Read an Excerpt

What the New Testament Authors Really Cared About

A Survey of Their Writings

Kregel Publications

WALKING IN THE SANDALS OF A FIRST-CENTURY JEW

David M. Hoffeditz

In God's Own Words

God is not a man ... that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Num.23:19)

He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:44-45)

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son. (Heb. 1:1-2)

It is your first week as an American exchange student in Cairo, Egypt. After watching a late-night American film with your new roommates, one of the students turns and asks you, "What distinctive facets have contributed to your American culture?" Besides the obvious answers of apple pie, Disney World, baseball, country music, and McDonald's, I suspect you would mention key events in our history, such as the Civil War and Pearl Harbor. You would probably also refer to important dates, such as 1776, 1812, and 9/11, and significant people in American history, such as George Washington, Betsy Ross, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr.

If you have found yourself in this kind of situation, then you know how difficult it is to have others really understand you — whether you are from America or from another country — if they do not know your stories. Yet, how often do Christians today enter into the New Testament world with no knowledge of the stories of first-century Jews? If we are really going to comprehend the New Testament, we must have some knowledge of its historical, social, and religious background. Our nine New Testament writers did not pen these twenty-seven books in a vacuum; rather they addressed real issues, real people, and real needs of their day.

If we were to sit down and have a conversation with a Palestinian Jew of the first century and ask her what has shaped the Jewish people, we would hear five major stories covering nearly seven hundred years. Four hundred of those years bridge the time period between the two major divisions of the Bible and are referred to as the intertestamental period. As we engage in this dialogue, we need to be careful not to become distracted by names, places, and dates, but rather we need to observe how these various facts assist in our understanding of the historical situation of the New Testament authors and of those living after the time of Jesus who would have received these books and letters.

The Story of Destruction and Exile: The Assyrians and the Babylonians

The first important story we would hear from our first-century Jewish friend focuses upon events occurring approximately seven hundred years before Christ and picks up near the end of the Old Testament—the time of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. These two major opponents from the ancient Near East were responsible for the demise of Israel, which by this point in history had been divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judah. The Assyrians invaded and conquered Israel, the northern kingdom, in 722 B.C. Many of the Jewish inhabitants were taken captive or relocated to other countries.

While attempts were made, the Assyrians were unsuccessful in overtaking Judah, the southern kingdom. Eventually, Judah fell when the Babylonians invaded and conquered them. The Babylonians deported the Jews in 605 (2 Kings 24:1-5; Dan. 1:1-6), 597 (2 Kings 24:6-16), and in 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25:1-21). These deportations resulted in the scattering (referred to as the Diaspora) of Jews throughout the Babylonian Empire into foreign lands. These exiles forced the Jewish people to leave the land that was promised to their father Abraham and settle in lands they had never visited, in lands inhabited by peoples of different languages and cultures.

If the destruction of their homes and the slaughter of family members and friends were not enough, the unthinkable transpired in 586 B.C. The Jews witnessed the razing of their holy city, Jerusalem, and the building that adorned her, the temple built by Solomon. Tragedy often shapes a people group, and this incident was no exception. The loss of the Promised Land and the destruction of the Jewish temple had an enormous effect upon the Jewish psyche since these were two important pieces to their identity.

The only item left that helped to define a Jew was the Law. The renewed importance of the Law can be seen in the establishment of gathering houses, or synagogues, for the reading of the Law and for prayer. The death of formal idolatry among the Jews, which was the main cause of the exile, was one of the few bright spots in this dismal period.

God utilized these events to draw his people to himself as they waited for him to fulfill the promises he made to the patriarchs. This story of the exile and the end of the Davidic kingdom helped form the identity of the Jewish people to whom the New Testament authors wrote. When Jesus announced that the "kingdom of God was near," it certainly would have rekindled the hope of the restoration of the physical Davidic kingdom, not a spiritual one.

The Story of Return and Restoration: The Persians

Daniel 5 begins recording the second story that is essential for understanding those living during the time of Jesus. Here we read of the Persian king, Cyrus II, who surprisingly overtook the great city of Babylon and her king, Belshazzar, in 539 B.C. Unlike the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire was more tolerant, allowing 42,360 Jews to return to Jerusalem. According to Ezra 1–4, an altar was set up in 537 B.C., and approximately twenty years later the temple, while far from the glorious Solomonic temple, was reconstructed.

Imagine the flood of emotions as the Jews returned to their home and began rebuilding their beloved temple. Ezra tells us that when they laid the foundation of the temple, the people sang together in praise, giving thanks to the Lord for his mercy and goodness (cf. Ezra 3:11). Pro-Jewish sentiment prevailed throughout the Persian monarchy; and in 445–444 B.C., Nehemiah began to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. These years were marked with great sacrifice on the part of those who resettled the land. While certainly not free from foreign control, the Jews were at liberty to worship once again in their temple and celebrate their festivals in the land given to them by their God. The story of the return from exile and rebuilding the temple impacted the Jewish people all the way down to the first century, becoming a rallying point for the Jews for centuries. As a result, it is not surprising that several generations later the Jewish religious leaders would not take kindly to Jesus's threats to destroy the temple (Matt. 27:40).

The Story of Pagans and Nationalism: The Greeks

After highlighting the key events of the end of the Old Testament era, our storyteller now looks to the West. Our attention is directed toward a twenty-year-old Greek by the name of Alexander. Educated under Aristotle, Alexander inherited a well-trained army and quickly consolidated the Greek states. The powerful and arrogant Persian king, Darius III, seriously underestimated this young Greek ruler. While Alexander's Greek army consisted of only twenty-five thousand soldiers, he astonishingly defeated the Persian army of three hundred thousand in 333 B.C. Alexander then followed the shock waves resulting from the demise of the Persian Empire as he moved as far south as Egypt and as far east as modern Afghanistan and India.

Hellenization

More astounding than Alexander's military prowess, however, was his importing of Greek language and culture upon these conquered lands. Partly due to his tolerance of local religious practice, as seen in the case of Israel, various local people groups welcomed the Greek way of life.

This embracing of Greek culture and language, called Hellenization, led to Greek becoming the common international language of the known world. For the first time since Babel (Gen. 11), the world was united around one language. It was this language, Greek, that the New Testament writers used in penning their works—writings that were understood throughout the entire Roman Empire. As a result, the apostles and Paul could travel over much of the known world and speak the good news of Jesus in this one language.

The use of Hebrew faded among the Jews, resulting in the need for the Old Testament to be translated into Greek. It is said that seventy-two men translated the Scriptures in seventy-two days. Whether or not this is true, this legend provides the name for this Greek translation known as the Septuagint, or LXX. This Greek translation, not the original Hebrew text, became the Bible for many of the New Testament writers and the early church fathers.

Division

Alexander the Great's reign was short lived. On June 13, 323 B.C., Alexander died at the age of thirty-three, leaving no viable heir. Prior to his death, Alexander laid his vast kingdom before his four generals and supposedly called for "the best man to win." As the dust settled after twenty years of struggle, Alexander's empire was divided into four sections, two of which are important for the people of Israel: Seleucis claimed Babylon and Syria, to the north of Palestine, and Ptolemy reigned over Egypt and Palestine.

Ptolemies

Palestine was located in the "buffer zone" between the Ptolemies and Seleucids, which led to more than two hundred wars being fought on Palestinian soil between 323 and 63 B.C. Since Palestine served as a land bridge from the north and south, whoever controlled this land also controlled transportation and commerce in this part of the ancient world. The Ptolemies governed Palestine until 198 B.C. They were supportive of the Jewish populace, allowing for religious freedom and financial prosperity. Because of the comfortable life under their reign, many Jews embraced Greek culture. They began to change under Hellenistic influences, despite the call of God to be set apart, or holy. We will find that Hellenization has huge implications for understanding the story of our New Testament authors, who called Christians to holiness in the midst of a Hellenized world.

Seleucids

The Seleucids eventually laid claim to the disputed land of Palestine in 198 B.C. At first, there was little change for the Jews. Eventually, however, Antiochus IV Epiphanes ("god manifested") began to resent the Jewish Ptolemaic (red) and Seleucid (green) empires people and their way of life. Thus, he determined to eradicate the Jewish religion by banning all copies of the Law, the observance of the Sabbath, customary festivals, traditional sacrifices, and circumcision. Adding insult to injury, Antiochus IV desecrated the Jewish temple by offering a pig, an unclean animal according to Jewish law, on the altar on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Chislev (mid-December in our modern calendar), 167 B.C. (cf. Dan. 11:31 and 2 Macc. 6:18).

The toil of ancestors who had rebuilt the temple and the many years of freedom under the Ptolemies came to a crashing halt. Undoubtedly questions surfaced. Would they return to the difficult times of the Babylonians? Was this God's punishment for accepting the ways of the Greeks and forgetting their Jewish roots? While some Jews would forego traditional Jewish practices such as circumcision because they preferred the Greek way of life, there was a more conservative populace, who called for Jewish nationalism. Such divisions between Hellenistic and traditional Jews led to further problems as we will see in the next section.

The Story of Independence and Dissension: The Hasmoneans

Antiochus IV's brutal subjugation of the Jews extended far beyond Jerusalem. Seleucid governmental officials were sent out to local Jewish villages and demanded that local priests offer swine on an altar. Terror, fear, and anger gripped the countryside.

The Hasmonean Revolt

The first eruption occurred not far from Jerusalem. An elderly priest named Mattathias not only refused to offer the sacrifice, but also plunged a sword through both the governmental official and a Jewish man who was willing to comply with the officer's command. This defiant act sparked a major revolt. Mattathias called for other pious Jews to join his five sons and him in guerilla warfare against these foreign rulers in their "Promised Land."

Soon after the revolt began, Mattathias died and his son, Judas Maccabeus, took over leadership of the insurrection. This revolt is often identified by scholars as the Maccabean (meaning "hammer") revolt after Judas. Other scholars classify this period as the Hasmonean era, after Mattathias's family name.

Eventually, Judas reconquered Jerusalem, taking it from the Seleucids. He rededicated the temple on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Chislev, 164 B.C., three years to the day from Antiochus's desecration. According to Jewish tradition, the oil necessary to light the candelabra in the temple miraculously lasted eight days. Jewish families to this day celebrate this glorious moment as the Feast of Dedication, better known as "Hanukkah."

The sons of Mattathias continued to fight against the Seleucid oppression. By 143 B.C., the only surviving son was Simon. His resolve was only strengthened as he called for Gentiles to be removed completely from Israel (1 Macc. 13:41). Simon succeeded in gaining full independence for the Jewish people. The Hasmoneans conquered territory and threw off the yoke of all foreign oppressors—activities not seen since the time of King David and King Solomon. One Jewish writing records, "He [Simon] established peace in the land, and Israel rejoiced with great joy. Each man sat under his vine and fig tree, and there was none to make them afraid. ... He strengthened all the humble of his people; he sought out the law, and did away with every lawless and wicked man" (1 Macc. 14:11–14). This amazing accomplishment resulted in Simon being named both high priest and military leader (cf. 1 Macc. 14:25–49). The expansion of Jewish territory continued as Simon's son, John Hyrcanus, was successful in gaining Judea and Samaria, in the process destroying the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, in 128 B.C.

This story of Judas's and Simon's military successes is important for understanding the story of the first-century Jewish person who was under the pagan rule of Rome. Many of the Jews once again looked for a military leader to release them. When Jesus entered Jerusalem amidst the waving of palm branches, it certainly reminded them of Simon's victories over the Seleucids and his own entrance into the citadel of Jerusalem amidst waving palm branches after a military victory (1 Macc. 13:51). Many Jews also would have expected Jesus the Messiah to lead them to military victory.

The Samaritans

Scholars debate the identity of the Samaritans, but they were probably a separatist group of Jews who intermarried with Gentiles after the exile. Though part Jewish, they saw themselves as distinct from the Jews, both ethnically and religiously. The Samaritans accepted as authoritative only the five books of the Torah, that is, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They believed in one God, in Mount Gerizim as the true place for sacrifice, in a future judgment, and in a coming prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:18).

The tension between Samaritans and Jews, which the New Testament often highlighted, undoubtedly was fueled by John Hyrcanus's destruction of the Samaritan temple. Continued strain can also be seen in the New Testament era when the Samaritans scattered bones in the Jerusalem temple during a Passover sometime between A.D. 6 and 9 and massacred a group of Jewish pilgrims going to Jerusalem in A.D. 52. So deep was the hatred that neither group would associate with the other as seen in such practices as a Jew not traveling through Samaria. With these sentiments escalating since the time that John Hyrcanus destroyed the Samaritan temple, we should not be surprised by the Samaritan woman's question to Jesus in John 4:9: "'You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?' (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)"

Hasmonean Hellenization

The once devout Hasmonean family quickly lost interest in traditional Jewish culture and holiness. An ever-increasing embracement of Greek culture and language, Hellenization, among the members of this royal family is clearly seen in their use of Greek names and Greek inscriptions on their coinage. Far worse was the abandonment of devout Jewish living. For example, two of John Hyrcanus's sons ruled after his thirty-one year reign. One of these sons starved his own mother to death, and the other son executed more than fifty thousand of his own people.

Pharisees

The political unrest, which marked the Hasmonean period, exasperated the various Jewish factions. For the first time we learn of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were a conservative sect, who not only accepted the entire Old Testament but also observed the oral law. The Pharisees were keepers of purity and holiness, haters of Hellenization and anything foreign. During the first century, the Pharisees became the largest and most popular Jewish faction. The main reason for their popularity was that they came from among the common people. Since their power base stemmed from the masses, they A scribe's tools feared losing the crowd's support if they destroyed Jesus.

---

Excerpted from What the New Testament Authors Really Cared About by Kenneth Berding, Matt Williams. Copyright © 2015 Kenneth Berding and Matt Williams. Excerpted by permission of Kregel Publications.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---