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Intertestamental

Antipater (397 -319)

Antipater was a senior Macedonian general under both Philip II and Alexander the Great. He outlived Alexander, and played an important role in holding his empire together until his death of natural causes in 319 BC. He was a conservative Macedonian, apparently unenthusiastic for Alexander's adventures in Asia, but loyal to the royal family. He was ...

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Maccabees in Smith's Bible Dictionary

- Maccabees(a hammer), The. This title, which was originally the surname of Judas, one of the sons of Mattathias, was afterward extended to the heroic family of which he was one of the noblest representatives. Asmonaeans or Hasmonaeans is the Proper name of the family, which is derived from Cashmon, great grandfather of Mattathias. The Maccabees we...

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Antigonus I Monophthalmus (one eye) 382-301 BC

Antigonus I Monophthalmus (one-eyed) was one of Alexander the Great's most important generals, and one of the most able of his successors. He came closer than any of his colleagues to reuniting Alexander's empire during the wars of the Diadochi (successors), eventually falling to a coalition that saw most of his fellow successors unite against him....

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Jewish History from Alexander to the Death of Seleucus IV

Jewish History from Alexander to the Death of Seleucus IV Eupator (333-175 BCE). The Diadochan Period. After a seventh month siege, from January to August 332, Alexander took control of the city of Tyre; the city was burnt and some 30,000 survivors, mostly women and children, while another 2,000 men capable of bearing arms were crucified (Diod. 17....

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The Intertestamental Period

By Ernest L. Martin Ph.D., To many people, the teachings of the New Testament seem so foreign to those found in the Old Testament. In fact, it seems on the surface that the authors of the New Testament books almost lived in a different world than the prophets, kings and priests who composed the Old Testament writings. And in one way of looking at i...

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Catholic Encyclopedia: Essenes

One of three leading Jewish sects mentioned by Josephus as flourishing in the second century B.C., the others being the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Concerning their origin, history, and tenets there has been much inconclusive controversy. The only ancient authorities we have are a few paragraphs in Philo Judeaeus, a somewhat lengthier description ...

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Antipater

The story of Antipater's life is virtually the story of Macedonia itself. He was an indispensable part of the glorious reigns of both Philip and Alexander and witnessed the rise of his homeland from a backwater to the greatest power in the world. He was born at the very beginning of the fourth century, probably in 398 BC Over fifteen years older th...

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Who Was Judah Maccabee Anyway?

by Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf. Close your eyes and picture Arnold Schwartzenegger: His Uzi has just jammed, he's got one arm in a sling, he's about to take on 300 bad guys all at once - and he's wearing a yarmulka. That's who Judah Maccabee was! Two thousand years ago, one family led by one man stood between the mighty Greek army and the conquest of the...

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Ptolemy I

Period of Alexander the Great - General of Alexander - Founder of the Great Library of Alexandria. Ptolemy was one of Alexander the Great's boyhood friends and became one of his most trusted generals. He played a principal part in the campaigns of Alexander in Afghanistan and India.When Alexander the Great died Ptolemy took charge of one third of a...

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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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