Expert: Rev. Frank Ricketts - 8/13/2006

Question
I have always been curious of what happened to the Jewish people during the time gap in between the old and new Testaments.(Malachi to Matthew)  I'm interested in how many years between them and why their language switched from Hebrew to Greek.

Thanks, I really appreciate your time!

Answer
   The Silent years between the Old and New Testaments were years of rebuilding for the Israelite nation. It was also a period of many changes in the world in which they lived. The Medo-Persian Empire would fall and the Greeks would become the most influential empire. The Greek influence on the Jews is seen in the New Testament and is important in the study of the life of Christ and the New Testament. The cultural influence of the Greek culture on other peoples is called Hellenism
   Alexander the Great was the one who spread Greek thinking or Hellenism through his conquest of most of the known world. Alexander himself was a pupil of Aristotle one of the great Greek philosophers. The Greek language and culture would be very influential even after Alexander the Great died in 323 B. C.
   The years following the death of Alexander the Great was one of turmoil and fighting between his generals who split up the land they had conquered. Two generals in particular played an important role in the history of Israel. The two generals were Ptolemy and Seleucid. These two generals would fight with each other from Egypt and Syria. In between them was the nation of Israel that was under the control of one or the other at different times.
One of the most important events for the Jews during this time was the short period when they won their independence from the more powerful nations. They won their independence in what was called the Maccabean revolt in 162 to 142 B. C.
   This brief period of independence was very influencial in many Jews understanding of what the Messiah would do when he came. After Israel came under the rule of Rome, many Jews looked for a Messiah who would overthrow the Roman Empire like during the Maccabean revolt and setup a kingdom similar to the one which King David had ruled over. This understanding of what the Messiah would be and do contrasted with what Jesus did when He came as the Messiah. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament but the Jews were expecting something different.
Israel would once again be conquered when Pompey, the Roman general, captured Jerusalem in 63 B. C. Rome would rule over Israel on through the New Testament times. The Romans placed Herod the Great as king over Israel in 40 B. C. This is the Herod that was ruling Israel at the time Jesus was born. He also died that same year (4 B. C.). Augustus Caesar was ruling the Roman Empire at Jesus’ birth (23 B. C. to A. D. 14).
   Jesus was born during the reign of Augustus Caesar while His ministry took place during the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Christianity would grow rapidly in the years after despite the times of persecutions


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