Introductory Lecture on the New Testament.

Historical Background:

331 BCE -- Culmination of Alexander's conquests, including 
           Palestine.  Spread of Hellenism (Greek culture).  

323 BCE -- Death of Alexander succeeded by division of his 
           empire.  Palestine ruled by the Seleucid Dynasty, 
           which descrated the Temple in Jerusalem.

164 BCE -- Revolt by the Jews frees Palestine from Seleucid rule 
           and introduces the Jewish Hasmonean Dynasty.  
           Internecine strife weakens the dynasty's position. 

 63 BCE -- Rome takes over rule of Palestine after fighting on 
           the side of a Hasmonean king.  Jewish independence 
           ends. 

 37 BCE -- Rome installs a Jewish puppet dynasty in Palestine, 
           the Herods.  Hated by the Jews as foreign-influenced.

  66 CE -- Jewish revolt begins under Roman Emperor Nero.

  70 CE -- Jewish revolt suppressed and Jerusalem sacked by the 
           Roman Emperor Vespasian. Several other revolts follow 
           over the next 70 years in response to Roman 
           interference with Jewish religious practices.

132-135 CE -- Bar Kochba Rebellion.  Messianic figure Simeon bar 
              Kochba leads the final Jewish revolt against Rome.  
              As a result, Jerusalem is reduced to the status of 
              a Roman colony and the Jews are expelled from the 
              city (the "Diaspora").
                                                           

Jewish Religious Movements in Jesus' Time:

PHARISEES -- principally a middle class movement; uninterested 
             in poor people who were considered ignorant of the 
             Law. 

          -- rejected Roman rule but encouraged personal piety 
             and ethical conduct rather than revolt 

          -- strict adherents of Mosaic law, which was not to be 
             observed only by a priestly class.

          -- willing to adapt the Law to changing circumstances

          -- accepted oral, traditional Law as well as the 
             written Law

          -- entertained eschatological expectations of a divine 
             kingdom on earth to come when all the Jews properly 
             observed the Law

          -- believed in the resurrection of the dead and in 
             angels


SUDDUCEES -- conservative, aristocratic, priestly class; 
             definitely uniterested in the poor

          -- collaborated with Rome

          -- rejected ressurection of the dead as lacking a 
             basis in the Torah

  ZEALOTS -- active revolutionaries against Roman rule.  

  ESSENES -- eschatological Jewish sect

          -- lived in a monastic, celibate, wilderness community 
             of the elect.

          -- believed in the imminent coming of two messiahs, 
             one a descendant of David (royal) and one a 
             descendant of Aaron (priestly) 

          -- founded by a "Teacher of Righteousness" who 
             reinterpreted the prophets for the current day.

          -- participated in a sacred meal to which only full 
             members were admitted

          -- practiced ceremonial purifications.

          -- believed that they alone among the Jews were 
             guaranteed a place in the coming messianic world. 

          -- with their eschatological beliefs and tight-knit 
             community, resembled the early Christians.  Not 
             mentioned in the Bible by name, but John the 
             Baptist may have been an Essene. 


Non-Jewish Religious Situation in Jesus' Time:

          -- belief in local deities had been increasingly 
             disrupted since Alexander's Empire and greater 
             mobility of populations that followed. 

          -- efforts to gain a sense of spiritual stability 
             included many conversions to Jewish monotheism and 
             to mystery religions, or reliance on astrology or 
             philosophical beliefs (particularly stoicism).


Types of literature in the New Testament: 

1.  Gospels -- collections of the actions and sayings of Jesus 
               intended to win belief

2.  History ("The Acts of the Apostles")

3.  Epistles -- Letters from Paul and other early Church leaders 
                to communities of Christians, discussing matters 
                of dogma, ethics, social organization, etc.

4.  Apocalyptic Prophecy ("Revelation") -- Allegorical 
    description of the end of the world and the coming of a 
    divine kingdom. 

(SEE HANDOUT WITH BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT)


Hypotheses Regarding Compositional History of the Gospels:

The Two and Four Sources Hypothesis --

The principle sources for the three Synoptic Gospels appear to 
be the Gospel of Mark (earliest known in Greek) and a lost Greek 
collection of the sayings of Jesus called "Q" for "Quelle" -- 
"source."  However, Matthew and Luke each contain material 
unique to them, hence two other sources (at least) must have 
existed, and are designated "M" and "L".


          Mark                     Q (Quelle)



     M --- Matthew                    Luke --- L


The Gospel of John appears to be an altogether independent 
composition