The Second Temple Period
Between the Testaments: Greek rule, the Maccabean revolt, the Hasmonean kingdom, Roman conquest and Herod. The Scriptures are translated into Greek.
The world of the New Testament takes shape here. Alexander brings the Greek language, the Septuagint gives Scripture to the Greek-speaking world, and the Maccabean crisis leaves a lasting mark on Jewish hope. Pharisees, Sadducees and the community of the Dead Sea Scrolls emerge, and Rome becomes the ruling power.
Events of this era
- 332 BC, firm dateAlexander the Great Conquers the Near East
Alexander of Macedon defeats the Persian king, takes Tyre and Gaza by siege and founds Alexandria in Egypt. Judea passes from Persian to Greek rule. Josephus, centuries later, tells of a visit to Jerusalem.
- about 250 BC, estimated dateThe Hebrew Scriptures Are Translated into Greek
Jews in Egypt translate the law of Moses into Greek, by tradition at Alexandria under Ptolemy II, and the other books follow. This version, the Septuagint, is the form in which most early Christians read the Old Testament.
- 167 BC, estimated dateAntiochus IV Desecrates the Temple
The Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes plunders the temple in Jerusalem, forbids the practice of the Jewish law on pain of death and has a pagan altar set up on the altar of burnt offering.
- 167 BC to 164 BC, estimated dateThe Maccabean Revolt and the Rededication of the Temple
The priest Mattathias and his sons take up arms against the decrees of Antiochus IV. Judas Maccabeus defeats the king’s generals, cleanses the temple and rededicates the altar, an event kept each year as the feast of Dedication, Hanukkah.
- about 150 BC to AD 68, estimated dateThe Community of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Caves at Qumran, by the Dead Sea, preserve biblical scrolls and the writings of a Jewish movement that lived under a strict common rule. Most scholars identify it with the Essenes described by Josephus and Pliny; some dispute this.
- 142 BC, firm dateJudea Gains Independence under the Hasmoneans
Simon, the last of the Maccabee brothers, wins freedom from Seleucid tribute and is made high priest and ruler by a national assembly. His son John Hyrcanus enlarges the state by conquest. Judea is ruled by its own priest-princes for some eighty years.
- 63 BC, firm datePompey Takes Jerusalem
Called in by two Hasmonean brothers who are fighting for the throne, the Roman general Pompey storms the temple mount and enters the sanctuary. Judea loses its independence and becomes tributary to Rome.
- 40 BC to 37 BC, estimated dateHerod the Great Becomes King of Judea
The Roman senate names Herod, son of the Idumean Antipater, king of the Jews. Three years later he takes Jerusalem with a Roman army, and the last Hasmonean king is executed. Herod rules as Rome’s client until his death.
- 27 BC, firm dateAugustus Becomes Rome’s First Emperor
Octavian, victor in Rome’s civil wars, formally hands the state back to the senate and people and receives the name Augustus and command of the provinces that hold the armies. From now on one man rules the Roman world. Jesus is born in his reign.
- 20/19 BC, estimated dateHerod Rebuilds the Temple
Herod replaces the temple built after the exile with a far larger sanctuary of white stone and gold on a greatly extended platform. This is the temple of the Gospels. Work on it continues for decades, almost until its destruction in AD 70.