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Cultural
& Religious Background of Palestinian Judaism
Intertestamental
Literature Sects,
Parties and Classes Scribes
and Rabbis
Temple
and Its Ritual
Synagogue and Its Worship
The
following material draws from several sources:
Bruce,
Frederick F. New
Testament History. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980 (1969).
Metzger,
Bruce M. The New Testament: Its Background, Growth, and
Content. 3rd ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 2003.
Ferguson,
Everett. Backgrounds
of Early Christianity.
2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.
Roetzel,
Calvin J. The
World That Shaped The New Testament.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002. |
Survey
of Intertestamental Jewish Literature
During
the Hellenistic Era, the Jews in Palestine and the Diaspora wrote historical, devotional and
inspirational literature. Though this literature was and
is not universally considered canonical scripture, it is nevertheless very
useful reading for students of the NT, since it reflects the
beliefs, doctrines, outlooks and attitudes that shaped the
people and circumstances we encounter in NT
literature. The standard collection of this literature,
which we call the Apocrypha, falls under various headings
and categories:
1.
Historical:
1 Maccabees:
though not on a par with scripture, it is nevertheless highly
regarded by scholars as a useful and historically reliable account of the
Maccabean revolt, and a valuable source on the first generation of
Hasmonaeans (c. 100 BC).
2 Maccabees:
spans only 15 years from the ascension of Antiochus IV through Judas'
rule. It is not as respected historically as 1 Maccabees. It reads more
like propaganda than history. But the work informs on the development of
Jewish beliefs and doctrines, e.g. resurrection from the dead (c. 100 BC).
2.
Legendary or Novelistic:
Top
Tobit:
an engaging and edifying novella about the piety, misfortunes,
adventures, and ultimate blessedness of Tobit, his wife, Anna,
their son Tobias, and Sarah, the wife he finds on his journey
under angelic protection.
Judith:
propagandistic story about a virtuous, Law-observant woman, who
deceives an archetypal enemy, beheads him while he is drunk, and
encourages her countrymen to victory (late 2nd/early 1st C. BC).
3.
Didactic or Sapiental:
Wisdom of Solomon:
an example of the Alexandrian attempt to express Jewish wisdom in
philosophical terms (1st C. BC). The most famous exponent of this kind of
synthesis was Philo Judaeus (20 BC - 40 AD), a contemporary of Jesus.
Ecclesiasticus
or Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach (or just Sirach):
another example of hellenizing Judaism (early 2nd C. BC). It is important
for our understanding of what Jews considered to be canonical scripture.
Both
of these books appear to have been familiar to the NT writers.
4.
Apocalyptic: this is a genre that purports to 'reveal' what
mortals cannot now see:
- what is happening up in heaven, or in the future, or at the
end of time.
- attempts to reconcile God's justice with his people's present suffering.
1 Esdras:
has survived as a unit, but is thought to be three separate pieces: a
Jewish Apocalypse (3-14), from c. 1st C. AD, plus an Introduction (1-2),
and Conclusion (15-16), added by Christian scribes in 2nd C. AD.
Ezra
dialogues with an angel about God's dealings with his chosen people and
all of humanity, evoking motifs, images and symbols familiar to readers of
the canonical Old and New Testament apocalyptic works, such as Daniel and
Revelation.
Top
There
are other examples of intertestamental literature than the Apocrypha:
- some works are called the 'Pseudepigrapha,' i.e. 'falsely titled
writings.'
- some are quite fanciful, but do shed light on contemporary attitudes and
beliefs.
- one of them, an apocalyptic work, called 1 Enoch, seems to
be cited in Jude 14.
- another, The Assumption of Moses, seems to be alluded to
in that same letter.
In
summary, then, as Metzger himself says:
“the
importance of the intertestamental apocryphal and pseudepigraphic
literature lies in the information that it supplies concerning the
development of Jewish life and thought just prior to the beginning of the
Christian era.
The political fortunes of the Jews from the time of the Maccabean
uprising onward; the emergence of what has been called normative Judaism,
which became characteristic of the religion of the Pharisees; the lush
growth of popular belief in the activities of angels and demons; the
growing preoccupation with the doctrine of original sin and its relation
to the ‘evil inclination’ in every person; the blossoming of
apocalyptic hopes relating to the coming Messiah, the resurrection of the
body, and the vindication of the righteous—all these subjects and many
others receive additional light from the intertestamental literature” (Metzger
48).
Top
Sects,
Parties, and Classes within Palestinian Judaism
Apart
from the NT itself, our major source of information regarding the
sects, parties and classes in Palestine is:
Flavius Josephus (c.
37-100 AD)
- born to an aristocratic Jewish family
- comes across as conceited and opportunistic
- involved in Jewish political leadership circles
- sent to Galilee in 66/67 to organize resistance to Rome
- instead surrendered to Flavius Vespasianus
- flattered Vespasian as the 'Messiah'
- served Titus in the siege of Jerusalem
- served his Flavian patrons in Palestine and Rome
- wrote histories of the Jews and his own times
- his work is considered self-serving, yet reliable
Top
The
major religious sects we encounter in the biblical and extra-biblical
histories all have their origins in the Hasmonaean era struggle to maintain
covenant faithfulness to God in the face of a Seleucid policy of aggressive
hellenization.
We
read in 1 Maccabees 2.42:
"Then
there united with them [the Maccabees] a company of Hasideans, mighty
warriors of Israel, all who offered themselves willingly for the law."
This
had been in reaction to an incident just beforehand in 1 Maccabees 2.35-38:
"Then
the enemy quickly attacked them. But they did not answer them or hurl a
stone at them or block up their hiding-places, for they said, ‘Let us all
die in our innocence; heaven and earth testify for us that you are killing
us unjustly.’ So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died with
their wives and children and livestock, to the number of a thousand
people."
Evidently
there were some who thought that covenant faithfulness demanded that they
not bear arms on the sabbath. But the Maccabees, with the Hasideans,
rejected this interpretation in favor of fighting. Yet differences remained
over how to proceed with their struggle against the Seleucids. We read in 1
Maccabees 7.42:
“Then
a group of scribes appeared in a body before Alcimus and Bacchides to ask
for just terms. The Hasideans were first among the Israelites to seek peace
from them, for they said, 'A
priest from the line of Aaron has come with the army, and he will not harm
us.'"
Although,
as it turned out, these Hasideans had been deceived about Alcimus' true
intentions, the passage nevertheless indicates how important the lineage and
dignity of the High Priestly office could be to the faithful, even when
officially appointed by a Gentile king (7.9).
Top
Without
a Davidic king, the role and office of the High Priest had become more
important. Many Hasideans considered it vital that the High Priest be
descended from Zadok, High Priest under David and Solomon.
Though
Mattathias was a priest, he was not of High Priestly descent, so when
Jonathan courted an alliance with the Seleucid claimant, Alexander Balas,
and accepted appointment to the High Priesthood from him (1 Macc 10.18-21),
certain Hasideans were outraged, and broke with the Hasmonaeans.
Later,
when the sons of John Hyrcanus, Aristobulus I and Alexander Jannaeus, also
claimed the title, ‘king,’ though not descended from David, it was too
much for many others. Jannaeus’ despotic behavior and his persecution of
one group of former Hasideans, the Pharisees, only increased their
alienation.
Sects:
The
most prominent and antagonistic sects in the New Testament are:
1.
Sadducees: Hasmonaean based; wealthy/aristocratic;
urbane/sophisticated; temple centered; politically pragmatic;
written Torah only; rigid interpreters
2.
Pharisees: Hasidean based; more 'of the people'; 'separated
ones'; synagogue centered; religiously pragmatic; written and
oral Torah; flexible interpreters
3.
Essenes: had withdrawn from both Hasmonaeans and Hasideans; withdrew
and lived in isolated communities; monastic, ascetic; wilderness
(some urban); hoping and waiting for 'Apocalypse Now'
Parties
and Classes: There are two parties and one class to
consider:
1.
The Herodians: Hasmonaean solution; political moderates; more
likely wealthy; considered 'collaborators'; work with the
status quo; motto: 'Let's compromise!'
2.
The Zealots: Maccabean solution; political radicals; more likely
poor; considered 'terrorists'; fight against the status
quo; motto: 'No compromise!'
3.
The 'Am Ha-Eretz (People of the Land): considered to be
'not-really-committed Jews'; despised by almost everybody (except
Jesus); motto: 'Hey! I'm just trying to pay my taxes.'
Top
Scribes
and Rabbis
The
prototypical scribe, who oversaw the post-exilic restoration of
Judaism is Ezra, described in scripture as, 'a scribe skilled in the Law of
Moses', who
'had set his heart to study the law of the Lord, and to do it,
and to teach the statutes and ordinances in Israel" (Ezra
7.6, 10).
- Nehemiah 8.1-8 is a key text for the scribes
- very few people are literate (2-4% functionally literate)
- the people speak Aramaic now, not Hebrew
- scribes studied and interpreted the Law to the people
- Judea was an ancient middle eastern theocracy
- closer to Islamic Sharia law than to democracy
- scribal duties were civil as well as religious
- so scribes really were lawyers, religious and
civil
- they had a prestigious and powerful role
- addressed as rabbi, great one, master, teacher
- a fixture of the civil and religious establishment The
scribes we meet in the New Testament accounts are:
- mostly part of a system opposed to Jesus' reformation
- often—but not always—associated with the Pharisees
- often—but not always—blind and hostile to Jesus But
not all scribes are Pharisees, nor all Pharisees scribes. Some
scribes were no doubt admirable, kind and upright men, who saw
their work as a ministry to people in need. In
Mark 11.27 - 12.44, Jesus confounds and sharply criticizes the
whole Judean ruling establishment—especially the
scribes. However, he also pointedly commends an individual
scribe for being 'not far from the kingdom of God' (12.34). So,
while many shared in the general blindness, apparently not all
did.
Top
The
responsibility of the scribes was threefold:
1.
the theoretical development of the Law
2.
the teaching of the Law to their pupils
3.
the practical administration of the Law in pronouncing legal
decisions
1.
The Theoretical Development of the Law:
Scribes
found a total of 613 commandments in the Torah (Pentateuch), of
which 248 were stated positively, 365 negatively, and most could
seem overly general.
- the scribes' job was to make the law explicit and particular:
- "You
shall not work on the Sabbath!"
- Right ...! Well ... what exactly constitutes work?
- conscientious scribes fretted over minutiae (see Metzger's
examples)
- legalism encourages fiction and deception
- a body of legalistic case law accumulated
- the infamous (to us) Tradition of the Elders
- sometimes directly contradicted the actual intent of the law
Legalism
is a common human tendency, not a Jewish one
- love has boundaries, but can we set boundaries with wisdom,
love, and grace?
Top
2.
The Teaching of the Law to Pupils:
The
Pharisees tended to think everyone should have a professional
acquaintance with the law. That is obviously not feasible,
but quality education is desirable.
- Education in scripture is at the heart of Judaism
(Christianity, too)
- they highly valued the education of children
- elementary education in synagogue schools
- basic reading/writing/arithmetic
- recognized scribes taught older students
- master-disciple relationships with a group of followers
- remember the scene of Aristotle's class in Alexander?
- heavy emphasis on rote learning and memorization
- discussion / dialogue / summary (aphorisms/maxims)
- the ideal was to reproduce the aster's teachings
- Jesus had both similarities and differences with these rabbis
- he had disciples, but he authoritatively reinterpreted
the tradition
Top
3.
The Practical Administration of the Law in Pronouncing Formal
Legal Decisions:
It
was the responsibility of the scribes to 'bind' and 'loose',
i.e. to declare certain actions either unlawful (bound) or
permissible (loosed [cf. Matt 16.19, 18.18]).
They
would do this either in response to general issues, or in
judgment of specific legal cases that came before their courts.
Remember
that Torah was their civil as well as religious law:
- there were local and national courts to judge cases
- local courts were held in synagogues, before at least three
judges
synagogues were civic as well as religious centers
- the national court was the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem
- composed of seventy people and the High Priest
- ex-High Priests
- elders (tribal and regional aristocracy)
- scribes (mostly Pharisees, some Sadducees, too)
- had complete freedom in matters of religion
- deferred to Roman oversight in civil and capital cases
Top
The
Temple and Its Ritual
The Temple was one of the great unifying symbols
of Judaism.
- possession of the Temple, though, depended on possession of the land
- the Jews had already lost their land
and temple once (597-538 BC)
The Temple was rebuilt by 515 BC, but with far
less grandeur than the first one.
Herod, prolific builder, decided to reconstruct
the Temple as his grand project.
- begun in 19 BC; finished only around AD 64; destroyed in AD 70
- the whole complex was 26 acres
- the outer court was accessible to Gentiles
- walled off within it was the Temple court proper
- death to non-Jews who trespassed
- court accessible to Jewish females
- court accessible only to Jewish males
- court/outer sanctum accessible only to priests
- inner sanctum only for God, and accessible to the High Priest once a
year The
principal ritual was the continual burnt offering, morning and afternoon
- people and dignitaries gathered in their respective courts to worship
- priests offered incense within the inner sanctum, as people outside
prayed in silence
- priests came out to bless the people and offer the sacrificial lamb
- priests poured out a drink offering, while a choir of Levites sang the
daily psalm
- when public services/sacrifice ended, private sacrifices/services could
follow
- an evening service is the scene of Zechariah's experience in Luke 8-23 The
tearing of the Temple curtain at the time of Jesus' death is significant
and symbolic. Sadducean
power revolved around the Temple system, so did not survive its
destruction.
Top
The
Synagogue and Its Worship
There
is a surprising lack of evidence about the origins of the synagogue:
- scholars agree that Exile in Babylon would have provided the impetus
- worship naturally focused on Torah/Prayer rather than Temple/Sacrifice
- scribal/rabbinical function became as/more important than priestly one By
the first century BC, synagogues are established anywhere there are Jews
- ten adult males supplied a quorum for the formation of a synagogue
- people were supervised by elders, services usually under lay leadership Synagogue
layout provided one model for early churches
- two rows of pillars: central nave, two side aisles
- often built on a hill oriented toward Jerusalem Place
of honor in the synagogue was the Torah Chest
- at front on the raised platform/dais
- places for readers / leaders / speakers on dais
- prominent seats for noted members and scribes Synagogues
and the scribal/rabbinical Judaism of the Pharisees, being adaptable,
survived the destruction of the Temple, as did the churches. In
fact, synagogues provided models not only for early Christian communities
and buildings, but also for early Christian worship, which drew on the
order and liturgy of the synagogue service. Top Customary
Order of Service in a Synagogue: a)
Invitation to Prayer and Worship:
- included a leader-and-congregation responsive Blessing and recitation of
the Shema b)
Prayers or Lifting Up of Hands (cf. 1 Tim 2.8)
- Collects or Benedictions (e.g. some or all of the Eighteen Benedictions)
- these would be led by an individual, followed by a responsive Amen
(1 Co 14.16) c)
Readings/Lessons from the Law and Prophets
- first the Law, then the Prophets; in Hebrew with Aramaic interpretation
(Targum)
- qualified person (perhaps visitor) might exposit a passage (Lk 4.16ff.,
Ac 13.15) d)
Closing Benediction or Prayer
- Priestly Benediction if one was present, or a prayer led by a lay person
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Background of Greco-Roman Paganism
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