HIST 2070 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Oral Torah, Kabbalah, Diocletianic Persecution
27 Jun 2018
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The Babylonian exile and beginnings of the diaspora - 6th century BC:
The Jewish kingdom was split into two kingdoms as we have seen, after the rule of Solomon -
Israel to the north and Judah to the south, which has Jerusalem and the Temple, and the Ark of
the Covenant
In the late 700s BCE, the Assyrian empire, centred in modern day Iraq, conquered the northern
kingdom of Israel - these Jews disappear from both history and faith, remembered only as the lost
tribes of Israel
Two hundred years later a successor Mesopotamian civilization, the Babylonians, conquered the
remaining Hebrew state, Judah - shortly after they began deporting the Jews, while the
deportations were large, they did not involve the entire nation
The Babylonians only deported the most prominent citizens of Judah: professionals, priests,
craftsmen, and the wealthy - the "people of the land" were allowed to stay
The deported Jews formed their own community in Babylon and retained their religion,
practices, and philosophies - some it would seem, adopted the local religion - they called
themselves the "gola" (exiles) or the "bene gola" (the children of the exiles), and within the
crucible of despair and hopelessness, they forged a new national identity and a new religion
From texts such as Lamentations, which was probably written in Jerusalem, and Job, written
after the exile, as well as many of the Psalms, Hebrew literature takes on a despairing quality
The Jews in Babylon also creatively remade themselves and their world views - in particular,
they blamed the disaster of the exile on their own impurity - they had betrayed Yahweh and
allowed the Mosaic laws and cultic practices to become corrupt
This period is marked by resurgence in Jewish tradition, as the exiles looked back to their Mosaic
origins in an effort to revive their original religion
It is most likely that the Torah took its final shape during this period or shortly afterward, and
that it became the central text of the Jewish faith at this time as well
This fervent revival of religious tradition was aided by another turn in the wheel of history: when
Cyrus the Persian conquered Mesopotamia, he allowed the Jews to return home. This was no
ordinary event, thought - Cyrus sent them home specifically to worship Yahweh - what was once
only a kingdom would become a nation of Yahweh
The second temple era:
A number of leading Jews were encourages by the Persians who had conquered Babylon to
return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple - this began the period historians called the Second
Temple era
This era also marked the early beginnings of the influence of Rabbis - while Jewish ritual and
faith centered on the temple in Jerusalem - the lack of access to the temple brought the
importance of religious scholars to the fore - called Rabbis
oThe Rabbinate was not to become fully important until later, when the temple was
permanently destroyed in 70 A.D.
Second temple period 6th century BC - 1st century AD
Cyrus (reigned ca. 560-530 BCE)
oWhen Cyrus the Persian conquered Mesopotamia and the whole of the Middle East, he
did so for religious reasons - unlike any conqueror before him, he set out to conquer the
entire world
oCyrus believed that the final battle was approaching, and that Persia would bring about
the triumph of good - to this end, he sought to conquer all peoples and create the stage for
the final triumph of good
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
The babylonian exile and beginnings of the diaspora - 6th century bc: The jewish kingdom was split into two kingdoms as we have seen, after the rule of solomon - Israel to the north and judah to the south, which has jerusalem and the temple, and the ark of the covenant. In the late 700s bce, the assyrian empire, centred in modern day iraq, conquered the northern kingdom of israel - these jews disappear from both history and faith, remembered only as the lost tribes of israel. Two hundred years later a successor mesopotamian civilization, the babylonians, conquered the remaining hebrew state, judah - shortly after they began deporting the jews, while the deportations were large, they did not involve the entire nation. The babylonians only deported the most prominent citizens of judah: professionals, priests, craftsmen, and the wealthy - the "people of the land" were allowed to stay.
