There were numerous outcomes to the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. All largely magnified during the intertestamental period. A series of overlapping and concurrent losses represented both pronounced and fundamental changes in the relationship between God and His chosen people.
Five Major Losses of the Jews after the fall of Jerusalem
1.) Loss of Land
2.) Loss of the Monarchy
3.) Loss of the Temple and God’s Presence
4.) Loss of the Mother Tongue
5.) Loss of Prophetic Revelation
Political, Social, and Geographic
The Jews’ loss of their treasured land of possession to the Hellenists, Romans, Syrians, and Egyptians over their struggles to maintain religious autonomy and regain national sovereignty came with significant and long-term turmoil. With the ongoing occupation and hostilities from foreign nations, there was internal strife between the ruling classes of ancient Israel. The animosity between Aristobulus and Hyrcanus to attain a lasting monarchy translated to alliances among the Pharisees and Sadducees with the backing of social classes. Pharisees were of authority among the common people, whereas Sadducees were upper the aristocratic and priestly class. The struggle between the Hasmonean and the Sadducean parties led to the formation of relationships with foreign nations and leaders to advance internal political causes to obtain power and government control over the priesthood, the land, and religious interests of the Jewish people.
The presence of God never really returned after Solomon’s temple, as made evident by the vision of Ezekiel on the bank of the Chebar River. While the prophet witnessed the spiritual departure of God’s glory from the first temple, he was in captivity in Babylon. Not only were the people of Judah placed into exile, but YHWH had left the temple without any hope of a return to the way things were within the old covenant. Both prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel recorded YHWH’s intent to bring a new covenant (Ezek 11:19, Ezek 36:26, Jer 31:33, Heb 8:10). Until then, the people of Israel were to settle in Babylon for 70 years until their release to Jerusalem and beyond numerous Mediterranean territories. The building of the second temple restored a central location of worship and service, while synagogues served the need of Jewish peoples scattered abroad.
The Jewish solution to all of the strife, oppression, and hardship was a foretold Messiah who would deliver the people to a kind of freedom and prosperity assumed from Scripture. During their time of difficulty, there was an expectation of politically and socially restorative action where the Messiah would be their King and Prophet to bring them to a kingdom of Israel that served their interests.
Religious, Literary, and Cultural
The changes imposed upon the intertestamental Jewish people were comprehensive. The momentum of changes began earlier in Israel’s history around its succession of corrupt kings and its captivity to Assyria and Babylonia centuries before the second temple period. The scattering of the Jewish peoples brought further hardships upon religious and cultural practices that negatively impacted its language, lifestyle, and worship. Whether by security reasons, economic necessity, or enslavement, Jews settled across Mediterranean coastal territories such as Asia Minor, Antioch, Alexandria, Carthage, Cypress, and Rome. They dispersed West to form communities to keep hold of their homogenous identity. Outside Israel and Jerusalem, leadership centered around local synagogues and oral traditions complimentary to the writings of the law and the prophets.
By occupying foreign territories, intertestamental Jews faced significant changes around their indigent verbal and written language. As the people of Israel returned from Babylon, they essentially adopted the Aramaic language. Only to be faced with the dominant Greek language of imperial Greek Hellenization, Israel faced further dilution of social use of their language. Greek, Latin, Aramaic, and Hebrew were disparately in use among the various pagan territories, so preserving the Hebrew language was often a product of religious and elementary education within the home.1 Further loss of Jewish interest around literary work was mitigated by translation efforts, such as the Old Testament into Greek, by the 70 (LXX) commission of Ptolemy. Along with the absence of prophetic guidance during the intertestamental period, apocalyptic or apocryphal writings were produced for historical and religious value.
Scribes and priests were the wise men who came to replace the prophets. Scholars in the sacred writings were considered among the scribes who carried authority and interpretive weight.2 Oral law and the apocalyptic literature provided divine guidance and interpretation of Scripture during the time of prophetic silence.3
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1. Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, Third Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003), 112.
2. Ibid, 401.
3. J. Julius Scott Jr., Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2000), 112.
