Hellenistic Judaism

Hellenistic Judaism was the Judaism practiced by Greek-speaking communities in the Hellenistic world. It brought Jewish scripture, institutions, and practices into sustained contact with Greek language and culture.

Septuagint: The ancient Greek translation of Jewish scriptures, produced in stages from the third century BCE onward. It made Jewish scripture accessible to Greek-speaking Jews and became a defining textual achievement.
Alexander the Great: Macedonian king whose conquests created an empire spanning Greece, Egypt, and parts of western Asia. His conquests spread Greek political and cultural influence through regions with established Jewish populations.
Letter of Aristeas: A Hellenistic Jewish Greek work that narrates the origin of the Septuagint translation. It presents the Greek Torah as a work of scholarly cooperation and royal recognition.
Maccabean Revolt: A Jewish uprising against Seleucid rule and religious persecution in Judea, beginning in 167 BCE. It represents armed resistance to a royal program that promoted Greek customs and restricted Jewish practices.
Koine Greek: The common form of Greek used across much of the eastern Mediterranean during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. It was the shared language through which many diaspora Jews read, worshiped, and wrote.
Hellenistic period: The era conventionally dated from Alexander the Great’s conquests to the Roman annexation of Egypt in 30 BCE. Its kingdoms and cultural networks shaped the setting for Greek-speaking Jewish communities.
Philo of Alexandria: A first-century CE Jewish philosopher from Alexandria who interpreted Jewish scripture through Greek philosophical methods. His writings exemplify a sustained synthesis of scriptural interpretation and Greek philosophy.
Hellenization: The adoption or spread of Greek language, institutions, and cultural practices beyond Greece. It names the broader cultural change to which Jewish communities responded in varied ways.
Diaspora Judaism: Jewish religious life among communities living outside the land of Israel. Hellenistic Judaism developed especially within diaspora communities spread across Greek-speaking cities.
Ptolemaic Kingdom: A Hellenistic kingdom based in Egypt, ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty from 305 to 30 BCE. Its rule over Egypt fostered the large Jewish community in Alexandria where Greek Jewish literature flourished.

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