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Is Judaism the Religion of Moses? 57

Is JUDAISM the Religion of

Moses?

We continue the shocking period in Jewish
history when "Hellenism" spread. Here is
how Egyptian tradition replaced the Law of
Moses in the second century before Jesus'
birth.

by Ernest Martin

Part Seven

L AST installment we discovered that the coming of the Egyptians and finally the Syrians,
caused violent changes among the Jews in Palestine. The authoritative Sopherim, the rightful
teachers of the Law of Moses, were divested of all prerogatives. So thorough was the dissolu-
tion of the Sopherim as a corporate body that we hear nothing more of any of its members outside of
Simon the Just, the High Priest who died in 270 B.C. (Aboth i, 2). Simon is described as the last
remnant of the group. What happened to the remainder of these teachers is not known. It is obvious
from the silence of history that the Sopherim, as the religious authority among the Jews, became ex-
tinct within about a score of years after the invasion of Alexander the Great (331 B.C.).

Wars Cause Political and Religious Disruptions

The series of wars over the control of Palestine between the Egyptians on the south and the
Syrians on the north -- both under Greek domination -- created great political and religious disorder
within Palestine. The land was attacked by invading armies no less than four times between 330
B.C. and 301 B.C. In the latter year, the land finally succumbed to the rulership of Ptolemy of
Egypt (M. Margolis, History of the Jewish People, p. 128). Palestine remained under the direct
control of the Egyptian government until 198 B.C. -- just over one hundred years.

Notice that it was during the early part of this period of Egyptian domination that Simon the
Just, the last survivor of the Sopherim, died (270 B.C.). WITH HIS DEATH A DARK CLOUD
PASSES OVER ALL THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE JEWS. We are informed by Lauterbach,
the learned Jewish scholar, that Jewish tradition knows of no religious teacher who taught any form
of religion from the death of Simon the Just until about the year 190 B.C. (Rabbinic Essays, p. 196).
"This [silence] would have been impossible," says Lauterbach, "if there had been any official activ-
ity of the teachers in those years" (ibid., p. 196).

The Berean Voice July-August 2002