Political Situation in Jerusalem since the Old Testament

The Political Setting of the New Testament[1]

• ·       Israel/Palestine was in the middle of two great kingdoms of Egypt and Syria
• ·       In 333 BC Alexander the Great conquered Palestine and it remained mainly under Greek control.
• ·       During the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (250 BC) the Greek translations of the sacred Jewish books began at Alexandria
• ·       Around 179 BC Antiochus started trying to stamp out the Jewish religion, even consecrating the temple to Zeus.
• ·       This gave rise to the Maccabean revolt which, despite always being way outnumbered, culminated in 165BC with their retaking Jerusalem and reinstituting temple worship to Jehovah there.
• ·       In 143BC Simon Maccabeus achieved independence for the Jews and started the Hasmonean dynasty (named for his father Mattathias/Hasmon).
• ·       Eventually their religious zeal was replaced with an acquisitive one which led to warring action within the dynasty appealing to Pompey in Rome.
• ·       In 63BC Pompey entered Jerusalem on the Sabbath and took control, slaughtering 12,000 Jews.
• ·       Because of his support of Rome, Antipater (father of Herod the Great) was made governor.
• ·       His son, Herod, married a Hasmonean princess; although there was no actual Jewish blood in the family, his grandfather had been forced to convert to Judaism. He brought a Hellenistic influence to Jerusalem.
• ·       Rome ruled much of Europe and many of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean
• ·       The Roman empire included Judea and Galilee, where Jesus walked and talked—as well as Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome, where Paul traveled and preached.

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[1] Taken from Paul E. Dahl, “The Setting of the New Testament “ at https://www.lds.org/ensign/1983/07/the-setting-of-the-new-testament?lang=eng.