Genesis states that Abraham was from the city "Ur of the Chaldeans" (Gen. 11:31) near the northwest corner of what is now the Persian Gulf. The home of his ancestors is said to be Haran in northwest Mesopotamia at the headwaters of a branch of the Euphrates River. Yet Abraham and his descendants are sometimes called Hebrews. Historians and biblical scholars have tried to understand why Abraham and his people came to be called Hebrews and how Hebrews related to other groups in the area.
These issues are still hotly debated. However, one explanation is that the biblical word for Hebrew (' ibri) is closely related to the terms Apiru or Habiru, which are found in other languages of the region. Apiru/Habiru are mentioned in several ancient texts from different groups living in the eastern Mediterranean area The Apiru/Habiru do not seem to be particular peoples or tribes but a "class" of people. They were landless clans who lived on the edges of society, wandering from place to place and feeding their flocks of sheep on uninhabited lands. They may have occasionally hired themselves out as soldiers to powerful warlords or raided caravans and border villages. During famines, some may have migrated to Egypt, which served as the "breadbasket" of the region. This description conforms to the biblical portrait of the patriarchs.
Not all Apiru/Habiru were associated with Abraham and the group that came to be called the Hebrews, however It seems that the Hebrews were a group of Apiru/Habiru who traced their beginnings back to Abraham. The Hebrews were likely a part of a larger migration of Apiru/Habiru who came from Egypt and conquered the Promised Land. 3
importance, it was during the Exodus that the several isolated tribes wandering in the wilderness came to see themselves as an identifiable people.
The Judges and the United Kingdom
Upon Moses' death, Joshua became leader of the Hebrews, and he began to wrest the land from the native Canaanites The Promised Land was not completely secured for the Israelites for some time The conquest probably involved initial military victories and a gradual expansion of the area controlled by the Jews During this expansion, Israel was a loose confederation of tribes presided over by a judge A judge was a part-time leader who periodically would leave his regular work to raise an army to deal with outside threats or
sit in judgment on disputes between Israelites. The period of Judges lasted from ca. 1210 to 1020 B C E.
Toward the end of this period, a new threat arose that could not be managed by judges and citizen-soldiers. The Philistines emerged from the northeastern Mediterranean to occupy large sections of the plains around the eastern end of the sea They became a powerful military force because their iron-forging abilities allowed them to produce superior weapons and armor
Israel had to unite under a single leader to counter this threat The period of the United Kingdom ran from ca. 1020 to 922 B C E The first king of Israel was Saul (ca. 1021 — 1000 B.C.E.), who met with limited success in subduing the Philistines. David (ca. 1000—961 B.C.E.) followed Saul Through military power and treaty, David countered the Philistines and other groups and established a fairly extensive empire. His son Solomon (ca 961-922 BCE.) was even more successful at expanding boundaries, establishing peace with surrounding tribes, and bringing prosperity to Israel. Solomon also helped to centralize worship in Jerusalem by constructing a temple in the city
The Prophets
After Solomon's death, the nation separated into two kingdoms The ten tribes to the north were called Israel. The two southern tribes banded together under the name Judah. This period of the Divided Kingdom ran from ca. 922 to 722 B.C.E. when Assyria conquered the north and destroyed Israel
During this time there arose many prophets who brought new developments to the religion of the Israelites. The most important prophets were Elijah (ca. 850 B.C.E.), Elisha (ca. 825 B.C.E.), first Isaiah (ca. 742-695 B.C.E.), Jeremiah (ca. 627-580 B.C.E.), Ezekiel (ca 593-570 B.C.E.), second Isaiah (ca. 540 B.C.E.), and third Isaiah (ca. 515 B.C.E.).
The word prophet roughly means "speak for." Prophets assumed a special authority because they claimed to speak for God They criticized both the religion and culture of their day, usually by claiming they were recalling a straying people to keeping the covenant of Moses. In reality, they introduced several new concepts to the Jewish faith They made it a faith rooted in history and introduced the idea that history is the stage of God's activity. They grounded true religion in ethics, meaning that religion would always have an effect on how a believer treats other people. Believers could not mistreat others and be a follower of God True religion also involved having a pure heart, not just following set rituals. The prophets held that Israel was not special to God because God loved her above others, but because she was chosen to be a witness about God to all nations 4
When Israel ceased to exist in 722 B.C.E., Judah survived as the "bearer of the covenant." This southern kingdom gave its name (Judaism) to the religion
David is of great importance in the Hebrew Scriptures. In fact, with the possible exception of Moses, no biblical character is held in such high regard Although he had many faults, he was an accomplished musician, a great warrior, a shrewd politician, and a man of deep religious feeling. He could inspire people and hold their devotion. He is painted as a "man after God's own heart." Many Jews at the time of Jesus were expecting God to establish a kingdom "like Davids," with Israel at its center
Davids story is found in 1 Samuel chapters 16 through 2 Samuel 24, 1 Kings 11 to 2 :10, and 1 Chronicles 11.1 to 29:30. He was from the family of Jesse, which lived in Bethlehem. The Scriptures say that after God rejected Saul as king because of his disobedience, the prophet Samuel was told by God to anoint (pour oil on to set aside for a high office) David as the next king. David was eventually noticed by Saul and taken into his court where he became an "armor bearer" to the king. Because of his victories over Israel's enemies and his winsome personality, he became a great favorite of the people. This attention made Saul very jealous. He attempted to kill David, forcing him to flee.
David and a band of followers found refuge among the Philistines, who were powerful enough to protect him For several years, he worked in the service of the Philistine king and controlled much of the southern kingdom of Judah. After the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, leadership of Israel fell to Saul's son Ish-bosheth, who proved to be inept. When Ish- bosheth died, David asserted his kingship over the northern kingdom of Israel One of his first acts was to move the capital to Jerusalem, a town on the border between Israel and Judah and not associated with either kingdom. In addition to making Jerusalem the political capital, he had the Ark of the Covenant (the symbol of God's presence) moved to Jerusalem, making the city the center of worship for the Israelites. Thus, Jerusalem was both "the city of David" and "the city of the God."
The later part of David's life was characterized by much conflict and sorrow, including the rebellion and the death of one of his sons at the hands of his army Yet through conquest and treaty, David controlled the Philistines and other groups in the area. His kingdom stretched from Lebanon in the north, to Egypt in the south, and to the east past the Jordan River toward the Euphrates Because of the weakness of surrounding "nations" and because major trade routes passed through the United Kingdom, David was one of the most powerful rulers of his day.
traced to Abraham. The people who practice this faith were eventually called Jews because at one time most of them were citizens of Judah
The Babylonian Captivity
Another major point in Jewish history came in 586 B.C.E. when Judah was conquered by Babylon, a city near the Euphrates River. The leading citizens of the country were taken into captivity The temple and the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed, and the country was left destitute. The Babylonian Captivity lasted until 538 B.C.E. when Cyrus, a Persian who had recently defeated the Babylonians, permitted Jewish captives to return to their homeland The people who returned became the faithful "remnant" who carried the future of Judaism.
Many scholars claim that during the Babylonian Captivity the practices and beliefs associated with Judaism actually emerged. Certainly it was during this time that the forms of the Jewish religion of Jesus' day appeared Judaism became radically monotheistic, which means the Jews developed a strong belief that there was only one God Their rallying cry became "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is One Lord” (Deut. 6 4). Although there had been earlier advocates of monotheism, from this point on faith in one God became the identifying mark of Jews. To be a Jew was to be a monotheist.
The Torah was written in its present form during the captivity 5 The Torah is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Because these books contain the "Law of Moses," they also were called simply the Law. The Torah became the guide to Jewish faith, practice, and life Obedience to the Law and the resulting legalism became central features of Judaism Legalism is the tendency to make religion a matter of following certain rules.
One of the most important rules that developed during the Babylonian Captivity was observing the Sabbath. The Sabbath was the last day of the week (Saturday) and was a time of rest and worship No work or business could be conducted An elaborate set of laws eventually emerged that carefully defined what was work and what was not. Following the many rules of the Jewish faith came to be a fulfilling passion for some and a heavy burden for others
The synagogue, a local congregation where believers gathered for worship and study, also appeared during this time. Rabbis emerged along with the development of synagogues. The word rahhi means "my master " They were teachers of the Jewish Law who settled disputes regarding the Law or rituals and performed other duties such as weddings. Often the rabbis were the heads of local synagogues. Later the term was applied by disciples to their teachers, although the teachers might not have been ordained It was in this sense that the word rahhi was applied to Jesus.
An important new religious understanding also arose from the captivity and is found in the thought of the second (or Deutero ) Isaiah. Second Isaiah is an unknown figure whose writings (Isa 40-55) were added to those produced by the first Isaiah, the great eighth-century B C E. prophet. Second Isaiah was a radical monotheist with a strong sense of God's activity in history He believed that Jews and Gentiles (all people who were not Jews) alike were the instruments of God Yet he was troubled with a difficult question: If the Jews were God's chosen people, why did they suffer at the hands of Gentiles?
The answer to this question is presented in four poems about the "suffering servant" or "servant of the Lord'' found in Isaiah 42:1—4, 49: 1—6, 50:4—5, and 52 12 to 53 : 12 Isaiah holds that the Jews were to endure suffering because that was how the knowledge of the true God was taken to all the world. The servant's mission also was the method by which God's "healing" entered the world 6 Isaiah says of the servant,
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground, he had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,
and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray,
we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isa. 53:1 —6)
The servant was initially identified with Israel, later with a minority of faithful people in Israel, and then with a "remnant"—those who returned after the edict of Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem. Finally, the suffering servant was an idea that Christians came to associate with the mission of Jesus
The Greek Period
After the faithful remnant returned to Judah, the walls of Jerusalem and the temple were rebuilt. However, the Jews were not the masters of their own homeland but were dominated by the Persians. After Alexander the Great, a Greek, conquered the Middle East, Judah was captured from the Persians and placed under the control of a series of Greek rulers. The Hellenistic (Greek) era ran from 332 to 167 B.C.E. One of the more important occurrences of this era was the introduction of Greek culture and thought into the region. This process is called bellenization. Greek gymnasiums and statues to Greek gods appeared in many towns. Greek language, law, and philosophy became well known in the region. This hellenization left Jews bitterly divided between those who supported it and those who opposed it. This feud continued until the time of Christ.
The Jews were briefly their own masters beginning in 167 B.C.E. when Judah Maccabee led a successful revolt against Greek rule. The Maccabee family founded the Hasmonaean dynasty and controlled Judah for many decades. This time of Jewish independence ended in 63 B.C.E. when the Roman general Pompey took control of Jerusalem . 7
THE ROMAN WORLD OF JESUS OF NAZARETH
Jesus was born into a part of the world that was ruled by Rome. The Roman Empire stretched north to south from England to North Africa and east to west from Syria to Spain. In this widespread region, the pax Romana ("peace of Rome") was enforced by tough legions. Highways constructed for the army linked the empire. Greek was the language of commerce and was spoken throughout the empire These matters were all important for the spread of Christianity They allowed Christian missionaries to travel safely throughout the empire with relative speed and permitted believers to communicate the gospel (good news) of Jesus wherever they went.
The cultural and political situation was favorable to the development of many new religions. The official Roman religion was borrowed from Greek mythology Although average citizens might have performed established rituals, they probably got little personal satisfaction from the state religion Traditional cults dedicated to local gods also failed to satisfy the religious needs
of many people 8 As a result, new philosophies and religions had emerged around the time of Jesus and were spreading throughout the empire.
An important new religion was the cult of the emperor. A cult is a system of religious worship The Emperor Augustus had been pivotal in bringing peace to the Roman Empire. He came to be viewed as a god incarnate (made flesh) An official state cult developed that required citizens to make offerings to a statue of the emperor. Romans saw this cult as necessary to establish order, law, and prosperity. In many ways religion and politics were intertwined Making an offering to the emperor was more of a matter of showing loyalty to the state than it was a religious duty. If citizens refused to follow this practice, they were seen as traitors.
Another development was the spread of mystery religions, which were a group of faiths that originated in Greece and the eastern areas of the empire. These religions included the cults of Dionysus, Isis, Magna Mater (the Great Mother), and Mithra, as well as the Eleusinian mysteries. They promised salvation through the participation of believers in secret ceremonies and rites. Little is known of their specific beliefs and practices because they were kept secret by followers. We do know that stories of the virgin birth of a god, death and resurrection, and being born again appeared in several mystery religions. The rituals of some included a sacramental meal and baptism (at times, in the blood of a freshly slain bull).
Some early Christian teachers may well have borrowed from these cults in their attempts to explain the work and person of Christ The growth of the mystery religions indicates a spiritual hunger in the first century. It also indicates that Christianity had competition in filling religious needs within the empire In fact, for the first hundred or so years of Christianity, most average citizens probably could not distinguish between it and mystery religions
Stoicism and Gnosticism were popular philosophies in Jesus' world and played important roles in the emergence of Christianity. The Stoics believed that God was a powerful energy that created and sustained the world God also was the world reason, or Logos, that was seen in the order and beauty of the world Human duty was to live "naturally" or according to the law of the universe, which was the embodiment of Divine Reason.
Another great competitor of Christianity was Gnosticism, which is a term used to describe several different groups that shared common ideas. Gnosticism comes from the Greek word gnosis, which means knowledge Secret knowledge revealed to a few was a key to Gnosticism Those people who received this secret knowledge were freed from bondage to the physical and made spiritually alive The Gnostics sharply separated the material world from the spiritual world Matter was evil, spirit was good Being trapped in the physical world caused humans to lose their ability to live forever. Because the material world was evil, it could not have been created by a good God The world was created
by the Demiurge, a lesser god who came out of the supreme, unknowable, and good God. Because the Demiurge was a flawed lesser god, the world he created was imperfect and at odds with the truly spiritual.
These concepts had dramatic effects when applied to understanding the mission of Jesus. It became popular to say Jesus was the Logos Yet many Christians influenced by Gnosticism felt that because the world was evil, the Logos could not have become flesh. The incarnation and death of Christ was only apparent. It was not real. Other Christians believed strongly that if God had not become flesh in Jesus and if there had not been an actual death on the cross, the world could not have been saved Gnosticism was eventually rejected. Still, Gnostic ideas were struggled with for many centuries before orthodox (officially accepted) understandings of God, creation, the material world, the Logos, and salvation were established.
THE JEWISH WORLD OF JESUS OF NAZARETH
Years of domination by Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman masters had left God's "chosen people" extremely frustrated Many expected to be delivered by God and to be restored to their proper place as a political power
The Messiah and the Kingdom
During the time between the Babylonian Captivity and the birth of Jesus, Jewish hopes were linked strongly with two symbols: the Messiah and the kingdom of God The Hebrew word Messiah is Christ in Greek The Messiah, or Christ, was a figure in the Scriptures and other writings who was linked to the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord was that period at the end of time when God would judge the just and unjust from all nations and would create a new age in which God's rule would be eternal and supreme This age was referred to as the kingdom of God.
The coming of the Messiah was closely related to the establishment of the kingdom. Some believed the Messiah would be an earthly king from the family of David who would make Israel the ruler of the world. Others thought that his coming could be hastened by strict observance of the Law. Others were determined to fight Rome as a means of bringing in the kingdom. Some believed the kingdom was spiritual and the Messiah was strictly a religious figure Even though views about the Messiah and the kingdom differed, the Jewish world of Jesus' time was filled with overwhelming excitement about the nearness of God's intervention for them and the approaching kingdom Countless parents named their sons Joshua (Jesus in Greek) in the hope their child
would be the chosen one from God who would deliver his people. The atmosphere was charged with expectation of the Messiah's coming.
Jewish Groups
N
Judaism was far from unified at the time of Jesus. Loyalties were split among four main groups: Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Zealots. The Sadducees were a small but wealthy ruling party closely associated with the temple and Jerusalem. They controlled the important office of the high priest and had great political influence in the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling body ). 9
They taught a strict observance of the Torah as "it was given to Moses" and would permit no new doctrines apart from those found in the original Torah As a result, they rejected oral interpretations of the Torah along with new ideas about life after death, the resurrection of the body, and angels and spirits They tended to accept older interpretations of the afterlife found in the Torah. To them, life after death consisted of semilifeless ghosts confined to the gray underworld known as sheol. The Sadducees cooperated closely with the Romans. They were very active in having Jesus crucified, possibly because they saw him as a threat to Roman rule and their high position.
The Pharisees were the chief competitors of the Sadducees and were largely artisans and merchants. They were the descendants of the group that had opposed the hellenization of Jewish culture after Alexander the Great's conquest They sought to protect Jewish purity by strictly following the Law in every area of life. The Pharisees used a large body of oral interpretation of the Law to apply it to day-to-day situations. They also accepted such new ideas as life after death and resurrection.
The Pharisees rejected foreign rulers but did not seem to be leaders in various rebellions against Rome Their understanding of the Messiah was probably more religious than political. They had influence among common people who admired their disciplined lives and their rejection of foreign control of Judea Jesus often had conflicts with the Pharisees. He believed that their following of the Law was too external and felt that many of them missed the real spirit of the Law.
The Essenes were another group that arose from the rejection of hellenization They retreated to the desert where they lived in communes There they practiced strict observance of the Law and waited for the overthrow of Rome by the coming Messiah They believed that when the kingdom arrived God would establish a new covenant with them because they were the true Israel There only may have been about four thousand Essenes at the time of Christ 10
The Zealots were more involved in Jewish society. They were an underground political party that actively sought to overthrow Rome by force, and
INTRODUCTION
they expected the Messiah to be a warrior-king who would lead the rebellion against the Romans. It is possible that one or more of Jesus' twelve original disciples was a Zealot. Certainly the Zealots were disappointed by Jesus' understanding of messiahship.
CONCLUSIONS
This book tells about a religion that is rooted in the past but that is alive and constantly changing today. It gives us insight into the history of this religion as well as into the forces that are now active in it An appreciation of the historical process assists us in keeping the past and present in proper perspective. The church, along with its beliefs and practices, has emerged over a long time within the web of history. The same types of forces that were active in bygone ages are shaping the future of the Christian community now
Christianity grew out of Judaism and owes many of its most important ideas to that faith Jesus was a Jew and drew heavily upon his Jewish history in his teachings. Ideas about the Law, the kingdom of God, the suffering servant, and the Messiah all played a part in his thought. At the same time, the new religion that formed after his death developed in a world dominated by Roman political strength and Greek culture. The new church had to turn to both the Jewish and the Roman worlds to understand itself and explain its faith to outsiders. This same process operates today as each new generation of Christians tries to apply the traditional faith to the world in which it lives.
Notes
1 . In this book the terms Christianity, the Christian church, and the church are used interchangeably There technically are differences among them The Christian church is an institution Christianity is the religion the church practices. Also, there has been debate on how "Christian" the church really is Some have argued that the institutional church is a perversion of the true Christian faith.
2 . For a discussion of biblical literature and studying the Bible, see Christian E Hauer and William A Young, An Introduction to the Bible. A Journey into Three Worlds (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1986), 1-45. For a discussion of oral traditions, their formation into Scripture, and some problems with these, see Bernhard W Anderson, Understanding the Old Testament, 4th ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1986), 18-27, 151-156
3 . A classic on this problem is Moshe Greenberg, The Hab/piru (New Haven, Conn American Oriental Society, 1955).
4 . For a good discussion of the prophets and the religious development of Israel, see John Carmody, Denise Lardner Carmody, and Robert Cohn, Exploring the Hebrew Bible (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1988), 176-262
5 . For a discussion of the Babylonian Captivity, see Anderson, Understanding, 425-465
6 . For a discussion of the servant of Cod, see Anderson, Understanding, 488-506
INTRODUCTION
7. For a discussion of the time from the Exile to Jesus, see Edwin D Freed, The New Testament: A Critical Introduction (Belmont, Calif : Wadsworth, 1986), 1—36, and Hauer and Young, Journey, 189-209.
8. For a discussion of the moral and religious hunger of the age, see Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of Christianity, vol 1 , Beginnings to i500, rev. ed (New York: Harper and Row, 1975), 22-23
9 . For a discussion of early Jewish groups, see Mary Jo Weaver, Introduction to Christianity (Belmont, Calif : Wadsworth, 1984), 22-24
10. For a discussion of the Essenes, see "Essenes," in Oxford Dictionary oj the Christian Church, 2d ed , ed F L Cross (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978), 471 There is a great deal of debate about the number of Essenes However, many agree that this was a fairly small party
Additional Readings
Baston, John. Reading the Old Testament: Method in Biblical Study. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1984.
Bickerman, Elias. From Ezra to the Last of the Maccabees: Foundations of Post-Biblical Judaism. New York: Schocken Books, 1962
Bright, John History of Israel. 3d ed Philadelphia: Westminster, 1981
Bultman, Rudolf Primitive Christianity in Its Contemporary Setting. New York: Meridian, 1956.
Danielou, Jean. The Dead Sea Scrolls and Primitive Christianity. Translated by Salvator Attana- sio Baltimore: Helicon, 1958
Eichrodt, Walter. Theology of the Old Testament. Vol. 1 Translated byj. A. Baker from the 6th German ed Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961.
Friedman, Richard E. Who Wrote the Bible? New York: Harper and Row, 1989
Grant, F. C Roman Hellenism and the New Testament. New York: Scribner's, 1962.
Harvey, Van A. The Historian and the Believer. New York: Macmillan, 1966
Kee, Howard C Christian Origins in Sociological Perspective: Methods and Resources. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1980
Rad, Gerhard von. Old Testament Theology. Vol 1 , The Theology of Israel's Historical Traditions. Vol. 2, The Theology of Israel's Prophetic Traditions. Translated by D. M. G. Stalker New York: Harper and Row, 1962, 1965
Radner, Karl Foundations of Christian Faith. New York: Seabury, 1978.
Russell, D S Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1964
Sandmel, Samuel. The Hebrew Scriptures: An Introduction to Their Literature and Religious Ideas. New York Knopf, 1963
Wilson, Robert R Sociological Approaches to the Old Testament Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984
PART I
EARLY CHRISTIANITY
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CHAPTER TWO