Hellenistic Judaism

Hellenistic Judaism was a form of Judaism in classical antiquity that combined Jewish religious tradition with elements of Greek
culture. Until the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the early Muslim conquestsof the eastern Mediterranean, the main centers of
Hellenistic Judaism were Alexandria, Egypt and Antioch (now in southern Turkey), the two main Greek urban settlements of the
Middle East and North Africa area, both founded at the end of the fourth century BCE in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the
Great. Hellenistic Judaism also existed in Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period, where there was conflict between Hellenizers
and traditionalists (sometimes calledJudaizers).

The major literary product of the contact of Second Temple Judaism and Hellenistic culture is the Septuagint translation of the
Hebrew Bible from Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic to Koine Greek, specifically, Jewish Koiné Greek. Mentionable are also
[1][2]
the philosophic and ethical treatises ofPhilo and the historiographical works of the other Hellenistic Jewish authors.

The decline of Hellenistic Judaism started in the second century and its causes are still not fully understood. It may be that it was
eventually marginalized by, partially absorbed into or became progressively the Koine-speaking core of Early Christianity centered
on Antioch and its traditions, such as theMelkite Greek Catholic Churchand the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.

Contents
Hellenism
Hellenistic rulers of Judea
Hasmonean civil war
Influence
'There is neither Jew nor Greek'
Decline of the Hellenistai and partial conversion to Christianity
Cultural legacy
Widespread influence beyond Second T emple Judaism
First synagogues in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East
Mishnaic and Talmudic concepts
Influence on Levantine Byzantine traditions
Notable Hellenized Jews
Hellenistic and Hasmonean Period
Herodian and Roman Period
Late Antiquity and Early Medieval Era
See also
References
Further reading
Foreign language
English
External links

Hellenism
The conquests of Alexander in the late fourth century BCE spread Greek culture and colonization—a process of cultural change
called Hellenization—over non-Greek lands, including the Levant. This gave rise to the Hellenistic period, which sought to create a
common or universal culture in the Alexandrian empire based on that of fifth-century Athens, along with a fusion of Near Eastern

[3]
 cultures.[3] The period is characterized by a new wave of Greek
colonization which established Greek cities and kingdoms in Asia
and Africa,[4] the most famous being Alexandria in Egypt. New cities
were established composed of colonists who came from different
parts of the Greek world, and not from a specific metropolis ("mother
city") as before.[4]

Map of Alexander's empire, extending east and

south of ancient Macedonia.

These Jews living in countries west of the Levant formed the Hellenistic diaspora.
The Egyptian diaspora is the most well-known of these.[5] It witnessed close ties,
indeed the firm economic integration, of Judea with the Ptolemaic Kingdom ruled
from Alexandria, and the friendly relations which existed between the royal court
and the leaders of the Jewish community. This was a diaspora of choice, not of
Mosaic floor of a Jewish Synagogue
imposition. Information is less robust regarding diasporas in other territories. It
Aegina (300 BCE).
suggests that the situation was by and large the same as it was in Egypt.[6]

Jewish life in both Judea and the diaspora was influenced by the culture and
language of Hellenism. The Greeks viewed Jewish culture favorably, while vice versa, Hellenism gained adherents among the Jews.
While Hellenism has sometimes been presented (under the influence of 2 Maccabees, itself notably a work in Koine Greek), as a
threat of assimilation diametrically opposed to Jewish tradition,

Adaptation to Hellenic culture did not require compromise of Jewish precepts or conscience. When a Greek
gymnasium was introduced into Jerusalem, it was installed by a Jewish High Priest. And other priests soon engaged
in wrestling matches in thepalaestra. They plainly did not reckon such activities as undermining their priestly duties.

— Erich S. Gruen[7]:73–74

The main religious issue dividing Hellenized Jews from traditional Jews was the application of biblical laws in a Hellenistic (or
Roman or other non-Jewish) empire.[8]

Hellenistic rulers of Judea

Under the suzerainty of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and later theSeleucid Empire, Judea witnessed a period of peace and protection of its
institutions.[9] For their aid against his Ptolemaic enemies, Antiochus III the Great promised his Jewish subjects a reduction in taxes
and funds to repair the city of Jerusalem and theSecond Temple.[9]

Relations deteriorated under Antiochus's successor Seleucus IV Philopator, and then, for reasons not fully understood, his successor
Antiochus IV Epiphanes drastically overturned the previous policy of respect and protection, banning key Jewish religious rites and
traditions in Judea (though not among the diaspora) and sparking a traditionalist revolt against Greek rule.[9] Out of this revolt was
formed an independent Jewish kingdom known as the Hasmonean dynasty, which lasted from 165 BCE to 63 BCE. The Hasmonean
Dynasty eventually disintegrated due tocivil war, which coincided with civil wars in Rome.

Hasmonean civil war

The Hasmonean civil war began when the High Priest Hyrcanus II (a supporter of the Pharisees) was overthrown by his younger
brother, Aristobulus II (a supporter of the Sadducees). A third faction, consisting primarily of Idumeans from Maresha, led by
Antipater and his son Herod, re-installed Hyrcanus, who, according to Josephus, was merely Antipater's puppet. In 47 BCE,
Antigonus, a nephew of Hyrcanus II and son of Aristobulus II, asked Julius Caesar for permission to overthrow Antipater. Caesar
ignored him, and in 42 BCE Antigonus, with the aid of the Parthians defeated Herod. Antigonus ruled for only three years, until
Herod, with the aid of Rome, overthrew him and had him executed. Antigonus was the last Hasmonean ruler
.

Influence
The major literary product of the contact of Judaism and Hellenistic culture is the Septuagint, as well as the apocrypha and
pseudepigraphic apocalyptic literature (such as the Assumption of Moses, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Book of
Baruch, the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch, etc.) dating to the period. Important sources are Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus.
Some scholars[10] consider Paul of Tarsus to be a Hellenist as well, even though he himself claimed to be a Pharisee (Acts 23:6).

Philo of Alexandria was an important apologist of Judaism, presenting it as a tradition of venerable antiquity that, far from being a
barbarian cult of an oriental nomadic tribe, with its doctrine of monotheism had anticipated tenets of Hellenistic philosophy. Philo
could draw on Jewish tradition to use customs which Greeks thought as primitive or exotic as the basis for metaphors: such as
"circumcision of the heart" in the pursuit of virtue.[11] Consequently, Hellenistic Judaism emphasized monotheistic doctrine (heis
theos), and represented reason (logos) and wisdom (sophia) as emanations from God.

Beyond Tarsus, Alexandretta, Antioch and Northwestern Syria (the main "Cilician and Asiatic" centers of Hellenistic Judaism in the
Levant), the second half of the Second Temple period witnessed an acceleration of Hellenization in Israel itself, with Jewish high
priests and aristocrats alike adopting Greek names:

'Ḥoni' became 'Menelaus'; 'Joshua' became 'Jason' or 'Jesus' [Ἰησοῦς]. The Hellenic influence pervaded everything,
and even in the very strongholds of Judaism it modified the organization of the state, the laws, and public affairs, art,
science, and industry, affecting even the ordinary things of life and the common associations of the people […] The
inscription forbidding strangers to advance beyond a certain point in the Temple was in Greek; and was probably
made necessary by the presence of numerous Jews from Greek-speaking countries at the time of the festivals (comp.
the "murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews," Acts vi. 1). The coffers in the Temple which contained the
shekel contributions were marked with Greek letters (Sheḳ. iii. 2). It is therefore no wonder that there were
( vi. 9).[12]
synagogues of the Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians, and Asiatics in the Holy City itselfActs

'There is neither Jew nor Greek'

Ethnic, cultural, and social tensions within the Hellenistic Jewish world were partly overcome by the emergence of a new, typically
Antiochian, Middle-Eastern Greek doctrine d( oxa), either by

1. established, autochthonous Hellenized Cilician-Western Syrian Jews (themselves descendants ofBabylonian Jewish
migrants who had long adopted various elements of Greek culture and civilization while retaining a generally
conservative, strict attachment toHalakha),
2. heathen, 'Classical' Greeks, Macedonian Greeks and Greco-Syrian gentiles, or
3. the local, autochthonous descendants of Greek or Greco-Syrian converts to mainstream Judaism – known as
proselytes (Greek: προσήλυτος/proselytes) and Greek-speaking Jews born ofmixed marriages.
Their efforts were probably facilitated by the arrival of a fourth wave of Greek-speaking newcomers to Cilicia/Southern Turkey and
Northwestern Syria: Cypriot Jews and 'Cyrenian' (Libyan) Jewish migrants of non-Egyptian North African Jewish origin, as well as
gentile Roman settlers from Italy—many of whom already spoke fluent Koine Greek and/or sent their children to Greek schools.
Some scholars believe that, at the time, these Cypriot and Cyrenian North African Jewish migrants, such as Simon of Cyrene, were
generally less affluent than the autochthonous Cilician-Syrian Jews and practiced a more 'liberal' form of Judaism, more propitious
for the formation of a new canon:

[North African] Cyrenian Jews were of sufficient importance in those days to have their name associated with a
synagogue at Jerusalem (Acts 6:9). And when the persecution arose about Stephen [a Hellenized Syrian-Cilician
Jew], some of these Jews of Cyrene who had been converted at Jerusalem, were scattered abroad and came with
 others to Antioch and [initially] preached the word "unto the Jews only" (Acts1:19,
1 20 the King James Version), and
one of them, Lucius, became a prophet in the early church there [the nascent Greek 'Orthodox' community of
Antioch].

— International Standard Bible Encyclopedia[13]

But Paul, himself a relatively 'liberal' Hellenist convert to Christianity, was later threatened by more religiously conservative Jewish
Hellenists as seen in the New Testament Acts 9 verse 29: "And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against
the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him."

These subtle, progressive socio-cultural shifts and tensions are somehow summarized succinctly in Chapter 3 of the Epistle of Paul to
the Galatians:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in
[14]
Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Decline of the Hellenistai and partial conversion to Christianity

The reasons for the decline of Hellenistic Judaism are obscure. It may be that it was
marginalized by, absorbed into, or became Early Christianity (see the Gospel
according to the Hebrews). The Epistles of Paul and the Acts of the Apostles report
that, after his initial focus on the conversion of Hellenized Jews across Anatolia,
Macedonia, Thrace and Northern Syria without criticizing their laws and
traditions,[15][16] Paul the Apostle eventually preferred to evangelize communities
of Greek and Macedonian proselytes and Godfearers, or Greek circles sympathetic
to Judaism: the Apostolic Decree allowing converts to forego circumcision made
Christianity a more attractive option for interested pagans than Rabbinic Judaism,
which required ritual circumcision for converts (see Brit milah). See also
Circumcision controversy in early Christianity[17][18] and the Abrogation of Old
Covenant laws.

The attractiveness of Christianity may, however, have suffered a setback with its
being explicitly outlawed in the 80s CE by Domitian as a "Jewish superstition",
while Judaism retained its privileges as long as members paid thefiscus Judaicus.

The opening verse of Acts 6 points to the problematic cultural divisions between
Hellenized Jews and Aramaic-speaking Israelites in Jerusalem, a disunion that Joshua. Fresco from Dura-Europos
reverberated within the emerging Christian community itself: synagogue.

it speaks of "Hellenists" and "Hebrews." The existence of these two

distinct groups characterizes the earliest Christian community in
Jerusalem. The Hebrews were Jewish Christians who spoke almost
exclusively Aramaic, and the Hellenists were also Jewish Christians
whose mother tongue was Greek. They were Greek-speaking Jews of
the Diaspora, who returned to settle in Jerusalem. To identify them,
Luke uses the term Hellenistai. When he had in mind Greeks,
gentiles, non-Jews who spoke Greek and lived according to the
Greek fashion, then he used the word Hellenes (Acts 21.28). As the
very context of Acts 6 makes clear, the Hellenistai are not
Hellenes.[19]
Some historians believe that a sizeable proportion of the Hellenized Jewish communities of Southern Turkey (Antioch, Alexandretta
and neighboring cities) and Syria/Lebanon converted progressively to the Greco-Roman branch of Christianity that eventually
constituted the "Melkite" (or "Imperial") Hellenistic churches of theMENA area:

As Jewish Christianity originated at Jerusalem, so Gentile Christianity started at Antioch, then the leading center of
the Hellenistic East, with Peter and Paul as its apostles. From Antioch it spread to the various cities and provinces of
Syria, among the Hellenistic Syrians as well as among the Hellenistic Jews who, as a result of the great rebellions
[20]
against the Romans in A.D. 70 and 130, were driven out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria.

Cultural legacy

Widespread influence beyond Second Temple Judaism

Both Early Christianity and Early Rabbinical Judaism were far less 'orthodox' and less theologically homogeneous than they are
today; and both were significantly influenced by Hellenistic religion and borrowed allegories and concepts from Classical Hellenistic
philosophy and the works of Greek-speaking Jewish authors of the end of the Second Temple period before the two schools of
thought eventually affirmed their respective 'norms' and doctrines, notably by diverging increasingly on key issues such as the status
of 'purity laws', the validity of Judeo-Christian messianic beliefs, and, more importantly, the use of Koiné Greek and Latin as
liturgical languages replacing Biblical Hebrew[21] ...etc.

First synagogues in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East

The word synagogue itself comes from Jewish Koiné Greek, a language spoken by Hellenized Jews across Southeastern Europe
(Macedonia, Thrace, Northern Greece), North Africa and the Middle East after the 3rd century BCE. Many synagogues were built by
the Hellenistai or adherents of Hellenistic Judaism in the Greek Isles, Cilicia, Northwestern and Eastern Syria and Northern Israel as
early as the first century BCE- notably in Delos, Antioch, Alexandretta, Galilee and Dura-Europos: because of the mosaics and
frescos representing heroic figures and Biblical characters (viewed as potentially conductive of "image worship" by later generations
of Jewish scholars andrabbis), many of these early synagogues were at first mistaken for heathen Greek temples or Antiochian Greek
Orthodox churches.

Mishnaic and Talmudic concepts

Many of the Jewish sages who compiled the Mishnah and earliest versions of the Talmud were Hellenized Jews, including Johanan
ben Zakai, the first Jewish sage attributed the title of rabbi and Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes, the son of Proselyte Anatolian Greek
converts to Early Rabbinical Judaism.

Even Israeli rabbis of Babylonian Jewish descent such as Hillel the Elder whose parents were Aramaic-speaking Jewish migrants
from Babylonia (hence the nickname "Ha-Bavli"), had to learn Greek language and Greek philosophy in order to be conversant with
sophisticated rabbinical language – many of the theological innovations introduced by Hillel had Greek names, most famously the
Talmudic notion of Prozbul, from Koine Greek προσβολή, "to deliver":

Unlike literary Hebrew, popular Aramaic or Hebrew constantly adopted new Greek loanwords, as is shown by the
language of the Mishnaic and Talmudic literature. While it reflects the situation at a later period, its origins go back
well before the Christian era. The collection of the loanwords in the Mishna to be found in Schürer shows the areas in
which Hellenistic influence first became visible- military matters, state administration and legislature, trade and
commerce, clothing and household utensils, and not least in building. The so-called copper scroll with its utopian list
of treasures also contains a series of Greek loanwords. When towards the end of the first century BCE, Hillel in
 practice repealed the regulation of the remission of debts in the sabbath year (Deut. 15.1-11) by the possibility of a
special reservation on the part of the creditor, this reservation was given a Greek name introduced into Palestinian
legal language- perōzebbōl = προσβολή, a sign that even at that time legal language was shot throu
gh with Greek.

— Martin Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism (1974)

Influence on Levantine Byzantine traditions

The unique combination ofethnocultural traits inhered from the fusion of a Greek-Macedonian cultural base, Hellenistic Judaism and
Roman civilization gave birth to the distinctly Antiochian “Middle Eastern-Roman” Christian traditions of Cilicia (Southeastern
Turkey) and Syria/Lebanon:

"The mixture of Roman, Greek, and Jewish elements admirably adapted Antioch for the great part it played in the
early history of Christianity. The city was the cradle of the church".[22]

Some typically Grecian "Ancient Synagogal" priestly rites and hymns have survived partially to the present, notably in the distinct
church services of the followers of the Melkite Greek Catholic church and its sister-church the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in
the Hatay Province of Southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Northern Israel, and in the Greek-Levantine Christian diasporas of Brazil,
Mexico, the United States and Canada.

But many of the surviving liturgical traditions of these communities rooted in Hellenistic Judaism and, more generally, Second
Temple Greco-Jewish Septuagint culture, were expunged progressively in the late medieval and modern eras by both Phanariot
European-Greek (Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople) and Vatican (Roman Catholic) gentile theologians who sought to 'bring
back' Levantine Greek Orthodox and Greek-Catholic communities into the European Christian fold: some ancient Judeo-Greek
traditions were thus deliberately abolished or reduced in the process.

Members of these communities still call themselves "Rûm" (literally "Roman"; usually referred to as "Byzantine" in English) and
referring to Greeks in Turkish, Persian and Levantine Arabic. In that context, the term Rûm is preferred over Yāvāni or Ionani
(literally "Ionian"), also referring to Greeks inAncient Hebrew, Sanskrit and Classical Arabic.

Notable Hellenized Jews

Hellenistic and Hasmonean Period

Andronicus ben Meshullam, Egyptian Jewish scholar of the 2nd century BCE. One of the first known advocates of
early Pharisaic (proto-Rabbinical) 'orthodoxy' against theSamaritans.
Antigonus of Sokho, also known as Antigonos of Socho, was the first scholar of whomPharisee (proto-Rabbinical)
tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doctrine. He flourished about the first half
of the third century BCE. According to theMishnah, he was the disciple and successor ofSimon the Just. Antigonus
is also the first noted Jew to have aGreek name, a fact commonly discussed by scholars regarding the extent of
Hellenic influence on Judaism following the conquest of Judaea byAlexander the Great.
Antigonus II Mattathias(known in Hebrew as Matityahu) was the lastHasmonean king of Judea. Antigonus was
executed in 37 BCE, after a reign of three years during which he led the national struggle of the
Jews for
independence from the Romans.
Alexander of Judaea, or Alexander Maccabeus, was the eldest son ofAristobulus II, king of Judaea[23]
Jason of the Oniad family, High Priest in the Temple in Jerusalem from 175 to 172 BCE
Menelaus, High Priest in Jerusalemfrom 171 BCE to about 161 BCE
Mariamne I, Jewish princess of the Hasmonean dynasty, was the second wife ofHerod the Great.
Onias I (Hellenized form of Hebrew name ((Greek: Ὀνίας) from (Hebrew: Honiyya) was the son of Jaddua mentioned
in Nehemiah.[24] According to Josephus, this Jaddua is said to have been a contemporary ofAlexander the
Great.[25] I Maccabees regards Onias as a contemporary of theSpartan king Areus I (309-265 BCE).[26] Onias I is
thought to be the father or grandfather ofSimon the Just.
 Ben Sira, also known as Yesu'a son of Sirach, leading2nd century BCE Jewish scholar and theologian who lived in
Jerusalem and Alexandria, author of theWisdom of Sirach, or "Book of Ecclesiasticus".
Simeon the Just or Simeon the Righteous (Hebrew: ‫ שמעון הצדיק‬Shimon HaTzaddik) was a Jewish High Priest
during the time of the Second Temple.
Simon Thassi (died 135 BCE) was the second son of kingMattathias and the first prince of the JewishHasmonean
Dynasty. He was also a general (Doric Greek: στραταγός, stratagos; literally meaning "army leader") in the Greco-
Syrian Seleucid army of Antiochus VI

Herodian and Roman Period

Andrew the Apostle (Greek: Ἀνδρέας, translit. Andreas; from the early 1st century – mid to late 1st century CE),
Galileean-Hauranian Jew, called in the Greek Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos (Πρωτόκλητος), or the 'First-called',
believed to have preached inSoutheastern Europe (Northern Greece) as well as possibly inSouthern Russia
(Scythia). Patron saint of Ukraine and Scotland
Titus Flavius Josephus, was the first Jewish historian. Initially a Jewish military leader during the First Jewish-Roman
War, he famously switched sides and became a Roman citizen and acclaimed Romano-Jewish academic. He
popularized the idea that Judaism was similar in many ways to Greek philosophy
Justus of Tiberias, Jewish historian born inTiberias, "a highly Hellenistic Galilean city", he was a secretary to
governor Herod Agrippa II and rival of Titus Flavius Josephus
Julianos (Hellenized form of a Roman name) and Pappos (fromKoine Greek pappa or papas 'patriarch' or 'elder')
born circa 80 CE in the city ofLod (Hebrew: ‫ ;ל ד‬Greco-Latin: Lydda, Diospolis, Ancient Greek: Λύδδα /
Διόσπολις – city of Zeus), one of the main centers of Hellenistic culture in central Israel. Julianos and Pappos led the
Jewish resistance movement against the Roman army in Israel during the Kitos War, 115-117 CE (their Hebrew
names were Shamayah and Ahiyah respectively)
Lukuas, also called Andreas, Libyan Jew born circa 70 CE, was one of the main leaders the Jewish resistance
movement against the Roman army inNorth Africa and Egypt during the Kitos War, 115-117 CE
Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes, 'Rabbi Meir the miracle maker', a famous Jewish sage who lived inGalilee in the time of the
Mishna, is thought to be the son ofAnatolian Greek (Talmud, Tractate Kilayim) gentileproselyte converts to
Pharisaic Judaism (folk etymologies and mistranslations connected him, wrongly , to the family of Emperor Nero). He
was the son-in-law of Haninah ben Teradion, himself a Hellenized Jewish aristocrat and leading rabbinical figure in
late 1st century CE Jewish theology
Philo of Alexandria (Greek: Φίλων, Philōn; c. 20 BCE – c. 50 CE), also called Philo Judaeus, ofAlexandria, in the
Roman province of Egypt, first Jewish philosopher
Saul of Tarsus or Sha'ul Tarsi known as Paul the Apostle
Simon of Cyrene (Hebrew: ‫שמעון‬, lit. 'hearkening'; 'listening', Standard HebrewŠimʿon, Tiberian Hebrew Šimʿôn),
Libyan Jew born at the end of the 1st century BCE; lived in Jerusalem around 30 CE. Believed to have been "forced
[by Roman soldiers] to bear the cross of Jesus after the crucifixtion". His home town, Cyrene, in Northeastern Libya,
was a Greek colony, with a large Jewish community where 100,000 Judean Jews had been deported and forced to
settle during the reign ofPtolemy Soter (323–285 BCE), the Greco-Macedonian ruler of Egypt, following his invasion
of Israel.
Rabbi Tarfon (Hebrew: ‫רבי טרפון‬, from the Greek Τρύφων Tryphon), a kohen,[27] was a member of the third
generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between thedestruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) and
the fall of Betar (135 CE). Thought to be originally from the region ofLod (Hebrew: ‫ ;לוֹד‬Greco-Latin: Lydda,
Diospolis, Ancient Greek: Λύδδα / Διόσπολις – city of Zeus), one of the main centers of Hellenistic culture in central
Israel, R. Tarfon was one of the most vociferous Jewish critics of Early Christianity
Rabbi Haninah ben Teradion, prominent Galilean Jewish scholar and teacher . His father's name (Teradion) is
thought to be of Judeo-Greek origin. Also, 'Hananiah' (or 'Haninah') was a popular name amongst the Hellenized
Jews of Syria and Northern Israel (pronounced 'Ananias' in Greek). He was a leading figure in late 1st century CE
Jewish theology and one of theTen Martyrs murdered by the Romans for ignoring the ban on teachingTorah
Saint Timothy (Greek: Τιμόθεος, translit. Timótheos, lit. 'honouring God' or 'honored by God') born inLycaonia
(Southeastern Turkey) of Greek father and Hellenized Jewish mother, seconded Paul in his missions to Asia Minor
and Southeastern Europe (Thrace, Macedonia, Greece)
Trypho the Jew, thought to be a 2nd-century CE rabbi opposed to Christian apologistJustin Martyr, whose Dialogue
with Trypho is paradoxically "equally influenced by Greek and Rabbinic thought" [28]

Late Antiquity and Early Medieval Era

Rav Pappa (Hebrew: ‫רב פפא‬, from Koine Greek pappa or papas 'patriarch' or 'elder' – originally 'father') (ca. 300 –
died 375) was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, at a time when Judeo-Aramaic culture was regaining the
upper hand against classical Hellenistic Judaism, notably amongst Jewish communities in Babylonia which reverted
progressively to the pre-Hellenistic Aramaic culture
 Kalonymos family (Kαλώνυμος in Greek), first knownrabbinical dynasty of Northern Italy andCentral Europe:
notable members include Ithiel I, author of Jewish prayer books (born circa 780 CE) andKalonymus Ben Meshullam
born in France circa 1000, spiritual leader of the Jewish community ofMainz in Western Germany
The Radhanites: an influential group of Jewishmerchants and financiers active in France, Germany, Central Europe,
Central Asia and China in theEarly Middle Ages – thought to have revolutionized the world economy and contributed
to the creation of the 'Medieval Silk Road' long before Italian and Byzantine merchants.
Cecil Roth and Claude
Cahen, among others, claim their name may have come originally from theRhône River valley in France, which is
Rhodanus in Latin and Rhodanos (Ῥοδανός) in Greek, as the center of Radhanite activity was probably in France
where their trade routes began.

See also
Jewish apocrypha
Romaniote Jews
Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
History of Judaism
History of the Jews in the Roman Empire
Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period
Jewish Christianity
List of events in early Christianity
Origins of Christianity
Paul the Apostle and Judaism

References
1. Walter, N. Jüdisch-hellenistische Literatur vor Philon von Alexandrien (unter Ausschluss der Historiker), ANR
W II:
20.1.67-120
2. Barr, James (1989). "Chapter3 - Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek in the Hellenistic age". In Davies, W.D.; Finkelstein,
Louis. The Cambridge history of Judaism. Volume 2: The Hellenistic Age (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. pp. 79–114.ISBN 9781139055123.
3. Roy M. MacLeod, The Library Of Alexandria: Centre Of Learning In The Ancient World
4. Ulrich Wilcken, Griechische Geschichte im Rahmen der Alterumsgeschichte
.
5. Syracuse University. "The Jewish Diaspora inthe Hellenistic Period"(http://classes.maxwell.syr.edu/his301-001/jeish
h_diaspora_in_greece.htm)
6. Hegermann, Harald (1990). "Chapter 4: The Diaspora in the Hellenistic age".
In Davies, W.D.; Finkelstein, Louis.The
Cambridge history of Judaism(1. publ. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 115–166.
doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521219297.005(https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCHOL9780521219297.005) .
ISBN 9781139055123.
7. Gruen, Erich S. (1997). "Fact and Fiction: Jewish Legends in a Hellenistic Context".
Hellenistic Constructs: Essays in
Culture, History, and Historiography. University of California Press. pp. 72 f.f
8. "Hellenism" (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=567&letter=H&search=Hellenistic%20Judaism) , Jewish
Encyclopedia, Quote: "Post-exilic Judaism was largely recruited from those returned exiles who regarded it as their
chief task to preserve their religion uncontaminated, a task that required the strict separation of the congregation
both from all foreign peoples (Ezra x. 11; Neh. ix. 2) and from the Jewish inhabitants of Palestine who did not strictly
observe the Law (Ezra vi. 22; Neh. x. 29). "
9. Gruen, Erich S. (1993). "Hellenism and Persecution: Antiochus IV and the Jews".In Green, Peter. Hellenistic History
and Culture. University of California Press. pp. 238 f.f
10. "Saul of Tarsus: Not a Hebrew Scholar; a Hellenist" (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=283&letter=S&sea
rch=Paul%20of%20Tarsus#964), Jewish Encyclopedia
11. E. g., Leviticus 26:41, Ezekiel 44:7
12. "Hellenism" (http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=567&letter=H&search=Hellenistic%20Judaism) , Jewish
Encyclopedia, Quote: from 'Range of Hellenic Influence' and 'Reaction Against Hellenic Influence' sections
13. Kyle, M. G. "Cyrene". International Standard Bible Encyclopedia– via "Topical Bible: Cyrene" (http://biblehub.com/to
pical/c/cyrene.htm). Bible Hub.. templatestyles stripmarker in|via= at position 416 (help)
14. Galatians 3:15-16, 28-29
15. Acts 16:1–3 (http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Acts+16:1–3:1&version=nrsv)
16. McGarvey on Acts 16 (http://www.ccel.org/ccel/mcgarvey/acts.ch16.html): "Yet we see him in the case before us,
circumcising Timothy with his own hand, andthis 'on account of certain Jews who were in those quarters. '"
17. 1 Corinthians 7:18 (https://www.biblica.com/bible/?osis=niv:1_Corinthians.7:18–7:18)
18. "making themselves foreskins"; I Macc. i. 15; Josephus, "Ant." xii. 5, § 1; Assumptio Mosis, viii.; I Cor
. vii. 18;, Tosef.;
Talmud tractes Shabbat xv. 9; Yevamot 72a, b; Yerushalmi Peah i. 16b; Yevamot viii. 9a; [1] (http://www.cirp.org/librar
y/restoration/rubin/); Catholic Encyclopedia: Circumcision(http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03777a.htm): "To this
epispastic operation performed on the athletes to conceal the marks of circumcision St. Paul alludes, me epispastho
(1 Corinthians 7:18)."
19. " Conflict and Diversity in the Earliest Christian Community"(http://goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7126), Fr. V. Kesich,
O.C.A.
20. "History of Christianity in Syria"(http://newadvent.org/cathen/14399a.htm), Catholic Encyclopedia
21. Daniel Boyarin. "Dying for God: Martyrdom and the Making of Christianity and Judaism" [Stanford: Stanford
University Press, 1999, p. 15.
22. "Antioch," Encyclopaedia Biblica, Vol. I, p. 186 (p. 125 of 612 inonline .pdf file (https://archive.org/details/encyclopae
diabib01cheyuoft).
23. Alexander II of Judea (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1122&letter=A)at the Jewish Encyclopedia
24. Nehemiah xii. 11
25. Jewish Antiquities xi. 8, § 7
26. I Macc. xii. 7, 8, 20
27. Talmud Bavli, Kiddushin, 71a
28. Philippe Bobichon (ed.),Justin Martyr, Dialogue avec Tryphon, édition critique, introduction, texte grec, traduction,
commentaires, appendices, indices, (Coll. Paradosis nos. 47, vol. I-II.) Editions Universitaires de Fribourg Suisse,
(1125 pp.), 2003

Further reading

Foreign language
hrsg. von W.G. Kümmel und H. Lichtenberger (1973), Jüdische Schriften aus hellenistisch römischer Zeit(in
German), Gütersloh
Delling, Gerhard (1987),Die Begegnung zwischen Hellenismus und JudentumAufstieg und Niedergang der
römischen Welt (in German), Bd. II 20.1

English
Borgen, Peder. Early Christianity and Hellenistic Judaism. Edinburgh, Scotland: T&T Clark, 1996.
Cohen, Getzel M. The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa. Hellenistic Culture and
Society 46. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.
Gruen, Erich S. Constructs of Identity In Hellenistic Judaism: Essays On Early Jewish Literature and History
. Boston:
De Gruyter, 2016.
Mirguet, Françoise. An Early History of Compassion: Emotion and Imagination In Hellenistic Judaism . New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Neusner, Jacob, and William Scott Green, eds. Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period: 450 BCE to 600 CE .2
vols. New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1996.
Tcherikover, Victor (1975), Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews, New York: Atheneum
The Jewish Encyclopedia
External links
Books that contain Bibliographies on the Hellenistic Judaism - Oxford Bibliographies

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