into Greek? And what about Greek stadiums and theaters and temples? It was the same struggle: the crossroads life of the Holy Land constantly forced Israel to rethink its commitment to God’s covenant and assess when life alongside another culture could be dangerous. For some Jews, living in the Greek and Roman empires presented no problems. By the New Testament era, huge Jewish communities thrived in Alexandria (Egypt) and Babylon (Mesopotamia). But their decision to live “away from the land” came