Iranian Influence on Judaism: First Century B.C.E. to Second Century C.E.

The fact that religions influence each other has been of interest to the scholars of religion. Of course, the contention that all of the beliefs and practices of one religion are taken from another is to be supported by sufficient evidence; however, it is a very innovative enterprise. Judaism is one of the religions which have been influenced by other religions and cultures. There is a hypothesis that Iranian culture has had a considerable influence on Judaism, especially the Old Testament; this can be supported by the fact that the Jews had close military and political ties with the pre-Islamic Iran. This paper, which has been written by one of the major contemporary experts in Iranian studies, is concerned with this hypothesis.