INTERTESTAMENTALPERIODPAPER
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
ACCOUNT OF THE INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD
A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. C. ADRIAN THOMAS
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE COURSE NBST 525
LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
BY
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA
August 10, 2013
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
SECOND TEMPLE OR INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD 2
THE BABYLONIAN PERIOD (606 – 539 BC) 3
THE PERSIAN PERIOD (539-331 BC) 4
THE GREEK PERIOD 5
CONCLUSION 9
BIBLIOGRAPHY 10
INTRODUCTION
The “Intertestamental period”, or the “Second Temple Period” represent a period within history, which upholds an interpretation for both Christianity and Judaism. According to Judaism, this era acknowledges the “Second Temple Period”, which exemplifies the Jewish Diaspora.0 First, “diaspora” simply means “dispersion” or “scattering.”0 This dispersion or scattering began through the efforts of the Assyrians when they defeated Israel in 722 B.C. In effect, the Jewish nation dispersed all over the Middle East, Egypt, and Babylon. These individuals literally disappeared from antiquity due to the results of the Jewish Diaspora. However, Nebuchadnezzar endured the Jewish populaces to inaugurate a cohesive group within Babylon around 597 B.C.0 Nevertheless, the subject of this essay will focus on the Christian assessment of the “Intertestamental Period.” For centuries, Christian intellectuals describe the era from the final quarter of the fifth century B.C. to the first century A.D. as the “Intertestamental Period.” This era arises with the reconstructing of the Jewish temple in the late sixth century, and terminating with its annihilation in A.D. 70.0 The “Intertestamental Period” represents a significant account of the supernatural hand of God throughout antiquity. The “Intertestamental Period” characterizes the period from the concluding of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi to the beginning of the New Testament, the book of Matthew. This era embraces about 400 “silent years”. The meaning of “silent years”
ACCOUNT OF THE INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD
A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. C. ADRIAN THOMAS
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE COURSE NBST 525
LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
BY
LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA
August 10, 2013
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 1
SECOND TEMPLE OR INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD 2
THE BABYLONIAN PERIOD (606 – 539 BC) 3
THE PERSIAN PERIOD (539-331 BC) 4
THE GREEK PERIOD 5
CONCLUSION 9
BIBLIOGRAPHY 10
INTRODUCTION
The “Intertestamental period”, or the “Second Temple Period” represent a period within history, which upholds an interpretation for both Christianity and Judaism. According to Judaism, this era acknowledges the “Second Temple Period”, which exemplifies the Jewish Diaspora.0 First, “diaspora” simply means “dispersion” or “scattering.”0 This dispersion or scattering began through the efforts of the Assyrians when they defeated Israel in 722 B.C. In effect, the Jewish nation dispersed all over the Middle East, Egypt, and Babylon. These individuals literally disappeared from antiquity due to the results of the Jewish Diaspora. However, Nebuchadnezzar endured the Jewish populaces to inaugurate a cohesive group within Babylon around 597 B.C.0 Nevertheless, the subject of this essay will focus on the Christian assessment of the “Intertestamental Period.” For centuries, Christian intellectuals describe the era from the final quarter of the fifth century B.C. to the first century A.D. as the “Intertestamental Period.” This era arises with the reconstructing of the Jewish temple in the late sixth century, and terminating with its annihilation in A.D. 70.0 The “Intertestamental Period” represents a significant account of the supernatural hand of God throughout antiquity. The “Intertestamental Period” characterizes the period from the concluding of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi to the beginning of the New Testament, the book of Matthew. This era embraces about 400 “silent years”. The meaning of “silent years”
Bibliography: Battle, John A. Intertestament Period. http://wrs.edu/NTSurvey/Chapter1--Intertestament_Period.pdf (accessed August 11, 2013). Blomberg, Craig L. Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey, Second Edition. Nashville, Tennessee: B & H Publishing Group, 2009. Clogg, Richard. A Concise History of Greece. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Cohen, Shaye J. D. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. Hooker, Dick. The Diaspora. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/Diaspora.html (accessed August 11, 2013). James Innell Packer, Merrill Chaplin Tenney, and William White, eds. The World of the New Testament. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 1982. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews - Book XII. http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-12.htm (accessed August 11, 2013). Kostenberger, Andreas J., L. Scott Kellum, and Charles L. Quarles. The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown. Nashville, Tennessee: B & H Publishing Group, 2009. Rabbi Michael Zimmerman. History of Judaism During the Intertestamental Period: The Second Temple Period. http://kehillatisrael.net/docs/learning/intertestamental.html (accessed August 11, 2013). Stevenson, John. The Intertestamental Period. http://www.angelfire.com/nt/theology/15-400sy.html (accessed August 11, 2013). Synagogue. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/ (accessed August 11, 2013). Lea, Thomas D., and David Alan Black, eds. The New Testament: Its Background and Message. Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003. Watt, Jonathan M., and Stanley E. Porter, ed. Diglossia and Other Topics in New Testament Linguistics. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000. Zachariah, Katherine. Hellenisms: Culture, Identity, and Ethnicity from Antiquity to Modernity. Surrey, United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishing, 2008.