) In an essay of 500-750 words, present your evaluation of the significance of the

work of Ezra and Herod the Great. Include answers to the following:

Ezra had so much knowledge of the Scriptures and his God-given wisdom were so
obvious to the King that he appointed Ezra to lead the second emigration to
Jerusalem, to teach the people God�s Word, and administer national life (7:14-26).
Ezra purpose was to show God�s faithfulness and the way he kept his promise to
restore his people to their land. Ezra, a man of God and a true hero, was a model
for Israel, and he is a fitting model for us. Ezra, the man � a humble, obedient,
helper, commit our selves to serving God as he did, with your whole life. And the
significance of Herod the Great was quite fragile with the Jews, like Herod�s
father, he maintained an association with Judaism that was only nominal. Herod had
no genuine commitment to Judaism is demonstrated by an incident that occurred
while he was in Rome.
Herod�s outlook was more secular, cosmopolitan, and Hellenistic than that of the
people he ruled. Herod married a Herodias illegally, slaughter of all the children
under two years of age in Bethlehem (Matt.2:16). This incident is not mentioned by
Josephus, but such behavior is clearly consistent with the record of a ruler who
ruthlessly put a host of enemies, rivals, and even members of his own household to
death on the slightest rumors. Herod told the Magi to return after they had found
the Child so that he might worship him reveals the cunning of a king who was ever
alert to any political winds that might affect his control of the throne. Cunning
and savagery were only the darker side of a complex personality. He was a charmer,
a proficient with the javelin and bow, a skilled horseman, and an excellent
hunter. Matthew 3:16 (New International Version)When...

i) What significant contributions to the life of the intertestamental Jewish

community did each make?

The Birth Narrative

...is about and then evaluating the biblical and theological significance of the
birth narrative of Matthews Gospel and what it says about the agenda of that
particular Gospel.

Matthews�s gospel is the most Jewish of the gospels and his particular emphasis is
to show that Jesus is the Royal Jewish messiah and the fulfilment of Old Testament
prophecy. His whole life from start to finish lay within god�s foreordained plan.
Jesus is shown as the new Moses in the rest of the Gospel and is shown as the
Davidic royal king. The great discourses or speeches in the gospel match those of
Moses. There are many features of Jewish thought and theology and Matthew also
features of Jewish theology and talks of the kingdom of heaven rather than the
kingdom of God because the Jews do not pronounce the divine name.

�The Gospel according to Matthew is a manual of Christian teaching in which Jesus

Christ, lord of the new yet old community, the church is described particularly as
the fulfiller and fulfilment of Gods will disclose in the Old Testament. Jesus is
set forth as Israel�s Messiah in whom god�s purpose culminates and by whose words
and life his followers, the true Israel may gain divine forgiveness and
fellowship. Within the natural framework the accounts of what Jesus said or did
are grouped by common subject matter�. (May, Herbert. G and Metzger, Bruce. M,
1957:1171)

The five discourses of Jesus are a miniature version of the gospel itself, which
are the five books of the law of Moses, a noteworthy feature of this Gospel are
collections of teachings on specific themes, the Sermon on the Mount, Instructions
for missionary disciples, the parables of the kingdom of God, on sincere
discipleship and on the end of this age. The Gospel is anonymous, the unknown
Christian teacher who prepared it during the last third of the century
�The Gospel according to Matthew is a manual of Christian teaching in which Jesus
Christ, lord of the new yet old community, the church is described particularly as
the fulfiller and fulfilment of Gods will disclose in the Old Testament. Jesus is
set forth as Israel�s Messiah in whom god�s purpose culminates and by whose words
and life his followers, the true Israel may gain divine forgiveness and
fellowship. Within the natural framework the accounts of what Jesus said or did
are grouped by common subject matter�. (May, Herbert. G and Metzger, Bruce. M,
1957:1171)

Historians and Theologians have had several inquiries in regards to the origin of
the Pharisaic community. Scholastic investigator Solomon Zeitlin uses Jewish
historian Josephus� text, Antiquities to state that �The Pharisees existed as a
distinct group as early as the beginning of the 4th century BCE.� (Zeitlin: )
Indeed, �the Pharisees appear in Hasmonaean times as part of the governing council
in
coalition with the Sadducees.� (Schiffman, 1994: 76)This correlates with Josephus�
reference in relation to Jonathon the Hasmonaean, thereby tracing their origin as
far as 444 BCE.
It was this time in which a group of Jews began following the lead of Ezra. �This
Ezra was a scribe who was well versed in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God
of Israel, had given to the people of...

ii) What impact did these contributions have on Jewish life during the time of
Jesus and the church?

Apostle
...Baptist there is a period of some 400 years. This period has sometimes been
called the Silent Years. But that can be misleading because there was much going
on during this time. The Silence was with God's inspired writers, not with God's
work.
With the Edict of Cyrus granting the Jews permission to return there was a good
number who remained in Babylon. Still others had fled to Egypt years earlier and
so there was a scattering of the Jewish people. This is called the 'Diaspora', or
dispersion. But among these scattered Jews there was a remnant who had not
abandoned their hope of the Messiah. The Persian Empire Fell to the conquest of
Alexander the Great in 334-323 B.C. Alexander had a significant impact on the life
and culture of the day. He was impressed with Greek culture and wanted to make one
great nation of all the peoples in the world and Hellenise them. The Word
Hellenism comes from a Greek word which to speak or make Greek. This was
Alexander's mission. Leading a group of Greek and Macedonian mercenaries, he swept
over Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and in 331 B.C. the Persian Empire. As he
went throughout the land he would establish Greek city states bearing his name '
Alexandria ' and impose Greek government, language and culture on them.

Ptolemies.

Alexander died at the early age of thirty before he saw his dreams come true. But
his empire was broken down into three major areas, each governed by one of his
generals. Ptolemy reigned in Egypt, Selucid in Asia and Antigonid in Macedonia. It
is under these men that Hellenism really began to flourish and have an impact in
the Alexandrian Empire.

Palestine found itself in the centre of a struggle between Ptolemy and Selucid
rulers for domination for almost a century. Palestine first came under the control
of Ptolemy who also controlled Egypt. He was...