The religious situation in Palestine Jews The Qumran Community
The Jewish Diaspora
THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION IN PALESTINE JEWS
The religious situation inPalestine Jews Palestine, the land in
which Christianity first appeared, has long been a land of strife
and suffering. In ancient times, this was due mostly to its
geographical position, at the crossroads of the great trades routes
that joined Egypt with Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor with Arabia. As
we read the Old Testament, we see that, as empires came and went,
they cast covetous eye on that narrow strip of land; for this
reason, its inhabitants repeatedly suffered invasion, bondage, and
exile.
Twenty centuries ago in Palestine there lived people of
differing races and religions; all differed in ways of
understanding of living. THE ROMANS The Romans were the conquerors
who had invaded and occupied Palestine. Palestine and nearly all
the countries of the Middle East fell under Roman rule. The Romans
were considered heathens, worshipping the Greek Olympian Gods and
Goddesses to whom they gave Latin names. Their languages were Latin
and Greek.
Among the Romans living in Palestine two thousand years ago
were: The Governor and his family; the officers and employees of
the Roman government and their families; the soldiers, spearmen,
archers, and swordsmen and their families; Roman commercial
traders; as well as Romans who for various reasons chose to live
there. Caesar recognized an Israelite King under his orders and
authority and the Israelite Sanhedrin, the highest Israelite
religious authority, headed by the Chief High Priest with an
executive body of Pharisees, Scribes and others appointed by the
Chief High Priest.
Although the Romans considered the Mosaic Law to be barbarous,
cruel and inhuman, the Sanhedrin was authorized to apply that law
to the non-Roman citizens: Israelites and Essenes. The Sanhedrin
cruelly executed many Israelites and Essenes by such savage means
as stoning and crucifixion. The Roman Governor, by order of Caesar,
cunningly offered to the Israelites and the Essenes Roman
citizenship, which would have released them from the authority of
the insane King of the Israelites, Herod, and of the Sanhedrin.
Some prosperous Israelites accepted this offer.
THE ISRAELITES The Israelites were the majority of the
population grouped as Judeans, Galileans, Samaritans, and others.
They were very often hostile to one another. Their languages were
Hebrew and Aramaic and, for some, Greek. They worshipped the God of
Moses, the one God of the Heavens and of the Earth. But their God
was cruel and jealous, visiting the iniquities of the fathers on
the children to the third and fourth generation. Their God was
vengeful, with many human vices. The Israelites had long expected
the coming of the Messiahthe Son of Godthe Savior of the world and
liberator of Palestine.
THE ESSENES The Essenes of Palestine were Greco-Israelites, and
were sometimes called Nazarenes. Their mother tongues were Greek
and Aramaic. Like their brother Israelites, the Essenes expected
the coming of the Messiah, but they believed He would be born into
Palestine into an Essene community. They were peace-loving people,
worshipping the One Spirit God, the God of the Heavens and of the
Earth; the God of Everlasting Life and Love; God Omnipresent,
Omniscient, and Omnipotent. In the minds and hearts of the Essenes
was enthroned that Spirit God, Father of all human beings, a God of
Love and Mercy whom they called Aton-ai.
Two centuries after the Exodus from Egypt of the
Egyptian-Israelites slaves led by Moses, the Pharaoh Amenophis IV,
as Akhen-aton, denounced the false God and introduced in Egypt the
worship of the One Spirit God who was the same God that the Essenes
worshipped. The main centers of the Essenes were Egypt: notably in
Annu (Heliopolis) and in Iskenderia (Alexandria). There were other
centers in the Middle East including Palestine, Syria, and Cyprus.
Most Essenes in Palestine were unwilling to separate themselves
entirely from the Israelites by accepting citizenship from the
heathen Roman infidels. And so they remained under the cruel yokes
of Herod and the Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin considered the Essenes heretics, but the
Israelite Sanhedrin authorities were cautious and never said so
openly since most of the scribes and some of the Pharisees were
related to Essenes. But the Sanhedrin would lose no opportunity to
accuse the Essenes of violating Mosaic Law.
THE GREEKS The Greeks of Palestine were Roman citizens and
heathens who worshipped the Olympian Gods and Goddesses. They were
scholars, artists, teachers, philosopher s, writers, and commercial
traders. Their languages were Greek and Latin, with a few speaking
Aramaic.
THE BEDOUINS The Bedouins of Palestine were a nomadic Arab
race. Most worshipped the One God of the Heavens and of the Earth,
the God of their Father Ibrahim (Abraham), calling Him Allah. Some
also worshipped Fire and the Stars. For the most part, the Bedouins
were horse breeders. Their languages were Arabic and Aramaic. A few
wealthy Bedouins were also fluent in Greek and Latin
Judaism in the Time of Jesus In Christian circles the Judaism
of the time of Jesus has often been thought of as an outward
legalistic religion to which the message of Jesus and the early
Christians was a complete antithesis. Such a picture has, however,
proved to be a blatant caricature. Today the ministry of Jesus is
seen rather as a movement within Judaism rather than as something
opposed to it. At the same time people have begun to understand how
complex and still developing a phenomenon first- century Judaism
was. At the beginning of the Christian era Judaism was divided into
several different groups, each of which had its own views
concerning the true Jewish way of life. On the other hand, certain
basic beliefs were common to them all.
The Basic Beliefs of Judaism
The Basic Beliefs of Judaism Although at the beginning of the
Christian era Judaism comprised several different groups, certain
basic beliefs were common to them all: belief in one God, belief in
the covenant which God had made with his people Israel, and belief
in the foundational book of this covenant, the Law of God or the
Torah. The covenant between God and Israel comprised duties and
commitments which pertained to both parties. God committed himself
to treat Israel in accordance with its special position as his own
people, and to teach the Israelites the principles of a good and
blessed life. Israel made the commitment to be obedient to God and
to live a life befitting the people of God. These principles are
found in the Torah or Law of Moses, its teaching and practical
applications. The Torah also included directions concerning
atonement for offences committed so that the covenant might
nevertheless remain in effect. It is important to note that in
Judaism the Law is not a way of salvation. Salvation - the election
of God - is based exclusively on the grace of God.
Jewish Groups At the beginning of the Christian era Judaism was
divided into many different groups. These were the Pharisees, the
Sadducees, the Essenes, the Zealots - and the Jesus Movement. In
spite of differences between them the groups were united by certain
basic beliefs.
The Pharisees In the Gospels the Pharisees often appear as the
influential arch-enemies of Jesus. They tirelessly watch how the
Jewish people observe the purity and holiness code. From this the
word Pharisee has come commonly to be a synonym of hypocrite. Such
a picture of the Pharisees is, however, one-sided. In fact the
Pharisees were one Jewish group among many - a lay movement which
placed emphasis on the Torah (the Law of Moses and its
interpretation) and in particular on the importance of the purity
code for everyday holiness. There were also many different types of
Pharisee. Some of them seem to have been fairly close to Jesus in
their thinking. Sayings resembling the teaching of Jesus occur
among the sayings of Rabbi Hillel, for instance, and Hillel was
active in Pharisaic circles. The Apostle Paul also came from among
the Pharisees.
In the opinion of the Pharisees holiness was not only for the
priests and the Temple. By observing the purity code every member
of the people of God might participate in the holiness of God. In
the interpretation of the written Law the Pharisees had the help of
the so-called Oral Law, i.e. oral tradition consisting of
explanations of the Law which was thought to go back to Moses
himself. Conflicts between the Pharisees and the disciples of Jesus
came to a head after the death of Jesus, when the Jesus movement
began to accept Gentiles into membership without demanding that
they be circumcised or that they observe the purity code. These
controversies are reflected in the way the Pharisees are portrayed
in the New Testament. Another group often mentioned in the New
Testament in connection with the Pharisees are the Teachers of the
Law. Here we are dealing with a very different group of people.
While the Pharisees were a kind of revival movement, Teacher of the
Law is a professional term. The Teachers of the Law were
authoritative professional interpreters of the Torah.
The Sadducees Only sparse information has been preserved
concerning the Sadducees, and none of it is impartial; most of the
information comes from their opponents. In the traditional view the
Sadducees were from the Hellenized Jewish upper class, which
supported stable conditions and the prevailing social order, and
whose religion was reasonable and worldly. The Sadducees did not,
for example, believe in life after death. The name of the Sadducees
is believed to derive from the family of Zadok, the high priest who
served as high priest in the days of King David. Not all the
Sadducees were priests, however, and their number included other
aristocrats. On the other hand, evidently only a small minority of
the upper class were Sadducees.
The Essenes The Essenes are not mentioned in the New Testament;
the information concerning them is derived from other sources.
Since 1947 manuscript and archaeological discoveries have been made
at Qumran on the north-west shore of the Dead Sea, and they are
thought to derive from the Essenes who dwelt there. The Essenes
were a protest movement which withdrew from the world. They
believed that the high priest of the Jerusalem Temple was elected
on false pretences, which invalidated the whole Temple cult. In
addition, the calendar used by the Essenes and their way of
interpreting and observing the Law of Moses differed from the rest
of Judaism. The Essene community of Qumran saw itself as the only
true Israel, "children of light" as distinct from the "children of
darkness" and their corrupt religious practices. The members of the
community lived a disciplined life dictated by the regulations and
a strict system of values. At the same time they - like many of
their contemporaries - expected that God would soon intervene in
the course of history in a decisive manner.
THE QUMRAN COMMUNITY
The Qumran Discoveries The Qumran discoveries were made at the
north- western end of the Dead Sea in the years 1947- 56. In eleven
caves in the desert there were found manuscripts of the Old
Testament, other religious texts and the writings of the religious
group who lived at Qumran: rules of the community, liturgical texts
and doctrinal material. The texts written on leather and papyrus
scrolls were in the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages. Some of
the manuscripts were carefully packed in clay jars; most, however,
were lying on the floors of the caves, at the mercy of damp and
worms.
In the vicinity of the caves were excavated ruins of a group of
buildings covering an area of 100 x 80 metres. The first of these
was built in about 150 B.C. The main building contained assembly
and work rooms and had a two-storey stone tower. Water collected
from high up in the mountains was stored in large rainwater storage
containers and tanks. Some tanks were used for ritual bathing. In
the area was also found a large cemetery containing over a thousand
graves. The manuscripts were evidently concealed in the caves for
fear of discovery by Roman soldiers. The Roman army destroyed the
settlement in 68 A.D.
The oldest manuscripts found at Qumran were fragments of Old
Testament manuscript copies from the third century B.C. The
majority of the manuscripts, however, date from the two centuries
preceding the turn of the era and the first century following it,
that is, the time when the group that wrote and copied the scrolls
lived at Qumran. The number of texts found is over two hundred.
Many of the scrolls are, however, so badly damaged that only odd
fragments are left.
Many scholars believe the location to have been home to a
Jewish sect, the Essenes being the preferred choice; others have
proposed non-sectarian interpretations, some of these starting with
the notion that it was a Hasmonean fort which was later transformed
into a villa for a wealthy family or a production center, perhaps a
pottery factory or similar.
A large cemetery was discovered to the east of the site. While
most of the graves contain the remains of males, some females were
also discovered, though some burials may be from medieval times.
Only a small portion of the graves were excavated, as excavating
cemeteries is forbidden under Jewish law. Over a thousand bodies
are buried at Qumran cemetery.[1] One theory is that bodies were
those of generations of sectarians, while another is that they were
brought to Qumran because burial was easier there than in rockier
surrounding areas.[2]
The scrolls were found in a series of eleven caves around the
settlement, some accessible only through the settlement. Some
scholars have claimed that the caves were the permanent libraries
of the sect, due to the presence of the remains of a shelving
system. Other scholars believe that some caves also served as
domestic shelters for those living in the area. Many of the texts
found in the caves appear to represent widely accepted Jewish
beliefs and practices, while other texts appear to speak of
divergent, unique, or minority interpretations and practices.
Some scholars believe that some of these texts describe the
beliefs of the inhabitants of Qumran, which, may have been the
Essenes, or the asylum for supporters of the traditional priestly
family of the Zadokites against the Hasmonean priest/kings. A
literary epistle published in the 1990s expresses reasons for
creating a community, some of which resemble Sadducean arguments in
the Talmud.[3] Most of the scrolls seem to have been hidden in the
caves during the turmoil of the First Jewish Revolt, though some of
them may have been deposited earlier.
This is the location of the community of Jewish men (Essenes).
They are the ones who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is a picture
of the scriptorium where the Essenes would have written the
scrolls. Benches, inkwells, etc.have been found in this room.
Around 70 AD, as they saw the Romans approaching, these men hid
their scrolls in caves in this area.
This is the lunchroom for the Qumran community. Notice in the
background the Dead Sea is visible.
This is cave number 4 of the eleven caves that were found with
scrolls. Fragments of over 550 manuscripts were found in this cave.
These and other manuscripts became known to us as the Dead Sea
Scrolls.
This is a close up photo of Cave 4
The Zealots The Zealots (Greek zelotes, zealot) was a general
term for a person who was zealous for a cause, in particular for
the religious group he belonged to. One of Jesus twelve disciples
was a Simon who bore this nickname. Later the name Zealots came to
refer to a rebel organization which supported armed resistance to
Rome. This group only became a united, recognizable party just
before the Jewish War.
THE JEWISH DIASPORA
The jewish diaspora
The Jewish Diaspora Diaspora means dispersion. The term was
used of Jewish communities living outside Palestine. At the
beginning of the Christian era there were Jews living all over the
Roman Empire and in the East beyond the frontiers of the Empire.
They lived in the country and in the towns, and they came from all
social classes and professions. Their customs were known
everywhere, even if they were not always regarded favourably. On
the other hand, their strict monotheism and high moral standards
attracted many, and they often had influential patrons.
Sometimes non-Jews joined the Jewish community. Those who
converted and became full members were called proselytes. Becoming
a member was preceded by ritual purification (baptism) and in the
case of male proselytes by circumcision. At the same time the
newcomers committed themselves to observing the commands of the
Torah. This was a great deal to ask, and the number of proselytes
remained fairly
"God-fearers" was the name for non-Jews who instead of becoming
proselytes were satisfied with observing the Jewish way of life and
taking part in the life of the Jewish community as far as it was
possible. This group later become fertile ground for early
Christian missionary work. Diaspora Jews also met in synagogues,
the size and manner of construction of which depended on the
resources of the community. In large towns there might be several.
The head of the synagogue was the spiritual leader and senior
teacher of the community. Temporal matters were looked after by the
council of elders, the secretary acting as bookkeeper and
correspondent. The synagogue servant was responsible for
maintaining the property and for keeping order and if necessary he
led the prayers.
Besides being a place of worship the synagogue had a Torah
school. The synagogue also functioned as a communal meeting-place
and as somewhere where people from various professions could meet
together. Graeco-Roman society set its members certain obligations,
not all of which could be fulfilled by Torah-observant Jews. Thus
they were granted exemptions, for instance in relation to the cult
of the emperor and service in the army.
The Purity and Holiness Code Regulations concerning purity and
holiness are found in many cultures in different parts of the
world. The terms clean and unclean did not then refer to
cleanliness and getting dirty in the present sense of the words.
Rather it was a question of the kind of actions, substances,
matters, objects and places which it was desired to place out of
bounds for the community. In early Judaism attitudes towards the
purity and holiness code contained in the Torah or Law of Moses
varied: in the Diaspora, Jews were more liberal-minded than in
Palestine, among the Pharisees and Essenes stricter than outside
these groups. In any case the purity code seems to have grown in
importance as the beginning of the Christian era approached.
According to the Torah, a person became unclean if he or she
touched something unclean. As long as he or she was unclean he or
she was not allowed to come in contact with clean people or
objects. In some cases uncleanness disappeared by itself after a
determined period of time had elapsed; sometimes to become clean
one was required to offer a sacrifice and/or perform ritual
washing. Typical sources of uncleanness were bodily secretions,
corpses, unclean animals and wrongly prepared food.
Holiness, too, was based on being untouched. If the holy and
unclean came into contact, one or other ceased to exist: the holy
became unholy or it destroyed the unclean thing. Therefore the holy
had to be separated from the areas of everyday life that were
susceptible to uncleanness so as to form an area of its own. This
might happen in several different ways. The way of protecting
holiness might be a time-limit: feast-days such as the Sabbath and
the annual festivals were sanctified by excluding everyday
activities such as work. This made it possible to observe rites
that demanded holiness at these times.
The boundary might be one of space. The holiest was in the
heart of numerous concentric boundaries: Israel is a holy land, the
holiest place of which is Jerusalem, the holiest place of which is
Mount Zion, the holiest place of which is the Temple, the holiest
place of which is the Holy of Holies. Further, the boundary might
be between people. Israel was a holy people, which was
distinguished from the Gentiles by the fact that Israel observed
the Law of God. The concrete manifestations of this obedience were
male circumcision, the dietary rules and the observance of the
Sabbath. The holiness of the priests was to be greater than that of
the ordinary people. One of the characteristic features of the
Pharisees was that they endeavoured to observe the purity code of
the priests.
In general purity and holiness codes have a tendency to be
reinforced when the identity of the community is threatened.
Boundaries remind the members of the community who they are. For
the same reason the purity and holiness code played an important
part when Christianity diverged from Judaism. When the principal
external identifying features of Judaism were no longer required
for membership in the community, Judaism was left behind.
Christianity had become an independent movement.
The temple
The Temple The Temple was the most important symbol of the
Jewish people, the centre of life, where the national, the
cultural, the religious and the political were fused. The first
Jerusalem Temple was built by King Solomon. The Babylonians
destroyed it in 587 B.C. At the same time the upper classes of the
kingdom of Judah were exiled to Babylon.
After conquering the Babylonian Empire, Cyrus, the king of
Persia, granted the Jews permission to return to their homeland and
build a new temple. Five hundred years later King Herod initiated a
massive rebuilding project, the aim of which was to restore the
splendour of Solomons Temple. The Temple was dedicated in 18 B.C.,
but the project was only completed in the 60s A.D. Its size and
beauty were widely known, but it was destroyed in the turmoil of
the Jewish War in 70 A.D.
A new temple could no longer be built because the Jews were
expelled from Palestine half a century later. Today the site is
occupied by mosques, so both archaeological excavations and the
construction of a new temple are impossible. All that remains is a
section of the Temple wall, the so-called Wailing Wall. The outer
court of Herods Temple was called the Court of the Gentiles. Inside
it was the Temple area, divided off by a wall, to which all but
Jews were forbidden entry on pain of death.
The outer part of the Temple area proper was the Court of the
Women, then the Court of the Men. Only priests were permitted to
proceed further, to the altar. On this altar were performed the
daily animal sacrifices. The inner vestibule of the Temple was
called holy. Here were the seven-branched candlestick, the table of
the shewbread and the altar. The holy was divided from the holy of
holies by a curtain, inside which the high priest was allowed to go
once a year, on the Day of Atonement, to offer a sacrifice for the
whole people.
In the outmost court of the Temple were traders, from whom
pilgrims who had travelled from afar might purchase sacrificial
animals. The money-changers exchanged foreign currency for silver
shekels, with which the Temple tax and the price of the sacrificial
animal were paid. In the Temple area was also the Antonia Fortress,
one of Herods palaces, which was located in the north-west corner
of the area. From the fortress it was possible to maintain order in
the Temple, especially during Passover. It may have been in the
Antonia Fortress that Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to be
crucified.
In the Temple there served both priests and Levites. The latter
did not participate in the sacrificial cult but took care of the
music, guarding and cleaning of the Temple.
The Temple Sacrifices The priests offered numerous sacrifices
in the Temple every day, since the Law of Moses obliged Jews to
purify themselves and atone for their sins by offering a sacrifice.
In addition, thanksgiving offerings were sacrificed. The victim
might be a sheep or a dove; flour and wine might also be offered as
a sacrifice. In addition to the sacrifices brought by individuals,
communal sacrifices were offered every day in the Temple. - An
example of the sacrifice of a sheep
The animals throat was slit and the blood was collected in a
bowl for throwing on the altar. The animal was skinned and the fat
was burnt in the fire on the altar. The hide and part of the meat
was put to one side, for the priests gained their living from the
sacrifices during their term of service in the Temple. The rest of
the meat was given to the person who brought the offering. He left
the Temple to eat it with his friends and family.
A burnt offering was an offering which was burnt whole in the
fire on the altar (the blood and hide were removed before the
offering was burnt). Because the sacrificial animal had to be
flawless, it was most convenient to buy it in the Temple. The
pilgrim who came from afar took a substantial risk in bringing the
sacrificial victim with him, for it might injure itself on the
journey and no longer be fit to be sacrificed.
The Synagogue Both in villages and in towns the Jews gathered
for worship in the synagogue, where other community matters were
also dealt with. The synagogue was the place for trials, teaching,
care of the poor and accommodation of Jews from elsewhere. In the
synagogue the first Christians, too, preached their message, and
the activities of the synagogue offered a model for the first
Christian communities.
Sources: http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/
index?qid=20110126192041AAjqF5r
http://www.helsinki.fi/teol/pro/_merenla
h/oppimateriaalit/text/english/judaism. htm Gonzalez, J: The story
of Christianity