Below are the quotes that were used in the video.
What was it like 400 years ago? Think about the changes - from horse-drawn carriages to electric vehicles, from handwritten letters to video calls. That is the same time difference from when the Old Testament book of Malachi was written to the start of the New Testament. In this video, we will explore how society and life in Jerusalem changed from 400 B.C. to the birth of Christ. We will explore 400 years of history and the rise of the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees.
Israel (Pre-exile – 587 B.C.)
Israel (exile - 586–538 B.C.)
Israel (returns – 537-516 B.C.)
338 BC – Alexander the Great begins his invasion of Persian Empire. He begins the Hellenization of his new empire.
“And when he [Alexander] had said this to Parmenion, and had given the high-priest his right hand, the priests ran along by him, and he came into the city. And when he went up into the temple, he offered sacrifice to God, according to the high-priest's direction, and magnificently treated both the high-priest and the priests.” (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 11.336)
175 BC - The Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes is offered a bribe to replace the Jewish high priest. Three years later gets a much larger bribe to again replace the high priest.
168 BC - Antiochus launched a massive campaign of repression against the Jewish religion.
According to rabbinic tradition, the victorious Maccabees could only find a small jug of oil that had remained pure and uncontaminated by virtue of a seal, and although it only contained enough oil to sustain the Menorah for one day, it miraculously lasted for eight days, by which time further oil had been procured. During the era of the Hasmonean kingdom, Hanukkah was observed prominently and it acted as a "Hasmonean Independence Day" to commemorate the success of the revolt.
Sadducees drew their strength from the priestly aristocracy and the secular nobility. For them authority came from the Torah and granted none to the body of oral law developed by the scribes. “They also rejected such novel notions as belief in resurrection, rewards and punishments after death, demonology and angelology, and apocalyptic speculations generally. … Their aim in the present was to see to it that this status quo was maintained. Being practical men of the world, they were willing to go to considerable lengths of compromise in order to do it, readily cooperating with the secular rulers, whether worldly-minded [Maccabean] priest-kings (who were of their stripe) or Roman procurators, and fearing above all things any disturbance that might upset the balance—which is why they found Jesus dangerous.” (Halverson, Between the Testaments: Exploring the Inter-testament Time Period)
Pharisees continued the tradition of the Hasidim of Maccabean days, that group whose zeal for the law had allowed no compromise with Hellenism. [They were strict] in their observance of the law … Neither an aristocratic nor a priestly clique, their moral earnestness won them widespread respect among the people. Indeed, they became the true spiritual leaders of Judaism and set its tone. They not only accepted other parts of Scripture as authoritative alongside the Torah, they also regarded the oral law developed to interpret the written as fully obligatory. The Pharisees quite readily accepted the resurrection…They believed that Judaism’s future was to be the holy people of God through keeping the law, written and oral, to the minutest detail. Though they…[disliked] Roman rule, the Pharisees [avoided]…revolutionary activity… ” (Halverson, Between the Testaments: Exploring the Inter-testament Time Period)
Essenes were sectarian groups who lived in… [expectation of the conquering Messiah]. The sect of Qumran, from which have come the Dead Sea scrolls, was almost certainly Essene…. Like the Pharisees, the Essenes presumably continued the Hasidic tradition. Their opposition to the [Maccabean] priest-kings was, however, irreconcilable. They…regarded the [Maccabean] priesthood as illegitimate and apostate. At some time, probably in the last third of the second century, they withdrew in the face of opposition from Jerusalem and from participation in the Temple cult, and took refuge in the wilderness of Judea, where they pursued a quasi-monastic existence in preparation for the impending end. They regarded themselves as the people of the New Covenant…They were convinced that all prophecy was being fulfilled in their day.” (Halverson, Between the Testaments: Exploring the Inter-testament Time Period)
Around 70 BC two Jewish brothers (Hyrcanus II & Aristobolus II), heirs and descendants of the Maccabean priest-kings, quarreled for power. One appealed to Rome for intervention, but the end result was Roman general Pompey occupying Jerusalem and annexing the region of Palestine as the Roman province of Judah.
Israel (Pre-exile – 587 B.C.)
- Temple
- Prophets
- Jerusalem
- Jeremiah
- Urijah
- Lehi
- Habakkuk
- Obadiah
- Zephaniah
- Babylon
- Daniel
- Ezekiel
- Jerusalem
Israel (exile - 586–538 B.C.)
- No temple
- Limited number of prophets
- Part of Israel absorbed (10 tribes)
- Rise of ‘canon consciousness’
Israel (returns – 537-516 B.C.)
- Temple rebuilt, but not as nice
- Temple rededicated in 516 B.C.
- Limited number of prophets
- ‘Canon consciousness’
- Ezra calls the Jews to repentance by means of an appeal to authoritative writings.
- Rise of the Scribe
338 BC – Alexander the Great begins his invasion of Persian Empire. He begins the Hellenization of his new empire.
- Hellenization is the mixing of Greek culture with native culture.
- Upper-class citizens learn Koine Greek, seeking favor with the government.
- Merchants adopted Greek for increased access to trading.
- Mixing of religious beliefs. An emphasis on ecumenicalism or the belief that there should be closer cooperation between different denominations.
- For Alexander, it was more than cooperation – it was let’s all (including our gods) just get along.
“And when he [Alexander] had said this to Parmenion, and had given the high-priest his right hand, the priests ran along by him, and he came into the city. And when he went up into the temple, he offered sacrifice to God, according to the high-priest's direction, and magnificently treated both the high-priest and the priests.” (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 11.336)
175 BC - The Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes is offered a bribe to replace the Jewish high priest. Three years later gets a much larger bribe to again replace the high priest.
168 BC - Antiochus launched a massive campaign of repression against the Jewish religion.
- Placed idols in Temple.
- Required Jews to eat pork.
- Jews to work on Sabbath.
According to rabbinic tradition, the victorious Maccabees could only find a small jug of oil that had remained pure and uncontaminated by virtue of a seal, and although it only contained enough oil to sustain the Menorah for one day, it miraculously lasted for eight days, by which time further oil had been procured. During the era of the Hasmonean kingdom, Hanukkah was observed prominently and it acted as a "Hasmonean Independence Day" to commemorate the success of the revolt.
Sadducees drew their strength from the priestly aristocracy and the secular nobility. For them authority came from the Torah and granted none to the body of oral law developed by the scribes. “They also rejected such novel notions as belief in resurrection, rewards and punishments after death, demonology and angelology, and apocalyptic speculations generally. … Their aim in the present was to see to it that this status quo was maintained. Being practical men of the world, they were willing to go to considerable lengths of compromise in order to do it, readily cooperating with the secular rulers, whether worldly-minded [Maccabean] priest-kings (who were of their stripe) or Roman procurators, and fearing above all things any disturbance that might upset the balance—which is why they found Jesus dangerous.” (Halverson, Between the Testaments: Exploring the Inter-testament Time Period)
Pharisees continued the tradition of the Hasidim of Maccabean days, that group whose zeal for the law had allowed no compromise with Hellenism. [They were strict] in their observance of the law … Neither an aristocratic nor a priestly clique, their moral earnestness won them widespread respect among the people. Indeed, they became the true spiritual leaders of Judaism and set its tone. They not only accepted other parts of Scripture as authoritative alongside the Torah, they also regarded the oral law developed to interpret the written as fully obligatory. The Pharisees quite readily accepted the resurrection…They believed that Judaism’s future was to be the holy people of God through keeping the law, written and oral, to the minutest detail. Though they…[disliked] Roman rule, the Pharisees [avoided]…revolutionary activity… ” (Halverson, Between the Testaments: Exploring the Inter-testament Time Period)
Essenes were sectarian groups who lived in… [expectation of the conquering Messiah]. The sect of Qumran, from which have come the Dead Sea scrolls, was almost certainly Essene…. Like the Pharisees, the Essenes presumably continued the Hasidic tradition. Their opposition to the [Maccabean] priest-kings was, however, irreconcilable. They…regarded the [Maccabean] priesthood as illegitimate and apostate. At some time, probably in the last third of the second century, they withdrew in the face of opposition from Jerusalem and from participation in the Temple cult, and took refuge in the wilderness of Judea, where they pursued a quasi-monastic existence in preparation for the impending end. They regarded themselves as the people of the New Covenant…They were convinced that all prophecy was being fulfilled in their day.” (Halverson, Between the Testaments: Exploring the Inter-testament Time Period)
Around 70 BC two Jewish brothers (Hyrcanus II & Aristobolus II), heirs and descendants of the Maccabean priest-kings, quarreled for power. One appealed to Rome for intervention, but the end result was Roman general Pompey occupying Jerusalem and annexing the region of Palestine as the Roman province of Judah.