Judea passes from Ptolemaic to Seleucid rule
Between the Testaments · Draft · BSB
Content revision: 954b87af0378d407 · No editorial review date recorded
Date: c. 200–198 BC · Change of dynasty
Antiochus III’s victories shift Judea from Ptolemaic to Seleucid control. Josephus describes military disruption and a welcome for the new ruler at Jerusalem, followed by concessions for the city and its worship.
Antiochus III is not Antiochus IV, whose later suppression dominates the Maccabean accounts. Keeping their names and generations separate prevents us from treating the whole Seleucid period as one unchanging policy.
Historical sources and canon context
Historical background with external readings. First and Second Maccabees are Scripture in Catholic and many Orthodox traditions, but are outside the Jewish and most Protestant canons and this app’s bundled 66-book Bible.
Josephus, Antiquities 12.3.3–4
Describes conflict between Antiochus III and Ptolemy’s forces and the subsequent Jerusalem concessions. Written in the first century AD, looking back on these events.
The chapter’s historical notes distinguish the Ptolemaic and Seleucid periods.
Primary Scripture
No primary biblical passage is assigned to this historical-background event. Consult its external sources.
Related Scripture
These Bible readings are connected by theme or later setting; they are not direct accounts of this historical stop.
Earlier Persian support for the temple supplies a comparison for life under foreign rulers; this is a different decree and period.
Location evidence
The Judea region and Jerusalem marker show the affected community. They do not reconstruct a battlefield, garrison position or exact provincial boundary.
Event map marker: Approximate region; [longitude, latitude] = [35.05, 31.65]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Jerusalem: Identified site. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.234167, 31.776667]. Classification source: editorial.
OpenBible.info: Jerusalem (CC BY 4.0)
Judea: Approximate region. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.05, 31.65]. Classification source: editorial.
Illustrative regional extent: [[34.65,31.25],[35.5,32]]; not a measured confidence interval.
IAA: historical timeline; extent is an editorial illustration
IAA: historical timeline; extent is an editorial illustration
For the class
Why should we distinguish a dynasty, an individual ruler and that ruler’s changing policies?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: editorial (content/authored/between-testaments.json)
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm