Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

two caves date to the fifth centuryb.c.e., and a gateway was added in the

late third centuryb.c.e.In the early second centuryb.c.e., the famous pal-

ace at Qasr el-Abd was built with monolithic columns, window fronts, and

lion reliefs (Josephus,Ant.12.230-33). The size of the estate and the lavish

decoration of the palace, which shows a fine blend of Greek and oriental

styles, offers a good indication of the Hellenizing tendencies of many

members of the landowning Jewish upper class.

The Early Hellenistic Diaspora

Jewish communities in Egypt and Mesopotamia date back to the sixth cen-

turyb.c.e.In the fourth centuryb.c.e.Jews are attested at Kition in Cy-

prus; epitaphs in Phoenician script mention names with a YHWH compo-

nent. With the expansion of Hellenistic kingdoms and with Rome

eventually controlling vast territories and connecting regions, Judaism

reached Asia Minor, the Greek islands, mainland Italy, the area around the

Black Sea, North Africa, Spain, and southern Gaul.

Although the origins of many of these Diaspora communities predate

the Hasmonean period, most of our material dates to the late second cen-

turyb.c.e.Inscriptions survive in sometimes great variety but are often

distributed very irregularly. Jews generally enjoyed the protection of the

rulers, but individual communities lived under very different cultural, le-

gal, and social conditions. They took part in public life and used regionally

available material culture.

Palestine in the Hasmonean Period (164-40b.c.e.)

Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ ill-fated attempt to forcibly stabilize Palestine

around 167b.c.e.with the help of the deeply Hellenized faction of the Je-

rusalem elite eventually resulted in the violent overthrow of Seleucid rule

and the establishment of an independent Jewish state in Palestine under

the Hasmoneans, a priestly family from rural Modein in Judea. The

Hasmonean takeover of Palestine was a protracted process lasting well

over two generations until John Hyrcanus’s (134-104b.c.e.) large-scale oc-

cupations in Samaria, Perea, the Galilee, and Idumea.

Hasmonean restoration did not mean the end of Hellenization. It was

during the Hasmonean period that Judaism developed a distinct variant of

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jürgen k. zangenberg

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:12 PM