A discussion of the judais of the inter-test-amental period, of the surviving literature and the message of the apocalyptic writers.

This informative volume highlights the "four hundred silent years," the intertestamental period, about which the Bible gives no information. Here is a popularly written account of this period, an overview that explains the forces that shaped the world in the centuries immediately preceding the birth of Christ. Both the Persian and Hellenistic eras are covered in broad but informative strokes, and special attention is given to the status and problems of Jews during these periods. After reading this work, Bible students will have gained a deepened understanding of the world towhich Christ came "in the fullness of time."

David L. Baker outlines the problem of the relationship between the Testaments, surveys the relevant history of interpretation, critically examines four main approaches and considers four key themes. This new edition has been thoroughly revised, updated and expanded.

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"The authors discuss: the Dead Sea Scrolls' apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, the return of the Jewish exiles, the Hellenization of the ancient world, Essenes and Zealots, feasts and festivals, the hope for a Messiah, and much more that will help you understand the full sweep of the history of the house of Israel. They also include numerous maps and a helpful timeline of this pivotal period." -- Inside Cover

Do you want to understand Jesus of Nazareth, his apostles, and the rise of early Christianity? Reading the Old Testament is not enough, writes Matthias Henze in this slender volume aimed at the student of the Bible. To understand the Jews of the Second Temple period, it’s essential to read what they wrote—and what Jesus and his followers might have read—beyond the Hebrew scriptures. Henze introduces the four-century gap between the Old and New Testaments and some of the writings produced during this period (different Old Testaments, the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls); discusses how these texts have been read from the Reformation to the present, emphasizing the importance of the discovery of Qumran; guides the student’s encounter with select texts from each collection; and then introduces key ideas found in specific New Testament texts that simply can’t be understood without these early Jewish “intertestamental” writings—the Messiah, angels and demons, the law, and the resurrection of the dead. Finally, he discusses the role of these writings in the “parting of the ways” between Judaism and Christianity. Mind the Gap broadens curious students’ perspectives on early Judaism and early Christianity and welcomes them to deeper study.

This is both a history of Judah during the time between the testaments (400 BC to 1 BC)and a number of fictional interludes that flesh out the historical events and people.