The events on this timeline are divided into three principal categories:;xNLx; Red: Events in Judea;xNLx; Blue: Jewish literature composed in the second temple period;xNLx; Gold: The geopolitical context
Chapters 37-71 of the book known as 1 Enoch differ in several respects from the other portions of the book (see also the Astronomical Book of Enoch ➜, the Apocalypse of Weeks ➜, the Enochic Book of Dreams ➜, and the Epistle of Enoch ➜). In these chapters, Enoch receives three revelations that deal with the future punishment of sinners and reward for the righteous. Here, Enoch has the title "son of man," and he plays a major role in the final judgment. This text emphasizes the special status of Enoch more than the other Enochic works do. Also unlike these other works, the Similitudes of Enoch are not attested in any manuscripts from Qumran, indicating either that this work was not known to the Qumran community or that it was not an important text for that community. Moreover, historical references within the Similitudes point to a date of composition in the late first century BCE or early first century CE, later than any other part of 1 Enoch.
Whereas the Roman emperor Augustus named Archelaus ethnarch (ruler of a nationality) of Judea, he named Antipas (often called simply "Herod" in sources from this period) tetrarch (provincial governor) of Galilee and Perea. Herod Antipas appears in several New Testament passages; it was this Herod who executed John the Baptist (Matthew 14:6-11, Mark 6:21-28, Luke 9:9, Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.117-19).
Following Herod's death in 4 B.C.E., his sons Archelaus and Antipas traveled to Rome in order to plead their case for ruling Judea, while other members of Herod's family asked for direct Roman rule. The Roman emperor Augustus ultimately gave much of Herod's territory to Archelaus, naming Archelaus ethnarch (ruler of a nationality, rather than king) of Judea. Following a relatively short period of tyrannical rule, Augustus summoned Archelaus to Rome and banished him to Gaul (present-day France).
Following Rome's removal of Archelaus as ethnarch (ruler of a nationality) of Judea in 6 C.E., the region was placed under direct Roman rule. From 6 to 41 C.E., officials called "prefects" were in charge of the region; these officials operated from the city of Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast (situated between the modern cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa). The best known of these prefects was Pontius Pilate, who governed from 26 to 36 C.E. This period of Roman rule under prefects came to an end upon the death of Caligula (Roman emperor from 37 to 41 C.E.), when the new emperor Claudius appointed Agrippa I, a grandson of Herod the Great, king of the territory that had earlier been under Herod's control.
Like the books of Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible, the Wisdom of Solomon is another wisdom text that came to be attributed to the figure of Solomon. The book encourages the reader to follow the way of wisdom and can be divided into three main sections. The first part, Wisdom of Solomon 1:1-6:21, exhorts rulers to practice justice and indicates that the pursuit of wisdom leads to immortality. The second part, Wisdom of Solomon 6:22-10:21, alludes to Solomon's search for wisdom, and the end of this section gives examples of figures in Israel's history who were delivered by wisdom. The third part, Wisdom of Solomon 11-19, discusses Moses and the exodus and the role of wisdom in meting out proper punishment to the Egyptians. One striking feature of the Wisdom of Solomon is the fact that this book does not associate wisdom with Torah; rather, wisdom here is knowledge that prevents one from making mistakes, as well as a force that has acted in Israel's history.
IIn 20 B.C.E., Herod the Great began a major project of expanding the temple complex in Jerusalem; this building project continued almost to the time of the temple’s destruction by the Romans in 70 C.E.
Like the Wisdom of Solomon, the Psalms of Solomon represent another are a text from the late Second Temple period attributed to the figure of Solomon. The book is a collection of eighteen 18 poems, some of which anticipate a messianic ruler who will rule all the nations with justice. Although the precise date of the Psalms of Solomon is not known, at least some of these poems were written in response to the Roman general Pompey's conquest of Jerusalem in 63 B.C.E. and thus originated after this date.
According to several sources (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 18.117-19, Matthew 14:6-11, Mark 6:14-29, and Luke 9:9), Herod Antipas executed John the Baptist.
Even after Herod's consolidation of power in 37 B.C.E., opposition to his rule continued, especially from those who sought to restore Hasmonean rule to Judea but also from members of his own family. Some of these he had executed, including one of his wives, Mariamne, and her two Hasmonean sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, as well as his son Antipater (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 15.50-17.187). Shortly before his death, Herod named his son Archelaus as his heir and designated another of his sons, Antipas, as ruler of Galilee and Perea (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 17.188-90).
After being appointed king of Judea by the Roman senate in 40 B.C.E., Herod returned to his center of power in the Galilee region and began advancing southward with an army consisting of both Jewish and Roman troops. In the third year of his rule, Herod laid siege to Jerusalem, captured Antigonus, the last Hasmonean king, and had him beheaded.
The Jewish writer Philo was a member of a prominent Jewish family in Alexandria who wrote voluminously on a variety of topics. Some of his writings include scriptural interpretation; in one such work, Allegorical Interpretation, Philo interprets figures from the book of Genesis allegorically, associating them with various states of the soul. Among his works not concerned with the interpretation of Scripture are philosophical treatises and texts dealing with political events that occurred during Philo's life. Philo was indebted both to Greek philosophy and to Jewish Scripture, and his writings constitute a blending of these two traditions. On the one hand, Philo held the law of Moses, or Torah, to be authoritative and even claimed that Greek wisdom was derived from the teachings of Moses. On the other hand, Philo adopted a dualistic worldview similar to that of Plato, holding that the world is divided into intelligible and sensible (material) realms and that God's powers, such as the divine Logos, are part of the intelligible realm but exert an influence on the material world.
Following the death of the emperor Caligula in 41 C.E., the new Roman emperor, Claudius, designated Agrippa, a grandson of Herod the Great, as king of the territory that had earlier been under Herod's control. Agrippa died in 44 C.E., and following his death, the territories that he ruled once again came under direct Roman rule, now governed by officers called "procurators."
Following the death of Agrippa I (reigned 41-44 C.E.), Roman officials with the title of "procurator" governed Judea. This was a volatile period characterized by frequent disturbances among the Judean population and equally frequent reprisals by the Roman procurators. Toward the end of this period of tension, in 66 C.E., a revolt against Rome broke out, leading to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of rule by procurators.
Paul is arrested in Jerusalem and placed in prison in Caesarea (see Acts 23-24).
Paul appears before Agrippa II, the last of the Herodian kings, and is sent to Rome to be tried (see Acts 25-26).
While the Hasmonean brothers Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II were each vying for power in Judea, Roman forces were moving through western Asia, and both Aristobulus and Hyrcanus asked for Roman military aid in defeating the other. The Roman envoy ultimately agreed to support Aristobulus, ending Hyrcanus' siege of Jerusalem. When the Roman general Pompey arrived in Damascus, he tried to resolve the dispute between Aristobulus and Hyrcanus. Aristobulus, however, left the negotiations prematurely, and Pompey marched into Judea and eventually took control of Jerusalem, marking the beginning of Roman rule in Judea. Rome placed Judea under the control of the Roman governor of Syria and imposed taxes on its inhabitants (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 14.30-76).
Following the Roman invasion of Judea, Antipater, advisor to the Hasmonean Hyrcanus II, supported Roman rule and benefited from such support. Julius Caesar eventually made Antipater governor of Judea, and Hyrcanus was allowed to serve as high priest. During his governorship, Antipater entrusted the governance of Jerusalem to his son Phasael and entrusted the governance of the Galilee region to his second son, Herod. The latter quickly gained increasing influence, in addition to opposition from many quarters for his ruthless rule. Following a conflict with the Parthians, a people from the Iranian plateau who had invaded Syria in 40 B.C.E., Herod fled to Rome, where he was named king by the Roman senate (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 14.127-387).
In 66 C.E., the Roman procurator Gessius Florus (ruled 64-66 C.E.) took a large sum of money from the treasury of the Jerusalem temple, resulting in opposition from the Jewish population. In response, Florus’ forces attacked parts of Jerusalem. Jewish rebels fought back, regained control of Jerusalem, and massacred the remaining Roman forces there. In response to the rebellion, the Roman governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, invaded Judea but was unable to capture Jerusalem. In 67 C.E., the Roman emperor Nero charged Vespasian (a general who would later become emperor), with suppressing the uprising in Judea. By the end of 67 C.E., Vespasian had regained control of the northern part of Judea. According to Josephus, chaos ensued in Jerusalem as a group called the Zealots gained power and earlier leaders of the revolt lost influence. In 68 C.E., Vespasian began to encircle Jerusalem, but when Nero died in 69 C.E., Roman military forces in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine proclaimed Vespasian emperor of Rome, delaying Vespasian's military actions. In 70 C.E., Vespasian sent his son Titus to take over the siege of Jerusalem. Titus entered the city in the same year, destroyed the temple, and so ended the Second Temple period.
In 66 C.E., Eleazar, son of the high priest Ananias in Jerusalem, effectively ended the practice of offering daily sacrifices on behalf of the Roman emperor. This was the act that incited the ensuing rebellion, severing relations between the religious community in Jerusalem and the Roman authorities. In the same year, a Jewish government was set up under the leadership of the high priest. This fledgling administration appointed six military governors over the region and minted its own coins.
Although Alexandra's son Hyrcanus II was heir to the Hasmonean throne, her other son, Aristobulus II, fought against his brother and defeated him. Hyrcanus seems to have agreed to give Aristobulus the kingship in exchange for enjoying a private life of luxury. A friend of Hyrcanus named Antipater, however, pressed Hyrcanus to oppose Aristobulus with the help of the Arab king Aretas. The latter defeated Aristobulus, laying siege to Jerusalem (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 14.4-21).
The events that took place in Judea immediately following the first Jewish revolt against Rome remain obscure. According to rabbinic sources, during this period a number of Jewish scholars gathered in the town of Yavneh under the leadership of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai and later Gamaliel II. This period is known as the Yavneh period because of the importance of Yavneh as a rabbinic center.
Roman forces under Titus (who later became emperor) entered the temple on the ninth day of the month of Av, looting its sacred objects and destroying it. The destruction of the second temple (and that of the first temple) is commemorated in rabbinic Jewish tradition on the fast day of Tisha B’Av (“the ninth of Av”), which falls in July or August in the Western calendar.
According to Josephus, Queen Alexandra succeeded the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus to the throne upon his death, and during her reign she gave considerable power to the Pharisees, who executed many of the individuals responsible for the mass killings during Alexander Jannaeus' reign (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 13.408-15). In response to Salome Alexandra's policies, her son, Aristobulus II, revolted against her and gained control of Judea's fortresses. Alexandra died of illness in 67 B.C.E., and a contest for the throne ensued between her sons, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II.
3 Maccabees, though not found in Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant canons of the Bible, is an authoritative text in Eastern churches. This book in fact has nothing to do with the Maccabees; rather, it tells the story of how Jews in Egypt were being persecuted for their religious practices. It is set during the reign of the Ptolemaic ruler Ptolemy IV Philopator (221-203 B.C.E.).
The writings of Flavius Josephus are an invaluable source of information for Jewish history during the Second Temple period. Josephus was born around 37 B.C.E. into a prominent priestly family in Jerusalem and was involved in political dealings with Rome from an early age. During the Jewish revolt against Rome (66-73 C.E.), Josephus commanded a military unit in the Galilee against Vespasian's advancing forces. Josephus' forces were defeated and Josephus himself was captured and later tried to convince the Jewish forces in Jerusalem to surrender. After the war, Josephus lived in Rome under the support of the imperial family and wrote The Jewish War. Later in his life, Josephus wrote other works, including Jewish Antiquities—a history of the Jewish people from the time of creation to the first Jewish revolt against Rome—and an autobiography in which he defended his activities in Galilee at the beginning of the revolt. Josephus died sometime around 100 C.E.
2 Maccabees relates events in Jewish history beginning in the reign of Seleucus IV (187-175 B.C.E.) and ending with Judas Maccabeus' defeat of the Seleucid general Nicanor in 161 B.C.E. The book also contains two letters written to the Jews in Egypt, urging them to observe the festival of Hanukkah—a festival celebrating the rededication of the Jerusalem temple in 164 B.C.E. The author of 2 Maccabees describes how his work is an abridgment of a five-volume work written by a certain Jason of Cyrene concerning Judas Maccabeus and his brothers (2 Maccabees 2:19-32). Although many of the events related in 2 Maccabees are also described in 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees provides important information concerning events in Jerusalem during the 180s and 170s B.C.E. that is not documented in other sources. 2 Maccabees is further differentiated from 1 Maccabees in its theological understanding of historical events. For the author of 2 Maccabees, oppression under foreign rulers such as Antiochus IV was a form of punishment for the people's sins, especially their toleration of Hellenistic culture and practices.
The book of 1 Maccabees relates events in Judea from the reign of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175 B.C.E.) through the end of the Hasmonean John Hyrcanus' leadership (104 B.C.E.). The book was written on the basis of historical sources that are sometimes quoted explicitly (see, for example, 1 Maccabees 8:23-32). 1 Maccabees focuses on the family of Mattathias the Hasmonean and portrays this family as instrumental in bringing deliverance to the Jewish people from the oppression of Hellenism; the book is a significant historical source for events that took place in the second century B.C.E.
The loss of the second temple led to a religious crisis for many of Judea's inhabitants. This crisis finds expression in two apocalyptic works written shortly after the destruction of the second temple: 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch. Although both of these works situate themselves in the aftermath of the destruction of the first temple by the Babylonians (circa 586 B.C.E.), certain allusions and references in these books point to a date after the destruction of the second temple by the Romans. These books assure the reader that a future judgment is in store for the oppressor (that is, the Roman Empire) and that this judgment will be carried out by God's anointed one, or messiah.
Following the death of Aristobulus I, Aristobulus' brother, Alexander Jannaeus, was appointed as his successor. During his reign, Alexander Jannaeus killed thousands of Jewish citizens who opposed his rule, and Josephus writes that some Jews asked the Seleucid king Demetrius Akairos to help them in resisting Alexander Jannaeus' rule (Jewish Antiquities 13.376). In response to such resistance from Judea's own inhabitants, Jannaeus ordered over eight hundred Jews to be crucified. Josephus relates that Jannaeus, on his deathbed, urged his wife Alexandra to yield to the influence of the Pharisees, which may suggest that the individuals whom Jannaeus had executed earlier in his reign were Pharisees (Jewish Antiquities 13.400-401).
Upon John Hyrcanus' death in 104 B.C.E., John's oldest son Aristobulus succeeded him. According to the Jewish historian Josephus (➜), Aristobulus was the first of the Hasmoneans to use the title of "king" (Jewish Antiquities 13.301). Aristobulus, whom Josephus praises for enforcing Jewish law among the inhabitants of Judea, died after only one year of rule.
John Hyrcanus, son of Simon the Hasmonean, served as leader of the Judeans from 134 to 104 B.C.E. During this period, the Seleucid king Antiochus VII invaded Jerusalem, although John was generally able to rule in peace as a result of the growing weakness of the Seleucid Empire.
The book of Baruch is a classic example of pseudepigraphy—ascribing a text to an earlier figure in order to lend it more authority. Baruch was the scribe of the prophet Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 32:12, Jeremiah 34:6, Jeremiah 43:3, Jeremiah 45:1), who lived before and during the Babylonian exile, and the introduction to the book of Baruch situates the book in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and the beginning of exile. This short book is divided into four parts: a historical introduction (Baruch 1:1-14), the people's confession of sin following the disaster (Baruch 1:15-3:8), a discussion of the importance of wisdom (Baruch 3:9-4:4), and Jerusalem's mourning for those who have been exiled and comfort in learning that they will return (Baruch 4:5-5:9). The book of Baruch attests to the fact that the notion of exile continued to be a powerful theological concept long after the end of the Babylonian exile. As the notion that exile resulted from the people's violation of the covenant became more widespread during the Second Temple period, the motif of exile was used in new contexts to call the people to repent, restoring their relationship with God by returning to observance of the Torah.
After Jonathan the Hasmonean's capture around 142 B.C.E., Jonathan's brother Simon (the second oldest of Mattathias' sons) assumed Jonathan's role as high priest and military commander (1 Maccabees 13). Beginning with Simon, the Hasmoneans were able to gain a certain degree of political independence for Judea, despite the continued presence of Seleucid rule. In exchange for Simon's alliance with the Seleucid king Demetrius II against Trypho, the claimant to Seleucid rule who had imprisoned and killed Jonathan, Demetrius granted Simon and the Judeans a certain degree of autonomy, including exemption from imperial taxes. In 141 B.C.E., Simon expelled Seleucid forces from Jerusalem. Simon died in 134 B.C.E. through the plotting of his son-in-law Ptolemy.
In the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures known as the Septuagint, there are two books with the name Esdras (a Greek form of the name Ezra). The first of these, 1 Esdras, combines the last two chapters of 2 Chronicles, the book of Ezra (with additional material), and Nehemiah 7:38-8:12. (In the Vulgate, Jerome's Latin translation of the Bible, the same text is referred to as 3 Esdras). The compiler of this text thus reorganized older texts with a new focal point; the resulting text highlights the celebration of festivals during the interval between the latter days of the first temple and the early days of the second temple. Although part of 1 Esdras is based on a Persian court tale, the present form of the book likely dates to the second half of the second century B.C.E.
In 1947, Bedouin shepherds discovered a cave containing several ancient documents near the site of Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. Over time, archaeologists discovered the fragmentary remains of over 850 Hebrew and Aramaic manuscripts from multiple caves near Qumran. These manuscripts, which are now commonly referred to as the Dead Sea Scrolls, consisted of texts that are known from the Hebrew Bible, texts previously known from other sources, as well as texts that were completely unknown prior to their discovery at Qumran. These texts almost certainly belonged to a Jewish community that lived at the site of Khirbet Qumran from circa 150 B.C.E. to circa 70 C.E. In the 65 years since their discovery, the scrolls have revolutionized the study of the Bible and of early Judaism.
The book of Jubilees, like 1 Enoch, was known to scholars before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls owing to its transmission in Ethiopic Christian tradition. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, however, answered many unresolved questions about the book of Jubilees, including its date of composition and original language. Manuscript evidence from Qumran indicates that the book was originally written in Hebrew sometime around 150 B.C.E. Some scholars categorize the book of Jubilees as "rewritten Scripture," since its contents generally follow the order of Genesis 1-Exodus 12, though they also modify the contents of the biblical material through abridgements and expansions. Identifying these modifications to the scriptural base text reveals certain aspects of the religious views of the book of Jubilees' authors, including the adoption of a 364-day solar calendar (see also the Astronomical Book of Enoch) and a strict separation from Gentiles.
As in the Apocalypse of Weeks (➜), in the Book of Dreams the biblical figure Enoch reports two dreams to his son Methuselah. In his first dream (1 Enoch 83-84), Enoch witnesses the impending destruction of the earth as a result of human wickedness, and he prays for a remnant to be left on the earth (namely, Noah in the biblical flood narratives). In his second vision, sometimes referred to as the Animal Apocalypse, Enoch sees the entire scope of biblical history, in which major biblical figures are represented as different types of animals. The end of this review of history focuses on the author's own time, including references to Judas Maccabeus as a ram with a large horn and to an imminent white bull—evidently a messiah figure—who will transform all the people into white bulls.
Jonathan, the son of Mattathias the Hasmonean and the younger brother of Judas Maccabeus, served as leader of the Maccabean movement after Judas' death. As a result of his military success, Jonathan was offered the high priesthood in exchange for military support for a certain Alexander Balas, who killed the incumbent Seleucid king, Demetrius I. Thus, from 152 to 142 B.C.E., Jonathan held the office of high priest and served as a military ally of the new Seleucid king, Alexander Balas. Around 142 B.C.E., Jonathan was captured by a pretender to the Seleucid throne and was eventually executed.
In sharp contrast to the first half of the book of Daniel, which consists of court tales written predominately in Aramaic, the second half of the book of Daniel contains apocalyptic visions written predominately in Hebrew (although Daniel 7 is in Aramaic). Historical allusions to events in the Hellenistic period, including the desecration of the temple under the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV, suggest that much of the material in these chapters was written around 167 B.C.E. in reaction to the growing Hellenization of Jerusalem and Judea. These visions are set within the literary context of the story of Daniel, who foresees the events that befall Judah and Jerusalem in the future. (See also Court Tales in Daniel 1-6 ➜)
According to the book of 1 Maccabees, the Seleucid king Antiochus IV made a decree in 167 B.C.E. that "all should be one people, and that all should give up their particular customs" (1 Maccabees 1:41-42). The author of 1 Maccabees writes that this resulted in the discontinuation of offerings in the temple, the profanation of the Sabbath, and the neglect of the commandment of circumcision. A particularly traumatic event for Jews during Antiochus' persecution was the erecting of a "desolating sacrilege" on the altar of burnt offering, an event that is attested in several Jewish sources from this period (1 Maccabees 1:54, Daniel 12:11). These acts of persecution led to active resistance from at least one group: a priestly family from the town of Modein, who led what is now known as the "Maccabean revolt."
According to 1 Maccabees 2:27-28, Mattathias, the head of the Hasmonean priestly family in the town of Modein, issued a call to arms against the religious persecution of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV. Soon the Hasmoneans had garnered enough support that they were able to defeat the Seleucid forces sent to suppress the rebellion. Mattathias died shortly after issuing his call to arms, and his son Judas became the leader of the movement. Judas was given the nickname Maccabeus, which can be translated roughly as "hammerer," and this name was eventually applied to the Hasmonean family and their revolt more generally.
After leading a revolt against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV's religious persecution beginning in 167 B.C.E., Judas Maccabeus served as the de facto leader of the Judeans until 160 B.C.E. Upon defeating the Seleucid forces in a series of battles (1 Maccabees 3:10-4:35), Judas Maccabeus and his supporters were eventually able to take control of Jerusalem, at which time they repaired the temple and rededicated it to the worship of the Israelite deity Yahweh. According to 1 and 2 Maccabees, this rededication took place on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, an event commemorated in the festival of Hanukkah (the Hebrew word for "dedication"). During his leadership, Judas Maccabeus also established a treaty with the Roman senate in an effort to protect Judea from further Seleucid aggression (see 1 Maccabees 8). Judas died in battle in 160 B.C.E., and his younger brother Jonathan then assumed the leadership of the Maccabean movement.
Like the Astronomical Book (➜) and the Book of the Watchers (➜), the so-called Apocalypse of Weeks has been preserved in an Ethiopic translation of Enochic materials referred to as 1 Enoch; it is now also attested in an Aramaic manuscript from Qumran. In this text, the biblical figure Enoch (see Genesis 5:23-24) has a dream in which he is shown the history of the world, divided into 10 periods of time referred to as "weeks." Each of these "weeks" is characterized by a significant event or figure, and the reader learns that the seventh week—the time in which the author of the text lived—marks the rise of a wicked generation but also its destruction. Following the seventh week, judgment will occur, the old cosmos will disappear, and a new one will take its place.
According to the book of 2 Maccabees, a major change in the office of the high priest in Jerusalem took place after Antiochus IV's rise to power in 175 B.C.E. Jason, the brother of the high priest Onias III, obtained the priesthood from Onias by promising the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV large sums of money from the temple treasury. Following Jason's seizure of the high priestly office, 2 Maccabees reports that Jason introduced Greek customs into Jerusalem.
2 Maccabees 4 relates how Jason, the brother of Onias the high priest, obtained the high priesthood by corruption in 175 B.C.E. Following his seizure of the high priesthood, Jason introduced several Greek institutions into Jerusalem, including a gymnasium. The latter was a particular affront to Jewish custom, as it promoted exercising in the nude.
The book of Ben Sira, also known as Sirach or Ecclesiasticus, is a wisdom text that has certain affinities to the book of Proverbs, yet it also differs from Proverbs in significant respects. The author of this book—who identifies himself as "Jesus son of Eleazar son of Sirach of Jerusalem" at the end of the work—was concerned to communicate to his audience that true wisdom was to be found in Jewish tradition, not in Greek learning. Although Ben Sira praises wisdom, but he reiterates that God is the source of such wisdom. Although Ben Sira wrote this book in Hebrew sometime between 200 and 170 B.C.E., it is only preserved in complete form in a Greek translation made by Ben Sira's grandson sometime after 132 B.C.E., as attested by the short prologue that the grandson added to his grandfather's book. The Greek version of the book, including the prologue, was included in the Greek Bible (or Septuagint) and thus was also received as a canonical text in the Catholic Church.
During the reign of Seleucus IV, new pro-Ptolemaic groups gained influence in Jerusalem, and strained relations between priestly groups and the lay aristocracy resulted in Seleucus IV sending his chancellor, Heliodorus, to intervene in the conflict. This conflict continued up to the end of Seleucus' reign and set the stage for the dramatic events that would take place during the reign of Seleucus' successor, Antiochus IV.
Rome's defeat of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III at the battle of Magnesia in 190 B.C.E. marked a turning point in the politics of the ancient Near East, as Rome began to have an increasingly marked presence in the region after this date. Following the battle of Magnesia, Rome demanded heavy war reparations from the Seleucids, which would place a lasting strain on Seleucid treasuries.
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