Subject: An Historical Overview Leading Up To the Time of Yeshua' pt.1.: George E.
Date: 20 Tammuz 5761 Wed July 11, 2001
From: George Eller : gellersr@bellsouth.net
Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
a member of the Nazoreen List

Greetings and Shalom dear Friends and Members,

As we are engaged in two profound threads that have been on hold for several days, i.e., the Crucifixion of Yeshua', and a compressed study of Textual Criticism; I thought that I might push Our capacity to present new information past the limit. My fear is that it might interfere with Brother Jack Kilmon's and my collaborative presentation of Textual Criticism. When I hear a sound of alarm, we could suspend this thread; but hopefully, it may compliment the other threads.

Respectfully offered to the Nazoreen List for your consideration; and participation :
After long deliberation, I have come under the conviction that the Historical underpinning to the times and conditions facing Yeshua', had as the main origin; the year ~200 BCE.
Prior to this time, the Greek-Egyptian Ptol-e-maio heirs to the government of Alexander the Great had control of the HOLY LAND. In 1961, the historian M. Rostovtzeff, did a comprehensive treatment of the economic conditions of that time. "The Social & Economic History of the Hellenistic World", pub. Oxford; in a 1312 p. tome, (vol. II). Professor Rostovtzeff is probably partially superseded now by a more modern work. But he makes a strong case, for the Egyptian-Greek government as being lenient in overseeing the various Egyptian Temple Cults; and we might assume the Jewish Temple system also did not undergo harsh treatment.

About 250 BCE., a successful revolt against the Syrian-Greek heirs to Alexander was accomplished by a Parthian alliance of Bactria (then a much larger Afghanistan), Parthia (a "Shakah" (?) subset of the Skythian northern Iranian tribes, and middle and southern main Persia. Much of the Parthian records were lost after about 250 CE, but we may be safe in assuming without records, that this development put the Syrian-Greek dynasty (the Se-leu-kos) into a desperate situation, because the Parthians were un-beatable; and the resulting loss of Tribute (extortion money) from the East. Apparently by 200 BCE., the Seleukos Greeks had lost all of their eastern territory past mid Babel, or what is now in the middle of modern Iraq. The Seleukos had shrunk to a small fraction of their original inherited territory under the conquest of Alexander the less than great. The esteemed historical compiler, F.F. Bruce, in his "Israel and the Nations", ©1963, reprinted 1987, by Eerdmans, (readily
accessible); goes into a good treatment of the background to the conditions of 200 BCE. in the HOLY LAND; starting on p.
123. It is enough to write - the Seleukos Greeks took over control of the HOLY LAND at this time. And we can be certain that they had their eyes on available money from Israel, and above all - the Temple and it's treasury.

Another source for information of these times; especially the Temple and High Priests, is the Book of Ecclesiasticus by (in Hebrew form) Yehoshua' ben Sirach; found in the Apocrypha of some Protestant Bibles, and all Roman Church complete Bibles.

The Talmud records in two versions of the "Pierquie de Abaute" - traditional "Pierk Avoth", or - "Chapters of the Fathers"; the order of Pharisee "pairs", or "Zugot". This order or sequence starts about 200 BCE. It leads me to conclude that the Babel and
Persian Jews were now concerned about the management of the Temple under the new government of Seleukos Greeks, and
were setting up an observer organization and possible influencing movement.