ORIGIN OF PALESTINE - PART ONE OF TWO
Now, I am no history scholar, but to really find the origin of the name of Palestine, you have to travel back in time to the death of Alexander the Great of Greece in 323 BCE, which led to the breakup of the Greek empire as three of his generals fought for supremacy and divided the Middle East among themselves. (Daniel 7:5) The generals were Ptolemy who took Egypt and the Land of Israel, Seleucus took Syria and Asia Minor, and Antigonus took Greece.
So, for 125 years after the death of Alexander the Great, Seleucus and Ptolemies battled for the Land of Israel, which was sandwiched between the two rivals. Seleucus finally won in 198 B.C. when Antiocus III defeated the Egyptians and incorporated Judea into his empire.
Seleucus continued to allow the Jews autonomy, but after a stinging defeat at the hands of the Romans, he began a program of Hellenization that threatened to force the Jews to abandon their monotheism for the Greeks' paganism. Does this sound familiar? Antiochus backed down in the face of Jewish opposition to his efforts to introduce idols in their temples, but his son, Antiochus IV, also called Antiochus Epiphanes, who inherited the throne in 175 B.C. resumed his father's original policy without excepting the Jews.
Antiochus Epiphanes hated the Jewish people. There was a brief Jewish rebellion under his rule, which only hardened his views of the Jews even further. He defiled the Temple, by offering a sow on the altar, set up a statue of the Greek god Jupiter, outlawed the Sabbath and circumcision, and opened the shrine to non-Jews.
Though many Jews had been seduced by the virtues of Hellenism, the extreme measures adopted by Antiochus helped unite the Jews. When a Greek official tried to force a priest named Mattathias to make a sacrifice to a pagan god, like being forced to bake a wedding cake for a homosexual couple, the Jew murdered the man. Predictably, Antiochus began reprisals, but in 167 BCE, the Jews rose up behind Mattathias and his five sons and fought for their liberation
That family became known as the Maccabees, from the Hebrew word for "Hammer", because they were said to strike hammer blows against their enemies. Tit for tat, and the Jews finally recaptured Jerusalem in 164 BCE and the Temple was purified. That event gave birth to the holiday of Chanukah.
Stay with me just a little longer.
So, for 125 years after the death of Alexander the Great, Seleucus and Ptolemies battled for the Land of Israel, which was sandwiched between the two rivals. Seleucus finally won in 198 B.C. when Antiocus III defeated the Egyptians and incorporated Judea into his empire.
Seleucus continued to allow the Jews autonomy, but after a stinging defeat at the hands of the Romans, he began a program of Hellenization that threatened to force the Jews to abandon their monotheism for the Greeks' paganism. Does this sound familiar? Antiochus backed down in the face of Jewish opposition to his efforts to introduce idols in their temples, but his son, Antiochus IV, also called Antiochus Epiphanes, who inherited the throne in 175 B.C. resumed his father's original policy without excepting the Jews.
Antiochus Epiphanes hated the Jewish people. There was a brief Jewish rebellion under his rule, which only hardened his views of the Jews even further. He defiled the Temple, by offering a sow on the altar, set up a statue of the Greek god Jupiter, outlawed the Sabbath and circumcision, and opened the shrine to non-Jews.
Though many Jews had been seduced by the virtues of Hellenism, the extreme measures adopted by Antiochus helped unite the Jews. When a Greek official tried to force a priest named Mattathias to make a sacrifice to a pagan god, like being forced to bake a wedding cake for a homosexual couple, the Jew murdered the man. Predictably, Antiochus began reprisals, but in 167 BCE, the Jews rose up behind Mattathias and his five sons and fought for their liberation
That family became known as the Maccabees, from the Hebrew word for "Hammer", because they were said to strike hammer blows against their enemies. Tit for tat, and the Jews finally recaptured Jerusalem in 164 BCE and the Temple was purified. That event gave birth to the holiday of Chanukah.
Stay with me just a little longer.
The Seleucids finally retreated from the Land of Israel after another two decades of fighting. By this time, Antiochus had died and his successor agreed to the Jews' demand for independence. In the year 142 BCE, the Jews were again masters of their own fate. Judah Maccabee was the only surviving son from the revolt and he ushered in a period of Jewish independence in Judea, as the Land of Israel was now called. The kingdom regained boundaries not far short of Solomon's realm and Jewish life flourished.
Any way, you can read all about the history in Mitchell G. Bard's book, The
Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle East Conflict. 4th
Edition. NY: Alpha Books, 2008.
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