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In Bridging the Testaments, George Athas surveys the history of Israel during the post-exilic era (539-4 BC), providing the framework for understanding the place of Israel and Judah as God's covenant people in history, and the theological developments that occurred at the end of the Old Testament period, leading into the New Testament.
List of contents
PART ONE: THE LATE PERSIAN ERA
1.1 The History of the Late Persian Era
1.1.1 Brief Summary of the Early Persian Era (539–465 BC)
1.1.2 Yahwistic Communities in the ANE
1.1.3 Artaxerxes I and the Fragile Frontiers
1.1.4 The Mission of Ezra
1.1.5 The Mission of Nehemiah
1.1.6 The Emergence of the Samaritans
1.1.7 The Jewish Diaspora
1.1.8 The Final Century of Persian Rule
1.2 Theology During the Late Persian Era
1.2.1 Persian Imperial Religion
1.2.2 The Pillars of Israelite Identity
1.2.3 Reforming Israel
1.2.4 The Significance of the Land
1.2.5 Temple and the Presence of Yahweh
1.2.6 Temple and the Davidic King
1.2.7 Accepting Persian Hegemony
1.2.8 The Wisdom of Torah
1.2.9 The Consolidation of Monotheism
1.2.10 Eschatology and the Promise of Restoration
1.2.11 Jews and Samaritans
1.2.12 Diaspora and the Importance of Ancestry
1.2.13 Pilgrimage
PART TWO: THE HELLENISTIC ERA
2.1 The History of the Hellenistic Era
2.1.1 The Rise of Alexander and the Fall of Persia
2.1.2 The Hellenistic Kingdoms
2.1.3 Ptolemy I and the Conquest of Jerusalem
2.1.4 Palestine: Between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids
2.1.5 Wrangling in the Priesthood
2.1.6 Antiochus IV and the Near-Death of Judaism
2.1.7 The Maccabean Revolt
2.1.8 The Hasmonean Dynasty
2.2 Theology During the Hellenistic Era
2.2.1 Political Disappointment and Eschatology
2.2.2 Political Disappointment and Eschatology
2.2.3 The Development of Apocalyptic
2.2.4 Messianic Expectation
2.2.5 Hierocracy
2.2.6 Torah Observance in a Hellenistic World
2.2.7 Development of a canonical consciousness
Epilogue: The Beginning of the Roman Era
1. The Roman Conquest of Palestine
2. Caesar Augustus
3. Herod the Great
Summary
An accessible introduction to the historical and theological developments between the Old and New Testament.
Bridging the end of the Old Testament period and the beginning of the New Testament period, this book surveys the history and theological developments of four significant eras in Israel's post-exilic history: the Persian Era (539-331 BC), the Hellenistic Era (332-167 BC), the Hasmonean Era (167-63 BC), and the Roman Era (63-4 BC). In doing so, it does away with the notion that there were four hundred years of prophetic silence before Jesus.
Bridging the Testaments outlines the political and social developments of these four periods, with particular focus on their impact upon Judeans and Samarians. Using a wide range of biblical and extra-biblical sources, George Athas reconstructs what can be known about the history of Judah and Samaria in these eras, providing the framework for understanding the history of God's covenant people, and the theological developments that occurred at the end of the Old Testament period, leading into the New Testament. In doing so, Athas shows that the notion of a supposed period of four hundred years of prophetic silence is not supported by the biblical or historical evidence. Finally, an epilogue sketches the historical and theological situation prevailing at the death of Herod in 4 BC, providing important context for the New Testament writings.
In this way, the book bridges the Old and New Testaments by providing a historical and theological understanding of the five centuries leading up to the birth of Jesus, tracking a biblical theology through them, and abolishing the notion of a four-century prophetic silence.
