Week 6: Highlights of Jewish
History, Part 1
Since
context is so important, we need to take a quick look at major happenings in
the history of the Jewish people. Most of us are familiar with Abraham, Moses,
the Exodus, and the formation of the nation of Israel from its beginnings until
King David's reign, so we'll begin with David. All of the information below is
taken from Abba Eban's book Heritage: Civilization and the Jews (New
York: Summit, 1984. pages 48-58).
Jerusalem
and the Temple
The
reign of David is considered to be the climax of the Jewish nation. Although
the twelve tribes had formed a confederation, all twelve tribes were further unified
under David and his strong government. This strong government allowed Israel to
enter into the mainstream of civilization. They controlled a vital bit of land
with trade routes (as well as routes for armies) and commerce that connected
Africa and the Arabian peninsula to Asia.
David's
most significant administrative reform was his transfer of the capital from
Hebron to Jerusalem. Jerusalem had territorial and political advantages because
it was centrally located and was not under a direct tribal claim. Having no
tribal claim meant that there was no established tribal elite to hinder David's
monarchal power. At that time Jerusalem was called Jebus, and David took
control of this town away from the people called the Jebusites sometime between
1000 and 990 B.C.E. Although David significantly enlarged Jerusalem and built a
magnificent palace, David's plans to build a temple fell to his successor,
Solomon.
Construction
of the Temple took from about 957 to 950 B.C.E. The Phoenician kingdom under
King Hiram, of Tyre, was paid to supply builders, masons, the "cedars of
Lebanon," and many commodities for the Temple. It was an opulent
structure. The Jewish sacrificial rites were highly developed, at least since
Sumerian times, and "the Temple sacrifice was the center of state religion
in the age of Solomon and remained so as long as the Temple stood in
Jerusalem" (50).
The
Two Kingdoms
"Solomon
seems to have given Israel a Golden Age of peace and prosperity" (50). His
ships sailed to Arabia, East Africa and India, bringing back riches, and he
traded in horses, chariots, copper and other commodities. Solomon formed
alliances with the Ammonites, Edomites, Hittites, Moabites, Phoenicians and
Egyptians through marriages. But the Israelite monarchy became overextended and
could not produce enough wheat and oil to pay for Solomon's lavish imports. To
finance his building projects, Solomon levied taxes and servitude on his
subjects, widening the gulf between the rich and poor. The levies were higher
in the northern part of the kingdom and tensions increased between the north
and the south. When Solomon died between 930 and 922 B.C.E., the Davidic line
retained power in the south (the Kingdom of Judah including the tribes of Judah
and Benjamin) while the ten tribes of the north succeeded to establish the
Kingdom of Israel.
While
the two kingdoms were weakening due to quarreling and corruption, the Assyrians
were rebuilding their empire and becoming the greatest empire the Near East had
ever seen. During the eighth century B.C.E. the Assyrians subdued the northern
kingdom and by 724 it attacked Israel directly. An Assyrian inscription states
27,290 people were led away as booty. As most empires of the ancient world,
Assyria dealt harshly with conquered nations; people were tortured, killed and
enslaved, entire populations were annihilated and cultures were displaced,
absorbed and lost forever. The people of Israel were treated no differently.
The Northern Kingdom was obliterated and its people henceforth became known as
the ten "Lost Tribes."
The
Kingdom of Judah
While
Israel died, Judah thrived and flourished for ever 100 years. However, after
King Josiah's death in 690 B.C.E., the Kingdom of Judah rapidly deteriorated.
Three years before, an alliance of Babylonians, Medes and Scythians conquered
the Assyrians and the armies of Babylon and Egypt rushed into the vacuum, with
Syrian and Palestine caught in between. When Nebuchadnezzar II (Nebuchadrezzar)
came to power in Babylon in 604 B.C.E., Judah survived by paying tribute.
Babylon was at war with Egypt and when it suffered a setback, the King of
Judah, Jehoiakim withheld Judah's tribute. Nebuchadnezzar II retaliated and
Jerusalem fell to Babylon in 597.
Egypt
forced Babylon once again into a setback, and another king, Zedekiah, took this
opportunity to once again renounced ties with Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar stormed
Jerusalem, looted the city, burned the palaces and temple, executed its leaders
and exiled most of the surviving population to Babylon, where they remained for
250 years.
The Exile
The Exile
The
Exile was an important historical period for the Jewish people. It became a
Golden Age of the prophets, including Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Jeremiah.
Prophesy was an ancient institution found among many peoples, often used to predict
the future. However, in Israel its role evolved into the protection, extension
and elevation of the spiritual life of the Jews. Since the beginning of the
Jewish settlement of Canaan, monotheism (belief in one god) had to be defended
against polytheism (the belief in many gods). The values of the world were
different than those of the Jewish community. But the Jews had a sense that
they possessed a great truth. They eventually came to believe that they
were chosen to share this truth with others. Slowly they emerged from devotion
to cult and ritual for its own sake into an understanding that their beliefs
had great moral significance. "As the corruption of the Israelites and the
folly of Judah evoked from the prophets words of anger and warning, so the
devastation" of Jerusalem "and the exile to Babylon brought forth
words of comfort, healing and hope" (57).
Prophetic
universalism began with the Exile. The prophets did not just address the people
of Israel, but would be directed to all the peoples of the earth, teaching a
universal morality. "And the nations, said Isaiah, would finally learn to
live in peace with each other"(57). Hebrew prophetic literature is
incomparable in human history. "It is marked by originality of insight, by
a great nobility of vision, and by poetic splendor of language"(58).
The
Progress of History and the Messianic Idea
"By
far the most revolutionary of all the prophetic ideas is the messianic idea: A
day will come when human conflict and anguish will be transcended by divine grace
into an era of perfect peace and harmony"(58). Other civilizations
envisioned a golden age of peace and harmony, but they did so at the beginning
of their history; all looked to the past so that subsequent human history
unfolds in descent. Perfection was always something in the past. This produced
a pessimistic view of human destiny because nothing in the future could be
better than what was found in the past; a sense of Paradise Lost.
"The
Hebrews were the first and only people that was its golden age not at the
beginning of history but in the future, at the end of time, so that history
unfolds forward and upward in constant ascent toward ultimate perfection.
Progress
in history is a uniquely Jewish idea. It might be called the greatest
contribution of the Jewish mind to other civilizations"(58). A Roman
emperor and philosopher, Marcus Aurelius (121-180 C.E.), spoke of human history
as a wheel that goes around, with everything in the end being as it was in the
beginning. There is birth, growth, decay and death. The consequence is
determinism; nothing can change; nothing is worthwhile.
"The
Hebrew messianic idea, on the other hand, is alive with a sense of hope and
purpose. It is worthwhile to strive for human perfection, for social progress,
for compassion, for justice, for freedom, for the protection of the poor, for
universal peace. It is extraordinary that a people with such a tragic
experience should have achieved such a buoyant and optimistic vision of human
destiny. And the ultimate expression of that vision comes in the words of the
prophet of Jerusalem who preached in Jerusalem, Isaiah, the son of Amoz: Nation
shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more
(Isaiah 2:4)" (58).
Later
in the week I'll post additional information about what happens after the Exile
up to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. This is a period of
Jewish history that we are less familiar with but that is very important for
our discussion of Daniel and Revelation.
For
More Information
If
you want more information there are a large amount of resources on the Web. An
overview of Jewish history can be found on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_history, A good resource for
information regarding Jewish history can be found on JewishHistory.org at http://www.jewishhistory.org/crash-course. Research articles
of interest can be found on the Jewish History Resource Center Web site at http://www.dinur.org/.
Thinking
About It
1.
How does the information in the section above titled, The Progress of
History and the Messianic Idea, fit in with what we think or know about
apocalyptic literature?
1 Comment
Person 1 said...
I believe that this
information is great and very important as we consider these and all Biblical
writings. These things weren't written with us (the 21st century geniuses that
we are) in mind - these were written for the people of that day and age and
these writings really meant something to them. We can try to take any meaning
we'd like out of them, but we have to remember the context. This is great and
informative Lynn, thank you
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