Compiled by Lewis Loflin
Hellenistic Judaism thrived pre-70 CE in the Jewish diaspora, blending Hebraic tradition with Hellenism (*Hengel*). Its standout product: the Septuagint (c. 250 BCE, *Tov*). My note: Reason sees culture clashing, not divine hands.
Alexander’s conquests (336–323 BCE) spread Greek culture across the Levant (*Arrian*), birthing a Hellenistic age—Athens’ peak (5th century BCE) fused with Near Eastern and Egyptian ways (*Walbank*). New cities like Alexandria (331 BCE) rose, drawing Jewish diaspora by the 3rd century BCE (*Fraser*). My note: Deism tracks human mixing—gods stay out.
Hellenism reshaped Jewish life in Israel and beyond (*Grabbe*). A standoff brewed—orthodox vs. Hellenized Jews. Diaspora Hellenistic Judaism sought a Hebraic core in Greek garb (*Goodman*). Antiochus IV’s 167 BCE rite ban (*1 Maccabees 1*) sparked the Hasmonean revolt (165–63 BCE), ending with Rome’s grab (63 BCE, *Josephus*). Civil war and corruption drew Roman intervention (*Dio Cassius*); the rift was biblical law vs. Hellenistic melting pot (*Tcherikover*). My note: Reason spots power, not piety, driving it.
Key works: Septuagint, apocrypha (e.g., Baruch), pseudepigrapha (e.g., Assumption of Moses, *Charles*). Philo (20 BCE–50 CE) and Josephus (37–100 CE) shine; Paul’s Hellenistic bent is debated (*Feldman*). Philo pitched Judaism as ancient, monotheistic, prefiguring Greek thought—circumcision became a virtue metaphor (*Legum Allegoriae*). Logos and sophia flowed from God (*Spec. Leg.*). My note: Reason likes Philo’s logic—ritual’s a stretch.
Its fade is murky—Christianity may have edged it out. Paul targeted proselytes; Acts 15:20 eased conversion (*Fitzmyer*). Domitian’s 80s CE ban on “Jewish superstition” hit Christianity, not Judaism (*Suetonius*). Rabbis ditched the Septuagint post-135 CE (*Tov*); Hellenistic currents might’ve fed Gnosticism (*Pagels*). My note: Deism shrugs—culture shifts, not divine plans.
