Hellenistic Judaism was a form of Judaism in classical antiquity that combined Jewish religious tradition with elements of Hellenistic culture and religion. Until the early Muslim conquests of the eastern Mediterranean , the main centers of Hellenistic Judaism were Alexandria in Egypt and Antioch in Turkey , the two main Greek urban settlements of the Middle East and North Africa , both founded in the end of the 4th 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 a conflict between Hellenizers and traditionalists.
49-467: [REDACTED] Look up dispersion or dispersed in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Dispersion may refer to: Economics and finance [ edit ] Dispersion (finance) , a measure for the statistical distribution of portfolio returns Price dispersion , a variation in prices across sellers of the same item Wage dispersion ,
98-413: A monotheistic philosophy that anticipated the tenets of Hellenistic philosophy . He also popularized metaphors such as " circumcision of the heart" to Greek audiences. Hellenization was evident in the religious Jewish establishment: 'Ḥoni' became 'Menelaus'; 'Joshua' became 'Jason' or 'Jesus' [Ἰησοῦς]. The Hellenic influence pervaded everything, and even in the very strongholds of Judaism it modified
147-547: A "unique fusion of Greek and Jewish culture". The reasons for the decline of Hellenistic Judaism are obscure. It may be that it was marginalized by, absorbed into, or became early Christianity. The Pauline epistles 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— Paul
196-436: A Greek gymnasium was introduced into Jerusalem, it was installed by a Jewish High Priest . And other priests soon engaged in wrestling matches in the palaestra . They plainly did not reckon such activities as undermining their priestly duties. Later historians would sometimes depict Hellenism and Judaism uniquely incompatible, likely the result of the persecution of Antiochus IV . However, it does not appear that most Jews in
245-519: A disunion that reverberated within the emerging Christian community: 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
294-565: A fusion of Near Eastern cultures. The period is characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization which established Greek cities and kingdoms in Asia and Africa, the most famous being Alexandria in Egypt. New cities established composed of colonists from different parts of the Greek world and not from a specific metropolis ("mother city") as before. The spread of Hellenism caused a blending of
343-684: 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
392-520: A measure of the heterogeneity of sizes of molecules or particles in a mixture Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Dispersion . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dispersion&oldid=1182486840 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
441-520: A measure of the heterogeneity of sizes of molecules or particles in a mixture Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Dispersion . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dispersion&oldid=1182486840 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
490-748: A polymerization process Velocity dispersion , the statistical variation of velocities about the mean velocity for a group of astronomical objects Other uses [ edit ] Hellenistic Judaism § Hellenism , Jewish communities who lived amongst the gentiles in the first century CE Dispersion (album) , the second album by High Rise Dispersion Technology , a scientific instrument manufacturer located in Bedford Hills, New York See also [ edit ] All pages with titles beginning with dispersion All pages with titles beginning with dispersed Dispersal (disambiguation) Dispersive (disambiguation) Dispersity ,
539-685: A polymerization process Velocity dispersion , the statistical variation of velocities about the mean velocity for a group of astronomical objects Other uses [ edit ] Hellenistic Judaism § Hellenism , Jewish communities who lived amongst the gentiles in the first century CE Dispersion (album) , the second album by High Rise Dispersion Technology , a scientific instrument manufacturer located in Bedford Hills, New York See also [ edit ] All pages with titles beginning with dispersion All pages with titles beginning with dispersed Dispersal (disambiguation) Dispersive (disambiguation) Dispersity ,
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#1732764915230588-475: A population Index of dispersion , a normalized measure of the dispersion of a probability distribution Dispersion point , a point in a topological space the removal of which leaves the space highly disconnected Physics [ edit ] The dependence of wave velocity on frequency or wavelength: Dispersion (optics) , for light waves Dispersion (water waves) , for water waves Acoustic dispersion , for sound waves Dispersion relation ,
637-439: A probability distribution Dispersion point , a point in a topological space the removal of which leaves the space highly disconnected Physics [ edit ] The dependence of wave velocity on frequency or wavelength: Dispersion (optics) , for light waves Dispersion (water waves) , for water waves Acoustic dispersion , for sound waves Dispersion relation , the mathematical description of dispersion in
686-405: 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
735-456: A system Modal dispersion , spreading of signals in multimode fibers and waveguides by a distortion mechanism Polarization mode dispersion , a form of modal dispersion Dielectric dispersion , the dependence of the permittivity of a dielectric material on the frequency of an applied electric field Dispersion measure , the dispersion of radio signals from pulsars and fast radio bursts Dispersive mass transfer , in fluid dynamics,
784-404: A variation in prices across sellers of the same item Wage dispersion , the amount of variation in wages encountered in an economy Dispersed knowledge , notion that any one person is unable to perceive all economic forces Science and mathematics [ edit ] Mathematics [ edit ] Statistical dispersion , a quantifiable variation of measurements of differing members of
833-453: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages dispersion [REDACTED] Look up dispersion or dispersed in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Dispersion may refer to: Economics and finance [ edit ] Dispersion (finance) , a measure for the statistical distribution of portfolio returns Price dispersion ,
882-529: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Hellenistic Judaism#Hellenism The major literary product of the contact between 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 Koine Greek . Mentionable are also
931-626: Is less robust regarding diasporas in other territories. It suggests that the situation was by and large the same as it was in Egypt. The Greeks viewed Jewish culture favorably, while Hellenism gained adherents among the Jews. While Hellenism has sometimes been presented (under the influence of 2 Maccabees , 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
980-496: 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 the fiscus Judaicus . The opening verse of Acts 6 points to the problematic cultural divisions between Hellenized Jews and Aramaic-speaking Israelites in Jerusalem,
1029-854: The Melkite Greek Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch . The conquests of Alexander the Great in the late 4th 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
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#17327649152301078-712: The Romaniote Jewish community. They spoke Yevanic , a Greek dialect with Hebrew , Arabic and Aramaic influence. According to oral tradition, they were descendants of Jewish refugees who fled Jerusalem in 70 CE, after the destruction of the Second Temple . However, their presence dates back to 300-250 BCE, according to existing inscriptions. Greek philosophers such as Clearchus of Soli were impressed by Jews and believed they were descendants of Indian philosophers. Elsewhere, Jews in Alexandria created
1127-501: The mosaics and frescos representing heroic figures and Biblical characters (viewed as potentially conductive of "image worship" by later generations of Jewish scholars and rabbis ), many of these early synagogues were at first mistaken for Greek temples or Antiochian Greek Orthodox churches. Early rabbis of Babylonian Jewish descent, such as Hillel the Elder , whose parents were Aramaic-speaking Jewish migrants from Babylonia (hence
1176-828: 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 synagogues of the Libertines , Cyrenians , Alexandrians, Cilicians , and Asiatics in the Holy City itself ( Acts vi. 9). The turbulence created by Alexander the Great's death also popularized Jewish messianism . For two milennia, Jews lived in Greece and created
1225-550: The Apostle eventually preferred to evangelize communities of Greek and Macedonian proselytes and God-fearers , 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 also Circumcision controversy in early Christianity and
1274-723: 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. 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
1323-551: The Great promised his Jewish subjects a reduction in taxes and funds to repair the city of Jerusalem and the Second Temple . 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 (although not among
1372-686: The Greco-Roman branch of Christianity that eventually constituted the " Melkite " (or "Imperial") Hellenistic churches of the MENA area: As Christian Judaism 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
1421-733: The Greek-Levantine Christian diasporas of Brazil , Mexico , the United States and Canada . Many of the surviving liturgical traditions of these communities rooted in Hellenistic Judaism and, more generally, Second Temple Judaism , 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
1470-560: The Hellenistic Jews who, as a result of the great rebellions against the Romans in A.D. 70 and 130, were driven out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria. Both early Christianity and early Rabbinical Judaism were far less doctrinal 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
1519-562: The Hellenistic era considered Greek rulers any worse or different from Persian or Babylonian ones. Writings of Hellenized Jews such as Philo of Alexandria show no particular belief that Jewish and Greek culture are incompatible; as another example, the Letter of Aristeas holds up Jews and Judaism in a favorable light by the standards of Greek culture. The one major difference that even the most Hellenized Jews did not appear to compromise on
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1568-572: The Levant formed the Hellenistic diaspora. The Egyptian diaspora is the most well known of these. It witnessed close ties. Indeed, there was firm economic integration of Judea with the Ptolemaic Kingdom that ruled from Alexandria, while there were friendly relations between the royal court and the leaders of the Jewish community. This was a diaspora of choice, not of imposition. Information
1617-410: The amount of variation in wages encountered in an economy Dispersed knowledge , notion that any one person is unable to perceive all economic forces Science and mathematics [ edit ] Mathematics [ edit ] Statistical dispersion , a quantifiable variation of measurements of differing members of a population Index of dispersion , a normalized measure of the dispersion of
1666-728: The diaspora) and sparking a traditionalist revolt against Greek rule . Out of this revolt was formed an independent Jewish kingdom known as the Hasmonean dynasty , which lasted from 141 BCE to 63 BCE and eventually disintegrated into civil war . Overall, Jewish society was divided between conservative factions and pro-Hellenist factions. Pro-Hellenist Jews were generally upper-class or minorities living in Gentile -majority communities. They lived in towns that were far from Jerusalem and heavily connected with Greek trading networks. The most significant literary achievement of Hellenistic Judaism
1715-401: The distribution of animals, spores, fruits and their seeds, etc. Dispersion (chemistry) , a system in which particles are dispersed in a continuous phase of a different composition Dispersion (geology) , a process whereby sodic soil disperses when exposed to water Dispersion (materials science) , the fraction of atoms of a material exposed to the surface Dispersion polymerization ,
1764-401: The distribution of animals, spores, fruits and their seeds, etc. Dispersion (chemistry) , a system in which particles are dispersed in a continuous phase of a different composition Dispersion (geology) , a process whereby sodic soil disperses when exposed to water Dispersion (materials science) , the fraction of atoms of a material exposed to the surface Dispersion polymerization ,
1813-613: The great part it played in the early history of Christianity. The city was the cradle of the church". Some presently used 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
1862-727: 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
1911-489: The local indigenous culture and the culture of the conquerors. Jewish life in both Judea and the diaspora was influenced by the culture and language of Hellenism. Local indigenous elites frequently played a significant role in embracing and promoting Hellenism, leading to its impact on all regional cultures, including the Jewish culture. In Palestine, Hellenism gradually took hold, despite the relatively small number of foreign inhabitants. The Jews living in countries west of
1960-502: The mathematical description of dispersion in a system Modal dispersion , spreading of signals in multimode fibers and waveguides by a distortion mechanism Polarization mode dispersion , a form of modal dispersion Dielectric dispersion , the dependence of the permittivity of a dielectric material on the frequency of an applied electric field Dispersion measure , the dispersion of radio signals from pulsars and fast radio bursts Dispersive mass transfer , in fluid dynamics,
2009-460: The nickname "Ha-Bavli"), had to learn the Greek language and Greek philosophy 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
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2058-409: 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.
2107-496: The philosophic and ethical treatises of Philo and the historiographical works of the other Hellenistic Jewish authors. The decline of Hellenistic Judaism started in the 2nd century, and its causes are still not fully understood. It may be that it was eventually marginalized by, partially absorbed into, or progressively became the Koine-speaking core of early Christianity centered on Antioch and its traditions, such as
2156-424: The spreading of mass from areas of high to low concentration Atmospheric dispersion modeling , mathematical simulation of how air pollutants disperse in the ambient atmosphere London dispersion force , an instantaneous induced dipole-induced dipole Dispersed particle resistance , a measured parameter to characterize battery active materials Other sciences [ edit ] Biological dispersal ,
2205-424: The spreading of mass from areas of high to low concentration Atmospheric dispersion modeling , mathematical simulation of how air pollutants disperse in the ambient atmosphere London dispersion force , an instantaneous induced dipole-induced dipole Dispersed particle resistance , a measured parameter to characterize battery active materials Other sciences [ edit ] Biological dispersal ,
2254-452: 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 Christian messianic beliefs, and the use of Koiné Greek and Latin as liturgical languages replacing Biblical Hebrew . The word synagogue comes from Jewish Koine Greek ,
2303-408: Was shot through with Greek. The unique combination of ethnocultural 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
2352-732: Was the development of the Septuagint . Other notable works include the Book of Wisdom , Sirach and pseudepigraphic apocalyptic literature such as the Assumption of Moses , the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs , the Book of Baruch and the Greek Apocalypse of Baruch . Some scholars consider Paul the Apostle to be a Hellenist Jew, even though he claimed to be a Pharisee ( Acts 23:6 ). Philo defended Judaism as
2401-522: Was the prohibition on polytheism ; this still separated Hellenistic Jews from wider Greek culture in refusing to honor shrines, temples, gods etc. that did not pertain to the God of Israel . Under the suzerainty of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and later the Seleucid Empire , Judea witnessed a period of peace and protection of its institutions. For their aid against his Ptolemaic enemies, Antiochus III
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