The "Inter-testamental" Period

_{Handout 11}

Brief Notes on the History of Israel I Judea, from the end of the OT until the Birth of Jesus.

The Bible tells us very little about what happened between the testaments.

Our main two sources of information concerning what happened between the testaments are:

1. The books 1 & 2 Maccabees.
2. The writings of the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who lived from roughly AD 37 until about AD 100.

I. Recap: Israel / Judah as of the End of the Old Testament:

A. Main Dates Near the End of the Old Testament:

To Note:

After the Jews return from exile, their nation is called "Judah," the same as it was since the kingdom divided after the death of king Solomon. It is called "Judah" because almost all the people living in it were from the tribe of Judah.

When we come to the New Testament, the land is called "Judea," which is the Greek and Roman equivalent to "Judah." So NT "Judea" is the same as OT "Judah," which is roughly the southern half of the land of Israel.

B. The Situation in Judah at the End of the Old Testament:

This period of OT history is also called "post-exilic Judah," or, "the post-exilic era."

The Jews are back in the land. They have rebuilt the Temple = built the 2nd Temple, and have restored the walls of Jerusalem. There is no more idolatry.

The promises to Abraham and the promise of a son of David, the Messiah, remain to be fulfilled. They provide hope for the future.

But the nation is not independent; they are under the Persian empire. Also, the mood is not positive, and the people are not as faithful to God as they should be.

That is the situation when the Old Testament ends.

II. The Main Events from the End of the Old Testament until the Birth of Jesus:

You do not need to know all of the following items. But I want you to have an idea of what happened, and of how it sets the stage for the New Testament.

1. Persia rules Judah, 539-332 BC.

2. Alexander the Great conquers Judah, taking it away from Persian control in 332 BC. He goes on to defeat Persia in 330 BC.

3. Alexander the Great dies in 323 BC.

   Before long, war breaks out between Alexander the Great’s main generals, and Alexander’s kingdom is divided among them. The kingdoms that result are called “Hellenistic” kingdoms, because they are led by Greek rulers and influenced by Greek learning and culture.

4. By 301 BC, Alexander’s kingdom has been divided into four main kingdoms, four Hellenistic kingdoms. (See Daniel 7:6).

5. By 277 BC, as a result of much warfare, they have resolved into three Hellenistic kingdoms:
   • Macedonia / Greece,
   • Egypt, under the rule of the Ptolemies, and,
   • Syria & Mesopotamia, under the rule of the Seleucid’s

6. Judah is under the control of the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt from then until 198 BC.

7. In 198 BC, after much warfare, the Seleucids (Syria) defeat the Ptolemies (Egypt) and take control of Judah.

   Daniel ch. 11 probably describes the wars between the Ptolemies ("the king of the south") and the Seleucids ("the king of the north").
   

   The first Seleucid king who rules over Judah treats them well, and in general, there is peace.

8. “Hellenization.” Some Jews began to adopt Greek customs, they became “Hellenistic Jews.” But other Jews rejected this. This caused much strife and disagreement among the Jews. Some Jews even left and went off to live separately. This is the beginning of the main divisions among the Jews, the main Jewish “sects”.

   Three of these sects are mentioned in the New Testament: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Zealots. We will say more about them in the next handout.
   

   Greek influence endured, but the trend of Jews to become Hellenized ended around 100 BC

9. But the second Seleucid king who ruled over Judah, Antiochus IV, treated the Jews terribly, and actually desecrated the temple (167 BC).

   The Jewish book, 1 Maccabees, refers to this event as "the abomination of desolation" in 1 Macc 1:54. The same expression occurs in Daniel 9:27, 11:31, & 12:11, and in Matt 24:15 & Mark 13:14.
   

10. This causes Judah to rebel against Antiochus IV in 166 BC. The resulting war is called the “Maccabean War.” It gets its name from Judas Maccabaeus, who was the commander of the Jewish forces. Judah wins its independence in 142 BC.

11. When the Jews recovered the temple (164 BC), they purified it, and then re-dedicated it. This is the origin of the Jewish holiday “Hanukah” (meaning “consecration/purification”).

12. Judah is independent for about 100 years, from 166 BC until 63 BC. This period is called the “Hasmonean” period, from the family name of the Jewish kings who ruled Judah.

    To Note: These kings were not from the line of King David.

1. According to the Old Testament, under the Law, priests were all to come from the tribe of Levi. And the high priests were to come from the family of Aaron, through his son Eleazar, and eventually through their descendant, Zadok (the “Zadokite” line of high priests).

   But during the inter-testamental period, this was not followed. The wicked Seleucid king Antiochus IV picked whoever promised him the most money. He chose someone from the tribe of Benjamin. Faithful Jews were outraged by this.

   When Judah became independent, its Hasmonean kings themselves served as the high priests. They were from the tribe of Levi, but they were not from the line of Zadok. Therefore, many devout Jews still viewed such high priests as illegitimate.

   This disagreement over the high priests also contributed to the divisions within Judaism = contributed to the rise of different sects among the Jews.

2. Judah lost its independence when Rome took over in 63 BC. Rome laid siege to Jerusalem, and took it over, but Jerusalem was not destroyed at this point. After Rome took over, Judah (a Hebrew name) is called “Judea” (the Greek/Latin name form of “Judah”).

3. Around 55 BC, Rome put the Herod family in charge of Judea.

   “Herod the Great” becomes king in 37 BC. He was the king when Jesus was born. He died in 4 BC, so Jesus was probably born about 6 BC.

III. The Main Items that are Useful to Know, to Help us Read the New Testament:

1. Persians ruled Judah at the end of the Old Testament, and for the next 100 years.

2. After Alexander the Great defeated Persia, Judah came under the control of Hellenistic Greek kingdoms (first the Ptolemies, then the Seleucids).

3. Some Jews adopted Greek customs [“Hellenization”], others did not. This caused great division among the Jews, and led to the rise of the different sects among the Jews.

4. Eventually, the Jews rebelled against the oppressive Seleucid king Antiochus IV, and won their freedom. The battles are called the Maccabean Wars (166 — 142 BC).

5. They were independent for about 100 years. This is the Hasmonean era. But their kings were not from the line of David.

6. Rome took over in 63 BC, and soon put the Herod family in charge of Judea.

   Thus Caesar Augustus was the Roman emperor, and Herod the Great was the king of Judea, when Jesus was born. Since the end of the Old Testament period, Judah had only been independent for about 100 years, but their kings were not from the line of David. And as a result of some Jews adopting Greek customs (“Hellenization”), divisions had begun to grow among the Jews.

   They were waiting for the Messiah (= the son of David) to come. And they had God’s gracious promises to Abraham. But they all agreed that no prophet of God had come for over 400 years

Pax Romana - 200 years peace under Roman rule at the time of Jesus' birth.