The intertestamental period is the protestant term and deuterocanonical period is the catholic and orthodox christian term for the gap of time between the period covered by the hebrew bible and the period covered by the christian new testament. The old testament closes with the book of malachi, written about 400 bc. May 21, 2017 the intertestamental period and its significance upon christianity. Apart from the more general histories of israel, several volumes dealing with the history and religion of the intertestamental period have appeared in recent years. The intertestamental period and its significance upon christianity calendar activities, spiritual life, christianity. The intertestamental period, or the time between the testaments, occurred between the end of the writing of malachi in the old testament and the beginning of the events described in matthew in the new testament. New testament survey intertestamental history 1 4 the ministries of haggai and zechariah occurred during his reign. This period covers the time between the last old testament prophet and john the baptizing one. Such a realization enables us to fully participate in gods ongoing plan for history with great confidence. Verse especially emphasizes the connection between covenant obedience. Home the intertestamental period, also called the second temple period, is the time between the writing of the last old testament book and the beginning of the events described in the new testament. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The intertestamental period and its significance upon christianity. Overview of the intertestamental period wvbs online video.
The notsosilent 400 years of intertestamental history. The intertestamental period is the time between the testaments. C ptolemiesseleucid sudden death of alexander 323 and consequent division of his kingdom to four generals and their power struggle for restoration of glory of the world kingdom. After many failed attempts, the seleucids finally took control of palestine. In the ptolemaic dynasty there was a faint revival of the old glory of the past, but the star of empire had set for egypt, and the mailed hand of rome finally smote down a civilization whose beginnings are lost in the dim twilight of history. I once again do not claim any originality to this study only that. So the first thing persia contributed to the people of israel was a foreign policy. For 400 years there is no record of god having sent any word to be written down for future use. The rebuilding of the temple languished during the time immediately after the giving of the decrees by cyrus. It is sacred history, to both jews and christians, because in these historical experiences, as interpreted by faith, the ultimate meaning of human life is disclosed. This period is also referred to as 400 silent years.
The intertestamental period and its significance upon. Four salient points by jintae kim associate professor, nyack college 1. From the ending of old testament history and prophecy to the opening words of matthews gospel account in the new testament spans about four centuries. From israels standpoint, this history is not just the ordinary story of wars, population movement, and cultural advance or decline. Biblical literature biblical literature intertestamental literature. Intertestamental period the 400 years is often referred to as silent years. Wee little miracles provides a free printable for making adaptation of a. Raymond surburg, longtime professor of the bible and the languages of the old testament, presents the history of the jewish people from persian times to the fall of jerusalem in a. Jubilees begins with the recognition that the land is a gift from god rooted in the covenant. Prophets of the old testament list and bible history bible study notebook, bible study tools. Introduction to the intertestamental period part 1 youtube.
The geographical movement of israelites continued in the greek and roman empires so that. The bible in history and literature national council on. Pdf forgiveness in the intertestamental period researchgate. Pdf the article suggests answers to the following questions.
The returning jews had lost heart and had become more concerned about their own homes than they were about the house. The intertestamental period the purpose of this article is to trace in broad outline some of the developments which have taken place over the past ten or fifteen years or so in the intertestamental field and to indicate some of the more important books written during this time which have a bearing on this study. In this first file, we survey the historical and political background for the events in the. The time between the last writings of the old testament and the appearance of christ is known as the intertestamental or between the testaments period. The intertestamental period by dub mcclish introduction. It contains a wealth of accurate historical information that the gives the reader a true sense of the culture of the those times and gives clarity to the condition of society and culture that john the baptist and the lord jesus lived and ministered in.
An understanding of the intertestamental periods history and politically charged climate will illustrate evidence of divine providence weaving through approximately fourhundred years of antiquity, culminating in an optimal environment for the expansion and fulfillment of the great commission. I once again do not claim any originality to this study only that the powerpoints were compiled and organized by myself. Numerous texts refer to the activities of the spirit of god in relation to the life and work of the old testament. The old testament ends with the jewish people reestablished in. The intertestamental period by dub mcclish introduction from the ending of old testament history and prophecy to the opening words of matthews gospel account in the new testament spans about four centuries. Biblical literature intertestamental literature britannica. The intertestamental period is the term protestants use whereas the deuterocanonical period is the term catholics and orthodox christians use. The jewish people had been living in exile in babylon since about 605 bc. The history of the intertestamental period theology religion. The persians lost nearly 400 ships in a storm, the greeks only lost three but captured another 15 persian vessels herodotus, the history, 7.
In all fairness, however, the boundaries of this period are the very artificial creation of the decision in 1812, by the. The period between the old testament and the new testament is one of the most overlooked eras of biblical history. Paul and other travelers made good use of the vast system of roman roads. This period gets its name from the absence of content in our present bibles for these four centuries that is, it is the period between the testaments. Though represented by no more than a blank page in most bibles, the period between the old and new testaments was a vibrant time in secular history. Its important to get an idea of what transpired in the holy land during this long period of time.
I will pull from this question bank for the questions on those lectures. A part of this literature is today commonly called the apocrypha hidden. Even though it is sometimes called the 400 years of silence opinions vary traditionally starts after the last hebrew prophets, usually nehemiah, who is dated to the late fifth century bce, or from about 445 on. This book is one of the very best i have read over the years on the history of the intertestamental period. A brief history of the intertestamental period herod antipas. We have just finished up the old testament sessions, two andahalf hours through the whole old testament. It lasted from the prophet malachis time about 400 bc to the preaching of john the baptist about ad 25. Traditionally, it is considered to cover roughly four hundred years, spanning the ministry of malachi c. End is placed from 1 ce to the end of the first century ce. The silence of god and of his prophets led to two key developments during the intertestamental period.
Printable pdf version of this study the old testament closes a little over four hundred years before christ about 425 bc with the jewish people being partially restored to their land, and living under the dominion of the persian empire. Alexander the great was determined to bring greek culture to every corner of his empire. In this twopart introduction to the intertestamental period, dan cates guides the viewer in a study of the nations, individuals, events, locations, histories, and. The village seems to have begun as a selucid outpost in the 2nd century b. Our prayer is that charting the bible chronologically will enable. This was a period of about 400 years and is also known by some as the 400 years. A vast amount of jewish literature written in the intertestamental period mainly 2nd and 1st centuries bce and from the 1st and 2nd centuries ce was preserved, for the most part, through various christian churches.
Antiochus iii defeated egypt and replaced the proegyptian high priest with a politicianpriest named jason. Intertestamental period and new testament background page 1. A sizable jewish community also grew in egypt, and a large jewish colony in alexandria was influential well past the time of christ cf. Jason moved to transform jerusalem into a greek city. Choose from 500 different sets of bible exam intertestamental period flashcards on quizlet. There was, thus, great anxiety as the religious syncretism and cultural changes going on during this time. This was a period of about 400 years and is also known by some as the 400 years of silence. He offers a survey of the various writings from this period, including the apocrypha, which was always. Although accurate portrayals of history, this work is not regarded as scripture because there is no prophetic inspiration. The majority of israelites did not return to judea after the exile and so became colonists, no longer captives, in the persian empire. This period is rich with history that helps us to understand the emergence of the religious sects, synagogues, and the kingdom of god. Learn bible exam intertestamental period with free interactive flashcards. The intertestamental period bruce satterfield department of religious education, brigham young university idaho the greek period in 334 b. Babylon in 536 bc, yet it continued on into the early years of the intertestamental period 397336 bc.
Even so, the persians outnumbered them more than 21. The whole history of egypt in this period was therefore one of endless and swiftly succeeding changes. Books in circulation the intertestamental period, also called the second temple period, is the time between the writing of the last old testament book and the beginning of the events described in the new testament. Lecture 6 the intertestamental period foundations home. The intertestamental period the four centuries prior to the birth of christ has been called the intertestamental period. The sources include the hebrew old testament, the septuagint, the apocrypha, the pseudepigrapha of the old testament, the dead sea scrolls, and the new testament itself scott, 3032. There was, thus, great anxiety as the religious syncretism and cultural changes going on.
The intertestamental period, 400 notsosilent years welcome to session six of our journey through the whole bible in five hours or less. Julius scott provides a rather comprehensive list of major sources used to reconstruct the history of the intertestamental period. A brief history of the intertestamental period free download as pdf file. The intertestamental period malachi is the last prophet of the old testament, and then there is a leap of 400 years until the birth of jesus christ. The romans built on this through political achievements. The dispersion of israel began in the two exiles, i. In introduction to the intertestamental period, dr.
What is the history of the intertestamental period. Usually we go from reading malachi to matthew without knowing any of the developmental history that shaped the world, language, and religion. Intertestamental period and new testament background page 2 from 320 to 198 b. For the better understanding of this period in the history of israel, it may be well to pause for a moment to glance at the wider field of the history of the world in the centuries under contemplation, for the words fullness of time deal with the allembracing history of mankind, for whose salvation christ. In an effort to prepare im sharing 40 faithbuilding lenten activities for you and your. During that era, aristotle developed his system of thought and logic that are still with us today, and his most famous student, alexander the great, laid the groundwork for the new testament to be written.
When one finishes reading the old testament book of malachi, the next book in order is the. These two terms describe the gap of time between the period covered by the hebrew bible and the period covered by the christian new testament essentially, it covers roughly four hundred years. Intertestamental period and new testament background page 4 in the centuries before this, greece had conquered the ancient world and left its intellectual and cultural mark. The four hundred silent years is a short book only 104 pages on the intertestamental period traces the history of israel. Definition the intertestamental period denotes here the history of postexilic judaism from the time of the completion of the book of malachi to the destruction of the temple of jerusalem a. The apocrypha intertestamental period literary genre. Intertestamental history home libguides at bob jones. A study of the intertestamental period this study is presented in power point format having adapted the material from gene taylors between the testaments pdf fileworkbook and resources from many weblinks on the subject. Traditionally, it is considered to cover roughly four hundred years, spanning the ministry of malachi. Political backgrounds free online biblical library. Just as the writer of jubilees sought to insert the law into primeval history, so to the boundaries of the land. A little of the history of gamla is in order, since it is not a city mentioned in the bible. The history of the intertestamental period theology. The intertestamental period was a difficult time for orthodox jews.
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