Wednesday Bible Study 6:30PM SLBC (LKLD, FL)
An Overview of The Bible
The Intertestamental Period (425-8BC)
Sources: Old Testament Apocrypha (1-2 Maccabees)
Josephus (Jewish Historian for ROME)
Herodotus (Greek Historian)
The DEAD Sea Scrolls (Judean desert)
OT: Dan 8:20-21, 8-13; 11:21-35; Zech 10:8-12
NT: Hebrews 11:35-38; John 10:22
Six Periods within the Intertestamental Period
1. Persian Period (539-331BC)
• Rise of the Sanhedrin = Jewish Supreme COURT & Legislature
• The High Priest elevated to POLITICAL office
2. Grecian Period (331-323BC)
• Alexander the Great: BIG impact, short rule
• Used Jews as CIVIL servants
• Universalized Hellenistic (Greek) Culture and the Greek LANGUAGE “lingua franca”
3. Egyptian Period (323-198BC)
• Alexander’s empire COLLAPSES after his death and four generals take over
(1) Ptolemy – Egypt (“Ptolemies” including Israel)
(2) Seleucus – Syria (“Seleucids”)
(3) Cassander – Macedonia “Greece”
(4) Lysimachus – Western & Central Asia Minor (“Turkey”) and Thrace
• The HEBREW Bible is translated into Greek, known as the Septuagint (LXX)
• Greek is the UNIVERSAL language
Currently, 1,600 Jewish epitaphs (funerary inscriptions) are extant in ancient Palestine dating from 300BC to AD500, and 70% are Greek, about 12% are in Latin, and only 18% are Hebrew or Aramaic…
In Jerusalem itself about 40 percent of the Jewish inscriptions from the first century period (before 70 C.E.) are in Greek. We may assume that most Jewish Jerusalemites who saw the inscriptions in situ were able to read them
Pieter Van Der Horst, “Jewish Funerary Inscriptions – Most Are in Greek,” Biblical Archaeology Review, Sept.-Oct. 1992, p. 48.
4. Syrian Period (198-168BC) “Israel’s Darkest Hour”
• The 3rd Syrian ruler was Antiochus IV Epiphanies “God manifest”
• He was defeated by Romans in Egypt as they were moving East
• He made a shrine to ZEUS, sacrificed a PIG on the brazen altar of the Temple, set up pagan altars throughout the country, made heathen festivals compulsory, and outlawed JUDAISM: no sabbath, no circumcision, and no Temple sacrifices.
5. Maccabean Period (168-63BC)
• Maccabees nickname = “hammer of God”
• Modin incident: Matthias kills Jews sacrificing to pagan gods as well as the Syrians
• Judas Maccabeus (Matthias’ son) became the leader, the Hasmonean family.
6. Roman Period (63BC-AD70) – New Testament
• Roman General Pompey conquers AD63
• The Senate appointed HEROD (Idumean/Edomite) vassal ruler in Judea (37-4BC)
• Romans (at the direction of Herod the Great) rebuilt Samaria, rebuilt the TEMPLE (John 2:20), and built palaces in Jerusalem, Masada, and Herodium, Jericho, and Caesarea Maritima
• Jesus is born ≈8BC (Herod dies in 4BC)
• Rome in 100% control, the remnants of the Maccabean family are utterly corrupt.
