Theological Essay: The Effect of Hellenism on Judaism ①

1. Raising the problem

According to Malachi's final warning, he said, "Remember the covenant of Sinai (Mal. 4:4)." If you express this again, you can understand'Keep the law'. Why did God choose the Israelites and gave them the law, and why did the Jews keep the law for 400 years after Malachi? The answer to this question can be found through Judaism, a community of law.

The Hellenistic era, often referred to as silence, is understood as the period God prepared Jesus Christ. Galatians 4:4 begins with "the time has come, and God has sent his Son", where "time" is a concept of "Kronos," which is the concept of the Greek word "Kairos." Literally translated as "the fullness of time comes" can be translated. God indeed sent the Messiah over the silent 400 years since Malachi. Through this biblical evidence (Isaiah 7:14, etc.) and the development of history (the Greek and Roman periods), God speaks Greek as a world language and utilizes the empire to spread Jesus Christ everywhere.

The history of the Jews for a period of time in the Hellenistic period is not well known. The earliest written portions of the Old Testament and the Jewish writings that are not part of the canon also lack direct historical knowledge [1]. Historical studies of this period have largely relied on external influences such as Maccabees. Here, we examine the emergence of Alexander in relation to the birth and formation process of Judaism, and the history of the Ptolemaic and Selucus dynasties, the emergence and development of Rome, the Maccabean Revolution and the Hasmon dynasty. In the process, it analyzes the influence of Hellenism on Judaism, and also finds out how Judaism was completed, and why those who abandoned Judaism and turned to Christ Jesus did so. Let's look at what it means to us as Christians and trace how it relates to the birth of Christianity.

2. The effect of Hellenism on Judaism

Philo of Alexandria, who was a Jew, first used the concept of'Hellification'. He said, “Hela was expanded by the new Greeks, and gradually healed the world of barbarians. And the peace watchdog assigned them the area.” Said. As such, the cultural program of'Hellification' becomes a universal heritage that is only recognized in the Roman era. The theme of "mutual fusion" between Judaism and Hellenism refers to such complex, diverse and contradictory phenomena. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to carefully observe various controversial concepts through the phenomenon and examine the phenomena of “Helenism” and “Hellification” connected with them more closely [2].

As the Jews went through the period of exile, the nation-states, institutions, and so on, had already been destroyed, so it was necessary to confirm their identity in any form and to have a bond as a reconstruction community. It seems that they formed Judaism as a legal community using their mental bond, the “law” as a tool. Ezra's role is largely at the foundation of the Jewish community's finally building a consistent foundation for the Jewish community. B.C. Throughout the 4C and 3C periods, Hellenism inevitably had a profound effect on Judaism, and finally a series of forms that could be characterized as Judaism during the Maccabean Revolution and the Hasmon dynasty emerged as a result of resistance to it.

1) Alexander's overseas conquest and Palestine

Israel, whether friendly or hostile, has continued to have a relationship with Greece. B.C. When it became 5C and 4C, this phenomenon became more frequent. Although indirect, it means that the Jews inevitably came into contact with the Greek spirit. Although this Greek spirit did not fundamentally alter Israel's faith, it had a serious impact as we will see.[3]

Alexander, who had ambitions to embody the world's unparalleled ideals of uniting the world, building a language, a custom, and a Greek city, Alexander defeated the Persians and conquered Egypt in the Battle of Isus in B.C.333. In the process, the inland areas of Palestine, including Judah and Samaria, fell under Alexander's control. Alexander died in Babylon in B.C.323, but Palestine and Orient began rapid Hellenism [4].

2) Ptolemaic dynasty of Palestine and Alexandria literature

After Alexander's death, the eastern part of his kingdom, including Palestine, was divided into the Selucos of Syria and the Ptolemy of Egypt. The Ptolemaic dynasty, based in Alexandria, ruled Palestine for almost a century. They did not interfere with Judah's internal affairs at all, and the Jews would continue to live a relatively peaceful age as gentle people. The Jews in Egypt soon made Greek their first language. Before the Greek Empire, Jews were scattered not only in Palestine but also in Asia Minor, Egypt and Babylon, and this phenomenon was accelerated by Alexander and his successors, leading to a much greater number of Jews outside Palestine [5]. Hebrew is at least B.C. It continued to be used until the end of 2C, but as time went by, it would have been cut off in diaspora society.

At the time, the influence of Hellenism on Palestine was widespread in the economic sphere, and mixed cultures. The Hellenistic ruling organization extended to the provinces, and Greek merchants and bureaucrats even reached a small farm in Palestine. As the mercenaries migrated to Samaria, the Greeks gradually sacrificed to Dionysus under the influence of the Greeks. In particular, it seems that the Philadelphia nanny became a Hellenist, showing the worship of the Semitic goddess. In political terms, Palestine, despite Ptolemy's efforts, was not easily unified due to ethnic diversity. The indigenous politics of the indigenous peoples, on the one hand, were under the rule of new rulers, but the aristocrats improved their position even under such circumstances. Because they participated in the economic leap of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and at least in part were able to adapt to the way of life of the Hellenistic leadership [6].

Alexandria gained the honor of being the center of literature in the Greek era. Jews lived in Egypt from an early age, and exploded into the Greek era. Ptolemy II (B.C. 285-247) first began with the translation of the Pentateuch and then expanded to other parts of the Old Testament. This translation is the Septuagint. The effect of this 70-member role on Diaspora Jews and the Early Church cannot be overestimated. The existence of the Bible in Greek opened a new way for communication between Jews and Gentiles, and it also provided a way for the Greek mind to have a stronger influence on the minds of the Jews. Of course, in the future this promoted the spread of Christianity. During this period, Hellenism inevitably influenced the thinking of Jewish thinkers, and while living in the Hellenistic culture, it was forced to absorb it. The godly Jews were swept away by this and did not compromise religious principles, but there were also Jews who were swept away and morally degraded. Many of them were actually envious of the Greek culture and immersed in it, constraining their own laws and customs.

Another thing to note with Septuagint is Philo of Alexandria, a contemporary of Paul. He was also an expert scholar in the Hebrew Scriptures, Literature and Greek Literature, trying to match the truths of Bible theology and Greek philosophy. He tried many interpretations freely, and although he was not accepted as a communist at the time, his attempts to establish a relationship between theology and philosophy had a profound effect on the Christian theology that would appear later [7].

3) Palestinian rule of the Seleucos dynasty

In the Palestinian territories, each of the inter-Korean dynasties finally came to a conclusion when Antiochus III defeated the Egyptian troops and drove them out of Asia (B.C. 198). From then on, the Selukos Empire merged with Palestine. In the era of Antiochus IV (hereafter called Epiphanes), the Jewish Greeks tried to make the reforms based on Greeks a reality. They were aiming to dramatically improve the situation of Jews in Palestine as the Jews had closer economic, political and cultural contact with the non-Jewish, Helled world.

Due to the various religious and oppressive policies of Epiphanes, Palestine is caught up in the torrent. First, he reduced the urgency of unifying his people to defend the country from Rome, while coveting whatever could be a new source of financial aid. This led to an eye for the riches of the temple in Jerusalem, which was also a cause of the Jewish ban. Also, because he was interested in political unification, he granted privileges like Greek city-states to various cities and promoted all elements of Greek. This policy included worshiping the gods of Zeus and the Greek gods, as well as worshiping himself as the visible incarnation of the god Zeus. These policies, though very carefully pursued, were those that would evoke a violent backlash among Jews who were faithful to their ancestors' faith.

There was an irreversible rift among the Jews of this period, which encircled the high priesthood, and there was a violent struggle, so Yason went on to become a high priest with bribes and pursued an active helenistic policy to establish a Greek-style athletic field in Jerusalem. Young people were registered there. Menelaus, who pushed Jason with more bribes and went to the high priesthood, tolerated Epiphanes' looting of the temple and worshiped Jehovah in the same way as Zeus, while attempting to reorganize the offer to worship the king as the presence of Zeus. When devout Jews rebelled with shock and fear, Epiphanes issued an edict that virtually forbids all Jewish customs. As well as regular sacrifices, the Sabbath and traditional feasts were banned, copies of the law were destroyed, and children's circumcision was banned. They were forced to eat pork, and if neither of them obeyed, they were put to death. Pagan altars were erected, and unholy beasts were sacrificed [8]. Eventually, in December B.C. 167, the offer of the god Olympus Zeus was introduced to the Jerusalem Temple. The temple of Samaria was likewise dedicated to Zeus Xenius (2 Maccabees 6:1- 1-3). The Hellenistic Jews welcomed the king's edict, while others voluntarily or fearfully followed them and renounced their ancestors' faith. However, few people refused to follow and chose to die rather than break the law (1 Maccabees 1:43-62f).

Maccabees 2:9 details the punishment of this detestable king, Epiphanes, in the suffering of God. He is punished for dying very slowly, with maggots crawling out of his eyes while the intestines are rotten and the bones of his body are all misaligned. This can be compared to the death of Herod Agrippa, who killed John, James, etc. and did not glorify God. This is a glimpse into the wrath of the absolute power who kills the abominable by using worms as the worst punishment. “Because Herod did not give glory to God, the angel of the Lord struck immediately and was eaten by the worms and died” (Acts 12:23, NKRV). 

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[1] John Bright, 「Israel History」 as Park Moon-jae (Paju: Christian Digest Publishing Group, 2016), 559

[2] Martin Hengel, Im Jin-soo's translation of 「New and Old Testament Intermediate」 (Paju: Salim Publishing Co., 2006), 92

[3] John Bright, 559

[4] John Bright, 569-71

[5] D.S RUSSEL, 「BETWEEN THE TESTMENT」 (USA: SCM Press Ltd., 1965), 14-5

[6] Martin Hengel, New and Old Testament History, Im Jin-suk, 92

[7] D.S RUSSEL, 「BETWEEN THE TESTMENT」, 15-18

[8] John Bright, 580-84

[8] John Bright, Translated by Moon Moon-jae, 「History of Israel」, 580~84

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