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Intertestamental

The Antiochan Crisis to the Death of Judas (174-160 BCE)

Brief Account of Events Said to Have Occurred. Although little is known of events in Israel before Antiochus IV Epiphanes, from this point on, there are fairly detailed and reliable sources of information on Jewish history. Unfortunately, there is some confusion about the order of events in Jewish sources and a problem correlating these with the He...

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Daniel's Prophecies Come to Pass

The Bible and Archaeology - The Intertestamental Period: Daniel's Prophecies Come to Pass - by Mario Seiglie. This series has traced the history of the Old Testament from Genesis through the captivity of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, describing archaeological finds and historical accounts that have confirmed and illuminated the biblical account...

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The Qumran Community and the Essene Sect

By Cleve A. Johnson. Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 scholars have spent years studying them and the nearby ruins of Qumran. It has been assumed by most scholars that the community of Qumran was an Essene group and that they were responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls. In the past several years much debate has arisen concerning wh...

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Hyrcanus in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

her-ka'-nus (Hurkanos): "Son of Tobias, a man of great dignity," who had a large sum of money deposited in the Temple of Jerusalem when Heliodorus was sent to confiscate it in 187 BC (2 Macc 3:11 ff). (Bible-History Online)...

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Judah Maccabee

Second leader of the Judean revolt against the Greco-Syrian empire [166 BCE]. Westerners have traditionally referred to the third son of Mattathias of Modein by the Latinate form of his name: Judas Maccabeus. A Judean priest, he assumed command of Judean resistance to Greek forces after his father's death [165 BCE]. His defeat of the Greek governor...

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Cassander (358-297 BC)

Cassander was the son of Antipater. He was a minor figure during the reign of Alexander the Great, but after the death of his father rose to be ruler and then king of Macedonia. Antipater was the regent of Macedonia during Alexander's expedition to the east. In 324 BC he had been summoned to Alexander's court at Babylon, and Craterus sent west to r...

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Hasmonean Rule From Jonathan to the Death of Simon

Hasmonean Rule From Jonathan to the Death of Simon (160-134 BCE). Brief Account of Events Said to Have Occurred. After Judas' death, there followed a period when the Maccabean movement was out of power (160-53 BCE). In 153 BCE, Jonathan, Judas' brother and replacement regained popular support. Jonathan took advantage of internal weakness within the...

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Zealots

Jewish religious-political faction of Judah, existing for a period of about 70 years or possible more, in the 1st century CE. The Zealots achieved fairly little, except to trigger heavy Roman control over the Jews and the closing off of Jerusalem to Jews. But they were the main actors in one of the central legends in Jewish history: the defence of ...

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Johanan (John) Hyrcanus

Johanan [John] Hyrcanus (d.104 BCE) Grandson of Mattathias of Modein and chief architect of Judean dominance of Israel. The youngest and only surviving son of Simon Thassi succeeded his father as high priest in 134 BCE. He was the fourth Hasmonean to rule Jerusalem. But his tenure began with a year-long Syrian siege that forced him agree to tear do...

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Religious Groups: The Silent Centuries

Religious Groups of the Intertestamental Period by Al Maxey Judaism was certainly no exception to the human tendency toward sectarianism. The various sects or factions within the Jewish religion all considered themselves to be good, honorable, godly people, and to be devoted followers of Divine Law. However, their beliefs and practices were often q...

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