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). Torsion-free virtually free-by-cyclic groups. WebWe have good grounds for the historicity of the Hellenists. A Jew from Alexandria, arriving in Jerusalem after a life of tensions in a sometimes hostile Graeco-Roman environment, might discover that life in the Holy Land was less than ideal, and that the locals seemed to lack sympathy, and the sophistication of their counterparts back home. Your email address will not be published. ", "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. This would have impeded understanding between the groups, and it may have been a factor in the actual neglect of the widows if they lived in an area less convenient for delivery of goods. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Luke then linked the expulsion of the Christians to his story about the execution of Stephen. Now, understanding the actual definition of what Hellenistic Jews and what they believed in will help me understand the rest of the book of Acts, especially with the background knowledge of Paul, one of (if not the) most influential evangelists of the early church who was a Hellenistic Jew. What I find interesting is not the fact that there were different sects of Judaism, but more the division between the idea of integration with the culture. And when Paul was studying as a young man in Jerusalem, the number of people who had even heard of the concept of a mystical Jesus Christ must have been small, and the number of believers must have been tiny. This needs to be explained carefully, since the word Jew does not appear in the text (although English translations regularly include it). (Romans 12:4-8), Which of these roles deserves particular esteem? And if they were all one member, where would the body Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science. Twebrew School 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. spoke Greek. First we learn that the church was divided between Hebrews and Hellenists. ", "Neil Godfrey and Tim Widowfield, who both write at Vridar . Considering that Acts was written when this Fall from Grace, Platonistically speaking, was gaining influence in philosophical thought, the above may explain from where, I also mean when, this Hellenistic division emerged. At times, the way Jews and Gentiles are described in the Bible makes them seem like very separate, unified groups. Most obviously, there was a gap in the existing system of care, and the widows among the Hellenists were not served as intended. 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. Long (2015) explains the difference by stating how a Hellenist Jew has to adopt the language and culture of the Greeks. ", "I want to say here that this site is so resourceful and highly on top of the most modern scholarship in the areas discussed here. His disciples' feet, and apostle Paul continued to work as a tent maker I think it expands, and contributes to, the effort in honouring Thomas that we with Lukasz originally had in mind with this volume. 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. 1345 Avenue of the Americas, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10105 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. This is the point at which some scholars suggest the real reason for the rift and the real reason for the sudden inequitable treatment of the Hellenists had to do with doctrinal teachings, that is missionary efforts of the Hellenists that were felt to be threatening by the Hebrews. All of them: "For as the body is one and has many members, but all 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. Your clarity of expression, fair comments and personal insights are much valued. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. have no need of. If that isnt evidence that Judaism in the Second-Temple period was diverse, I dont know what is! For in fact the body is not one member but many. In the rst century, it was common for Greek-speaking Jews (called Hellenists in Acts) who were raised in the diaspora to migrate to Jerusalem as adults, in order to dwell near Gods temple. Although ethnically Jewish, they grew up in Gentile nations speaking Greek, It is not hard to imagine what the tensions may have been, if the two parties are defined over-against each other in linguistic and therefore in cultural terms. 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. Cookie Policy(function (w,d) {var loader = function () {var s = d.createElement("script"), tag = d.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.src="https://cdn.iubenda.com/iubenda.js"; tag.parentNode.insertBefore(s,tag);}; if(w.addEventListener){w.addEventListener("load", loader, false);}else if(w.attachEvent){w.attachEvent("onload", loader);}else{w.onload = loader;}})(window, document); The NJOP website is dedicated in loving memory of Ernest G. and Heidi Kahn. Fuller Theological Seminary does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its policies, programs, and activities. And his open arms are equally for all those who believe in Him. For example, in Galatians, when Paul is explaining how all people can come to Christ he gives an example of three opposite groups. In Acts, it talks about a division in Judaism that I had not heard of before: Acts 6:1 (NIV) ", "These reviews of yours are so bloody weird! The Greeks could not understand why the Jews did not instantly embrace their culture, which catered to the humans physical desires. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. "The Hebrews" in this 7Dunn argues convincingly that the accounts of the Hellenists, from the neglected widows, through Stephen and Philip, to the impact upon the church at Antioch, were available to Luke in a single coherent resource, which constituted a major source for Acts alongside a source of Peter material and a source of Paul material;Beginning, pp. It is clear even today that every religion has different aspects of conservative vs. liberal beliefs. ", 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. Now its a bit more confusing and it started around Acts 4 and 5. Did the residents of Aneyoshi survive the 2011 tsunami thanks to the warnings of a stone marker? Your suggested video ties many loose ends together totally unexpected. For in fact the body is not one member but many. Although the Jews did have common beliefs, some of their differing views caused problems in the early church. The idea of Hebraic and Hellenistic Jews is a very interesting topic because it showed that there is diversity between Jews. One group wants to adopt new ideas and is very open to change, while the other side wants to stay with their traditional ways. The Jews gave the world the Torah, the Talmud, and the basic concept of ethical monotheism. Acts 6 introduces some new characters in the storyline of the early church in Jerusalem. Legalism and Antinomianism Richard Pervo has hypothesized that Luke was in possession of an Antioch Source containing some genuine information, but which in his typically tendentious use of sources he has transposed some episodes that occurred in Antioch to Jerusalem. The church established the acceptable doctrine that was pleasing to all the faction by enlarge. So, please continue to delve deeply and share this intellectual sustenance with your grateful readers. A common thread through out humanity be it Hebrew or gentile is that one group will discriminate against another picking out physical features dress language what ever is different from themselves or the accepted norm of the dominate culture. 3 We have good grounds for the historicity of the Hellenists. Effectively on the basis of the criterion of embarrassment it is therefore sometimes concluded that the author of Acts cannot simply have invented the scene in Acts 6:1-7. Now, it would seem, he sought to undo the evil that he had then wrought, by preaching to them the faith which he had then opposed, and presenting, we Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, celebrates the great miracles that happened during the Maccabee revolt in the time of the Second Temple period. Some versions translate this as a complaint, though the Greek term implies a misdirected rather than a straight-forward protest (compare John 6:41, 43). But I have often been impressed with their grasp of logic and analysis of scholarship. Athanasius of Alexandria In their need to rid the world of Judaism, they singled out three mitzvot (commandments): The sanctification of the new month, the Sabbath, and circumcision. The people were not open to someone looking different than them preaching which could be why he was stoned to death. If the whole body were an eye, 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. This is not necessarily a geographical division, although doubtless it often was. ", "Note that I do not use the term amateur pejoratively. where would be the hearing? Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, a complaint arose from the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily service. Sts. who had returned to Judea after having lived abroad in the Greek world. ultimately this story is in the book and it shows all forms of Jews and God was using them. Web(29) Disputed against the Grecians.--It will be remembered that it was as the leader of the Hellenistic-Jews of the synagogue named in Acts 6:9 that Saul had first appeared in the history of the Church. I refer to your site frequently as yet more names and publications pop up requiring an academic critique and helpful recommendations for book purchases. On Chanukah, Jewish families around the world gather together in their homes and light the Chanukah candles. Realizing that there were different types of Jews who conducted themselves differently is very important in understanding the story of Acts and the Bible in general. Classes and Programs This marks a change in the scenario the author has painted in the previous five chapters. Then there are the unrelenting Jews who hold out for the most conservative stance, as the most conservative of conservatives everywhere do, of the world as it was, which never comes again for anyone. Filed under: Biblical Studies, New Testament But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body First off I never knew there were Hellenistic Jews or even what this stood for. It was actually two-fold. As P. Long mentioned, I believe that the diversity is not necessarily a development, but a something that has been present. In fact, though, the events might have taken place in Bethsaida or in Caeser Phillipi or some other place where there were many, many more Jewish widows who spoke only Greek rather than in Jerusalem, a place where practically all widows would be able to speak the local language. Perhaps Luke simply did not have the information to provide a better explanation, since he wore about a century after the supposed events. suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with In particular, Luke perhaps simply did not know whether Pauls mother was involved. Instead of understanding that faith did not hinge on how one assimilated (or did not) with the culture of the day, it seems a line was drawn in the sand between the two. Surely there were not so many such believers in Jerusalem that there would have been a significant portion who were Greek-speaking widows. use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in WebA special group of scribes known as Hasidim, or Pietists, became the forerunners of the Pharisees, or Separatistsmiddle-class Jewish scholars who reinterpreted the Torah So yes I think this information is valuable to know when reading Acts. Disclaimers. Your email address will not be published. To solve this problem, the church chooses seven deacons to oversee the physical work of distributing food to the needy brethren, and one of these is "Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch." Why did the interaction of the Greeks and the Jews create such problems? Alternative Christianities The Hebrews were Jewish Christians who spoke almost exclusively Aramaic, and the Hellenists were also Jewish Christians whose mother tongue was Greek. They were Greek-speaking Jews of the Diaspora, who returned to settle in Jerusalem. To identify them, Luke uses the term Hellenistai. Why does he not tell us anything about how the Hellenists came to emerge as a separate party in Jerusalem? How were they able to appoint so many Greek-named men to help? 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. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Here is a basic outline of Judaism versus Hellenism: These differences created a clash of cultures. Links. Others spun off and into oblivion. If in doubt look to the changing of the guard from Peter to James and son on. 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