Read Online The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown by Andreas J. Köstenberger, Charles L Quarles - Free Book Online

Temple literature and be able to demonstratehow the various features described in this chapter constitute an important background for the interpretation of the NT.
    INTRODUCTION
    W HEN THE OT era ended, the Persian Empire was in control of Jerusalem and Judea. When the NT era began, Rome was in charge. To gain an understanding of the political and religious background of the NT, we must obtain at least a cursory grasp of the developments and events that led to the state of affairs that obtained in NT times. 1 Since there was no prophetic voice in Israel between Malachi and the ministry of John the Baptist, the time span from approximately 400 BC to the Christian era has been called the “silent years.” This rightly underscores the absence of prophet-mediated divine revelation during this period, but the time was anything but quiet, as the remainder of this chapter demonstrates.
    Table 2.1: From Babylon to Rome: The Second Temple Period
Period
Time Frame
Babylonian Period
606–539 BC
Persian Period
539–331 BC
Greek Period
331–167 BC
Alexander the Great
331–320 BC
Ptolemaic Period
320–198 BC
Syrian Period
198–167 BC
Jewish Self-Rule
167–63 BC
Maccabean Period
167–135 BC
Hasmonean Period
135–63 BC
Roman Period
63 BC-AD 70
    Formerly called the “intertestamental period,” most scholars now prefer the term “Second Temple period” for the time from the building of the Second temple in 515 BC by Zerubbabel until its destruction by the Romans in AD 70, including the time of Jesus and the early church. Thus scholars are recognizing both the considerable body of literature (larger than the Christian Bible) and its importance to the interpretation of the NT. Thefollowing brief historical survey of this era and its literature and theology is intended to serve as a background for the study of Jesus and the Gospels and the other NT writings. 2
    Simply put, from the vantage point of Israel and biblical history, the Second Temple period is comprised of five eras demarcated by a series of occupational forces of Palestine and punctuated by five great crises for the Jewish people. 3 For much of this time Judea was essentially a “temple state” under the immediate control of the high priests who were themselves under the authority of foreign governors or rulers. 4 The following survey of the Second Temple period begins with the first great crisis , the rule of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and his destruction of the temple built by Solomon resulting in the Jews' loss of national sovereignty.
    Table 2.2: The Second Temple Period: Important Events
I. End of Old Testament History:
Babylonian and Persian Periods
A. Babylonian Period (606–539 BC)
606/5 BC
Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Judea
587/86
Jerusalem, temple destroyed; Judah goes into exile; origin of synagogue
539 BC
Babylon falls to Cyrus the Great of Persia; exiles are allowed to return to Israel
B. Persian Period (539–331 BC)
515 BC
Second temple dedicated (Zerubbabel, Haggai, Zechariah)
c. 400 BC
Last OT prophet Malachi: John the Baptist predicted
II. Between the Testaments:
Greek Rule, Jewish Self-Rule, Roman Rule
A. Greek Period (331–167 BC)
1. Alexander the Great and His Conquests (331–320 BC)
334/333 BC
Alexander defeats Persians at battles of Granicus, Issus
331 BC
Alexander defeats Darius II at Arbela, which makes him the controlling player in the Middle East (including Israel); Hellenization begins (dissemination of the Greek way of life)
323 BC
Alexander dies; kingdom divided into four parts
By 320 BC
Israel falls to Ptolemy in Egypt
2. Ptolemaic Period (320-198 BC)
320-198 BC
Ptolemies rule Palestine from Alexandria, Egypt; Septuagint (the LXX, the Greek translation of OT) is produced
198 BC
Seleucid Antiochus III defeats Ptolemy V at Paneas (near Mount Hermon) and seizes control of Palestine
3. Seleucid or Syrian Period (198-167 BC)
198-167 BC
Seleucids, centered in Antioch of Syria, rule Palestine Two parties arise among the Jews: “the