A Brief Overview of the Intertestamental Period
The Intertestamental period are the "silent years" of the Bible between the Old and New Testaments, that are not recorded in our canon of biblical text but was recorded in non-biblical writings. It happened between circa 400 B.C and circa 25 A.D in the land of Judea prior to Christ's birth in Bethlehem. In those silent years ay there are a lot of things na nangyari in the land of Judea before sila sinakop ng Roman Empire at before pinanganak ang promised Messiah ng Israel. These will explain ang mga circumstances na present as we study the New Testament.
1. Persian Period — This took place sa panahon ng Old Testament circa 539 B.C when Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon. Sa Persian Period ay ang Jewish people ay under the control ng Persian Empire and they are allowed to rebuild ang temple sa Jerusalem, around 516 B.C; and when they left Babylon, ang Aramaic became ang main language of the Jewish people. Ang books ni Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were written in this period of Jewish history. Changes sa religion as well ay present, when after Malachi, ang mga prophets were replaced by Scribes, temple Priest, and Rabbis, as ang mga spiritual leaders of the Jewish people.
2. Hellenistic Period — In 336-323 B.C, Alexander the Great defeated King Darius of Persia and brought Greek influence the Jewish people: where ang Greek language and culture were brought to the Jewish people and made Jews leave Judea at sila ay lumipat sa mga Greek cities. dahil dito ay nakatulong ang pagkalat ng Jewish people sa pagi-ispread ng Christianity throughout sa first century. In this period also ay naproduce ang Greek Septuagint, that is ang Greek translation of the Old Testament that is used by Greek speaking Jews. It was translated by 70 scholars that is the reason also why we abbreviate it as the 'LXX'. ang further na pagpapalawak ng empire ni Alexander the Great was done by his generals following his death (c. 323 B.C).
3. Hasmonean Period — In 175 B.C, ang Seleucid ruler na si Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled Judea where he banned Judaism as he thinks na it will further expand his kingdom dahil ang kalupaan ay Hellenized. Israel did not have their religous freedom as important practices of the Jewish religion at that time were not allowed to be practiced and reading the Torah is a crime punishable by death. Ang Temple sa Jerusalem ay desecrated by turning it into an idolatrous place, e.g ang altar ng temple was made into a place where they sacrifice swines that is considered an unclean animal according to the Torah. Dahil ang ginawa na ito ni Antiochus IV made the Jewish people angry, in 167 B.C, a Jewish man named Mattathias of the family of Hasmon and his five sons ay naglead ng isang revolt that we call now ang Maccabean revolt. By 167 B.C, napalayas nila ang mga Seleucids and they have reconquered Judea and rededicated ang temple sa Jerusalem. The Jewish people celebrate ang Hannukhah to celebrate this victory where Judea was an independent nation for the first time after 440 years. Si Simon Maccabeus, na siyang anak ni Mattathias—became ang high priest at governor ng Judea.
4. Roman Period — Ang Hasmonean Dynasty ay naging corrupt as years pass by pagkatapos ng kanilang victory against sa Seleucids. In 63 B.C, na kung saan at the same time ay may dalawang Hasmonean brothers na nagaagawan ng kapangyarihan over Judea, ang Roman General na si Pompey invaded Jerusalem, and ang Judea fell upon the power ng Roman Empire; that is the reason why we see the presence ng mga Romans in the New Testament. Ang Roman Government then appointed Herod the Great bilang ang ruler ng Judea. Herod the Great then started massive building projects para mas mapanalo ang approval ng Jewish people. Pagkatapos ng kanyang kamatayan (that is during the youngest years ni Jesus Christ), ang kanyang mga lupain ay hinati for his 3 sons at ang mga divisions na ito was called "tetrachs" (that is the Greek word for "ruler of a part/portion"). The Roman Government taxed ang mga Jews and executed many of them, including Jesus who is the Jewish Messiah. Throughout, the Jews waited for the coming of the Messiah to save them from their enemies.
In these periods as well ay dumating ang mga particular na type ng mga tao that we see throughout the New Testament kagaya ng mga Zealots, Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees.
Ang Zealots ay ang mga Jewish patriotic fighters who opposes the Roman Government and they hold to the Law of Moses but their purposes ay more on sa politics. We can see ang Crucifixion as ang punishment reserved to them as any one who will oppose the government will be executed through crucifixion and their bodies will be displayed on the side of roads to remind people that they should not oppose the Roman Government or else.
Ang Scribes ay ang mga Jewish scholars whose obligations are to memorize and to produce copies of Scripture.
