Jensens survey of the old testament adam 319
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THE HOLY LAND, BEFORE AND AFTER THE
400 SILENT YEARS
1 . Hebrew background. The Hebrew
background of the New Testament is
primarily religious because the Hebrew
people, the Jews, are the ones to whom the
gospel message was first sent (Rom. 1:16).5
a. Three centers of the life of Judaism
(Jewish religion). With the Babylonian exile
in 586 B.C. the Jews entered a phase of being
scattered around the world such that by the
time of Christ every large city of the Roman
Empire had its large colony of Jews, and
towns and villages together contained them
by the thousands. When the church’s rst
missionaries (Paul and others) moved out to
the “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), Jews were
among the rst contacts made (see Acts
13:5).
During the silent centuries, the greatest
impressions made upon Judaism originated
in the three great centers of Babylon,
Alexandria, and Jerusalem. Observe on Map
C the relative location of those cities.
( 1 ) Babylon. Changes in Judaism that
originated in Babylon were carried over into
Jerusalem during the silent years, because
there was a continuing program of migration
of Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem, which
had begun under Ezra and Nehemiah. Some
of the major changes, not all good, were:
(a) Theology — The exile had eliminated
idolatry and had fostered a pure
monotheism (“one God”).
(b) Tradition — The Law was ampli ed to
include other writings, mainly Mishnah and
Haggada, which were together known as
Talmud. Mishnah was a book of man-made
rules of living; Haggada was the theology
and commentary of the rabbis. Rabbis
formulated their own tradition. The Jews
became more and more steeped in
traditionalism during those years.
(c) Worship — Synagogues were
established as the local places of worship. By
New Testament times synagogues were
located throughout the Mediterranean
world. The apostle Paul usually sought out
the synagogue when he rst arrived in a city
on his missionary journeys (see Acts 13:5).
(d) Culture and education — The new
professions of teachers and interpreters of
the Law, called rabbis and scribes,
originated here. Scholarship was advanced,
and culture was developed.
