Responses to Hellenization among Diaspora Jews

Reformed Thinking · Jan 17, 2026 · 33m · transcript

Deep Dive into Responses to Hellenization among Diaspora Jews by David A. DeSilvaThe Jewish Diaspora, meaning dispersal, consisted of populations living outside their ancestral lands across the Mediterranean and Near East. While some were originally exiled to places like Babylon, many remained by choice, eventually establishing major centers in Alexandria and Antioch. By the first century, Jews were present in almost every town, often organized under their own councils of elders and leaders. The expansion of Alexander’s empire introduced Greek language and culture as a unifying force for…