Yale Open Course: New Testament 4

In the fourth lecture, the prof talks about 1st century Judaism.

The prof gives an intriguing explanation of why modern scholars consider the date of the authorship of the book of Daniel to be about 165 BCE.  The explanation is that the author of Daniel accurately predicts the events of history up until 164 BCE, at which point he starts to get things wrong.  Therefore, scholars conclude that Daniel was written after the date of the accurate history and before the date of the inaccurate history.

• Most notable places in the Eastern Mediterranean were Hellenized.
• A great quote, "The Jews had an ideology of empire and world domination embedded in their scripture.  And yet their social and political situation was just the opposite.  And it's in that maelstrom of Jewish ideology not fitting reality that Jesus was born."