and, for at least pragmatic reasons, function within a Hellenistic framework. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, originated in this period. In the Jewish homeland most of the countryside was thoroughly hellenized. This is well attested by the Zeno Papyri. Jerusalem, the capital, was initially protected by her remote location in the hill country and by conservative, temple-centered leadership. At first, life under the Seleucids brought about the same level of contact with