Grade 8 Christian Studies
Empire and the People of Israel – The Intertestamental Period
8A Class notes
1. The Israelites under Babylon – Exile (586 BCE-539 BCE) (Technically still part of the OT)
The Israelites (Payton, Christian, Nick) were devastated because their Temple was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BCE.
The prophets Jeremiah (Chloe) & Ezekiel (Reid) said “I told you so! You broke the covenant!”
Daniel (Daniel) and others had to leave the land of Judah. The religious and political leaders were sent into exile.
Nebuchadnezzar (Mark) was a cruel king. He didn’t allow people to worship God… but some people did anyway (like Daniel). He died and the Empire kind of fell apart.
They recorded the stories of the Bible in Hebrew (the Torah) because they were worried they would lose their faith under this foreign power, and without a Temple.
· The Babylonians had conquered the land of Judah in 586 BCE, destroying the city of Jerusalem, including the Temple, which was the centre of worship of Yahweh.
· The prophets – like Ezekiel and Jeremiah – warned the people about this destruction. The conquest was seen as a punishment for disobedience, and for worshiping other gods besides Yahweh.
· The leaders of Judah were scattered; they were forced into exile so that they would lose their power. This included people like Daniel, and Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego.
· Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, demanded absolute allegiance. The Bible tells us that some people bravely remained faithful to God even though Nebuchadnezzar saw this as a threat.
· The prophet Jeremiah was one of those who had gone into exile with the people of Israel, and he called on them again and again to work for the good of Babylon, to live at peace with their neighbours.
· But the power of Babylon did not last. King Nebuchadnezzar died, and other kings could not maintain power.
· The current form of the Hebrew alphabet was adopted during the time of exile.
· During this time away from the land of their ancestors, the people began to collect more of their stories together in one authoritative book. The Hebrew Bible, especially the first five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) became very important to the people.
2. The Jews under the Persians (539 BCE-331 BCE)
The Babylonians (Eric) and the Persians (Nicholas) fight – Persians conquer!
Some Jewish people (Eric) wanted to return to Israel and renew their faith. Some (Nicholas) were happy to stay where they were, and eventually spread throughout the Mediterranean region.
The Jews returning from Babylon (Eric) wanted to be more faithful. Some Jews (Nicholas) never left Babylon and weren’t so happy with these returned super-religious Jews.
Returned Jewish leaders rebuilt the Temple in 537 BCE - Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel.
· Under Cyrus the Great, the Persians defeated the Babylonians in 539 BCE.
· Persia had a new policy regarding conquered groups. In 538 they let the Jews go back to Judah and, as long as they didn’t revolt, let them rule over themselves and practice their own religion.
· Not all Jews returned to the land of Israel. This resulted in groups of Jews living permanently in many different parts of the Mediterranean region.
· Those who returned to Israel were very eager to be better followers of God because they saw the exile as a punishment for their disobedience. This meant they strictly observed the laws regarding Sabbath, circumcision, and food.
· But those who had never left the land did not necessarily keep following the commandments and worshiping Yahweh. The returned group was often in conflict with the others.
· By 537 BCE the people in Jerusalem were rebuilding the Temple under the guidance of Zerubbabel, a descendant of King David. They put the altar in the exact same spot it had been in the first Temple.
· Ezra (a priest) and Nehemiah (the governor) make reforms in order to restore the religion and way of life in Israel.
3. The Jews under Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies (332-198 BCE)
Greek city states came together under Philip of Macedon to fight back against the Persians. Alexander the Great, his son, conquered a huge territory, including Judah/Israel.
Alexander (Carson) and his army (Daniel) give the Jewish people an option: fight against them and stay independent, or join them and become a bit more Greek.
The Jewish people (Phoenix and Nick) come around to the Greek side.
Jewish people experienced freedom under Alexander, but after he died, the Empire split. Ptolemy rules Egypt and Seleucus rules Syria.
Jewish people had to pay taxes to Egypt. Many Jewish people learned Greek; spread throughout the Mediterranean.
· The Greek city-states, which had never been united, came together to oppose the Persian Empire.
· Philip of Macedon (a part of Greece) began to fight against the Persians.
· Philip’s son, Alexander the Great, became an important King and conquered huge territories in just a few short years. He was also very educated, having studied with the philosopher Aristotle.
· Alexander marched through Palestine in 332 BCE. The Jews had to decide if they would fight against the Greeks (because they had it pretty good under the Persians) or work with them. They decided to accommodate the Greeks.
· The Jews continued to experience religious and political freedom under the Greeks.
· After Alexander’s death, the Empire splits up and is divided among his generals.
· Ptolemy rules over Egypt; Seleucus rules over Syria. These Empires are still Greek in culture and language.
· The Jews in Palestine begin to pay taxes to Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. This lasted for many generations.
· Throughout this time, Greek culture and language are spreading. Jews in other lands are learning to speak Greek and are learning about the religion and philosophy.
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4. The Jews under the Seleucids (198-143 BCE)
Seleucids conquered the Jewish people. This meant they didn’t have to pay taxes to Egypt anymore.
Seleucids try to make the Jews more Greek – some (Jews supporting Hellenism/Greek culture) are fine with this; some are not (Ethan). Hasidism is the support for Jewish law/culture over Greek.
Jewish people (Ethan) were forced to sacrifice animals that were unclean.
Antiochus IV (Jonah) put a statue of Zeus (stool) in the Temple!
· The Egypt-based Ptolemaic Empire could not keep control of Jerusalem and Judea, and the Jewish lands fell to the Seleucids in 198 BCE.
· The ruler was the powerful Antiochus III.
· At first many Jews were happy to no longer pay taxes to Egypt, but the Seleucids were not peaceful rulers.
· The Seleucids promoted Greek language and culture even more than the Ptolemies, and many Jews became “hellenized”. Many Jews were completely against this, and two factions rose up among the Jews, one promoting Hellenism (Greek culture) and one promoting Hasidism (Jewish law).
· Antiochus IV tried to force the Jews to become Greek, ordering them to build shrines to other gods, to sacrifice pigs and other animals they thought were unclean, and forbidding circumcision.
· High priests of the Temple were allowed to buy their position.
· People who resisted were killed or became slaves.
· Eventually, Antiochus IV raised a statue of Zeus in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish people rebelled!
5. The Jews revolt against the Seleucids (167-141 BCE)
The Seleucids (Kolby & Carson) had put a statue of Zeus in the Temple.
Mattathias (Nicholas) refused to sacrifice to the Greek gods, and killed the person (Payton) who was to make the sacrifice in his place.
Mattathias leads the Jews to fight the Seleucids. When Mattathias dies, his son Judas Maccabees takes over for him (Nick).
The Jewish rebels took back the Temple, and celebrated with the festival of light – later became Hanukkah.
After 2 more decades of fighting, the Jewish people became independent.
· The Seleucid Empire under Antiochus IV was forcing the Jewish people to give up their religion and culture in favour of Greek religion and culture.
· A statue of Zeus was placed in the Temple in Jerusalem, and the Jewish people began to rebel.
· In 167 BCE Mattathias (a rural priest) refused to give a sacrifice to a Greek god. Someone was going to do it in his place, but Mattathias killed this man. This began a military resistance.
· Mattathias and his sons destroyed pagan altars, forcibly circumcised Jewish children, and pushed hellenized Jews (Greek Jews) out of the towns.
· Mattathias died but his son, Judas Maccabees (hammer head), continued leading the revolt.
· The Maccabean army fought many battles and eventually gained the Temple back from the Seleucids.
· At the end of 164 BCE the Jewish people held a great festival in the Temple to celebrate and re-dedicate the Temple to Yahweh. The story goes that the oil for the lamps miraculously lasted for 8 days.
· Today the Jewish festival of Hanukkah celebrates this event.
· Judah Maccabees sought an alliance with the Romans to help push the Greeks/Seleucids out. Over the next years 20 years many battles were fought against the Seleucids, and many Seleucid Kings died, but eventually the Jews became independent.
6. The Independent Hasmonian Kingdom (141-63 BCE)
The Jewish people are independent, but their King wants to keep fighting for new lands.
The Kings/princes (the descendants of Judas Maccabees) begin fighting each other!
Pharisees (Payton) does not think these people are fit to be Kings.
Pompey (Christian), a Roman general, is invited to create peace. His armies come to Jerusalem. The Jewish Kingdom loses independence.
· After fighting for years with the Seleucid Kings, and after the Seleucids lost power through infighting, the Jewish people finally became formally independent.
· The people of Jerusalem and Judea were led by the descendants of Mattathias and Judah Maccabees, who had led the revolt. These leaders were priests and political leaders, and soon they were calling themselves kings.
· These Hasmonean kings (that’s the ‘family’ name) began to fight their neighbours to gain more land.
· A group of Jews called the Pharisees didn’t like that their Kings were trying to expand the Kingdom. The Kings heard the Pharisees complaints and sided with their political opponents, the Sadducees. The Sadducees gained power in the Temple.
· The Hasmonean princes began to fight against each other for power. There was so much fighting that they asked a Roman general named Pompey to get involved and help them create peace.
· The Kingdom lost independence in 63 and became part of the Roman Empire as a ‘protectorate’ of Rome.
7. The Jews under the Romans (63 BCE – 135 CE and later)
Herod the Great (Matthew) was called the King of the Jews, and he worked closely with the Romans. Some called him a “puppet king”.
He ‘renovated’ or rebuilt the Temple, expanding it.
Herod died of chronic kidney disease and his sons divided the land.
Herod Antipas ruled over Galilee (where Jesus is from) and Judea (where Jerusalem is); Herod Philip ruled over Idumea; Archelaus ruled over Samaria.
Some Jewish people really opposed Roman rule.
· Pompey, a Roman general, marches into Jerusalem to mark the beginning of the Roman Empire in the area.
· In 37 BCE Herod the Great was made King of the region and called “King of the Jews” by Roman Senate. While Herod was Jewish, he operated as a “puppet king” of the Roman Empire.
· The Temple had not been in great shape since the Seleucids (Greeks) had desecrated it. Herod began a massive rebuilding of the Temple. It was expanded at this time and became known as Herod’s Temple.
· Herod the Great died in 4 BCE and his territories were divided among his sons: Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip.
· The territory that used to be the Kingdom of Israel and Judah was by now divided into Judea (where Jerusalem was), Samaria, Idumea to the South, and Galilee (where Jesus grew up) to the North.
· Jesus spent his youth and public ministry under the rule of Herod Antipas, known as “the fox”.