Bridging the Testaments: The History and Theology of God’s People in the Second Temple Period

George Athas’ new volume:

Bridging the end of the Old Testament period and the beginning of the New Testament period, this book surveys the history and theological developments of four significant eras in Israel’s post-exilic history: the Late Persian Era (465-331 BC), the Hellenistic Era (332-167 BC), the Hasmonean Era (167-63 BC), and the Roman Era (63-4 BC). In doing so, it does away with the notion that there were four hundred years of prophetic silence before Jesus.

Bridging the Testaments outlines the political and social developments of these four periods, with particular focus on their impact upon Judeans and Samarians. Using a wide range of biblical and extra-biblical sources, George Athas reconstructs what can be known about the history of Judah and Samaria in these eras, providing the framework for understanding the history of God’s covenant people, and the theological developments that occurred at the end of the Old Testament period, leading into the New Testament. In doing so, Athas shows that the notion of a supposed period of four hundred years of prophetic silence is not supported by the biblical or historical evidence. Finally, an epilogue sketches the historical and theological situation prevailing at the death of Herod in 4 BC, providing important context for the New Testament writings.

In this way, the book bridges the Old and New Testaments by providing a historical and theological understanding of the five centuries leading up to the birth of Jesus, tracking a biblical theology through them, and abolishing the notion of a four-century prophetic silence.

A review copy arrived a little over a month ago and I’ve been systematically working my way through it.

First, what is the goal here?  There are plenty of histories of Israel and Judah and most of them, and all the better ones, discuss the periods of the Persians, Greeks, Maccabeans, and Romans.  Is another needed?

Others may not be, but this one is.  Because rather than simply relating the historical events of the period between the Old and New Testaments, Athas examines the theological significance of those events in their historical contexts.  That is the great achievement of this book and the reason why it is uncategorically better than the others of the genre.

I wish this book had existed in the ancient past when I was a grad student and we were examining the history of the ‘Intertestamental period’.  We all would have had a far better grasp of the subject than we did.

The book is made up of a series of tables which provide in a handy format such details as a timeline of events form 597-4 BC (Athas uses the BC nomenclature rather than BCE, although I don’t know why since the general scholarly consensus is to utilize BCE and CE instead of BC and AD.  Maybe some editor forced him to it, or the wretched Reviewer 2), Persian Governors, The Hasmonean Dynasty and such like.

Part One covers the Persian Era (539-331 BC); Part Two the Hellenistic Era (331-167); Part Three the Hasmonean Era (167-63); and Part Four, the Roman Era (63-4 BC).

Excurses too can be found among the facts and details of the historical narrative.  These can, however, appear to be anachronistic.  For example, whilst discussing the Hasmonean Era in the chapter titled ‘The Road to Revolt’, Athas includes an Excursus on the Olivet Discourse (which is, as you’ll surely recall, not at all related to the Hasmonean era in any respect but rather has to do with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE).  I italicized the word ‘appear’ above because the Excursus, while seeming at first glance to be out of place, is yet another example of how Athas weaves together historical and theological information.  Jesus ‘recycled’ the notion of the abomination which makes desolate first realized in the Hasmonean era and later realized again in the Roman period.  Thus, the inclusion at this particular juncture of the Olivet Discourse.

He does the same kind of thing earlier in chapter two where, in the midst of a discussion of the Ptolemaic economy, he includes an excursus on ‘Economics and the Gospel.’

The excurses show, quite brilliantly in my mind, the way in which history and theology are quite simply inseparable and why it is genuinely unfortunate that few Christians today have a good grasp of the period between Malachi and John the Baptist.  A period during which so much that laid the foundation for the life and ministry of Jesus and the Early Church was laid.

A failure to understand the period between the Testaments simply makes comprehending the message and ministry of Jesus impossible.

If I could see but one thing added to the work it would have to be a discussion of the understanding of ‘The Satan’ become ‘Satan’ in the Persian era.  Alas, Satan is not to be found.  The way Judean theology came to understand evil and its personification was, in my view, one of the single most important developments of the entire ‘intertestamental’ period.  An excursus at the very least on the subject would have been super.

The font is lovely.  And the paper is, different. In a good way.  I’m not really sure how to describe it.  It’s got a lovely texture.  It’s thick enough so that words don’t bleed through (I hate it when books are printed on paper so thin you can see the words on the other side of the page).  And it’s easy to turn.  I’m sure the paper has a name but I don’t know what that would be.  More books should be printed on that same kind of paper, I know that.

This is a genuinely well written volume.  It’s clear from page 1 that Athas has spent decades thinking about the topic, and researching it.  That time has been well spent.  This volume, the fruit of that tree, is gloriously ‘edible’ and easily ‘digestible’.

Take, eat (metaphorically of course)