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Judea under Greek and Roman Rule provides a reconstruction of the history of Judea and its neighboring regions from 334 BCE, when Alexander's eastward conquests brought Judea into the Greek empire, through 135 CE, when Hadrian re-founded Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina and banished Jews from the city limits -- a formative period both for early Judaism and the Christian movement. This history unfolds against a backdrop of international politics that constrained developments within Judea, including wars between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires for control of Palestine, internal wars that led to the decline of the Seleucid empire, and the eastward expansion and consolidation of Roman rule.
List of contents
- Introduction
- 1. Living with Giants: From Alexander to Antiochus III
- 2. Abomination of Desolation: The Hellenizing Crisis and the Maccabean Revolution
- 3. Heirs of Phinehas: The Rise and Demise of the Hasmonean Dynasty
- 4. The King of the Jews: Herod and his Heirs
- 5. Under the Eagle's Wings: Judea under Roman Rule
- 6. A Failed Messiah and a New Beginning: The Second Jewish Revolt and the Rise of Rabbinic Judaism
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
David deSilva (Ph.D., Emory University) is Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary. He is the author of The Jewish Teachers of Jesus, James, and Jude (OUP, 2012), among many other books and publications.
Summary
This volume provides a reconstruction of the history of Judea and its neighboring regions from 334 BCE, when Alexander's eastward conquests brought Judea into the Greek empire, through 135 CE, when Hadrian re-founded Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina and banished Jews from the city limits -- a formative period both for early Judaism and the Christian movement. This history unfolds against a backdrop of international politics that constrained developments within Judea, including wars between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires for control of Palestine, internal wars that led to the decline of the Seleucid empire, and the eastward expansion and consolidation of Roman rule.
Judea under Greek and Roman Rule focuses on the Hellenizing Reform that precipitated the Maccabean Revolt, the establishment of an independent kingdom under the Hasmonean Dynasty, the rule of Herod and transition to Roman rule, the circumstances that precipitated two devastating revolts against Roman domination, and constructive responses (both literary and practical) within Judaism to both revolts and the consequences.
