Hengel's thesis is that Hellenistic influences were, and had been for centuries, smoothly penetrating Judaism even in Jerusalem; there was respect on both sides between Jew and Greek. This cultural phenomenon has usually been described in terms of Hellenization, which seemingly im- plies a deliberate attempt to impose Greek ways on local culture. ——— (1980). It is therefore no wonder that there were synagogues of the Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians, and Asiatics in the Holy City itself (Acts vi. This was the first official encounter between the Jews and the Greeks, between Judaism and Hellenism, an encounter that eventually changed the course of Western civilization. The Epistles of Paul and the Acts of the Apostles report that, after his initial focus on the conversion of Hellenized Jews across Anatolia, Macedonia, Thrace and Northern Syria without criticizing their laws and traditions,[16][17] Paul the Apostle eventually preferred to evangelize communities of Greek and Macedonian proselytes and Godfearers, or Greek circles sympathetic to Judaism: the Apostolic Decree allowing converts to forego circumcision made Christianity a more attractive option for interested pagans than Rabbinic Judaism, which required ritual circumcision for converts (see Brit milah). dating to the period. This page was last edited on 15 May 2021, at 02:17. Judentum und Hellenismus by Martin Hengel, 1981, S.C.M. Jewish religious life underwent a dramatic metamorphosis in the thousand years between the conquest of Alexander and the ascendancy of the Arabs (332 B.C.E.–640 C.E.). Judaism and Hellenism studies in their encounter in Palestine during the early Hellenistic period 1st American ed. Read this book using Google Play Books app on your PC, android, iOS devices. Hellenism you might summarily describe as the worship of many Gods according to the ancestral religions of all nations. This cultural phenomenon has usually been described in terms of Hellenization, which seemingly im- plies a deliberate attempt to impose Greek ways on local culture. Judaism and Hellenism Studies in their Encounter in Palestine during the Early Hellenistic Period. When a Greek gymnasium was introduced into Jerusalem, it was installed by a Jewish High Priest. After destroying Tire and Gaza all towns sent delegations to the young King, Jerusalem included. For example, a Jew in the next generation Hellenized Palestine might see himself speaking Greek and thus practicing more pagan rituals. The Greeks viewed Jewish culture favorably, while Hellenism gained adherents among the Jews. PAUL AND HELLENISM RUDOLF KNOPF University of Bonn, Germany The following pages are intended to furnish a survey of the work which has been done in recent years upon the subject "Paul and Hellenism." Judaism and Hellenism : studies in their encounter in Palestine during the early Hellenistic period by Hengel, Martin. This edition was published in 1974 by Fortress Press in Philadelphia. i. Hellenism was a synthesis of Greek (Hellenic) culture with the native cultures of the Near East. Judaism and Hellenism : Studies in Their Encounter in Palestine During the Early Hellenistic Period (1st English ed.). After the death of Alexander the Great, the Greek empire in the Mediterranean basin divided into two main sections. ed. Here is a basic outline of Judaism versus Hellenism: Judaism. The reasons for the decline of Hellenistic Judaism are obscure. This occasioned a furious defensive reaction; Judaism clammed up, became xenophobic and rigoristic, producing the attitude … The Hasmonean Dynasty eventually disintegrated due to civil war, which coincided with civil wars in Rome. The Greek emphasis on physical culture and on beauty also spread throughout the Near East. Why did the outnumbered Maccabees fight the Greeks? The religion of the Greeks was fused with that of the natives in many different forms and local cults. One aspect of the contact between Hellenism (and Rome) and Judaism deserves special treatment, the spiritual resistance against their rule. A … In the Greek cities, the upper classes of theNear East were acculturated through the schools and other institutions of the Hellenistic world. Then the Greek party tried to go too fast, make Hellenization obligatory and outlaw the Law. The struggle of the Jewish people against Greek and Roman domination was accompanied by a literature which encouraged and intensified resistance. See also Circumcision controversy in early Christianity[18][19] and the Abrogation of Old Covenant laws. ; I Cor. Then the Greek party tried to go too fast, make Hellenization obligatory and outlaw the Law. Philo of Alexandria was an important apologist of Judaism, presenting it as a tradition of venerable antiquity that, far from being a barbarian cult of an oriental nomadic tribe, with its doctrine of monotheism had anticipated tenets of Hellenistic philosophy. B Judaism / Hellenism / Religion: Further subjects: B Collection of essays B Jews Civilization Greek influences B Greek literature, Hellenistic Jewish authors History and criticism B Hellenism B Josephus, Flavius B Josephus Flavius B Early Judaism B Judaism History Post-exilic period, 586 … Judaism and Hellenism: : Hengel, Martin - ISBN 9780334008156 [8], Under the suzerainty of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and later the Seleucid Empire, Judea witnessed a period of peace and protection of its institutions. From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism, The Sephardic Exodus to the Ottoman Empire. Paperback; 9781592441860; Published: March 2003; $71.00 / £54.00 / AU$97.00 . Siegal Lifelong Learning | Spring 2017 Lecture SeriesTo Be Greek or Not to Be Greek? Is Hellenism so antithetical to Jewish values? It may be that it was eventually marginalized by, partially absorbed into or became progressively the Koine-speaking core of Early Christianity centered on Antioch and its traditions, such as the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. Most interestingly, the native Near Easterners gravitated as well to the Hellenic arts and sciences and soon took the lead in such disciplines as literature and philosophy. People from the surrounding areas, streaming into the cities, quickly gained the legal and economic advantages afforded by citizenship in the polis-‑exemption from certain customs and duties and participation in the municipal government. Their efforts were probably facilitated by the arrival of a fourth wave of Greek-speaking newcomers to Cilicia/Southern Turkey and Northwestern Syria: Cypriot Jews and 'Cyrenian' (Libyan) Jewish migrants of non-Egyptian North African Jewish origin, as well as gentile Roman settlers from Italy—many of whom already spoke fluent Koine Greek and/or sent their children to Greek schools. This is the fascinating story of a group of reformers who tried to go too fast, bungled their reform, and so changed the course of history. The decline of Hellenistic Judaism started in the second century and its causes are still not fully understood. In Judaism: Myth and legend in the Hellenistic period Judaism entered a new phase in 330 bce, when Alexander the Great completed his conquest of the Middle East. As the very context of Acts 6 makes clear, the Hellenistai are not Hellenes.[20]. This edition was published in 1974 by Fortress Press in Philadelphia. It may be that it was marginalized by, absorbed into, or became Early Christianity (see the Gospel according to the Hebrews). We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and bring you ads that might interest you. The collection of the loanwords in the Mishna to be found in Schürer shows the areas in which Hellenistic influence first became visible- military matters, state administration and legislature, trade and commerce, clothing and household utensils, and not least in building. Is Hellenism so antithetical to Jewish values? ——— (1979). Philo could draw on Jewish tradition to use customs which Greeks thought as primitive or exotic as the basis for metaphors: such as "circumcision of the heart" in the pursuit of virtue. The existence of these two distinct groups characterizes the earliest Christian community in Jerusalem. One G-d. Buy. HELLENISM, JUDAISM, & EMPIRE [BSHS 3735] Spring 2014: Instructor, Ashley Bacchi CDSP 116, Thursdays 2:10-5pm abacchi@ses.gtu.edu Course Description: This course will explore questions of Jewish identity before and after the Maccabean Revolt. Judaism and Hellenism—Studies in their Encounter in Palestine during the Early Hellenistic Period Written by Martin Hengel Reviewed By Graham Stanton . It is not until the end of the 4th century, however, that Jews are first mentioned by Greek writers, who praise them as brave, self-disciplined, and philosophical. Hellenistic Judaism was a form of Judaism in classical antiquity that combined Jewish religious tradition with elements of Greek culture. Hengel's thesis is that Hellenistic influences were, and had been for centuries, smoothly penetrating Judaism even in Jerusalem; there was respect on both sides between Jew and Greek. By Tzvi Freeman. [9] For their aid against his Ptolemaic enemies, Antiochus III the Great promised his Jewish subjects a reduction in taxes and funds to repair the city of Jerusalem and the Second Temple.[9]. Judaism and Hellenism. Judaism and Hellenism: Studies in their Encounter in Palestine during the Early Hellenistic Period. Why Couldn't the Jews and Greeks Just Get Along? But many of the surviving liturgical traditions of these communities rooted in Hellenistic Judaism and, more generally, Second Temple Greco-Jewish Septuagint culture, were expunged progressively in the late medieval and modern eras by both Phanariot European-Greek (Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople) and Vatican (Roman Catholic) gentile theologians who sought to 'bring back' Levantine Greek Orthodox and Greek-Catholic communities into the European Christian fold: some ancient Judeo-Greek traditions were thus deliberately abolished or reduced in the process. "The Jewish Diaspora in the Hellenistic Period, "Saul of Tarsus: Not a Hebrew Scholar; a Hellenist", " Conflict and Diversity in the Earliest Christian Community", Books that contain Bibliographies on the Hellenistic Judaism - Oxford Bibliographies, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hellenistic_Judaism&oldid=1023212353, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Wikipedia articles with style issues from July 2018, Articles needing additional references from May 2018, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, heathen, 'Classical' Greeks, Macedonian Greeks and Greco-Syrian gentiles, or, the local, autochthonous descendants of Greek or Greco-Syrian converts to mainstream Judaism – known as, Julianos (Hellenized form of a Roman name) and Pappos (from, Trypho the Jew, thought to be a 2nd-century CE rabbi opposed to Christian apologist. When he had in mind Greeks, gentiles, non-Jews who spoke Greek and lived according to the Greek fashion, then he used the word Hellenes (Acts 21.28). Author: Louis H. Feldman. Many of the Jewish sages who compiled the Mishnah and earliest versions of the Talmud were Hellenized Jews, including Johanan ben Zakai, the first Jewish sage attributed the title of rabbi and Rabbi Meir, the son of proselyte Anatolian Greek converts to Early Rabbinical Judaism. HELLENISM, JUDAISM, & EMPIRE [BSHS 3735] Spring 2014: Instructor, Ashley Bacchi CDSP 116, Thursdays 2:10-5pm abacchi@ses.gtu.edu Course Description: This course will explore questions of Jewish identity before and after the Maccabean Revolt. But in many other ways, Judaism is similar to Hellenism. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The dominant features of the Hellenistic Age, which began with Alexander’s death in 323, were an increasing cosmopolitanism and… This is the fascinating story of a group of reformers who tried to go too fast, bungled their reform, and so changed the course of history. Instead, the extremists hit the battlefield. Acts and the History of Earliest Christianity. User Review - Not Available - Book Verdict. History and Historical Theology. Judaism and Hellenism is a comprehensive study of the impact of Hellenism on Judaism in the intertestamental period by Martin Hengel, late professor of New Testament … Series: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, Volume: 107. The Hasmonean civil war began when the High Priest Hyrcanus II (a supporter of the Pharisees) was overthrown by his younger brother, Aristobulus II (a supporter of the Sadducees). Also Circumcision controversy in Early Christianity [ 18 ] [ 19 ] and the Folly of temptation... 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