Course: Old Testament
Lecture #10: Exile, Ezekial, Eyra & Nehemiah
The Exilic period
Several things happened at this time.
Economically they were "pariah people", Judeans became dependent on the general populace not just their own people.
Religiously they became decentralized and found they could worship w/o the temple--the synagogue developed, and the individual person became the locus of religion, which also caused problems.
Politically there was tension between exclusivism vs. universalism.
Problem: do the Jews become loyal to Babylonia or only to the Jews?
Ezekial
Was a younger contemporary of Jeremiah who, a priest, went into exile to Babylon in 597 BCE
His prophecy began in 593 BCE and one must realize that all his prophecies took place there.
His call-in chapter 1:1-3;27 (Read) is very vivid, in which he eats a scroll of what he is to say. – Look at Merkavah version 1:4-28A
He prophesied destruction to Jerusalem. The exiles in Babylon are encouraging those left in Jerusalem to rebel but Ezekial is saying that this is doomed because it is not the will of God.
Ezekiel uses his personal knowledge of the details of the temple as much of the background of his book and this makes the book very complex and hard to deal with, because his knowledge and that presented in the next generation in great detail by the Priestly writer/editor are often in conflict.
Ezek 10:1-22 (Read) vision of the Lord leaving the temple in Jerusalem
His interpretation is that this is a sign of God's controlling presence in more than just Jerusalem.
The temple is going to be destroyed but God is still in control.
Ezek 11:14-21 Jews will be called back after punishment is complete.
all events, all history is done as part of the plan of God not just in Jerusalem, but everywhere.
Ezek 26:1-10 – in the prophecy against Tyre he includes the Canaanite myth of Dan'el. Dan'el is the wise judge of widows and orphans. This shows that he knows pagan mythology, though a confirmed worshiper of YHWH. Means he was probably well educated religiously.
Ezek 26:11-21 – used to proof text (by early Christians) the idea of Satan falling from heaven into the pit.
Ezek 33:7-9 (Read) individual responsibility for sin. they are no longer to have a tribal or group identity but an individual basis for religion.
Ezek 37:1-14 the valley of the dry bones. Idea that God can bring about new life
Life after death or the resurrection of the dead are not yet a factor in Jewish thinking or religion, but this does give a foundation to the idea when it did come in.
Ezek Chapter 40 to the end of the book is concerned with the new Jerusalem and how it should be designed
For Ezekial the primary attitude or instinct toward God should be shame, which he feels should be the natural human condition (See Ezek 36).
For Hosea, God will make people dependent on him.
For Jeremiah, God will write a new covenant on their hearts.
Why did the Jews survive?
Ezekiel's answer is because God needed someone to come to realize who they really are before God--how merciful he is
We are a pariah people, but God will have control of everything.
There are significant differences between Ezekial and the Priestly writer/editors who also went into exile in Babylon. The priests took all of their written and oral traditions into exile with them.
D had been written and the J and E documents had been combined by this time.
By 560 BCE they were at work compiling their history and most of it was certainly done by 500 BCE.
All of the laws and the prophets were completed by 450 BCE, when Ezra took them back to Judah.
During this time, they edited Genesis, adding their own version of many stories, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
They re-edited the book of Joshua
Many of the Jewish people did not like or buy into the legalism of the priests or their writings or attitudes.
Unlike Ezekial who wanted a centralized worship, P has many decentralized religious institutions.
P also no longer considers David or his line a factor to contend with.
Deutero-Isaiah
Beginning with chap 40:1 to the end, with a few inserts by trito-Isaiah (I will talk about that later).
Trito-Isaiah is an anonymous author dating from the time when Cyrus the Persian was coming to power somewhere between 540 BCE and 525 BCE.
He could well be part of the "school of Isaiah' which still existed.
His purpose is to give words of comfort and encouragement to the exiles in the coming years when it is plausible that they will be going home and able to rebuild.
Cyrus is referred to as the anointed one of YHWH, i.e., the Messiah in 44:28-45:1. This prophecy sees him as YHWH's tool to send the people home again.
Cyrus saw himself as chosen by Marduk to bring peace and justice.
Persian policy was to return all of the exiles of whatever land to their homes, but Deutero-Isaiah sees this as the plan of God.
Isaiah comes at a time when political independence is a real possibility and says they must take seriously the political implications of a restored nation.
He says they have got to build in certain institutionalized ways of dealing with destruction that can be caused by political independence.
For Israel this means a new Exodus which they must deal with in which mixed peoples, as well as Jews, will come back to Judah.
This means a new cult and a new kingship with an entirely new political system.
This means they won't have rebellious groups but a new ethnic composition legally, politically and socially.
Hence there won't be the rebel that caused so much trouble.
Isaiah 40:9-11 and probably the 23rd psalm were written at this time. It is part of a flowering of Jewish literature in the bible.
Isaiah 40:18-31 – the idea of a universal God and a religion that is universal.
God the creator is also the Lord of history.
Servant Psalms
These are the major motifs of the deutero-lsaiah.
There are four songs which all have the basic motif of the “servant of YHWH".
The servant is seen in relation to Moses and David so it is a reworking of the royal theology (which J represents)
Who is the Servant?
- Scholars hold different views, but it seems to be the nation, Judah.
- However, it could refer to an individual or both.
- Christians have interpreted them to be referring to Jesus.
- Could be all of the above.
The Point Is:
Israel is probably what is being referred to. Sin and penalty are inappropriate categories for the servant suffers even though he/she/it is innocent.
I'm innocent, yet I suffer
I'm innocent, yet triumphant history moves on.
You can't assuage the guilt of being survivors unless you can say everyone around will live in a transformed world. (universalism)
Guilt can’t be worked off unless history is changed to bring this about and it seems Cyrus’ decree will do this
Cyrus decree was given in 538 BCE encouraging refugees and exiles to go home.
Early Post-Exilic Period
Under Persian rule, there was excellent government and a lot of freedom.
This lasted from 538 BCE (with Cyrus decree) until Alexander the Great conquered his empire in 333 BCE.
The temple was rebuilt and dedicated in 515 BCE.
There were several active prophets at this time.
Haggai prophesied only in 520 BCE and his prophecy was concerned exclusively with the building of the temple.
He exhorted Zerubbabel, the great grandson of the last king in the lineage of David, and his high priest, Joshua, to purify the worship and assume official leadership in rebuilding the temple.
He believed when they had rebuilt the temple, the era spoken of by others, the messianic age would be ushered in and Zerubbabel would be the messianic king on David's throne.
Zechariah was a contemporary with Haggai and prophesied from 520-518 BCE.
With Zechariah, the form of writing known as Apocalyptic, that is, dealing with the end times, is developed into major proportions with visions, (eight of them).
Chapters 9-14 come from the Greek period and nowhere claim to be from Zechariah.
The problem of Zerubbabel.
In Zec 6:9-14, there is a prophecy about the coming messianic king, i.e., Zerubbabel
However, this prophecy never came true because for some unknown reason (rebellion, or what?) Zerubbabel was no longer allowed to rule by the Persians.
Thus the high priest Joshua who came back with Zerubbabel became the leading figure and the passage was changed to include only the high priest, though two power centers are spoken of, only the priest is referred to. There are real problems with the text because of this, and the original Hebrew is not recoverable.
This points to the Priests and their dominance and exclusiveness in the final editing of the book of Zechariah and their power as it developed.
Trito-Isaiah
Is found in chapters 24-27; 56-59 and 63-66. 60-52 may be even later, though.
These date from the same time as Haggai and Zechariah (~520 BCE)
The "I-Thou" relationship of Deutero-Isaiah gives way to a more transcendent concept.
The servant motif vanishes and there is more concern with cultic matters.
These see the exile as a new birth, a new type of Israel.
restoration is a new opportunity--that opportunity is to suffer and be ethical despite the oppression put upon them by outsiders (Persians and Greeks).
there will be a world catastrophe in which the old age will be destroyed and a new age will dawn with a new social order, religious order and all this because evil has been strained out.
Malachi
The last prophet in the Hebrew scriptures, lived about 500-450 BCE and is a cultic prophet dedicated to the temple and the priesthood.
The one theme dominating his thought is fidelity to the Lord's covenant and its teachings.
He condemns the priests for corrupting worship and misleading the people (1:6-2:9; 3:3-4) and charges his fellows to remain faithful to their Jewish wives and thus have "godly offspring".
From here on there is a transition from prophecy to Apocalypse.
This word simply means revelation and in this form, (which I will discuss much more thoroughly when we do apocalyptic literature in the New Testament section) uses symbols, visions, oracles of judgment, which assume that God reveals his plans to the prophet.
Ezra and Nehemiah
Probably not at the same time, but that is unclear because there are two Artaxerxes mentioned (one at 464 BCE and the other in 404 BCE) and we don't know which one was ruling when Ezra came to Judah.
Ezra brought with him the final draft of the priestly version of the scriptures which he read to the people and demanded obedience.
The presence of both these men pointed to the triumph of the priests and the correct cultus.
Men were told to put away foreign wives and purify themselves.
This is some of the first clear documentation of the concept of racial purity.
Though not part of the law and the prophets, it is the end of the P tradition of writing, along with I and II Chronicles, which is the Priestly version of history.
He describes the reigns of David and Solomon not as they were but as he felt they should have been.
David is particularly highly idealized and becomes the real founder of the temple and its ritual.
A primary interest of the Chronicler is in the staff of the post-exilic temple, the organization of priests, Levites, musicians, custodians and others.
Because of his manifest concern with Levites and singers in particular, it has been conjectured that the chronicler was both a Levite and singer.
His sources are mainly the books of Samuel and Kings, which are often quoted verbatim, though never mentioned by name.
He also utilized many other books of the Pentateuch.
His dates are probably after Ezra and Nehemiah’s reform, probably between 300 and 400 BCE.
Ruth and Jonah
Not everyone agreed with the narrow attitude of the priests and their writing and views.
In the same vein as Deutero-Isaiah, believing God's love was universal, were the two stories of Ruth and Jonah dating from the time of Ezra’s reforms.
Ruth is basically saying that a foreign wife was the great-grandmother of King David. (she was a Moabite) and
Jonah was saying that even the enemy, reading it back on Assyria, was capable of repentance and that the Lord accepted them.
it was Jonah who was mad when the Lord did so, and the lesson was that he should be happy rather than angry over the fact they responded to his preaching.
both show that others, besides Jews, could receive the Lord's favor!
Persian Period
The Persian rule was excellent; with Cyrus setting up Satraps as governors to administrate his government.
There was good communication throughout the empire and a cosmopolitan atmosphere with high rate of literacy:
A significant number of Jews stayed in Babylon, which from this time on was the center of intellectual activity within Judaism, though Egypt produced many great thinkers as well.
This was a time of significant literary activity in Babylon, Judah and Egypt.