3. Key Dates
•586 BC - Fall
of Jerusalem
•539 BC - Fall
of Babylon /
Jews return to
Israel
4. Key Dates
•586 BC - Fall of Jerusalem
•539 BC - Fall of Babylon /
Jews return to Israel
•515 BC - Rebuilt Temple
Dedicated
5. Key Dates
•586 BC - Fall of
Jerusalem
•539 BC - Fall of
Babylon / Jews
return to Israel
•515 BC - Rebuilt
Temple Dedicated
•445 BC - Nehemiah
comes to Jerusalem
to rebuild the city
wall
6. Key Dates
•586 BC - Fall of Jerusalem
•539 BC - Fall of Babylon / Jews return to Israel
•515 BC - Rebuilt Temple Dedicated
•445 BC - Nehemiah comes to Jerusalem to
rebuild the city wall
•440 BC - Malachi written
8. Key Dates
•332 BC - Alexander the Great
conquers Israel
•323 BC - Alexander Dies,
kingdom divided
9.
10. Key Dates
•332 BC - Alexander the Great
conquers Israel
•323 BC - Alexander Dies,
kingdom divided
•250 BC – Septuagint produced
(Greek OT = LXX)
11. Key Dates
•332 BC - Alexander the Great
conquers Israel
•323 BC - Alexander Dies,
kingdom divided
•250 BC – Septuagint produced
(Greek OT = LXX)
•167 BC – Temple defiled by
Antiochus Epiphanes
12. Key Dates
•332 BC - Alexander the Great
conquers Israel
•323 BC - Alexander Dies, kingdom
divided
•250 BC – Septuagint produced
(Greek OT = LXX)
•167 BC – Temple defiled by
Antiochus Epiphanes
•167 BC – Maccabean Revolt
13. Key Dates
•37 BC – Herod the Great gains
control of Jerusalem and
establishes himself as king
•20 BC – Herod’s Temple
rebuilding project
14. 400 Years of Silence
•Between Malachi and Matthew
God did not add anything to the
Bible for around 400 years
•During this time God was actively
working through human history to
prepare the world for His coming
15. 400 Years of Silence
• The land of Israel passed from Babylon to
the Medo-Persians to Greece and then to
Rome
• All that Daniel had predicted came to pass…
(Dan. 2)
16. The Sanhedrin
• Supreme civil and religious court of the
Jews
•Composed of 70 Jewish leaders (from
Numbers 11:16), plus the High Priest
(71 TOTAL)
•Members were composed of Pharisees
and Sadducees.
• (Mt. 26:59; Mk. 14:55; 15:1; Lk. 22:66; Jn. 11:47; Acts 4:15;
5:21, 27, 34, 41; 6:12, 15; 22:30; 23:1, 6, 15, 20, 28; 24:20)
17. Scribes
•Scholars of the Old Testament
•Scribes in ancient Israel were learned men whose business
was to study the Law, transcribe it, and write
commentaries on it.
• -not just copiers, but guardians & teachers of Law
18. Scribes
•The scribes took their job of writing Scripture
very seriously.
•We can thank the scribes for preserving the
Old Testament portion of our Bibles.
19. Essenes
•Lived apart from society in small communal
settlements.
•Thought of themselves as the faithful remnant of
God’s people, Israel.
•Best remembered as the community that
produced the Dead Sea Scrolls.
20. Zealots
•Sought to overthrow the
occupying Roman government
•They believed that God would
deliver Israel from the Romans
with the sword – their sword
•Many came from Galilee.
•Jesus’ disciple Simon was a
Zealot before becoming a
Christian. (Mt. 10:4, Lk. 6:15)
21. Pharisees
•Middle Class
•Conservative
•Religious leaders of Israel.
•Made and enforced a rigid code of oral laws
based on their interpretation (600+ Laws!)
• Sought to preserve tradition
•Often appeared that they followed the rules
out of duty and not out of love for God
(Legalistic).
22. Pharisees
• Represented the common working people and
were popular among the masses.
•Pharisees controlled the synagogues.
• Strong Hebrew Nationalists
•The Pharisees resisted foreign influence
and Hellenism, but the Sadducees welcomed it.
23. Pharisees
•Believed in the entire Old
Testament as God’s Word
•Belief in afterlife, angels,
resurrection (Lk. 7:39;
15:2; Mt. 9:11)
24. Sadducees
• Upper Class
• Liberal beliefs
• Accepted only the first 5 books of the Bible (Pentateuch)
• Rejected belief in angels, resurrection, and heaven
(Mt. 16:1, 11; 22:23; Acts 23:8)
• Ceased to exist in AD 70 when the temple was destroyed.
• Worked to retain their power and standing with the Romans.
25. Sadducees
• The High Priest was a Sadducee, as were the
majority of seats in the Sanhedrin.
• The Sadducees’ controlled the Temple in Jerusalem
• The Sadducees were friendly with Rome
• Worked to retain their power and standing with the
Romans
• Called “Hellenists” (Greek-lovers)
• Ceased to exist as a group in AD 70, when Jerusalem
and the temple were destroyed by the Romans
26. End of the
Old Testament
• 1. Assyrian Empire conquers
Northern Kingdom (Israel) -
722 B.C.
• Origin of the Samaritans
• 2. Babylonian Empire
conquers Southern
Kingdom (Judah) - 605–586
B.C.
• Jeremiah, Lamentations,
Ezekiel & Daniel
• 3. Restoration Stage (535 -
420 B.C.)
27. 400 Years of Silence
(Foreign Domination)
• A. Babylon rule (609-539 B.C.) – King Nebuchadnezzar
• B. Persian rule (539-333 B.C.) – King Xerxes
• C. Greek rule (333-165 B.C.) – Alexander the Great (Daniel 7:6; 8:1-7, 21-23)
• Provided a common language for the region
• 1. Ptolemy – (Greek kingdom over Egypt)
• Septuagint (LXX) – translation of OT into Greek
• 2. Seleucid – (Greek kingdom over Syria)
• Antiochus Epiphanes (175 B.C.) – desecrated Temple (Daniel 8:13)
• D. Maccabean independence (165 – 63 B.C.)
• Led by Judas Maccabeus (“The Hammer”)
• Jewish revolt against Greek rule in Israel
28. 400 Years of Silence
(Foreign Domination)
• E. Roman rule – conquered Palestine(63 B.C.)
• Julius Caesar appointed Antipater over
Judea (47 B.C.)
• Antipater appointed his son Herod governor
of Galilee
• Herod the Great’s son (Herod) ruled from 4
BC – 34 AD
• Caesar Augustus appoints him Herod the
Great, King of the Jews (31 B.C.)
29. 5 Positive Aspects of Roman Rule Over Israel
• Greek remained common tongue (Rome keeps
Hellenism going)
• Pax Romana – Latin for “Roman Peace” Galatians
4:4 “in the fullness of time God sent forth His
Son”
• Transportation / Roads
• Cross-cultural barriers eliminated
• Christianity initially a “legal religion”
586 – Babylonians destroy Jerusalem / Judah / the Temple (Babylonian Captivity)
539 – Babylon falls to the Persians (Cyrus the Great allows Jews to return to Jerusalem)
515 – Temple completed.
440 – Malachi is last of the prophets and one of the last books written
586 – Babylonians destroy Jerusalem / Judah / the Temple (Babylonian Captivity)
539 – Babylon falls to the Persians (Cyrus the Great allows Jews to return to Jerusalem)
515 – Temple completed.
440 – Malachi is last of the prophets and one of the last books written
586 – Babylonians destroy Jerusalem / Judah / the Temple (Babylonian Captivity)
539 – Babylon falls to the Persians (Cyrus the Great allows Jews to return to Jerusalem)
515 – Temple completed.
440 – Malachi is last of the prophets and one of the last books written
586 – Babylonians destroy Jerusalem / Judah / the Temple (Babylonian Captivity)
539 – Babylon falls to the Persians (Cyrus the Great allows Jews to return to Jerusalem)
515 – Temple completed.
440 – Malachi is last of the prophets and one of the last books written
586 – Babylonians destroy Jerusalem / Judah / the Temple (Babylonian Captivity)
539 – Babylon falls to the Persians (Cyrus the Great allows Jews to return to Jerusalem)
515 – Temple completed.
440 – Malachi is last of the prophets and one of the last books written
Generals divide the kingdom
Ptolmy takes south (Egypt)
Seleucus (Syrians)
Both groups are still Greek in culture and leadership
Israel was changing hands between these two groups for years
Septuagint translated in Alexandria, Egypt (named after Alexander the Great). 2nd greatest city in the world after only Rome in this time.
Many Jews in Alexandria. They know Greek. But they don’t know Hebrew anymore.
LXX = legend says it was produced by 70 scholars in 70 days
LXX = Bible of the early church. Primary source of quotations in NT. When NT authors quote OT authors they often quote from Septuagint
Epiphanes means “god manifest”
Epimanes (a “nickname” used behind his back) means “crazy”
Antiochus was Greek
Sacrifice a pig on the altar to Zeus (unclean animal to pagan god)
Judas Maccabeaus (“The Hammer”) leads the rebellion against Greece (Syrians)
His followers are known as Macabees
Jews reigned for around 100 years
Herod was a quasi Jew and he is influential in Rome and is appointed governor and is allowed to use the title king. Very Hellenistic, very Greek. Very Romanized.
He was an Idumean. From the lineage of the Edomite (descendant of Esau).
Jacob (Jews) Esau (Edomites)
Unit 1 Lesson 4 – Notes for Hope for God’s Kingdom workbook
Numbers 11:16
Anyone can be saved – even extremist terrorists
Simon the Zealot (Matthew 10:4, Luke 6:15)
Bonus question on test? – what is Hellenization.
Hellenism is the historical spread of ancient Greek culture, religion, and, to a lesser extent, language over foreign peoples conquered by Greeks
Ceased to exist in AD 70 when the temple was destroyed.
Babylon = King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel)
Persia = Xerxes (Daniel)
Socrates taught Plato. Plato taught Aristotle. Aristotle taught Alexander the Great
When Alexander lay dying (with no heirs) he was asked who would now take the land. His response? To the strongest! This set off centuries of battles between Egypt and Syria.
Epiphany means manifestation
Epiphanes = god manifest
The people often called him, “Epimanese” = mad man
In 175 B.C. Antiochus IV Epiphanes came to power
Antiochus sought to unite his kingdom by enforcing the ‘Hellenization’ of all the land under his rule
Antiochus made his brother the new High Priest
He plundered the temple treasury to assist in his war against Egypt
Started a radically anti-Jewish program in the nation
He implemented new crimes that warranted death:
Observance of the Sabbath Day
The practice of circumcision
The possession of Hebrew scriptures
He commanded the Jews to offer unclean sacrifices and eat unclean meat
He erected an altar to Zeus on top of the sacred temple’s altar and sacrificed a pig on it (unclean animal)
This was the final straw!
An aged priest named Mattathias and his five sons made a valiant stand to lead the Jewish resistance
The Maccabean Revolt is what it was called.
When Mattathias died his 3rd oldest (of 5 sons) became the leader.
His name was Judah, but people began to give him the nickname Judah “Maccabeus”
Maccabeus = Hammer
Judah “The Hammer”
They recaptured the city of Jerusalem and the Temple
After cleansing the Temple and rebuilding the altar they built high walls and strong towers around it to defend it from their enemies
This event is still celebrated by Jewish people to this very day – Hanukkah
Hanukkah is celebration of the victory against their oppressors by Judas Maccabeus and the reopening and rededication of the Temple.
Ruled until 476 AD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-FXdpu-cRo (not on YouTube saved videos)