THE HOLY LAND, BEFORE AND AFTER THE 400 SILENT YEARS Hebrew background The Hebrew background of the New Testament is primarily religious because the Hebrew people, the Jews, are the ones to whom the gospel message was first sent (Rom 1:16).5 a Three centers of the life of Judaism (Jewish religion) With the Babylonian exile in 586 B.C the Jews entered a phase of being scattered around the world such that by the time of Christ every large city of the Roman Empire had its large colony of Jews, and towns and villages together contained them by the thousands When the church’s rst missionaries (Paul and others) moved out to the “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), Jews were among the rst contacts made (see Acts 13:5) During the silent centuries, the greatest impressions made upon Judaism originated in the three great centers of Babylon, Alexandria, and Jerusalem Observe on Map C the relative location of those cities ( ) Babylon Changes in Judaism that originated in Babylon were carried over into Jerusalem during the silent years, because there was a continuing program of migration of Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem, which had begun under Ezra and Nehemiah Some of the major changes, not all good, were: (a) Theology — The exile had eliminated idolatry and had fostered a pure monotheism (“one God”) (b) Tradition — The Law was ampli ed to include other writings, mainly Mishnah and Haggada, which were together known as Talmud Mishnah was a book of man-made rules of living; Haggada was the theology and commentary of the rabbis Rabbis formulated their own tradition The Jews became more and more steeped in traditionalism during those years (c) Worship — Synagogues were established as the local places of worship By New Testament times synagogues were located throughout the Mediterranean world The apostle Paul usually sought out the synagogue when he rst arrived in a city on his missionary journeys (see Acts 13:5) (d) Culture and education — The new professions of teachers and interpreters of the Law, called rabbis and scribes, originated here Scholarship was advanced, and culture was developed ... B.C the Jews entered a phase of being scattered around the world such that by the time of Christ every large city of the Roman Empire had its large colony of Jews, and towns and villages together... contained them by the thousands When the church’s rst missionaries (Paul and others) moved out to the “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8), Jews were among the rst contacts made (see Acts 13:5) During the. .. which were together known as Talmud Mishnah was a book of man-made rules of living; Haggada was the theology and commentary of the rabbis Rabbis formulated their own tradition The Jews became