It has been stated that the army of Alexander the Great was regarded in Egypt as an army of deliverance. The Persians had proved to be “cruel lords,” and the Egyptians welcomed a change of masters. We think that Egypt did indeed fare better under Grecian rule. When the short life of Alexander came to an end and the conquered dominions were divided among his generals, Egypt fell to Ptolemy. Many kings of this family followed, and their rule was better than that of most of the strangers who have debased the once powerful land.
We do not think that the uprise of Grecian power effected a similar improvement in Palestine. If the empire of Alexander had survived under one control, the Jews in the land might have prospered; but, when the empire was divided, Palestine became a borderland, a buffer state, receiving blows from both North and South.
The country first fell into the hands of Ptolemy. Josephus mentions that the Jews have been derided for failing to establish independence at this time. It has been suggested that, with such a strong fortress as Jerusalem, they might have defied the divided forces of the Macedonians. It is recorded that Ptolemy gained his ends by treachery. He entered Jerusalem on the Sabbath day under the pretence of offering worship. While the Jews had no thought of violence, his soldiers established themselves in such positions that the city fell into their hands without opposition. We doubt whether the Jews were in a position to offer any effective resistance at this time. They had no doubt increased in numbers, but it is improbable that they were well enough armed or sufficiently trained for war to stand against the victorious Macedonians.
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Author: Islip Collyer
Keywords: Greek Empire, Greece, Septuagint, LXX, Alexander the Great, Philip of Macedon, Philip of Macedonia, Grecian Empire, Ptolemy, Ptolemies, Alexander's generals, Josephus, Alexandrian Jews, Jews of Alexandria, Hellenism, Hellenistic, Greek king, Antipatrid dynasty, Antipatrid, Alexander Successors, Alexander Great successors, Alexander the Great general, Meleager, Laomedon, Perdiccas, Lagides, Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemaic, Ptolemy Lagides, Menander, Asander, Philotas, Seleucus, Seleucid Kingdom, Seleucus Empire, Seleucus kingdom, Seleucus dynasty, Antiochus, Antiochus Epiphanes, Antiochus Epiphany, Seleucids, Seleucid Empire, Seleucids of Syria, Ptolemaic Empire, Soter, Hellenisation, Hellenist, Greek culture, Greek influence, Greek influence on Judaism, Hellenization
Bible reference(s): Dan 8:5-14, Dan 8:21-25, Daniel 10:20, Dan 11, 2 Maccabees 4:13, 1 Mac 1, 1 Mac 2
Source: “The Jews Under Greek Domination,” The Testimony, Vol. 5, No. 49, January 1935, pp. 4-6.
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