Section Eight: Timeo Romanos Dona Ferentes
(I fear the Romans especially when they are bearing gifts.)
Timeline Review (I)
• 323 BCE
Alexander the Great died suddenly. His generals competed
with each other to rule various regions of the lands that he
conquered. General Ptolemy and his descendants ruled in
Egypt as well as the lands that Judah and Samaria. General
Seleucus and his descendants ruled in Persia, parts of India
and Eastern Asia Minor.
• 200 BCE
Judah and Samaria were lost to the Ptolemies in Egypt and
came under the rule of the Seleucid Empire
• 167 BCE
Antiochus IV committed the Abomination of Desolation and
declared that the people of Judah must offer sacrifice to the
gods of the Greek pantheon. A priest named Mattathias in
the town of Modein refused. He killed the King’s emissary
and, with his sons, led a revolt against the King
• 134 BCE
The sons of Mattathias starting with Judah the Hammer,
continued the revolt and, taking advantage of an increasingly
weakened and divided Seleucid Empire, finally gained
freedom for the land of Judah when Simon Maccabee and his
son, John Hyrcanus ruled an independent Jewish kingdom
from Jerusalem
8.1
Timeline Review (II)
• 69 BCE
Two grandsons of John Hyrcanus, Hyrcanus II and
Aristobulus II fought with each other to claim the throne in
Judah. Hyrcanus II (the High Priest before the death of his
mother, Queen Salome Alexandra), had the rightful claim to
be named King. The Pharisees supported Hyrcanus II’s
claim to the throne.
Aristobulus II favored ruling Judah in a more Hellenistic
manner and was supported by the Sadducees. He was also
commander of the army and so was able to force Hyrcanus II
to flee.
Hyrcanus II fled to Idumea, a land that had come under the
rule of Judah some decades earlier. The governor of Idumea
supported Hyrcanus II and, allied with neighboring Nabatea,
laid siege to Jerusalem to regain the throne for Hyrcanus II.
Sensing defeat, Aristobulus II appealed to Judah’s Roman
allies for help. The Roman general Pompey received that
appeal.
8.2
Now a Bit About Rome (I)
By the end of the Punic wars (against Carthage), Rome controlled Italy, and the East coast of the
Adriatic having defeated Illyrian raiders. They held Western North Africa and parts of Spain formerly
governed by the Carthaginians. They also held land in Asia Minor formerly owned by the Seleucid
Syrians who were allies of Carthage. Judah remains under Seleucid control. Ptolemaic Egypt is free.
8.3
Now a Bit About Rome (II)
By 121 BCE, Rome had extended her rule over the Iberian Peninsula. She ruled Greece and governed
additional land in Asia Minor. Pontus, Armenia and Parthia had taken advantage of the weakened
Seleucid Syria. Judah had gained her independence. Ptolemaic Egypt continued to be free.
8.4
Now a Bit About Rome (III)
By 53 BCE, most of the lands around the Mediterranean were either governed by Rome or were
allied to Rome. The Romans could begin to call the Mediterranean “Mare Nostrum” (Our Sea).
Though allied with Rome, Judah remained an independent kingdom. That status was to soon
change. Parthia remained outside the sphere of Roman influence
8.5
Hi. We’re from Rome and We’re Here to Help!
• By 64 BCE, the Roman Army had managed to
defeat yet another enemy, Mithradates of Pontus
putting them ever closer to Judah. The
Kingdom of the Seleucid Syria was in
disarray due to its constant civil wars. The
Roman General, Pompey, who defeated
Pontus, decided to bring Roman order to Syria.
Rome became Judah’s next door neighbor
• Aristobulus appealed to Pompey to help him
against his brother and his Idumean and
Nabatean allies. Pompey rescued Aristobulus II
but named Hyrcanus II as the rightful High
Priest and Ethnarch (but did not name him
King). A Roman General had named the
temporal and religious leader of an
allegedly independent kingdom of Judah
• Civil War then broke out in Rome between the
Senate (Pompey’s loyalty) and Julius Caesar.
Caesar defeated Pompey and the new
proconsul in Syria, Aulus Gabinius divided the
Hasmonean Kingdom into three regions;
Galilee, Judea and Samaria. Gabinius
established five councils to serve the regions.
Each council (synedrion, the origin of the word
sanhedrin) seemed to serve as a regional court
Note: The fact that the words synagogue and
sanhedrin are of Greek origin show the
influence of Hellenism on Jewish life at this
time. These 5 lesser synedria are not to be
identified with the Great Sanhedrin in
Jerusalem, the “Supreme Court” of synedria
8.6
The Prelude to the End of the Hasmonean Dynasty
• Antipater (who supported Hyrcanus II) had been an ally of Pompey during an
earlier war between Rome and the Kingdom of Pontus. When the Romans
won that war, the Jewish kingdom was considered a friend of Rome
• Hyrcanus II, now Ethnarch and High Priest , held power but in name only.
Antipater was named governor of Idumea and also ran the everyday affairs
of Judah. When the civil war broke out among the Romans, Antipater was
able to shift his allegiance away from Pompey and to Caesar . Antipater
then aided Caesar in his later campaigns. For his help, Antipater was made
a Roman citizen
• Aristobulus II and his son Alexander who opposed Hyrcanus II and Antipater
were captured by the Proconsul Gabinius in 63 BCE. A man named Marc
Antony led the cavalry unit that captured them. Both managed to escape the
Romans in 57 BCE
• The Romans regained custody of Aristobulus II and Alexander, his son. In
49 BCE, Aristobulus was poisoned by the Romans and died. Alexander was
beheaded. The Hasmonean family feud was almost over
• Hyrcanus II, now the only ruler in the line of the Hasmoneans, remained in
authority in Judah even if his authority was more titular than real
8.7
One Last Try
•
Antipater’s friendship with Rome made him unpopular among the nonHellenized portion of the Jewish people. Antipater, who had married a
Nabataean woman, named two of his sons, Phasael and Herod, to govern
two districts of Judah. Phasael was named governor of Jerusalem while
Herod was named governor of Galilee
• In Rome, Caesar was assassinated and civil war broke out again. Shortly
afterwards, Antipater was poisoned
• The Parthians (from a land once ruled by Cyrus and, later, by the Seleucids)
attempted to take advantage of the turmoil in Rome and waged war against
Roman Syria. They encouraged Antigonus, a second son of Aristobulus II
who managed to survive the Romans, to reclaim the throne from
Hyrcanus II.
• Antigonus entered Jerusalem and proclaimed himself king. He mutilated
the ears of Hyrcanus II making him ineligible to retain the post of High
Priest. Antigonus claimed that title for himself as well. The Romans were
not pleased
8.8
The Last Hasmonean
Salome Alexandra (r. 76-69 BCE) Q
(d. 69 BCE)
Hyrcanus II (r. 47-41BCE) E (76-69 and 63-41) HP
(d. 30 BCE)
Aristobulus II (r. 69-63 BCE) HP,K
(d. 49 BCE)
Alexandra (d. 27 BCE) ---- m ----- Alexander (d. 49 BCE)
Antigonus (r. 40-37 BCE) HP, K
(d. 37 BCE)
• Antigonus managed to hold onto his kingship for three years. Phasael, a
son of Antipater who had been named governor of Jerusalem by his father,
was captured by Antigonus and took his own life. Herod, another son of
Antipater, fled to Rome for protection
• In Rome, the Senate proclaimed Herod to be “King of the Jews” but Herod
had to win over the kingdom on his own. In 37 BCE, Herod defeated
Antigonus and gained the kingdom. Herod then offered Antigonus the
chance to retain the position of High Priest. Antigonus accepted and
returned to the court at Jerusalem. Shortly after, Herod had him killed.
• The Hasmonean family feud had finally come to an end. So, too, did the
Hasmonean dynasty. The Herodian dynasty had begun
8.9
Mariamne I: The Transition from Hasmonean to Herodian Dynasty
Salome Alexandra (r. 76-69 BCE) Q
(d. 69 BCE)
Hyrcanus II (r. 47-41BCE) E (76-69 and 63-41) HP
(d. 30 BCE)
Aristobulus II (r. 69-63 BCE) HP,K
(d. 49 BCE)
Alexandra (d. 27 BCE) ---- m ----- Alexander (d. 49 BCE)
Aristobulus III
Antigonus (r. 40-37 BCE) HP, K
(d. 37 BCE)
Mariamne ---- m ------ Herod
Some years before Alexander and his father Aristobulus II died rebelling
against the Roman decision in favor of Hyrcanus II and Herod’s father
Antipater, Alexander and his wife Alexandra had two children; a son named
Aristobulus III and a daughter named Mariamne
When Herod became King, he made Aristobulus III the High Priest in
Jerusalem. A year later, he had him drowned while bathing in a river. Herod
had been betrothed to Mariamne even before he was made King but waited
until after his ascent to the throne before marrying her
Herod, an Idumean, hoped that his marriage to a Hasmonean bride who was
popular among the people would give him some legitimacy to rule as “King of
the Jews”.
8.10
Herod the Great
Antipater (d. 43 BCE) --- m ---- Cypros of Nabataea
Salome
(d. 10 CE)
Phasael
(d. 40 BCE)
Herod
(r. 39-4 BCE)
Joseph
(d. 143 BCE)
Pherorus
(d. 5 BCE)
• Herod was one of five children born to Antipater. Herod
was an Idumean like his father. Idumea (the former
Edom?) was a land conquered by John Hyrcanus and its
people were forcibly converted to Judaism. Herod’s
mother, Cypros, was a Nabatean
• Idumeans were thought to be Edomite descendants of
Esau. Many Jews considered Herod to be a half-Jew at
best. If Herod was an Edomite and a descendant of
Esau, one might say that Esau’s kin finally took back the
birthright taken from him by his brother Jacob. Even the
Torah (Deut. 23) indicated the Edomites were to have a
special status among the Jewish people
“You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother.
You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a
stranger in his land. The children who are begotten of
them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in
their third generation.”
8.11
Herod the Great and the Jewish People
• Since Idumeans males were expected to be circumcised, it is likely that
Herod had conformed at least to that tradition
• The fact that Herod’s mother was a Nabatean and not Jewish did not sit
well with many of his subjects even though he had married a Hasmonean
princess, Mariamne I, a woman he was said to have truly loved
• In 31 BCE, a severe earthquake hit Jerusalem. After the earthquake, Herod
began a rebuilding program that included a new market, an amphitheater,
a new building where the Sanhedrin could convene and a new royal
palace. Most importantly, in 20 BCE he started to rebuild the Temple.
• There were other cities, such as Jericho and the city of Samaria where
Herod ordered new buildings to be built. New fortresses in places such
as Masada, served the security of both the Jewish people and their king.
Herod's crowning achievement was the construction of a splendid new
port, called Caesarea in honor of the emperor (the harbor of the port city
was called Sebastos, the Greek translation of Augustus). It is said that
Herod wanted Caesaria (Maritima) to be a new Alexandria
• Herod tried his best to please both his Roman masters and his Jewish
subjects. He also worked hard on his own behalf
8.12
The Ten Wives of Herod the Great
Wife
1. Doris
2. Mariamne I
3. Mariamne II
4. Malthace
5. Cleopatra of Jerusalem
6. Palas
7. Phaidra
8. Elpis
9. Cousin (name unknown)
10. Niece (name unknown)
(d) = daughter
Children
Antipater III
Alexander, Aristobulus IV, Salampsio (d), Cypros (d)
Herod II (also called Herod Philip, 1st Husband of
Herodias)
Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, Olympias (d)
Philip the Tetrarch, Herod
Phasael
Roxanne (d)
Salome (d)
green=important but died before NT times red=played a direct
or indirect role in the NT
Herod went well beyond the later exploits of Henry VIII of England and took ten
wives to himself. He had children by eight of those wives. A number of these
children play a role in the Christian New Testament.
Herod planned to have one of his sons succeed him as King, however, when he
died, the Romans divided up his kingdom among several sons. A number of
Herod’s descendants which are mentioned in the New Testament are simply
called “King Herod”.
8.13
The Sons of Herod’s First Two Wives
• Doris, Herod’s first wife, was a commoner and probably also an Idumean
Herod had a son with Doris named Antipater (Antipater II), after Herod’s
father.
• Herod divorced Doris sometime around 40 BCE to allow him to marry
Mariamne I, who would prove to be the love of Herod’s life. Both Doris and
Antipater II were sent into exile
• Mariamne I (Miriam), a very beautiful woman and much beloved by Herod,
was resented by Herod’s sister Salome who was constantly plotting
against her. After several incidents, Herod finally ordered Mariamne’s
execution in 29 BCE. Salome also resented Mariamne’s two sons,
Alexander and Aristobulus IV. They had been raised in the Imperial Court
in Rome and Salome considered them haughty. In 7 BCE, Herod had both
strangled. The death of two Hasmonean heirs to the throne caused the
anger of the Jewish people toward Herod to rise dramatically
• Meanwhile Herod’s first wife, Doris, was called back from exile and her son
Antipater II was officially named Herod’s heir. In 5 BCE, Antipater II,
growing impatient, was charged with attempting to assassinate his
father. He was found guilty and executed in 4 BCE just days before
Herod’s own death
8.14
Caesar Augustus on Herod the Great
A Roman named Macrobius wrote a compendium of ancient Roman lore
that he called the Saturnalia
In Book 2, Section 4, verse 11 of that book, Macrobius quotes Caesar
Augustus saying the following about Herod the Great
“It is better to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son”
Since, like many of the elite of Rome at that time, Caesar Augustus
commonly spoke in Greek, there is a bit of a pun in that saying that comes
across in Greek.
“It is better to be Herod’s hus (the Greek word for pig. It rhymes with
goose) than Herod’s huios” (the Greek word for son pronounced hoo-yos)
The meaning, of course, is that as a Jew (at least a nominal Jew), Herod
could not eat pork so any pig that belonged to Herod was safe. Not so safe
were Herod’s sons, three of whom were condemned to death by their father
Did Herod actually slaughter all the male children from 0-2 years of age in
Bethlehem as the New Testament claims. There is no external source to
verify that story. Was Herod bloodthirsty enough to do so? Even the
Emperor of Rome seems to have thought so
8.15
The Kingdom of the Jews – Political Divisions at
the Time of Herod the Great
Josephus mentioned three sects in the Jewish Kingdom as the
Romans brought the Kingdom of Judah under Roman rule.
The three principle sects (haireiseis in Greek) described by
Josephus were;
• Pharisees
• Sadducees
• Essenes
The next slides will sum up each of these three groups. A fourth
group of people, the Samaritans, will also be examined
Under Roman rule, the Kingdom of Judah became known as the
province of Judea, a satellite province of Roman Syria
8.16
The Pharisees
• Pharisaioi in Greek, perisaye in Aramaic and perushim in Hebrew having
the basic meaning of “the separated ones”.
• They seemed to come from a group of scribes (lawyers) under Jonathan
Maccabeus @ 150 BCE. They seem to have evolved from the Hassidim
who supported the Maccabean revolt until the revolt took a secular turn
• The Pharisees believed that both the written Torah (
‫תורה שבכתב‬, torah
se-biktav) as well as the oral Torah ( ‫ תורה שבעל פה‬tora se-be-al peh)
were normative. Their love of the Torah and their meticulous observance
of the Sabbath, ritual purity etc, helped keep Judaism intact in the face of
Hellenistic polytheism and secularism.
• The Pharisees followed in the footsteps of King Josiah, and the
priest/scribe Ezra and all those who believed that the best way to ensure a
good and holy nation was to ensure that the youth of the nation would be
educated in the Torah including the do’s and don’ts that comprise pious
behavior
8.17
The Sadducees
• Saddoukaioi in Greek, sadduqaye in Aramaic and sadduqim in Hebrew.
Their name brings to mind the Zadokite priesthood that began with
Zadok who shared the position of High Priest with Abiathar under David
before Solomon removed Abiathar from that position.
Zadok and the prophet Nathan supported Solomon’s claim to succeed
David as King of Israel and the descendants of Zadok continued to hold
the position of High Priest until Menelaus gave his bribe to the Seleucid
King Antiochus IV
• Despite the link between the name of their party with a line of High Priests
who historically had supported faithfulness to the Torah and the customs,
rituals and practices that it taught, the Sadducees were part of the
the more recent version of the High Priest who was appointed by Hellenist
rulers and who curried their favor. The Sadducees were therefore part of
the Hellenist Jewish aristocracy of the kingdom. This put them at odds
with the Pharisees and the Essenes
• The Sadducees did want to have any part of an oral tradition of the
Torah. They felt that such interpretation came from laymen interfering
with things best left to priests. Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees did
not believe in the resurrection of the body, angels or spirits (Mark 12:18)
8.18
The Essenes
• Essenoi or essaioi in Greek, possibly hasayya in Aramaic. Their name
either means “pious ones” or “healers”
• According to Pliny the Elder, they lived on the Western shore of the Dead
Sea between Jericho and Engedi. Most take the site to be Khirbet Qumran
• Most people associate the monastic community at Qumran with the
Essenes but there has been some recent debate about this
• Was John the Baptist an Essene? Was Jesus an Essene? Most of the
information about the Essenes comes from the writings of Josephus. They
are hardly mentioned in Scripture.
- John the Baptist may have been an Essene in that, like the Essenes, he
seemed to live apart from regular society
- Jesus may well have known about the Essenes and the things that they
taught and believed but He Himself was probably not an Essene. He
lived as part of the general society. He drank wine. He ate with
sinners etc.
• In the end, there is simply not enough information to draw a definitive
conclusion concerning Jesus, John the Baptist and the Essenes
8.19
Other Jewish Sects
• Zealots
- Considered by some to be the extreme right wing of the Pharisees
- Josephus called them the fourth philosophy of Judaism (violence,
murder)
- Likely started by Judas the Galilean in 6 CE (Acts 5:37) and grew to
political importance some years after Jesus’ crucifixion
- They objected to paying tax (tribute) to a foreign, pagan king
- They finally revolted against Rome in 66 CE and the final confrontation
of that revolt took place at Masada
- There is a question concerning one of Jesus’ apostles, Simon Zelotes.
Was he “zealous” for the Torah (a Pharisee or one of the Hasidim) or
was he a member of the group that became “the Zealots”?
• Herodians
- Mentioned in Mark (3:6 and 12:13) and Matthew (22:16) as joined with the
Pharisees in attempts to entrap Jesus
- Completely opposite the Pharisees in philosophy but shared their
concern about Jesus
• Zadokites
- Shared the more fundamental views of the Sadducees (Written Torah
only)
- Felt the Sadducees were too worldly, too Hellenistic
8.20
The Samaritans
• Most historians hold to the idea that the name derives from Samaria, the
capital city of the divided Kingdom of Israel. Others say the name derives from
the Hebrew term ‫( שמֶ ִריִ ם‬shamerim) meaning “keepers of the law”
• The Samaritans claimed that not all of the “Lost Tribes” of the Northern
Kingdom of Israel were lost. Samaritans claim descent from Ephraim and
Manasseh, the sons of Joseph. The Jewish people called Samaritans Kuthim
(Cuthians) referencing people brought from the land of Cutha (in modern Iraq)
by the Assyrians to repopulate the Northern Kingdom after the conquest of
Israel by Assyria
• Some historians believe that at least some of the Jewish inhabitants of the
Northern Kingdom of Israel remained in the land after Israel was defeated by
the Assyrians. The Samaritans who were supposed to have remained claimed
that they represented the original faith of Israel. They believed that the Jewish
people who returned from captivity in Babylon represented a change in Jewish
beliefs. There is still a small community of Samaritans in Israel today. They
believe that their version of the Torah is the only true version. They hold that
Mount Gerizim is the proper place of sacrifice for Israel
• Recent DNA testing which shows that the mtDNA is consistent with people who
inhabit portions of modern Iraq (Cutha?) the male DNA is consistent with
Jewish descent
8.21
As We Transition From the Hebrew Scriptures…
Recommended Paid Course on the Hebrew Scriptures
The Old Testament
Amy Jill Levine
PhD from Duke University
Currently teaches at Vanderbilt University
http://www.thegreatcourses.com
Cource#653
Recommended Free Course on the Hebrew Scriptures
Open Yale Courses
RLST 145: Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible)
Christine Hayes, The Robert F. and Patricia Ross Weis Professor of Religious
Studies at Yale University
There is also an NT course available on this website
http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-145
8.22