when Antiochus attacks on the Sabbath--they won't fight. The Hasmonean family, led by Judas "the hammer," Judas Maccabeus, are not such purists. Their guerilla warfare eventually convinces Antiochus that the fight isn't worth it.
Judas is killed in battle, but he has made some alliances along the way (e.g., the Romans). The Syrians confer the title "high priest" on his brother Jonathan. The Syrians are still in control, but they have given up on making the Jews stop observing their laws.
It is during Jonathan's time that the Jewish groups we know so well begin to coalesce. The Pharisees are perhaps the heirs of the Hasidim. The Sadducees are perhaps the priestly families who were removed from office just before the crisis and who remained out of office because the Maccabees now were the high priests. The Essenes were the heirs of the Enochic Jews. They continued to write books like Jubilees. A splinter group of them we call the Dead Sea sect would eventually make its way to Qumran along the Dead Sea.
By the time we get to Aristobulus around the year 100BC, these Maccabeans have taken on the title king. Till 63BC, they will enjoy the most independence Israel has had since before the Babylonian captivity. Of course they are still subjects of the Syrians, but they have a good deal of freedom. During these years many of the Dead Sea Scrolls are written. 1 and 2 Maccabees are written.
In 63BC, a squabble between Maccabean brothers gets the Romans involved, and from that point on Israel is subject to the Romans. The Roman general Pompey takes Jerusalem and actually enters the Holy of Holies, perhaps to offer his thanks to Yahweh for victory. The Psalms of Solomon will invoke strong predictions of the Messiah who will stomp on the Gentiles probably with Pompey in mind.
In 40BC, the Romans let an up and coming by the name of Herod rule Judea for them. In 31BC, Augustus will become emperor. Herod "the Great" will start refurbishing the temple in 20BC. Just before he dies in 4BC, a child will be born in a little village called Bethlehem.
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