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Lecture 2

Lecture Video:

Part 1: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/pvmrdxqi1qdbed215jxyv/Lecture-2-Part-1.mp4?rlkey=1mx5w0eshhm21i3e00wlcnsn4&dl=0 

Part 2: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qu8r2e81lvud8mcowjiha/Lecture-2-Part-2.mp4?rlkey=gefw6z3qb26c8b1gma3ununqo&dl=0 

Part 3: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5exvr0s78gbmxyio09m04/Lecture-2-Part-3.mp4?rlkey=tcnwnxomwo089k1onmqaxut9l&dl=0 

Lectures Notes:

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Intertestamental History
  • Orthodox this is between end of Maccabees and beginning of the Gospels
  • Protestants have a much longer Intertestamental History because they don’t recognize the Maccabees
  • Sea of Galiee – Fresh water
  • 727 BC – Israel conquered by Assyrians
  • 586 BC – Babylon conquers Assyria and continues down to Judah
    • Tribe of Benjamin, Tribe of Judah, Tribe of Levi survived in Judah
    • These are the ones that survived the war and are taken to Bablyon as slaves (Babylonian exile)
    • We get the word “Jew” from “Judah”
    • They didn’t think they were coming home because the 10 tribes of the North never came home… fell off the face of the earth
    • Exiled to Babylon (Iraq)
  • 539 BC – Persians conquer Babylonians
    • Cyrus the Great (Persian king) issues Edict of Cyrus (538 BC) to allow the Jews to go back (they had the choice).
    • Religious Jews wanted to come back – they knew it was their homeland
    • Many other Jews could not travel, don’t know anything about Israel, etc. Many started to come back and ended up settling somewhere else on the way. This is the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora
    • Many Jews returned and rebuilt the temple and the city walls. This is the beginning of Second Temple Judaism
    • Jewish Diaspora
      • This is the first time in all of Israel’s history that the Israelites are not all in one place
  • Second Temple Judaism (510 BC-70AD)
    • Bigger and better Temple because Herod the great spent a lot on improving it
    • True monotheism starts here (as opposed to Henotheism) – also influenced by Greek philosophy. Also influence by the fact that the Babylonian exile happened “uh oh we messed up” – stopped really intermarrying, cultic worship, animal sacrifice, priesthood, etc.
    • Ideas of the afterlife also started to infiltrate Jewish thought (could be from Babylonians)
  • Samaritans
    • When the people came back from captivity, they found the Samaritans living in Israel. And the Samaritans claimed to be Israelites. But the ones of the captivity did not want anything to do with them.
    • The Jews did not intermarry with the Samaritans (they were considered ethnically and religiously impure to them)
    • The Samaritans wanted to help rebuild the Temple – Jews said no they would defile it
    • The Samaritans built their own temple on Mount Gerizim and start to say “that temple in Jerusalem is not the real temple” (this is the topic of the conversation of the Samaritan Woman)
  • 333 BC – Alexander the Great conquers the Persians and establishes a huge Greek Empire and then died.
    • His empire is divided among all his generals
    • His generals start to live in all the different places where he conquered and they want all their Greek comforts (ampitheaters, competitions, temples, etc)
    • People want to imitate the ruling class. The empire became Hellenized.
    • Hellenization – the making of something Greek (Greece in Greek is “Hellas”)
    • The world starts to imitate the Greeks – language, though, philosophy, etc.
      • Like how after WW2, the world imitates the United States (civil rights, democracy, English, etc)
    • Common language of Greek across the whole area. Including the Diaspora Jews.
    • Hellenistic Jews
      • Greek speaking Jews
      • Translated their Scriptures around 250 BC to Greek because they didn’t know Hebrew (Septuagint LXX)
      • St Paul, for example, knows Greek culture, knows Jewish culture
  • Seleucid Dynasty – Antiochas IV
    • Wants the empire to all worship the same gods
    • Decides to attack Ptolemy in Egypt
    • When he gets to Jerusalem, he plunders the Temple.
    • Antiochas issues an edict that everyone has to worship the same gods (i.e. Greek gods). Jews begin to suffer real oppression and persecution (first time there is religious persecution in the world) around 100 BC
      • Confiscated and burned Torahs
      • Forbids circumcision
      • Forbids keeping the Sabbath
      • Defiled the Temple by erecting an idol, having immoral activities in there, sacrificing a pig on the altar, etc.
      • Sold the priest positions
      • Dredle came from a toy with Hebrew letters so that the Seleucid wouldn’t realize they were keeping Hebrew
    • Some Jews would go to a cave, for example, to keep the Sabbath. Some Jews just succumbed to the other gods.
    • This leads to a revolt
  • 165 BC - Maccabean Revolt
    • Mattathias was a priest and didn’t want to sacrifice to the Greek gods, eat pork, etc. Instead, he killed the Jew who stepped forward to do so, and the government official that required the act.
    • He was an older gentleman with sons, so he had his sons lead a revolt
    • Judah Maccabee (Judah the hammer) leads the revolt and is killed, next brother takes over and is killed, third brother takes over and defeats the Seleucid Dynasty
    • They cleansed the Temple – Feast of lights (Feast of dedication, Hannukah)
  • The Hasmonaean Kingdom (named after the surname of Mattathias)
    • They call themselves kings (i.e. the Maccabean brothers) but… kings are supposed to be descendent from David
    • They take over the high priesthood but… priesthood is supposed to come from a specific line (line of Zadok/Eleazar/Aaron)
    • They go to Mount Gerizim and destroy the temple
    • 135 BC John Hyrcanus conquered Idumean Kingdom South of Judah and forced them to become Jews
      • Many people think the Jews are always persecuted but in reality, when they had the power they did the same persecution
    • They couldn’t decide who should be king or who should be high priest (both are high ranks) so they asked the Romans to help them decide. Roman General Pompey came “to help” and conquered them
  • Roman Empire (conquered Greek Empire)
    • Pompey decides who is king for them (and if he’s deciding who’s king, then he’s really in charge)
    • He chooses Hyrcanus
    • Hyrcanus dies, and there’s a rich guy in Idumea who has connections with the Romans and wants his son to be king. His name is Herod. (Of course, this wouldn’t happen if the Hasmonaeans had left Idumea alone)
    • Herod establishes himself as King of Judea and comes to be known as Herod the Great (37 BC – 4 BC). His name becomes a title (Herod). Very long and bloody reign. Known for his cruelty and his building projects.
      • Expansion of the Second Temple, Builds many palaces, etc.
      • Very paranoid (someone always wants you dead to take the throne), had a lot of people put to death (including 3 of his 10 wives and many of his kids – “it was safer to be a pig than a prince in Herod’s palace” (because he considered himself Jewish, wouldn’t eat pork).)
      • He left an order that upon his death, 1000 of the leading citizens of Jerusalem would be put to death (so that the city would be in mourning, since people wouldn’t mourn his death)
      • Responsible for the killing of the babies at the birth of Christ – questioned by historians because it’s only recorded in the gospels. But in reality, it wouldn’t have been that great of an event in comparison with all the other bloody things he did.
    • Sons of Herod: Archelaus, Antipas, Philip
  • Qumran Community
    • Some people living at the Dead Sea (dead sea scrolls)
    • Dissatisfied with the corruption of the kingship and priesthood, so separated from them and lived in isolation
  • NT Geography
    • Caesarea Maritima
      • Herod the Great did something with Mark Antony and Cleopatra and it failed so he went to ask Caesar for forgiveness and Caesar let him stay king… or something (review the video)
    • Roman Empire had some kings (i.e. under Rome), governors (provential governors), colonies (Corinth, Philippi), independent city-states (self-administering). Free movement between territories.
    • After Herod died, his territory was split among his three sons (oldest gets largest territories, etc)
    • Herod Antipas – involved in killing of John the Baptist, in crucifixion trials, etc.
    • Archelaeus – turned out to be worse than his father, killing people for no reason, etc. The people complained to Caesar. Caesar removed Archelaeus and put Roman Governors in that region (as opposed to putting a new king there). One of them was Pontius Pilate.
      • Joseph was afraid to settle in Judea because of Archelaeus (who turned out to be worse than his father) after Egypt
    • Herod Agrippa (a future herod) is mentioned in Acts, etc. and at some point has rule of both Antipas and Archelaus’ areas
    • Decapolis (region of 10 Greek cities deca-polis) that were all self-administered. They were under Rome but did not have a king or governor
  • Greco-Roman
    • Roman Administration, but Greek culture dominated
    • Religion
      • Was about appeasing the gods, connecting with them to prosper, etc. It was not about morality or virtue (even the gods were immoral – Zeus cheating on his wife, for example). They didn’t want to imitate the gods.
      • Roman religion
        • Traditional Greek gods of Olympus – patrons of regions, protectors of different things. Worshipped those gods because they thought that city is powerful because of its patron god. Rome was great because they had the god Roma.
        • The worship of traditional gods was embedded in every day life – military day started with some sacrifice, holidays are all related to them, sports were for Zeus, etc.
        • If you were Jewish it didn’t bother them. Jews were protected
      • Mystery Religions
        • Cults devoted to a specific god. They were secret societies so we don’t know very much about them
        • They were open to specific people (i.e. there would be one for only men, one for only slaves, one for only women, etc.)
        • Promises of spiritual experiences, personal connection with the gods, etc.
      • Emperor Cult
        • Formal worship of the Roman emperor
        • Emperors were given divine titles (divine Augustus, son of god, savior). They didn’t believe they were deities, but it was a way of respecting them.
        • When Julius Caesar died, his successor (Augustus) said he was a god and built temples to them. When he died, his successor did the same. Loyalty/Patriotism
        • Book of Revelation is related to this problem.
      • Judaism
        • One God who created the world
        • This appealed to many people, but they could not tolerate the lifestyle of Judaism so didn’t join
        • Some people say that Christianity took a lot of Greek thought but in reality, Judaism was Hellenized long before the time of Christ. And Jews used Greek philosophy and thought to explain aspects of Judaism
      • Philosophy
        • Was about becoming a better person; cultivation of virtues (generosity, patience, etc)
        • Platonism (platonic philosophy)
          • How the world came into existence, what matter is made of, etc. Logos
        • Other schools of Philosophy: Stoicism, Epicureanism, Pythogoreans, Aristotle
        • People respected Christianity because they had virtue – being able to take torture and martyrdom and show self-control, bravery, cheerfulness, forgiveness. They had generosity, welcoming strangers, etc. How did they have these without studying philosophy? So Christianity started to appeal to the people
  • 1st Century Judaism
    • Judaism today is the product of the loss of the Temple and developed in the Middle Ages. Not like 1st Century Judaism, 2nd Temple Judaism, 1st Temple Judaism, or Pre-Temple Judaism.
    • Jewish Diaspora – Dispersion was a reality
    • Law of Moses – thousands of rules for daily life (from the moment you wake up until the moment you sleep)
    • No image
    • Holy and righteous God who created the world
    • Covenantal Relationship with His people
    • Jews believed themselves (and until now) to be a light unto the nations. There’s “us” and “them” and “us” were called by God to be a light to all nations (by your behavior, your life, etc you are showing that there is a God – the one true God. The God of Israel.)
    • Temple at Jerusalem – The one place to offer sacrifices
      • Temple tax (half a shekel) – all males around the world financially supported the Temple
      • Temple became very important – presence of God
      • Many Jews came to Jerusalem because of the Temple. Acts 2 – The people heard the apostles in their own dialect. There were so many dialects because all those people were there visiting Jerusalem.
    • Synagogues – place of prayer, worship, hymns, sermon, scripture reading, etc.
    • Pharisees – the ones that exist until today (Rabbis and Synagogues)
      • Leaders: Rabbis and Scribes
      • Area of Influence: Synagogue
      • Emphasis on: Ritual Purity
        • Thousands of rules.
          • 613 are in the Torah of Moses.
          • In the 1200 years from Moses to 1st Century, there’s a whole body of additional rules – The Oral Law.
          • “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” – expanded to try to show extreme piety “dairy and meat products cannot touch”
          • As they kept all these rules, they thought “we are better than everyone”
        • Christ is criticized by Pharisees for not washing His hands before eating (an oral law)
      • Accepted more books as Scripture (Torah and Neviim) than other groups
      • Scribes
        • Sometimes called Lawyers in the NT
        • Party of the Pharisees
        • Experts in the Law of Moses (went to school and memorized all the regulations) and could answer all the questions based on legal precedence, and old Rabbi commentaries
      • Talmud made up of Mishnah and Gemara came after the time of Christ and wrote down the Oral Traditions (especially the Mishnah)
    • Sadducees
      • Only accepted the Torah – did not accept the Oral Law
      • If it’s not in the Torah it’s not for us
        • People seem to think that the canon of scripture should have been resolved. But even by the Jews, there’s no official canon in the First Century
      • Didn’t believe in angels, demons, afterlife, resurrection in the last days, etc.
      • After the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, the Sadducees disappeared since without the Temple they had no power nor purpose
    • Essenes
      • Not mentioned in the NT. We know of them from Josephus
      • Lived on the shores of the Dead Sea (Qumran) monastic-like
      • Believed in the oral laws and ritual purity
      • Had a “teacher of righteousness”
      • Apocalyptic group – the end of the world is coming soon, so they have to live lives of ritual purity. They were the sons of light and the others are sons of darkness. There would be a war and God would vindicate them. They rejected the Temple, etc. because those who were called high priests were not descendants of Zadok, kings not descendent of David, etc.
    • Nazarenes
      • Jews who believed that the Messiah had come and He is Jesus of Nazareth
      • They were called Nazarenes by other Jews
  • Titles of Christ
    • Messiah (“The anointed One”)
      • God promised David that his kingdom would be everlasting. So many thought of it as political – someone from the line of David would come and restore the nation of Israel
      • When Christ was called “Son of David” it was an indication they believed He was the Messiah
      • People thought He was the Messiah not because of his blood line, but because of what He did
      • Christ accepted the title of Messiah but redefined it as One who would suffer and die for them. “Your King is coming daughter of Jerusalem riding on a donkey” (not on a high horse). He avoided the title as well – “Don’t tell anyone”
    • Son of God
      • Greeks had this term as literal children of their gods
      • Christ referred to Himself as “The Son.” Some people say Christ never called Himself the Son of God – not true. He often called God His Father and called Himself the Son (when He told us say “Our Father” He wasn’t including Himself in “our.” He typically referred to Himself uniquely as the Son.
      • He was crucified for saying He was Son of God – that is not a term Jews would have made up because Jews had no concept of God having a Son (Messiah was going to be a political figure). For the same reasoning, the early Christians would not have made that up because it was not part of Jewish belief.
    • Son of Man
      • Exclusively Jewish term
      • It can mean “human being” – God refers to Ezekiel as son of man
      • It is the term used by Daniel for a Person who he saw in his vision next to the Ancient of Days
      • Jewish expression meaning “me” or “I”. He seems to use this term especially when referring to:
        • His Divinity (which links to the book of Daniel) or divine authority (i.e. judging, forgiving sins, healing)
        • When referring to the Second Coming
    • Lord
      • “Mar” in Aramaic – “Sir” used for Rabbis as well
      • “Kyrios” in Greek – same as “Mar” but also same as “Adonai”
      • “Adonai” in Hebrew – no one used this word (because it meant God)
      • In an English Bible, you find “The LORD” (all caps) – that is a translation from YHWH in Hebrew. In LXX, that word is translated as Kyrios

 

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