|
|
This is only a preview of the paper
Click here to register and get the full text.
Existing members click here to login
|
|
|
THE EFFECTS OF HELLENISTIC CULTURE ON JEWS IN THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD
IAN BRASG
Alexander the Great and his Greek armies had a substantial influence on the world of the time, bringing the Greek and Hellenistic cultures to the forefront much of the civilized world, including Judea, reaching as far as India. Try as they might to have resisted the effects of Hellenism, the Jews still managed to be affected profoundly and deeply in the many aspects of their life that they had held dear since the days of the scribes. ... During that period over thirty Hellenistic colonies and settlements were established throughout the land of Israel
Early Hellenism and its influences on Judah
After Alexander’s conquest of Israel, he was asked to ravage the Jews and Judea by the Samaritans and he agreed, partly because of the high priests disloyalty. After meeting the Jews and Simon the Righteous (or Jaddus as some sources suggest such as Josephus), High Priest of Judah, he had a change of heart and decided to give the Jews full religious freedom to govern themselves by there ancestral laws, at home and freedom of religion abroad. He also gave the Jews the right to refuse conscription into Alexander’s army as it would mean disobeying their sacred laws (Josephus, Talmud Babli), even though Gruen holds (Gruen, p. 192) that Alexander honoured the Jews by allowing them to join his army and that indeed many did. ...
I believe that life remained relatively unchanged under Alexander’s rule, other than the changing landscape of the peoples and cultures around them, which would soon catch up with the Jews. The threats on the Jewish culture began when Alexander the Great died, and Hellenism began to increasingly take hold in Judea. ... It is also considered by some to be the combining of the Greek culture with the cultures of the Near East and the penetration of elements of the Greek culture into those of Asia Minor, Carthage, India etc. ... It has even been defined as the civilization during the Hellenistic period that was ruled by Hellenistic kingdoms (Macedon e. ... The second type, which is preferred by Bickerman and Schiffman, suggests a synthesis where the moderate effects of Hellenism are integrated into the regular way of life without any extremely noticeable changes. ...
At first Ptolemaic Egypt was in control of Palestine and the Jews living there, then Seleucid Syria. ... The Jews were the only people left from biblical times that resisted the early influences of Hellenism by not assimilating and kept steadfast to their faith and religion. ... The Jews settled there originally when Ptolemy was looking for people to settle the newly founded city and soon it became centre of commerce (Bickerman, p. ... The Jews living there excluded themselves from full citizenship because that would have required them to participate in Pagan practices and surely would have led to their complete Hellenization, but other than that, they were accepted as members of the community with almost normal rights. ... The Jews established their own courts of law and religious organizations. The Jews built magnificent synagogues and places of learning here. ... Although the Jews were barred from taking a public office, they still had their commercial rights and rights to police protection. ...
As the Jews settled down, they started to speak Greek a lot more, and to read Greek literature. ... Eventually, a generation of Jews did not even speak Hebrew or Aramaic. ... If the new generation of Jews cannot adapt the Torah so that they can relate to it, much less understand it, then they have no hope for conserving their religion.
Jews gradually started moving westward as new trade opportunities opened up for them and Jewish settlements could be found along the Mediterranean. The Jews could now export some of their own products, such as wine and olive oil. ... These upper-class Jews intermingled with settled Greeks in Palestine which helped to accelerate their Hellenization (Ben Sasson, p. ... One of the most outspoken Jews in favour of Hellenization was Joseph ben Tobias who was appointed tax collector after a dispute between the Ptolemy and High Priest. ... The interior of the country where these Jews lived Hellenization took place much slower and Semitic beliefs refused to even share a spot with Hellenistic ones (Ben Sasson, p. ... These ordinary Jews did not see any benefit in becoming more Greek, nor did they wish for the greater wealth that would come from adapting new routes or diverting trade routes to Judah. Even worse, this would require a Hellenized culture. These steadfast Jews did not live in the Hellenized cities, nor could they afford to send their children to school at one of the Greek institutions of Israel found all over Israel.
Approximate Word count = 3878
Approximate Pages = 15.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
|
|
|
|
|
|