The Silent Years

AKA the intertestamental period ~400 BC (Malachi—during the workings of Ezra/Nehemiah) to the beginning work of John the Baptist (25 AD)

I would argue the silence was broken when the angel appeared to Zechariah, then to Mary, then to Joseph

Roughly corresponds with the 2nd Temple Period 516 BC to 70 AD

Give some grace on the dates—not all scholars agree on the timeline

Scholars speculate on cause(s) for this

…look at Eph. 1:10

Ephesians 1:10 ESV

as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Ruling Powers

Persians—under whom the Jews returned to Palestine

Greeks—Alexander the Great—356-323

Appears to follow Daniel’s prophecy

The Ptolomies divided that realm of Alexander after his death in 323; ruled fro 320-198

Process of Hellenization ruled; Septuagint translated

Selucids took control of Palestine in 198

Antiiochus IV Ephiphanes—the Madman— 175-164—caused the most havoc

The age of the Maccabees began with their revolt in 167 (some overlap there), ended in 142 with the…(Many scholars don’t set this one apart)

The Hasmonian Era (still Jewish)

Finally, in 63 BC, Hamonians defeated by Roman general Pompey

He made Antipater the governor of Judea

He appointed his son, Herod the Great, 37-4, as Tetrarch of Galilee

He would become the Tetrarch of Judea, and in that role when the NT opens

The 2nd Temple period ended in 70 AD with the destruction of the temple

Any remnant of Jewish resistance ended in 73-74 AD with the crushing of the revolt at Masada, known only from the works of Josephus

Period Literature

The Apocrypha

Pseudepigrapha

Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Writings of Philo

(Related) Works of Josephus

Takeaways

Though silent—no single source of canonical literature

No prophetic utterance...

We see that God still preserved His people