Hellenistic Judaism: The Oppression Of Jews

Upon their return to Palestine after their release from exile, the Jews were struggling to “maintain their religious and social identity” (Wenham & Walton, 2011, p. 7) and found themselves in the midst of great military powers, first the Greeks, and then the Romans. Their influences on the Jews were remarkable. This essay will examine the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD by describing a typical Greco-Roman city, then discuss the various levels of Roman administrative structure, explain where local authority resided in the cities/villages of 1st-century Palestine, and finally support with Scripture the structure of authority within the Gospels and Acts.

The Jews were the most powerful culture back in the ancient times. This was a threat to others. The Hebrews had their own homeland before they became Jews. The homeland was the center of trade, commerce, and cultural exchanged, through the three major areas, Asia, Europe, and Africa. These areas were also a common place for conflict groups war with one another(rabbi,yaaca,2008).The Jews are to themselves and they do not push their beliefs on other people. They have been persecuted throughout history. The cities have been destroyed to the ground by hated armies, the temples have been tarnished to the ground several times, and have been put out by Jerusalem many times. The

Although the exact age of the Jewish faith is debatable, one thing is certain, it is a faith with an extensive, and at times tumultuous, history. Throughout the history of Judaism, Jewish people have faced ongoing persecution and discrimination. Despite these conflicts, the faith is alive, strong, and growing. Like many religions faced with adversity, Judaism has had to accommodate the ever-changing world to maintain their faith. One significant moment of change, the falling of the Second Temple, had the opportunity to destroy Judaism for good, but the Jewish people came together and reformulated their religion in order to save their faith.

take away many things that the Jews stood for and soon, some began to loose their faith

By the year 1000 B.C.E the Jews had founded Israel as their national state (“Jews”). They actively practiced a very distinctive religion, Judaism. Israel was conquered several times and eventually came under the rule of the Roman Empire (“Jews”). During this time, Jews were legal citizens of the Empire. However, the Jews and Christians diverged quickly; the Jews were marginalized for being different and strange. They rejected the belief that Jesus is the Messiah and other christian laws. Eventually the Jewish revolt in 135 C.E. drove the Jews out of Jerusalem (“Jews”). They then lived throughout the Roman Empire and the materializing medieval states. They lived in their own communities called ghettos because they were not allowed to own land

Since the beginning of the Judaism, the Jewish people have been subject to hardships and discrimination. They have not been allowed to have a stabile place of worship and have also faced persecution and atrocities that most of us can not even imagine. Three events that have had a big impact on the Jewish faith were the building and destruction of the First Great Temple, the Second Great Temple and the events of the Holocaust. In this paper, I will discuss these three events and also explain and give examples as to why I feel that the Jewish people have always been discriminated against and not allowed the freedom of worship.

The first part of the book focuses on providing the reader with an overview of Palestine under Roman rule, a land filled with turmoil and false messianic figures. Aslan gives specific examples of failed self-proclaimed messiahs, such as Judas the Galilean and “the Samaritan”, who attempted to overthrow Roman rule but eventually were

Every religious group has suffered a time when their religion was not considered to be popular or right. Out of all of these religious groups that have suffered, no one group has suffered so much as that of the Jewish religion. They have been exiled from almost every country that they have ever inhabited, beginning with Israel, and leading all the was up to Germany, France, Spain, England, and Russia. Not only have they been exiled but also they have suffered through torture, punishment, and murder. Thus, because of the history of the religion, the Jewish people have become a very resilient people. They have survived thousands of years carrying their religion with them from one country to

• Wrote about Jewish wars that have corroborated by other historians and archaeological excavations. Pg. 81

“Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland, Beasts of every land and clime, Hearken to my joyful tidings of the golden future time…rings shall vanish from our noses and the harness from our back, bit and spur shall rust forever, cruel whips no more shall crack (Orwell, 5).” The analogy of the Russian Revolution, Animal Farm by George Orwell tells the story of how a group of animals kick Farmer Jones off of his farm and take over. At first, it seems to be going well, until Napoleon the pig starts taking the lead. Overall, He makes a horrible leader. For a person to qualify as a good leader, they have to be kind, understanding, gentle, truthful, and willing to work hard, or else, no one will want to be around them.

The first century in Jewish many of Christians’ faith influence by increasing influence of Greek thought. The early church seriously discussed about the question who is God? There are so many arguments from the theologians to say what they thought the church should believe. In answering the identity of God, it is so crucial for Church to determine the true statement based on biblical teaching. To developed it, there are debate about the nature of Christ and how the Christ and God be unity. Judaism with their emphasis monotheistic gave many influences to Christians of the early Jewish background. The issues of the heresies that is given by Judaism to the Jewish is about Jesus’ divinity and Jesus’ humanity.

Jewish people were tortured, abused, and subjected through horrific unfathomable situations by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. Despite all of the unpragmatic hardships Jews all over Europe faced, many stayed true to their faith and religion. There are numerous stories in which Jewish people tried to keep the roots of their religion well knowing the risk of torture and death. The never ending fear of Jewish people living in the Ghettos and trying to survive concentration camps was difficult, but not impossible for the Jews to keep religion.

Throughout the history of the world, the Jewish people have been persecuted and oppressed because of their religious beliefs and faith. Many groups of people have made Jews their scapegoat. Jews have suffered from years of intolerance because people have not understood what the religion really means. They do not understand where and why the religion began, nor the customs of it's people. For one to understand the great hardships, triumphs, and history of the Jewish people one must open-mindedly peruse a greater knowledge of the Jewish people and faith.

Before we can totally dive into how the Temple destruction changed Judaism, we must gain some knowledge of the Jewish faith itself, as well as Jewish terms. One of the first ideas many people may discover about the term “Jew” is its lack of use in the Old Testament scriptures.

Before, King David gathered a surplus of wealth when in power to bring the Jewish culture into the Golden Age. “With Solomon...the surplus accumulated...rapidly dissipated in ambitious building.” (Asali p.53) through large fortifications and military armaments. At his old age, he placed a heavy tax burden on his people, and in turn they became largely bitter towards him. After his death, massive conflicts came before the people to eventually split Israel and Judah into separate kingdoms. In 800 B.C.E., “two centuries later, the Assyrians conquered the north, and many of the Jews of Israel were deported” (Ardito, Gambaro and Torrefranca p.42). Later, in 600 B.C.E., the kingdom of Judah was overthrown by the Babylons. In turn, this lead to their captivity as slaves; entering a new era of a nomadic culture spread across the western world. On the other hand, it was this captivity which strengthened their religious identity, and evidently propagated the largest monolithic deity known throughout the 21st century: Jesus Christ.