Between the Old Testament writings and the New Testament Gospels is a period biblical scholars call the intertestamental period. This intertestamental period covered approximately 400 years between the post-exilic writers of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi until the birth of Jesus, who is the Messiah (Christ) of God. Malachi, the final book of the Old Testament, was written in approximately 400 BC. Like so many other prophecies, this last Old Testament prophecy pointed forward to Jesus the Messiah’s coming into the world as the great Savior and Light of the world. The changes that occurred during the intertestamental period are essential to understanding the time of Jesus.
The intertestamental period covered the “Second Temple Judaism.” Second Temple Judaism occurred after Solomon’s Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians. The Second Temple was completed under the leadership of Zerubbabel and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah on March 12, 515 BC, during the reign of King Darius of Persia. Sometimes, the Second Temple is known as Zerubbabel’s Temple. The book of Nehemiah retold the story of Israel rebuilding the Jerusalem wall, which was completed on October 2, 445 BC with the help of the sovereign LORD God.
The New Testament writers grew up in the world of the Second Temple. Herod the Great later remodeled and expanded the Second Temple at the time of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, Jesus visited and taught at this Temple. The Second Temple stood for approximately 585 years until the Roman Army under Titus destroyed the Temple in AD 70, ending the Jewish sacrificial system.
During the intertestamental period, the people of Israel were ruled by six different governments: the Persian empire, the Greek empire, the Ptolemies of Egypt, the Seleucids of Syria, self-ruled under the Maccabees (Hasmoneans), and then finally, the Roman government. With the different governments ruling the land, Jewish thinking underwent radical changes. Understanding these changes are essential to understanding the time of Jesus.
In the intertestamental period, several collections of Jewish writings were created. However, many church denominations have not accepted these Jewish writings created during the intertestamental period as Holy Scripture. Nevertheless, these Jewish writings bring understanding to the Jewish culture and history. The works of the Apocrypha consisted of a collection of books: Epistle of Jeremiah, Tobit, Baruch, Ecclesiasticus [Sirach], Judith, 1 – 2 Esdras, 1 – 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, and additions to Esther and Daniel. These books provide valuable information about the history and beliefs of Jews during the intertestamental period, including the history of the Maccabees and the Maccabean revolt. Some denominations, such as the Roman Catholics, include these intertestamental books in their canonized Holy Scriptures. Pseudepigrapha is another collection of Jewish writings during the Second Temple period. These books included such writings as 1 – 2 Enoch, Jubilees, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Letter of Aristae’s, and Psalms of Solomon. None of the pseudepigrapha works have been canonized by the church.
By way of background, Israel and Judah suffered exile from their land by the Assyrians and then the Babylonians because of their rebellion and disobedience against God and His covenant. The year 722 BC and later 586 BC were significant years in ancient Judaism and Christian’s history. These years revealed that the living LORD God is sovereign, and He judges and punishes everyone – even His people Israel and Judah – for their rebellion, apostasy, idolatry (worshipping other gods), and unfaithfulness against Him and His covenant. Israel and Judah were especially captivated by the idol-worship of Baal and Asherah and the land became filled with murder, adultery, lies, deception, adultery, fornication, injustice, greed, and theft, which all violated the LORD God’s covenant – the Ten Commandments. The covenant of God (also called the Law of Moses) firmly established that Israel was to fear and worship the LORD God and serve Him only and NOT to lie, cheat, steal, envy, murder, rebel against their parents, nor commit adultery and other sexual sins. The LORD God promised that our wholehearted love and obedience to Him and His covenant would lead to blessings and life. In other words, the covenant of God were given for our own well-being and goodness. The living LORD God wanted to protect everyone from the harm and death that came from idolatry, rebellion, lies, murder, sexual sins, covetous (greed), theft, and corruption.
Through His sovereignty, the living LORD God used the Assyrians and then the Babylonian armies to judge His people Israel and Judah for their sins and evildoing. In 722 BC, the ten northern tribes were destroyed and later dispersed from their land by the Assyrians. Then with the Babylonian victory of 586 BC, the two remaining tribes of Judah and Benjamin were scattered from their land. After 586 BC, the Jewish people faced loss of land, kingship, the city of Jerusalem, and their beloved Temple built by King Solomon. Jerusalem was sieged and destroyed by the Babylonian army. The Jewish people lived under the control of foreign rulers, without national identity after 586 BC. From this date onward, most of the Hebrews were scattered throughout the world. This scattering — the Diaspora or Dispersion — presented continual threats and problems related to the Jews’ distinctive religion, including its ceremonial, dietary, language, and other practices pertaining to ritual purity. In fact, the Jewish people spoke Hebrew until the Great Exile in 586 BC when the Jews were scattered from their Promised Land and the First Temple – Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. Hebrew was revived in 1948 once the Jews returned to their Promised Land of Israel. After the Great Exile, Hebrew gave way to Aramaic. By the end of the Old Testament, Aramaic was the international language, and Aramaic became the spoken language in Palestine (Israel) during Jesus’s time on earth.
By His grace, the Sovereign LORD God allowed His people now known as Jews to return from Babylonian Exile with the rise of His servant, Cyrus of Persia. Cyrus the Persia united the Median and Persian empires, and Cyrus overthrew the Babylonians. Cyrus of Persia allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. The Jews returned to their land in 538 BC with King Cyrus of Persia’s decree, but only three of the twelve tribes returned to Palestine – Judah, Benjamin, and Levi. Israel’s returned to Palestine fulfilled Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophecies. After the return from captivity, the Jerusalem Temple was rebuilt in 515 BC and the priest-led ceremonial worship was reestablished in Jerusalem. The Jews enjoyed relative religious freedom under the Persians. Second Temple Judaism emerged in the 5th century BC during the Persian Empire. The Persian empire was the dominant power at the end of Old Testament history. The historical narratives from Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther of the Old Testament recount this period.
Then in the 330s BC, the Persians were replaced by the Greeks under the leadership of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Alexander the Great conquered Palestine in 332 BC and began a process known as Hellenization. The ascension of Alexander spelled the end of the Persian Empire. In addition to military conquest and political control, Alexander was committed to spreading Greek (Hellenistic) culture, including the use of the Greek language in his conquered lands. Alexander wanted to unite his empire by spreading the language and culture of Greece to every country he had conquered. Alexander died in 323 BC.
Following Alexander’s death, his generals struggled for dominance. Eventually, Alexander’s empire was divided among his four generals. Two of these generals founded dynasties that impacted the Jewish people — the Ptolemies of Egypt and then the Seleucids of Syria. Under the rule of the Ptolemies, followed by the Seleucids, the Jewish people were allowed to practice their religion, and they enjoyed religious freedom. Ptolemies brought Greek people and culture into Palestine. A Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament was completed during this period, commonly called the Septuagint. The Septuagint was the Bible for Greek-speaking Jews in the first century, and many of the Apostle Paul’s Old Testament quotations are drawn from the Septuagint.
However, the Hellenization of Palestine became a serious challenge to Jewish culture and religion. Evil Antiochus Epiphanes – the Seleucids Syrian King – drastically changed the Ptolemies policy, and Antiochus Epiphanes decided to Hellenize the Jews by forbidding many Jews’ religious rituals, including circumcision, and destroying the Jewish Scriptures. Even worse, Antiochus Epiphanes erected a statue of Zeus in the Jerusalem Temple, and then he sacrificed an unclean pig on the Temple’s altar. The Jerusalem Temple was turned into a pagan shrine, and Jewish persecution became widespread.
But then, the living LORD God raised a Jewish family known as the Maccabees. The Maccabees led the opposition and revolted against Antiochus. An aged priest named Mattathias of the Maccabees attacked Antiochus’s army and destroyed the Greek altar. This attack started the Maccabean revolt, a 24-year war that lasted from 166 BC to 142 BC. Mattathias and his five sons – Judas [Maccabeus], Jonathan, Simon, John, and Eleazar led the revolt from the hills. After Mattathias’s death, leadership fell to one of his sons, Judas (called “Maccabeus”). In 164 BC, the Jerusalem Temple was cleansed, led by Judas Maccabeus, and the daily burnt offering and other religious ceremonies resumed. The event is still celebrated by Jews each December as the Festival of Hanukkah – the Feast of Lights or Festival of Dedication. Hanukkah is a winter festival that celebrates the rededication of the Temple after Antiochus Epiphanes defiled the Temple. Eventually, Simon – Mattathias’s third son – attained Judah’s independence in 142 BC, which lasted until 63 BC. The Jews were semi-independent and self-ruled by the Hasmonean Dynasty during this period. The Hasmoneans were descendants of Maccabees.
After Simon’s death, Israel’s new leaders became overly attached to Greek culture and policies, leading to a civil war between the pious Jews and Greek Jews. Even worse, the Jewish rulers became progressively corrupt, immoral, and even pagan during this period. The party of the Pharisees came into view at this time, and they opposed the Hellenization of Israel. The pious Jews or Pharisees were led by John Hyrcanus. However, the Sadducees also appeared during this time, and these Jews supported Hellenization. Internal strife led Jewish leaders to ask the Roman General Pompey to come and restore order. Rome intervened in the Jewish civil war and in 63 BC Pompey of Rome conquered Jerusalem. The Roman rule of Palestine began in 63 BC and lasted into the 4th century AD. The New Testament opens with the Roman government ruling the land of Palestine.
Many Jews resented the Roman rule of their land, Palestine. Deep distrust and bitterness began growing between the Jews, and the Romans lasted until the Jews rebelled and the Romans destroyed the Jewish state in AD 70. The New Testament references the Jews’ resentment against the Romans and their prayers and hopes that God would release Israel from Roman rule and restore their kingdom. Roman tax collectors collected taxes for Rome, and they often abused their collections from the Jews. One Jewish group called the Zealots sought violent and armed rebellion against the Romans and they rejoiced at Barabbas’ insurrection against Rome. However, the Apostle Paul and other travelers used the vast system of Roman roads and Roman Peace (Pax Romana). Yet, the Jewish Sanhedrin or Council was under the watchful eye of Rome.
In 37 BC, the Roman senate appointed Herod the Great to be “king” of all Palestine. Herod the Great ruled Palestine on behalf of Rome until his death in 4 BC. Notably, Herod the Great was king at the Lord Jesus’s birth in approximately 5 BC. Herod was ruthless and paranoid, and his unstable mental state caused the killing of innocent Jewish male babies in Bethlehem in his efforts to kill the true King of the Jews – Jesus the Messiah. Despite Herod’s unstable mental state, he carried out great building projects. In about 20 BC, Herod enlarged and expanded the Jerusalem Temple – the Second Temple.
By the first century AD, the people of Israel were in their land Palestine and the Second Temple was functioning. However, some Jews had decided that their religion could survive without the Temple, and the Hebrew religion had begun a remarkable adjustment. As a result, the center of worship was no longer exclusively the Temple with its worship rituals, and the Jews established local synagogues during the Exile. Many Jews were scattered around the world away from the Jerusalem Temple. However, these Jews wanted to continue to worship the living LORD God. So, these scattered Jews established synagogues where they assembled, worshipped, and studied God’s Word – the Holy Scriptures. The synagogue served as the center of worship, education, and justice. The major religious leader was no longer the priest but also the teacher-rabbi. Following the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, synagogues became the focus of Jewish religious life during the intertestamental period. In the New Testament, Jesus frequently visited and taught at the synagogues.
Even more, divisions grew within the Judaism of the Second Temple era. Some Jews lived in their ancestral land while other Jews continued to live in Diaspora or Dispersion away from Palestine. Even within Palestine, some Jews adopted Hellenistic culture, while others clung to the Hebrew way of life. Thus, this conflict within Judaism caused groups to compete for religious prestige, authority, and political power. Consequently, numerous parties, denominations, or sects developed during the intertestamental period. The best known of these Jewish parties were the Sadducees, Pharisees, Zealots, and Essenes. Also, the scribes developed following the Exile. The scribes studied God’s laws, copied the Holy Scriptures, and taught the people. Ezra was a scribe. These parties were prevalent during the times of Jesus.
In Palestine, Greek culture influenced a group of wealthy and powerful priests known as Sadducees. These Sadducees were loyal to the Roman government. Significantly, the Sadducees only accepted the first five books of the Holy Bible written by Moses – the Pentateuch. Also, the Sadducees operated in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, and the Jewish high priests were selected from the Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, in angels, or spirits.
The Pharisees were the strictest and most important group of Jews, and they ran the synagogues. The Pharisees emphasized complete obedience to the Law, which included the Law of Moses and their extra oral interpretation – often called traditions of the elders. Thus, the Pharisees added extrabiblical man-made laws and rules to those found in the Holy Bible. These extra man-made rules resulted in different forms of interpretation and the birth of traditions, often additional laws, which supposedly expanded and clarified the written the Law of Moses. During the New Testament period, these additional laws were taught and passed on orally and in written form. Many people regarded these rabbinic traditions as having a divine origin, equal to the written Law of Moses, but Jesus condemned these traditions of the elders or men. However, the Pharisees were the most influential to the public. Of the Jewish sects, Pharisees have survived and became the dominant party of Judaism today. The most notably Pharisees that accepted Jesus’s message included Nicodemus and the Apostle Paul.
The Zealots were revolutionaries that disliked Rome’s governance of their land. The Essenes were devout Jews and the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls. However, most people in the land of Israel belonged to none of these groups, being too busy earning a living and caring for their families.
Another important year for both Judaism and Christians is AD 70. Before AD 70, the Jews revolted against the Romans in AD 66, which led to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70. The Roman victory over this Jewish revolt brought Temple worship to an end and brought the rise of Rabbinic Judaism that continues to this day. From the second century until today, Jerusalem has been a Gentile city, and Christianity has mainly become a Gentile movement.
