Dr. Jodi Magness

And the situation of the Jews is interesting because these successors of Alexander ruled their kingdoms in different ways, by which I mean that there were different kinds of administrative units within their kingdoms. And a little bit different from most of the rest of these kingdoms, Judea was a bit of a semi-autonomous area.

This had been the case for centuries going back to the Persians, even before the conquest of Alexander. Jews were given the freedom and in fact required to live according to biblical Jewish law. That is that biblical Jewish law was the law of the land. If you were a Jew, meaning a Judean, a person Jewish,

This had been the case for centuries going back to the Persians, even before the conquest of Alexander. Jews were given the freedom and in fact required to live according to biblical Jewish law. That is that biblical Jewish law was the law of the land. If you were a Jew, meaning a Judean, a person Jewish,

This had been the case for centuries going back to the Persians, even before the conquest of Alexander. Jews were given the freedom and in fact required to live according to biblical Jewish law. That is that biblical Jewish law was the law of the land. If you were a Jew, meaning a Judean, a person Jewish,

from Judea or of Judean descent, you were required to follow those laws as the law of the land. So in a sense, Judea was this kind of semi-autonomous territory where the Jews enjoyed what we might consider today to be a great deal of religious freedom. And the administration of the territory was under the governance of a council called the Gerousia.

from Judea or of Judean descent, you were required to follow those laws as the law of the land. So in a sense, Judea was this kind of semi-autonomous territory where the Jews enjoyed what we might consider today to be a great deal of religious freedom. And the administration of the territory was under the governance of a council called the Gerousia.

from Judea or of Judean descent, you were required to follow those laws as the law of the land. So in a sense, Judea was this kind of semi-autonomous territory where the Jews enjoyed what we might consider today to be a great deal of religious freedom. And the administration of the territory was under the governance of a council called the Gerousia.

That's right, a Greek word that comes from the word meaning elderly, because it was a council of elders, older people. I always like to point out to my students that in these societies, older people were venerated, were respected for their knowledge and their experience. And so that's basically the situation as we enter the second century BC.

That's right, a Greek word that comes from the word meaning elderly, because it was a council of elders, older people. I always like to point out to my students that in these societies, older people were venerated, were respected for their knowledge and their experience. And so that's basically the situation as we enter the second century BC.

That's right, a Greek word that comes from the word meaning elderly, because it was a council of elders, older people. I always like to point out to my students that in these societies, older people were venerated, were respected for their knowledge and their experience. And so that's basically the situation as we enter the second century BC.

The Jews now had been living literally for hundreds of years already with a great deal of relative autonomy and certainly religious freedom.

The Jews now had been living literally for hundreds of years already with a great deal of relative autonomy and certainly religious freedom.

The Jews now had been living literally for hundreds of years already with a great deal of relative autonomy and certainly religious freedom.

Yes, that's absolutely right. And so this is one of the really interesting things. And we see this actually in other periods as well. For example, we see this during the reign of Herod the Great.

Yes, that's absolutely right. And so this is one of the really interesting things. And we see this actually in other periods as well. For example, we see this during the reign of Herod the Great.

Yes, that's absolutely right. And so this is one of the really interesting things. And we see this actually in other periods as well. For example, we see this during the reign of Herod the Great.

Yes, exactly. Where especially there is external influence or cultural influence on the local elites who have the money, the means, to be able to adopt these kind of outside customs, which are sort of the fashion, the modern fashion, even while continuing to observe biblical Jewish law. And we see that certainly among the Jerusalem elite after the conquest of Alexander.

Yes, exactly. Where especially there is external influence or cultural influence on the local elites who have the money, the means, to be able to adopt these kind of outside customs, which are sort of the fashion, the modern fashion, even while continuing to observe biblical Jewish law. And we see that certainly among the Jerusalem elite after the conquest of Alexander.

Yes, exactly. Where especially there is external influence or cultural influence on the local elites who have the money, the means, to be able to adopt these kind of outside customs, which are sort of the fashion, the modern fashion, even while continuing to observe biblical Jewish law. And we see that certainly among the Jerusalem elite after the conquest of Alexander.

We see an increasing amount of sort of what we might call Greek influence around on the local elite. And this comes to a head in 175 BC. So now we're entering, let's say, the second quarter of the second century BC. The high priest in Jerusalem, whose name was Jason, basically paid off the Seleucid king to get permission to turn Jerusalem into a Greek polis, into a Greek city. Wow.