CHANUKAH II: Historic Background

The story of Chanukah took place during the inter-testament period, that is, during the 400 year period between the Old and New Testaments. At this point in history, the authority of the Medo-Persian Empire was taken over by the Greek, mainly by Alexander the Great.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT

Alexander the Great was the Macedonian Prince (the northern part of Greece). He was to inherit his father throne, but he considered his Kingdom to be too small. He was not content with Macedonia, not even with the entire Greek Empire; he wanted to conquer the entire world. It may be considered that he did conquer the world, since his empire grew to include the territories from Greece and Egypt all the way to India. And he conquered them both militarily and culturally. His goal was the hellenization of the World.

“Hellenization”:

The spread of classic Greek cultural traits over foreign peoples or things.

Alexander the Great died very young, when he was 32 years old. Since he did not have an heir, his kingdom was divided among his four generals:

Cassander ruled Greece

Lysimachus ruled Asia Minor

Seleucus ruled Syria and Babylon
Ptolemy ruled Egypt

When Alexander the Great’s Kingdom was divided, Israel was left in a difficult position, since it was bordering two of these new kingdoms. At first, it was under the control of the Ptolemies (Egypt), but after a military encounter it became a part of the Seleucids dominion (Syria).

MILITARY AND CULTURAL CONQUEST

The Greek were not limited to conquering militarily, but also culturally. Wherever they went, they left their cultural influence. They considered their culture to be superior to the cultures of the rest of the peoples, whom they considered as being uncivilized. In this respect, they did not consider themselves to be conquerors, but rather pioneers and even saviors. Almost every people conquered by the Greek received the Hellenic culture as a sign of progress. However, it was not so in Israel, since they did not have a cultural or intellectual void. On the contrary, the Greek found them to be a people with an advanced culture, a well defined philosophy of life and a superior education than that of the surrounding nations.

At first, the Jews felt relieved to be dealing with a people that was culturally and intellectually more advanced than their other neighbors. But this gladness did not last long, since they soon realized that the Greek way of thinking was very against the Hebrew mindset.

GREEK VS. HEBREW FRAME OF MIND

Bellow we see some examples of the contrasting frame of mind there is between the Jews and the Greek.

* Sovereignty

Greek view:

Man is the center of everything. He is sovereign and controls his life and his surroundings. Everything he does, he does for his own wellbeing.

Hebrew view:

God is in control of everything. Man is a partner with God, but is subordinate to Him and must submit to the divine order.

* Relationship between God and men

Greek view:

They had many gods, one for each aspect of life. Greek gods were made in the image of man, and they have the same passions and weaknesses as man.

Hebrew view:

Man was made in the image of God; therefore they must act like Him.

* Nature

Greek view:

They adore nature, yet try to dominate over it.

Hebrew view:

They recognize that everything was created by God. He established the order of the universe and sustains it.

* Appearance and Essence

Greek view:

They emphasized on the exterior, and are very much driven by appearances. They invested heavily on outer beauty.

Hebrew view:

Their emphasis is on the inner person, in developing themselves intellectually and spiritually, not on physical appearance.

*  Faith vs. Reason

Greek view:

They believed human reasoning has the answer to everything. What is real is that which may be seen and proved. Guided by the slogan: “Seeing is believing”

Hebrew view:

God has the answer to everything. They don’t reject intelligence, but recognize that human reason is limited. They recognize that spiritual reality is over the physical one. More than reason, their main value is faith in God. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)

The conflict between these attitudes is made evident even today, especially in the western world where Greek thought has prevailed.

It should not surprise us, since Zechariah prophesized that this would happen before the Coming of the Lord.

(Zechariah 9:13-14)  For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword. Then the LORD will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.

During our next study we will see the effect the conflict between these two ways of thinking had over Israel during the inter-testament period.