History of ancient Israel and Judah
Many Jews lived in the Diaspora, and the Judean provinces of Judea, Samaria, and the Galilee were populated by many Gentiles (who often showed an interest in Judaism).  Jews had to live with the values of Hellenism and Hellenistic philosophy, which were often directly at odds with their own values and traditions.  Broadly, Hellenistic culture saw itself as a civilizor, bringing civilized values and ways to peoples they thought of as insular or either backwards or degenerate.