The Babylonian Exile or Captivity was a forced exodus of the Jews to Babylon. This was known as the ultimate punishment for the people of Israel because of their inability to uphold the covenant with YHWH. The exile began from a revolt in Judah that led to conquest by the Babylonians in 598 B.C.E. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, the Holy City for the people of Judah, was the aftermath of this happening. About twenty thousand citizens were deported to Babylon where they resided for approximately seventy years. When the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians under Cyrus, the people of Judah were allowed safe return back to Jerusalem, given a free degree of self-rule. The Exile had the effect of reminding the Jews of the importance in keeping the covenant with YHWH as it brought about identity changes, reestablishment of community life and distinction of religion.
Mostly members of the upper class, consisting of royal family, nobility, bureaucrats, priests, Temple personnel, merchants, and artisans, were deported to Babylon. The deportation was the first time Jews were “compelled to maintain their religion identity while being separated from their spiritual land.” Many small, unfortified towns and villages back in Judah were left unharmed; they reemerged and strengthened themselves by continuing the religion and literary activities. Additionally, they remained in active communication with Judeans in Babylon. “Mutual influence and interchange took place which eventually lead to the support of the reestablishment of Judah and Jerusalem.”
Not all Jewish communities continued on their faith with YHWH. Before the exile, many communities began to scatter all over the Middle East, Egypt and Babylon; however, the exile...
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...phet Ezekiel, the exile was a trial through which God tested Israel's faithfulness to God and God's teachings. Additionally, the experience deepened the Jewish appreciation of YHWH’s goodness.
Overall, the significance of the Exile left upon the Jews were astounding with the changes through their identity, life and religion. The experiences made from the Babylonian invasion to the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem taught the Jews the importance of the covenant made with God. During the exile, the Jews never lost hope in YHWH with the continuous faith and practices through their everyday life. The reestablishment of the Temple and Jerusalem were steps that were taken to renew the commitment of the covenant made with YHWH. The experience of the exile has transformed the laws, practices and faith in which remains and influences the religion from that point on.
Hamilton, V. P. (2015). Plagues, Passover, and the Exodus. In Handbook on the Pentateuch (2nd ed., pp. 157-176). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
Maxwell, . "The Jewish Diaspora in the Hellenistic Period." A Jewish Synagogue. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Mar 2011. .
The transition of Jews through history is one, which is complex and took place over a long period. There are many factors, which contributed to the change of the status of Jews within their world and changes in their status as well; these changes affected the religious and cultural values of European Jews, which lead to an alteration in their own perception, as well as the surrounding populace. There are several opinions as to how non- Jews perceive the issues that led to Emancipation of Jewish people. Prior to the period of Emancipation there were three main characteristics which defined the traditional Jewish communities of Europe. These three aspects are community, autonomy and torah (religion). In relation to Torah, there is a common yearning to return to their homeland in Eretz Yisrael. As it is known from the Greek era, the purpose of a state or community was to glorify one's own religion and as a result, Jews could not be members of a Christian state. Therefore, they had no choice but to form their own communities within the larger Christian State. A Jew is a member of the Jewish nation and people and religion is what defined your life and place in society. Virtually everything revolved around the community; decisions were made with the impact of the community in mind. An essential aspect of this community was the conceptions of ghettos; Jews lived, worked, and played in these ghettos. These ghettos kept the Jewish community contained, and also provided a sense of separatism from outside influences. "The point can also be made that separation was in fact a contributing factor to healthy relations (between Jews and non- Jews)" with their concern for l...
Main Events in the history of Jerusalem. (n.d.). Retrieved May 8, 2011, from Century One Educational Bookstore: http://www.centuryone.com/hstjrslm.html
These camps were known as killing centers or extermination camps. The Nazis first took them to these camps in mass arrest. Many of the Jewish people were shot dead and the rest were used for forced labor. For the first few years of the war many Jews that lived in Germany emigrated and fled the country hoping that they wouldn’t be caught. Approximately six million Jews died at the cause of the Nazis.
For the Jewish population the hardest time came with the introduction of the concentration camps. Jewish people were
The United Monarchy took place between 1020 and 921 B.C.E. It was the transition between a tribal society and an actual form of government. In this monarchy, Samuel appointed Saul to be the first King. Saul was replaced by King David and eventually was followed by Solomon. This era was the most documented era throughout Biblical history. During this time period, David was God’s right hand man. Jewish people believed that the Messiah was once a living King somewhere in the Davidic bloodline. They believe the Messiah in the Bible was a human King. The word Messiah means “anointed one”. David is the one who brings together loose tribes into a government. He institutes many new things like scribe culture and census records. This becomes known as the prototype for the ideal Jewish monarch. He establishes the city of Jerusalem or the “City of David”. His legacy becomes a major theme in Jewish history. Through him, the First temple was built for worship and for sacrifice in 950 B.C.E. This temple was extremely important to the Jewish people. It was the center for worship and politics for the kingdom of Judah. The Babylonians e...
Ezekiel lived in a time of international crisis and conflict. Assyria was the world power in the area under the rule of Tiglath-pilesar III. In 724 B.C Israel raged war upon Assyria, and Israel was no match for Assyria. In 627 B.C the last of the able Assyrian ruler, Ashurbanipal died. Right after the death of Ashurbanipal, Babylon under Nabopolassar wanted independence from Assyria. In 612 B.C the Assyrians under Nineveh surrendered to the rising Babylonians. In 605 B.C the Babylonians were at war against the Egyptians. The Babylonians won and they established themselves as the leading power in the area. During all of this Judea allied with the Babylonians and with this Judea kept her independence. During the last century before Judea was destroyed it was ruled by four rulers and of those rulers, all but Josiah were wicked. Josiah was committed to God and led Judea to him. All the others did not heed the warnings of Ezekiel and Jeremiah from God, and the rulers of Judea chose to rebel against God. God punished Judea by sending Nebuchadnezzar’s army to crush the nation of Judea and flatten the city of Jerusalem.
After seventy years of exile the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem. Most of them gave up this option and elected to stay in Babylon. Those who stay in Babylon became ...
When the infamous Hitler began his reign in Germany in 1933, 530,000 Jews were settled in his land. In a matter of years the amount of Jews greatly decreased. After World War II, only 15,000 Jews remained. This small population of Jews was a result of inhumane killings and also the fleeing of Jews to surrounding nations for refuge. After the war, emaciated concentration camp inmates and slave laborers turned up in their previous homes.1 Those who had survived had escaped death from epidemics, starvation, sadistic camp guards, and mass murder plants. Others withstood racial persecution while hiding underground or living illegally under assumed identities and were now free to come forth. Among all the survivors, most wished not to return to Germany because the memories were too strong. Also, some become loyal to the new country they had entered. Others feared the Nazis would rise again to power, or that they would not be treated as an equal in their own land. There were a few, though, who felt a duty to return to their home land, Germany, to find closure and to face the reality of the recent years. 2 They felt they could not run anymore. Those survivors wanted to rejoin their national community, and show others who had persecuted them that they could succeed.
The Biblical picture of life in Judah during the Exile was expressed in only a few verses. One states, “But the poorest of the people were left to farm the land (2 Kings 25:12).'; This gives us little information to work with, and all that can be assumed is that not many people were left in Jerusalem, and those that were, farmed. Whether they farmed for themselves, or for Babylon cannot be reasonably determined from this one verse. Later on, we see that some underground guerrilla forces were also left in Judah as they assassinated Gedaliah and fled to Egypt. Other than this, we know nothing from 2 Kings 25 about life in Judah during the Exile. The articles, however, give us much more light into life in Judah during these times. Graham illustrates that the people that worked in Jerusalem, Mozah, and Gibeon during the Exile were primarily vinedressers and plowmen. 2 Kings 25 does not give us enough information to have known that people worked in these three cities. Their work, however, was not for themselves, but for the greater power of Babylon, as can be illustrated in an engraving on a jar that read, “belonging to the lord'; in reference to the work done by the people for the Babylonian king. This, also, was not explicitly illustrated in 2 Kings 25. The king of Babylon collected the goods produced and used them to better the Babylonian economy and the royal crown. Governor Gedaliah also was expected to have overseen people of Judah work to produce wine, fruit, and oil for Babylon. Outside Benjamin, people worked to make perfume, especially balm, for the royal crown of Babylon. The insight Graham gives us into the work done at Mizpah stresses an important point that 2 Kings 25 leaves out.
During the war jewish families were forced to abandon their homes and all their possessions, and eventually they even lose their humanity and grips on life.
This was the Hebrew mass departure from Egypt. Moses the messenger of God came to lead the Hebrews to becoming a nation and uplifting there believe in Yahweh, the one God. The hieroglyphics detailed events of this era but not one of them referred specifically to the Israelites and Egypt. The Israelites returned to Canaan to rejoin the other Hebrews that stayed behind and did not join in the journey to Egypt. In the 722 B.C. many Hebrew were deported to the different parts of Assyrian empire. The Hebrew that was in a sense deported were dubbed the name ten lost tribes, and lost their identities as the people who had made a covenant with God. The Hebrew vied God as being One, Sovereign, Transcendent, Good, and Loving. They believed in devoting themselves to God and harming no one.
... star” Encyclopedia of Judaism, Encyclopedia of World Religions. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.