Describe the Jews’ view of God and their basic worldview in the Intertestamental Period. What kinds of changes took place in these areas during this period? How do the elements of this Jewish worldview fit (or not fit) with your own worldview?
J. Julius Scott summarizes the Jewish worldview during the Intertestamental Period in four phases. First, the Jews of the first century believed that God continues His involvement in a universe that He created separate from Himself and inherently good (Scott, 268). In other words, Judaism opposed the concepts of deism, pantheism, and dualism. Second, the Jews believed that due to human rebellion, sin entered the universe and manifested itself as an inherent part of humanity’s nature and as an extension of humanity’s actions, thus separating itself from God (Scott, 270). Third, due to the bondage of sin, humanity is incapable of restoring the broken relationship with God, thus God is taking the initiative to heal the woundedness of humanity by “working within a special history within world history” (Scott, 270). More specifically, God is working in two stages, which include an initial stage through the nation of Israel and a second stage by which God overcomes Satan (Scott, 272). In the fourth and final phase of the Judaic worldview, God completely reverses the effects of the fall and consummates the reconciliation of humanity (Scott, 272).
Although Scott adequately summarizes the basic constructs of the 1st century Judaic worldview, it is difficult to ignore the impact of the law in relationship to the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants on the worldview of the Jewish people. Douglas Moo explains that scholars traditionally assumed that the Jews believed their obedience to the law could accomplish salvation (Moo, 212). However, recently E. P. Sanders purports the idea of covenant nomism, which suggests that grace-based election and atonement support the worldview of the Jews and that obedience to the law was only “expected as the condition for remaining in the covenant community” (Scott, 274). Regardless of Sanders’s relevant scholarship, Moo argues that Sanders does not overcome the traditional view by stating, “Works, even in Sanders’s view, play a necessary and instrumental role in ‘salvation’” (Moo, 215).
A number of changes or shifts took place regarding the Jewish worldview during the Intertestamental Period. First, due to the memory of the exile from 6th century BC, an emphasis on obedience to the law occurred (Scott, 267). Second, due to the influence of Hellenism, Greek philosophy infiltrated certain aspects of Jewish perspectives such as the diminution of anthropomorphisms (Scott, 268). Third, the Hellenistic influence may have also caused the Jewish people to refrain from using the name of God, which shifted the Jewish view of God toward His transcendence and away from His immanence (Scott, 269). Fourth, again likely due to Hellenism, a shift occurred toward isolationism (Scott, 277). Finally, although the Hebrew Old Testament includes the concept of immortality, during Intertestamental Judaism, an enhanced focus on the immortality of the soul ensued (Scott, 279).
Many of the elements of the Jewish worldview fit my own. Specifically, my worldview generally aligns with the Jewish concepts of creation, the effects of the fall, salvation initiated by God, and a belief in a final consummation. Of course, as a product of the Reformation and an adherent to Paul’s epistles, it is difficult to align with the Jewish view of the law.
Moo, Douglas J. The Epistle to the Romans. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1996.
Scott, J. Julius. Jewish Backgrounds of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1995.
