The First Jewish Diaspora

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The word Diaspora in Greek means dispersion. The Jewish Diaspora had three main periods to it: the Babylonian exile, the Hellenistic dispersion, and the Roman War (R. Sands, 1). The Jewish Diaspora began in 586 BCE when the Jews were deported from their motherland, Judea, as a result of shifts of power and war (R. Sands, 1). After this came the Hellenistic part of the Diaspora which was the voluntary movement of the Jews. In the Roman War, Jews were again forced to leave their homeland after the Romans destroyed their temple again for a second time. Despite these hardships, however, the Jewish people never forgot about God and His promises for His people. They believed that these things had to happen because they had been prophesized. The Diaspora as a whole did change the religion as the traveled, and it also impacted the places they went to. Although the Jewish Diaspora created hardships for the Jews, it was ultimately a beneficial thing for the Jews because they were able to spread throughout the world and grow in numbers. This first Jewish Diaspora happened when the kingdom of Judea was conquered by the Babylonians who destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and exiled the Jewish population to Babylonia ("Jews Around"). Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon at that time, and was the one who had the Jewish temple destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar then had the Jews deported to Babylon and kept captive. The Jews tried hard to keep their culture and religion alive while in Babylon which was when the Torah was created (R. Sands, 1). The Torah is the Jewish Bible. They made it because Jews have a sense of community and connection to each other and to God. Now that they were dispersed, they needed a mean of connecting to God and the Torah could... ... middle of paper ... ... however, held onto Hebrew as their identity. Works Cited "Jews Around the Globe." The Jewish Diaspora - My Jewish Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2014. . Miller, Donald. Holy bible: new king james version, black bonded leather, personal size giant print reference bible. S.l.: Thomas Nelson, 2006. Print. Sands, Raphael . "The Jewish Diaspora." by Rafael Sands. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2014. . "The Destruction of the Second Temple." The Destruction of the Second Temple. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2014. . "The Jewish Diaspora." The Jewish Diaspora. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2014. .

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