ABSTRACT
DOCUMENTS cannot always be translated into terms of real life, because they cannot make clear to us the true importance and the extent of the influence of the facts which they contain. The task of setting these facts in their true perspective is often exceedingly difficult, and it is even more difficult to get the various perspectives properly related to each other. Moreover, the period of Jewish life just before the Christian era was undoubtedly one of complexity and confusion, containing cross-currents which cannot be brought within a single definition and which no general formula will cover. All we can do is to attempt a brief analysis of the period, pointing out its main tendencies and noting its characteristic manifestations in their most obvious forms.
