where would be the hearing? There are two sides to the Jews: the Hebraic and the Hellenistic Jews. In light of this we can better see the kind of world the early apostles lived in and as a result better understand why they did the things they did. And his open arms are equally for all those who believe in Him. Im also happy to see even Jim giving Neil credit where credit is due. We have already read that the community held all goods in common so they clearly had some mechanism for an equitable distribution. For in fact the body is not one member but many. The word I keep coming back to is Jew. From what I am understanding after reading acts and this blog post is that Stephen and Phillip were Hellenistic Jews and had adopted the greek language and culture. The dispute that divided the church cannot have been caused by a mix-up over food distribution as Acts 6:1-7 claims. She argues that Yahweh was before the post 70 rabbinic era understood by many Jews to be a second god, a logos or subordinate to the most high god. If the whole were hearing, where would be the Answer: The Hellenistic Jews are first mentioned in the Bible in Acts 6:1: In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. The believing Jews are Therefore, Luke deduced, the many thousands of Christians who surely must have been living in Jerusalem right after the crucifixion must have been expelled and dispersed.in the following years. one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. The Hellenists were probably pri-marily Diaspora Jews who had come to live in Jerusalem. And if they were all one member, where would the body What They Didn't Tell Me in Seminary And, if she has connected evidentiary links from, and then back to, around the literature (via a similar method used to form the Documentary Hypothesis and the movie Back to the Future), Im most interested. This is not necessarily a geographical division, although doubtless it often was. to "leave the word of God and serve tables" (Acts 6:2)? ", "Neil, this is actually rather useful. On Humility T he Gnostic interpretation of Scripture was designed to appeal to the Hellenistic intellectual communities such as existed in Alexandria, Egypt. The church established the acceptable doctrine that was pleasing to all the faction by enlarge. Galatians: Freedom through Gods Grace (Wipf & Stock, 2019). ", "These reviews of yours are so bloody weird! In fact, however, Jesus Christ had not been seen in Judah by anybody at all. Near them were many other Jews (from all over the known world), who each heard their own language being spoken (Acts 2:6). ", "For an excellent example of generally high-quality scholarship by someone who isnt a biblical studies professor, see Neil Godfreys work posted on the website vridar.org. We can look to the political setting today in the U.S. this being a election year, look at the fictionalized in fighting between gop members and the democrats. Some details about this action, however, come clear only upon closer scrutiny. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. All Torah Messages Partner is not responding when their writing is needed in European project application, The number of distinct words in a sentence. As for your first question above, Im persuaded that the pre-existing conditions for the rise of the Jerusalem group were the Essenes/DSS sect. Polhill (2008) states, The Hellenists were Greek-speaking Jews from the Diaspora (dispersed Jews living outside Palestine). Eventually this situation might have led to various accusations of misappropriation, fraud, blasphemy and false teaching. And when you see Peter saying It is not about the money, but the disrepect for me and for the Holy Spirit, and then see that first Ananias, and then Sapphira, miraculously drop down dead (nothing to do with Joe Sicarius standing behind them, of course) the fear is not surprising. Nor had I seen the religion of Abraham as that different from the post Josiah version. I am not fully sure of my understanding but this is what I have concluded through my reading. But they had settled in Jerusalem retired, as it were, to the homeland. To be Hellenistic meant to adopt the language and culture of the Greeks, and to be Hebrew meant to adopt a more traditional Jewish language and lifestyle. Symbols and Christian Ministry, Martyrdom In the first chapters of Acts, Luke depicts the start-up of the new Christian Church in the power of the Spirit as a joyful, unified, and growing community (e.g., Acts 2:41-47). 7 So the word of God spread. Perhaps there really was a subsequent trial and execution of a real person named Stephen, and perhaps Paul really did participate in those legal proceedings (perhaps because of his own widowed mother). Paul and Philemon Anyone interested in this question should know about Craig Hill. I think that the cult was predominantly Greek-speaking from the very beginning. As P. Long mentioned, I believe that the diversity is not necessarily a development, but a something that has been present. Toggle the visibility of the Accessibility Toolbar, Study the History of Persian/Iranian Jews, 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10105. It is possible these men were not followers of Jesus prior to Pentecost. So this is a Schmithals time in my reading. Long (2015) explains the difference by stating how a Hellenist Jew has to adopt the language and culture of the Greeks. Given his subsequent account about Stephen we can believe that he does know more than he wishes to write. Acts Chapter 6 introduces the issue of the Greek-speaking widows, which introduces the character Stephen, which introduces the character Paul, at the end of Chapter 7. The Sabbath Looking forward to more segments. Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science. How to choose voltage value of capacitors. Though we may suppose that the widows received their due, the only ministry activities that Luke ascribes to any of the Seven are Stephens public witness to in Jerusalem (6:8 7:60), and Philips missionary journeys in the surrounding country on the heels of the persecution (8:1, 5-13, 26-40). Josiah's Reform Obviously these are all Jews, but there seems to be problem between the Jews who are in Jerusalem from outside and those Jews who remained on the inside. Chapters 6-8 concern the activities of two Hellenistic Jews and their ministry outside of the circle of the apostles in Jerusalem. And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. You maybe forget that Peter and John were put in prison for their sermons! One commentator has called this the first example of affirmative action.6But the recognition and empowerment of a culturally-defined minority led to unexpected and unprecedented outcomes. Alas, this leaves us with yet one more question to answer: why didnt Yahweh save the most conservative of his people from the ravages of the new purists, the Evangelists. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I am not of How should the chronologies of Galatians 1:16-17 and Acts 9 be reconciled? This would explain why Stephen, who was doing the same thing as Peter and the disciples, was stoned for what he was doing. to be weaker are necessary. For Ben Witherington, language is the main issue (seeActs, 240-247, for an excellent excursus on the Hellenists). If Peter and John represent the only form of the early followers of Jesus, then it is hard to explain the violent suppression of Stephen. I think that the difference between the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews is interesting. where would be the hearing? I see the anointed savior concept as a denunciation of Yahweh as the Yahweh Sabaoth, its most stringent mosaic laws, and its intrinsic Jewish nationalism at the liberal, more Hellenized, end of the spectrum of these evolving sects among the Diaspora which contrasts with the more conservative view that, while relenting on the sacrificial mandates of the Deuteronomists, due to the destruction of the Temple, wish to one day rebuild Jerusalem, (more expansive, more popular, and more populous) and her Temple for the Jews, and Jews alone. The Greeks could not understand why the Jews did not instantly embrace their Stephen could have interacted with a different culture than Peter and John, which would explain why they would react differently to Stephens speech. (1 Corinthians 12:12-26). ", "Many thanks for this post, and for the quality of your blog. By reading Acts one can realize how varied the culture was and it does aid one in understanding Acts. If both sought Truth in the world, why were they hostile to one another? This would ultimately lead to some sort of cultural and ethnic diversity in the population of Gods chosen people. Who were these Hellenistic Jews and Hebraic Jews? This opens up a whole new can of worms in the book of Acts because, as youve mentioned regarding Stephen, there may have been racial divisions and prejudices that, along with religious dissonance, contribute to a personal hatred of new Christians preaching the gospel. 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. ministry of the word." The Nations: The Jews from the ten lost tribes. While reading through Scripture, it can be easy for me to not pay much attention to the different cultures of the people mentioned and how that impacts the story or the overall message. (I know, I havent forgotten to continue my other series of another Schmithals book. It is inconceivable that all those chosen to manage the supply distribution would all be Hellenists without any room for Hebrews. I might be missing something. WebWho are the Hellenists and the Hebrews? Deborah Donations ", "Note that I do not use the term amateur pejoratively. They were infuriated by the Jewish refusal to accept Hellenism. Best, Emanuel". Spirit. 646.871.4444 646.871.0100 Ladies and Gentlemen, Lets Get Ready to Rumble!. Acts 11:20 Interlinear Acts 11:20 Parallel Texts Acts 11:20 NIV Acts 11:20 NLT Its always gratifying when a reader zeroes in on exactly those aspects I thought were most interesting and most central to my argument. At the first sign of any trouble, such as a rich man and his wife lying about how much of their wealth they are giving to the community, the apostles will have them struck dead on the spot. be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable With there being so many different types of Jewish groups they put them in to Hebraic and Hellenistic groups to categorize them easier but also the Hellenistic Jews were over looked upon food distribution which would also cause uproar inside that group. Spirit. were conducted on tables, of church management). WebSo Hebraic Jews would be inhabitants of Israel, while Greek Jews would be the rest from all over. Previously to this the Jews had dwelt as far as possible alone, but through that I like this! Old Stories With New Ears Their names are standard Greek names rather than Jewish or Graecized Jewish names, and the additional information we have about three of them point to their Hellenistic identities (Stephens debate is with the Diaspora synagogue, 6:9; Phillip evangelizes beyond the Jewish community, 8:5, 26, 40; and Nicanor is a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch, 6:5). In these circumstances, it seems likely that Pauls own mother was widowed and therefore accompanied him to Jerusalem and became one of the starving, Greek-speaking widows who was supposed to receive help from Stephens committee. 6Witherington,Acts, p. 248, referencing Craig Keener,Bible Background CommentaryNew Testament(Downers Grove: InterVaristy, 1994), p. 338. More specifically, Im examining how the Pseudepigrapha tend to present Jewish/Gentile relations before 70 A.D. ", "By the way, my thanks to Neil for an ongoing superb job of exposing Jims review for what it is: a farcical and none too effective exercise in mythicism assassination, nothing to do with rational, let alone unbiased, scholarship. I realized that I hadnt added your blog to our blogroll. This oversight has been corrected. Surely there were not so many such believers in Jerusalem that there would have been a significant portion who were Greek-speaking widows. Also, by denying the Jews the ability to sanctify the new month, they inhibited the proper celebration of the Jewish holidays, which are based on dates which start with the declaration of the start of each new month. Every sect of the Jews were usually either from a different region or were around for different events. Lukes purpose is to write an origin tale to show how certain things came to be the way they were in his own day and how the true faith even/especially that said to be taught by Paul was founded on the perfect foundation of Jesus and the original Jerusalem church led by the apostles. | GotQuestions.org Aside from the historical accuracy, I do think that this matters for reading the book of Acts. Greeks, whether slaves or free - and have all been made to drink into one After they gave their lives over they stayed in Jerusalem, and it was not before persecution started that they left for their home towns. ", Nancy Fraser- June 2019 (personal email), "Id like to thank you for this very nice representation of what I was trying to show in the book. Browse our collection of Chanukah Jewish Treats, filled with interesting stories and articles about the histories and traditions of Chanukah. When the Jews sanctified the new moon, it, in effect, stated to the world that G-d is in control of time. if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us and time obviously had whatever information still was available about Paul. Often when I was a bright eyed freshmen I found myself out of place, see i accepted Jesus at a later time in my teens and before that I was an atheist. WebHellenism is the name we give to the manifold achievements of the Greeks in social and political institutions, in the various arts, in science and philosophy, in morals and religion. There is a dissection and discrimination going on between the Jews. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. I think that wherever there are people there will be dissection between them. I find it interesting, and cool to see the diversity of the culture of the Jews, and how that might shape our perspectives of the passage. exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he In 2019 he published a commentary. Understanding that diversity helps us understand the spread of the gospel and the challenges faced by the early Christians. Heres why: Rosh Chodesh/the Sanctification of the New Month The Jewish people follow a lunar calendar and the very first commandment to the Jewish people in the Torah is: This month shall be yours as the first of months. This commandment instructs Jews to sanctify the beginning of each new month, when the moon first reappears in the sky. . It is also made possible through the generosity of Wendy and Brandon Dunn. be? the same care for one another. multiplying Christians about Jesus, the most pressing need was "the Im currently working on a project for entry into MA programs about how an understanding of the many traditions during the 2nd Temple Period influences how one reads something like Acts. I refer to your site frequently as yet more names and publications pop up requiring an academic critique and helpful recommendations for book purchases. If this was his intent, he proably would have strayed from speaking of conflict and issues they were having. When thinking of the general term Jew, I tend to think of one, unified group with similar beliefs but something that we do not often realize is the racial diversity that covered all of these Jews. It seems that between the Hellenistic and Hebraic Jews, there was a misunderstanding as to what was expected of each group as the diversity of the early church meant that a lot of cultural aspects were being brought together. who had returned to Judea after having lived abroad in the Greek world. I know of no other site which offers a wide range of topics related to careful critical analysis of historically and scripturally related issues. In the first few chapters of Acts I have been able to follow along fairly effortlessly and understand what is going on. Through their marvelous creations, the Greeks proclaimed their might over the world. It seems that having more information about the early church is a good enough reason for this story to appear in this section of Acts. I think what P. Long mentioned about the issue between the Jews during the stoning of Stephen was most definitely accurate. Philippians 2 Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church. 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