Many prophecies were coming to fruition during the 400 years between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Just to name a few, Daniel had visions of the Persian Empire’s conquest and the Jews’ liberation. Daniel foretold the conquest by Alexander the Great. Daniel also said that the Alexander Empire would be split between Alexander’s generals. Daniel predicted the Roman control of Judea and the Maccabean revolt. This was just one prophet; there were many.
What happened between the Book of Malachi and the Book of Matthew? Approximately 400 years went by without mention in the Bible. During this period, many people wrote scripture, history, expanded Biblical texts, and stories of the times. All these writings served different purposes but were not included in the Bible as we know it. During this time period, also known as the Hellenistic period, many Jewish communities continued to write. Some of these writings are called the Apocryphal books. Greek and Latin writing heavily influenced the Apocryphal books. At about the same time, the early Christians were developing and adopting a collection of writings known as the Septuagint, which were written and read by people who didn’t know Hebrew. The early Apostolic church and the beginning of the Greek Church followed the ideas of the Septuagint. The Eastern Orthodox churches still follow this doctrine.
The Apocrypha consist of between seven and twenty-one books or texts written by any number of unknown individuals. The Catholic Bible recognizes seven texts; Jewish documents recognize between four and twelve, depending on the sect involved. The Ethiopian Bible has eighty-eight books, including Psalms and Enoch. The Book of Tobit is about a blind man who is healed of blindness, and the Angel Raphael saves his son Tobias from demons along the road. The Book of Judith is about a Jewish widow who seduces an Assyrian general, and while he is asleep, she decapitates him, saving Jerusalem from destruction. The Book of Esther appears in the Old Testament and mentions God many times, but the Book of Esther in the Apocrypha tells the story of Esther, an Israelite woman who saved her people from the Persians and makes no mention of God. The Book of Sirach is a collection of narrative passages, poetic essays, maxims, hymns, and prayers concerning wisdom and prayer. In the Book of Bel and the Dragon, the Greek writer embellishes the Book of Daniel by adding that the king worshiped a god called Bel, who eats and drinks food offerings protected by a dragon. Daniel discovers that the priests are actually the ones eating and drinking. Daniel then promises to kill the dragon without a sword. Daniel kills the dragon with poison, proving it was not a god and that the priest was using the food. Many people have heard about the Maccabees. The First Maccabees is a written history of the Jewish revolt and Hasmonean uprising. Second Maccabees recounts the heroic victories of Judas Maccabeus. Third Maccabees is the story of the Jewish deliverance from Egypt. And finally, the Fourth Maccabees presents the philosophical ideology of the Maccabean people’s martyrdom. The Maccabees were written between 300 BC and 100 BC.
Who were the writers and historians who helped document and lend credence to all the unknown and questionable documents for this period of time? Gathering evidence to substantiate history is difficult at best. Being able to read information from several different, unrelated sources provides a foundation for the information: “Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius, Mara bar Sarapion, and early Christian writers show that multiple independent, non-Christian authors from the first and second centuries attest to Jesus’ life, death, and impact. Many historians consider this body of evidence to be strong support for the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth.” (Multiple, 2026)
There are many writings, books, manuscripts, and documents from the 400 years between the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. There are many reasons for these writings to be excluded from the Bible. Unknown people authored them, they embellished beyond the realm of belief, and they just did not fit into the narrative. The educated Greek may have alienated the educated Jewish, and both may have disagreed with the Latin aristocrats. Stories from one part of the world could have conflicted with the same story from another part of the world. We also have to remember that every time a story is told, it gets changed to some degree. Many Christian Bibles do not recognize the writings of the Silent Years. Even in religions like Catholicism, which acknowledge these writings, they encourage people to read these books but emphasize that they are not divinely inspired. Second Timothy 3:16 states that “all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
We must remember that God/Jesus is never asleep and never not busy. During this time, the Sanhedrin, Pharisees, and Sadducees emerged to create the Jewish identity. The Samaritans became a true problem for the Jews. Greek influences began to permeate Middle Eastern culture, amid tensions between Judaism and Hellenistic culture. “This period shaped the social, political, and religious climate into which Jesus was born. The Roman occupation, Jewish–Samaritan tensions, and the rise of religious factions all influenced the setting of the Gospels.” (Kathy, 2026) Persian Rule, Alexander the Great, Hellenization, Septuagint, Ptolemies and Seleucids, Maccabean Revolt, Hasmonean Dynasty, and Roman Conquest all took place during these 400 years. Each of these events helped set the stage for the New Testament and the coming of Jesus Christ. These 400 years allowed God, Jesus, and all the angels to prepare the way for future events.
Kathy. (2026, 7 14). What Happened Between the Old and New Testaments? Retrieved from .kathyhoward. org: https://www.kathyhoward.org/what-happened-between-the-old-and-new-testaments/
Multiple. (2026, 7 17). Sources for the historicity of Jesus. Retrieved from Wikipedia (and others): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sources_for_the_historicity_of_Jesus
Historians and Writers Between 400 BC and 100 AD
Between 400 BC and 100 AD, several influential historians and writers shaped early historiography, spanning Greek, Roman, and other ancient traditions.
Greek Historians
- Herodotus (c. 484–c. 420 BC) – Often called the “father of history,” his Histories chronicled the Greco-Persian Wars and established the genre of narrative history
- Thucydides (c. 460–c. 400 BC) – Athenian general and historian, known for History of the Peloponnesian War, which emphasized eyewitness accounts and political analysis
- Xenophon (c. 431–c. 360 BC) – Athenian knight and student of Socrates, wrote Anabasis and other works on military campaigns and political life.
- Ctesias (early 4th century BC) – Greek historian of Assyrian, Persian, and Indian history
- Polybius (203–c. 120 BC) – Wrote Histories on the rise of Rome, blending Greek and Roman perspectives
- Diodorus of Sicily (1st century BC) – Authored Bibliotheca Historica, a universal history
- Sallust (86–34 BC) – Roman historian writing in Greek, known for The Conspiracy of Catiline and The Jugurthine War
- Dionysius of Halicarnassus (c. 60–post 7 BC) – Roman historian and literary critic.
- Plutarch (c. 46–120 AD) – Though later, his Parallel Lives and Moralia were influential in the early centuries of the Common Era
Roman Historians
- Livy (64 BC–12 AD) – Wrote Ab Urbe Condita, a 142‑book history of Rome
- Quintus Curtius Rufus (c. 60–70 AD) – Wrote History of Alexander the Great
- Marcus Velleius Paterculus (c. 19 BC–c. 31 AD) – Authored Rerum Rosicarum Libri, a concise Roman history
- Appian (c. 95–c. 165 AD) – Wrote Roman History and other works on wars and emperors
- Tacitus (c. 56–c. 120 AD) – Roman historian known for Annals and Histories
- Suetonius (75–160 AD) – Wrote Lives of the Twelve Caesars
Other Notable Writers
- Cato the Elder (234–149 BC) – Roman statesman and author of Origines, a genealogical and historical work
- Cincius Alimentus (late 2nd century BC) – Roman historian
- Eupolemus – Hellenistic Jewish historian.
Artapanus of Alexandria – Jewish historian of Ptolemaic Egypt