08.05. The Jewish Background of Christianity, II

The Jewish Background of Christianity, II II. The Judaism of the DispersionThe presentation of the lesson in class may be begun somewhat in the manner suggested in the Student’s Text Book. The student should be made to appreciate the practical problem of a missionary in a new city. Various solutions of the problem may be adopted. The missionary may simply engage in conversation with individuals in the street, or he may hire a room and advertise his preaching. In any case the securing of an audience is usually no easy matter. It is difficult to know how to begin. The case might naturally have been the same with Paul and his companions when, for example, after the journey up from Perga they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. Complete strangers were perhaps not much better received in those days than they are now. How could the missionaries get a hearing for their message? In some cases, they might simply take their stand in the market place and talk to the passers-by. Paul tried that method in Athens. It might do when nothing better offered. But fortunately there was usually a far better opportunity. The synagogue offered an audience. What is more, it offered just exactly the most promising audience that could possibly have been secured. The scene in the synagogue at Pisidian Antioch is typical of what happened again and again. The student should be made to appreciate the remarkable liberality and informality of the synagogue customs. There seem to have been no set preachers. Any Jew who really had a message could be heard. He needed only to go in and sit down. Acts 13:14. Paul and Barnabas had no difficulty in making their fitness known. “Brethren,” said the rulers of the synagogue, “if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.” Acts 13:15. They had a word of exhortation indeed. “Jesus is the Messiah for whom you are waiting. He has died for your sins. He has risen from the dead, and is now alive to save you.” It was a powerful word, and it bore fruit. The native Jews, it is true, soon came out in opposition. The reasons for their opposition are not far to seek. Jealousy was an important factor. Christianity was evidently too radical a thing to be simply a sect of Judaism. If allowed to continue, it would destroy the prerogatives of Israel. It could not be controlled. Its success was too great. On that next Sabbath in Pisidian Antioch, “almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God.” The Jewish mission had never had a success like that. “When the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy.” Christianity had taken away the heritage of Israel. In one way the Jewish opposition displayed genuine insight into the situation. Christianity was really destined to be a fatal rival to the older Judaism. What took place on a small scale at Antioch was repeated on the larger stage of history. When the Christian mission began, Judaism was a successful missionary religion. Soon afterwards it had withdrawn hopelessly into its age-long isolation. Various causes contributed to this result. The destruction of the national life in Palestine and the increasing influence of the strict rabbinical schools both had an important part. But at least one factor in the process was the competition of the Christian Church. Christianity offered the world everything that Judaism could offer, and more. It offered the knowledge of the one God, and the lofty morality, and the authoritative Book. In addition, it offered a way of redemption — and the men of that time were preeminently seekers after redemption — through the sacrifice of Christ. It offered all these things, moreover, without requiring any relinquishment of purely national characteristics. Christianity did not demand union with any one race. It had a gospel for the world. No wonder, then, that those who had been attracted by Judaism now became adherents of Christianity. The Jews were filled with envy. It was natural from their point of view, but it was a sad mistake. Had they themselves accepted the gospel, the gospel would have been to their glory. How glorious was the mission of Israel! A blessing to the whole world! Far better than any narrow particularism! But they were not willing to accept the message. Nevertheless, despite their opposition, the Church should not forget the debt which she owes to Israel. The dispersion was like the Judaism of Palestine. In both cases the men themselves were opposed to the gospel. But in both cases they had preserved the deposit of divine truth. Judaism, despite itself, opened the way for the Christian Church.

One service which the dispersion rendered to Christianity has been illustrated by the scene at Pisidian Antioch. That service was the providing of an audience. Another service “was the assurance of legal protection. This may be illustrated by another incident in The Acts — the appeal to Gallio. Acts 18:12-17. There the opposition of the Jews appears in all its bitterness. No doubt that opposition was a serious hindrance to the work of the Church. Just because Christianity was regarded as a Jewish sect, the Christians were subject to persecution by the Jewish authorities. But persecutions by the Jews, annoying though they were, were far less serious than opposition on the part of the Roman authorities. And the latter was, at first, conspicuously absent. Gallio’s decision is a fair example of the general attitude of the Roman magistrates. Christianity, as a Jewish sect, was allowed to go its way. Judaism, despite itself, afforded the Church legal protection.

Beginning with these two striking scenes, the teacher may proceed to the more general presentation of the lesson. In what follows, the outline of the Student’s Text Book will be supplemented at one or two points.

1. The Causes and Extent of the Dispersion Deportations of Jews to foreign countries took place at various times. The most famous of those deportations was carried out by Nebuchadnezzar after his conquest of Judah, about 600 B. C. Many of Nebuchadnezzar’s captives did not join in the return under the Persian monarchy, but remained permanently in the east and formed the nucleus of the large Jewish population of Mesopotamia. When Pompey conquered Palestine in the first century before Christ, he carried many Jews as slaves to Rome. Afterwards they were liberated, and formed a large Jewish colony at the capital of the empire. These are merely examples. Part of the dispersion was due to forcible exile.

Other causes have been mentioned in the Student’s Text Book. It is a question, however, whether all of these causes combined are sufficient to account for the extraordinary growth of the dispersion. Schürer believes that the vastness of the Jewish population presupposes the merging of large bodies of proselytes into the Jewish people. He also believes, however, that these thoroughgoing conversions were less numerous in New Testament times than they had been before.

Harnack calculates that at the time of the death of Augustus there were from four million to four and a half million Jews in the Roman Empire, including about seven hundred thousand in Palestine, and that, if that estimate be correct, then the Jews formed perhaps some seven per cent of the total population. Of course, Harnack is himself the first to admit that such calculations are exceedingly uncertain. But so much at least is clear — the Jews in the first century were surprisingly numerous. 

2. The Septuagint Translation and the Language of the New TestamentThe name “Septuagint,” derived from the Latin word for “seventy,” has been applied to the Alexandrian translation of the Old Testament in reference to an ancient story about its origin. According to this story, the translation was made by seventy-two men summoned from Jerusalem by Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, in order to add the Jewish law to the royal library at Alexandria. The story is certainly not true in details, and is probably not even correct in representing the translation as destined primarily for the royal library. More probably the translation was intended for the Greek-speaking Jews of Egypt. The Septuagint is a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into the Greek world language of the period, and into the popular, spoken form of that language, not into the literary form. The translation differs widely in character in the different books, for many different translators had a part in it. Some of the books are translated with such slavish literalness as to be almost unintelligible to a Greek. Everywhere, indeed, the influence of the Hebrew original makes itself felt to some degree. Hebrew idioms are often copied in the translation instead of being remolded according to the peculiarities of the Greek language. The Septuagint exerted an important influence upon the language of the New Testament. The Septuagint was the Greek Bible of the New Testament writers, and the influence of a Bible upon language is very strong. A good example is afforded by the influence of the King James Version upon the whole development of modern English. It is not surprising, therefore, that as the Septuagint was influenced by Hebrew, so the language of the New Testament also displays a Semitic coloring. That coloring was induced partly by the Septuagint, but it was also induced in other ways. Part of the New Testament, for example the words of Jesus, goes back ultimately to an Aramaic original. All the New Testament writers except one were Jews, and had spoken Aramaic as well as Greek. No wonder, then, that their Greek was influenced by the Semitic languages. This Semitic influence upon the language of the New Testament is not so great as was formerly supposed, but it cannot be ignored. The New Testament is written in the natural, non-literary form of the Greek world language. That is the main thing to be said. But upon this base is superposed an appreciable influence of Hebrew and Aramaic. The importance of the Septuagint for the early Christian mission was inestimable. Every pioneer missionary knows how difficult it is to create the vocabulary necessary to express new religious ideas. In the case of the earliest Christian mission, that labor had already been done. It had been done by the Jews of Alexandria. By the Septuagint, the great ideas of the Old Testament — and upon these ideas Christianity was based — had already been put into a Greek form. The Christian Church needed only to develop what had been begun. The Church made good use of her opportunity. The influence of the Septuagint upon the religious vocabulary of the New Testament writers was profound. The Septuagint had provided a vocabulary which was understood already by great masses of people — by the Jews of the dispersion and by the hosts of the “God-worshipers” who attended the synagogues. Naturally the Christian missionaries used the words which people could understand.

3. ConclusionThe Judaism of the dispersion was a wonderful preparation for the gospel. Israel ought to be regarded with gratitude and sympathy. But the ultimate object of gratitude is God. The Church was founded in a time of opportunity. The Roman Government had brought peace. The Greek language had welded the nations together. The dispersion of the Jews had prepared the way. These things did not come by chance. The nations were instruments in the hand of God. But instruments for what? A mighty, age-long plan! Centuries of preparation! At last the Saviour came. But did he come for naught? Or is he Saviour of you and me?

      In the Library. — Edersheim (revised by White), “History of the Jewish Nation,”‘ pp. 45-79. “The Jewish Encyclopedia”: Reinach, article on “Diaspora.” Hastings, “Dictionary of the Bible”: Schürer, article on “Diaspora,” extra volume, pp. 91-109.