The Second Temple Period - Report Example

LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY The Second Temple Period Submitted to Laurie Schweinsberg in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course NBST 510 D01 New Testament Introduction by Aaron M. Little April 15,2015 Introduction A lot is unknown about the Jewish history especially, the second temple period. However, several scholars over time have studied and come up with a large amount of facts that surround this period. For a start, it is important to note that this ranged between 530 BC and 70 AD at a time when the second Jerusalem temple was in existence. During this time sects of Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots and Pharisees were formed. The second temple stood in existence for 420 years but came to non-existence with the first Jewish-Roman War as well as the Roman Destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. During this time, the Jewish people were from most autonomous parts, and they were subjects of foreign rule by the Persians first, Greek’s and lastly the Romans1. The Second Temple period can be seen to be shaped by three major crises. The first significant event was the destruction of the Judah Kingdom when the Judeans lost their independence, the holy city, monarchy and First Temple and were exiled to Babylon. As a result, they faced a theological crisis that entailed the power, nature and God’s goodness and were threatened racially and culturally. The absence of prophets at the time left the people without divine guidance when they were in great need of guidance. The second major event was the growing influence of Hellenism, and the last crisis was the occupation of Romans in the region. At the time Herod, the Great was appointed as the king of the Jews by the Roman Senate. Apart from the external influence, the Jews were also plagued internally by politics dividing them further resulting in destruction of the temple, as well as the nation’s torturous exiles2. However, for 420 years, the Second Temple remained as a divine presence among the Jews, and its presence was sorely missed after its destruction. The Empire of Babylon occupies a significant place in the pages of the scripture. After the northern part of Israel was taken into the captivity by Assyria, Assyria ruled most of the world but it took only a short decade for fall of the empire before the onslaught of the Babylonians. Under King Nebuchadnezzar, Babylonia was a global empire that inherited most of the territories, as well as individuals conquered by Assyria. Nebuchadnezzar great rule in Babylon was over by 562 B.C as the last great ruler and after the death, the empire decline was rapid. The leaders of the Kingdom could no longer hold it together, as they were weakened by threats from their neighbors as well as internal divisions that existed among its leaders3. A rapid succession of rules followed assassinations and intrigues marked that. Nabondious came to power in 556 and precipitated divisions in the country that became fatal. He was considered as a religious rogue who worshiped the moon god Sin rather than the chief deity of Babylon Marduk. Due to his attempts of Sin as the chief deity, his rule was meet with much opposition and as a consequence of his actions he was forced to leave Babylon. He left Prince Belsharusur in charge of the state affairs. Although he eventually returned after some period, the state of the nation was divided, and it was difficult to recover. Looking at the facts presented by various scholars on the second temple period and its effect to the Jews, it can be asserted that this period was shaped by the three major crises that significantly affected the Jews; destruction of Judah Kingdom, influence of Hallenism, and internal politics. The Rise of Persia Under Cyrus As the internal division was weakening Babylon, another threat rose on the historical scene. Cyrus, the great ruler, emerged in 559 B.C as a leader of a province of Ashan. During his time of emergence, the province was under the over- lordship of the media and when he led the revolt against the overload Astyages, the Medium army went over to him surrendering the Astyages as prisoners. Cyrus advanced against Babylon opening the gates without any battle. The fall of Babylon marked the end of a semantic world power and with the emergence of Cyrus rule a new race came into the world dominion. Cyrus considered to be born as a ruler of men as he managed to unify the warring tribes; the Persians and Medes. Despite the distance between Babylonia and Egypt, Cyrus managed to drive within its edges and pushed through shifting the region under the Persian control4. The end of Babylon was under no much struggle as the citizens were so annoyed by the policies of the previous leader Nabondious, and they had little to fight against. One of the generals of Babylon ‘Gobryas’ collaborated with the Persians betraying his fellow locals. After discovering what was bound to result, Nabondious attempted to reinstate the worship of Marduk, but his efforts were late to inspire the people, and it backfired. The effort did nothing but it furthered the anger and demoralized the people from whom the gods had been taken away from.5 Within a short period, Cyrus was in full control of the entire Babylonian Empire and became the master of that region without any challenges. Within a period of less than a year, he took control of the whole region which now known as the ‘Middle East’ except Egypt. Persian rule and exile return After taking control of Babylon, Cyrus freed any captive Jew in Babylon who desired to return to Jerusalem to build the temple. He even went ahead to allow the vessels of silver and gold that had been previously stolen by Nebuchadnezzar during his reign to be returned6. Cyprus was welcomed in Babylon as a liberator as the people were tired of the previous rule. In return, he reciprocated by treating them with respect and generosity. Cyrus encouraged the restoration of Marduk for worship and even took part in the spiritual rituals himself as a sign of unifying the people and reversed other odious practices that were under Nabonidus reign. Thus, his rule was characterized by a policy of acceptance and tolerance of diverse beliefs and cultures that gave prophets hope that it was possible to restore back their land7. Following Nabonidus reign, he allowed freedom to his people, allowing any of the Israelites that had been captured as captives to return home if they were willing. Moreover, he not only allowed them to return, but also ordered the rebuilding of the temple ‘Jerusalem Temple’ as well as the return of the vessels that had been looted from the temple. He went ahead to provide finances to aid in the successful completion of the temple. A prince of Judah ‘Sheshbazzar’ according to the ancient rules was provided authority over the territory to lay the foundations of building the temple, and he led the first return of the Israelites 8. Not much has been discussed about Sheshbazzar, so it is unclear as to what happened afterwards or how many Israelites returned home. However, there was no mass exodus of people willing to return home as life was good in Babylon, and few were willing to return and face the hardships of rebuilding their destroyed land back again. Great difficulties faced those who returned as those who had been left back in the motherland had taken up the land and considered it to be theirs. They were resentful of those who returned, and conflicts were bound to result as even those who returned considered themselves as the fit heirs of the land. As well, the surrounding tribes considered the return as a threat in the area. Thus, throughout the period of the following century, the Israelites who had returned were harassed by their fellow local tribesmen who saw no any benefit of having a walled city built on their land. Religious problems also resulted in some considered it as a failed promise as it was difficult to determine how the promise of the great promise would emerge as prophesized. The Economic crisis also resulted in harsh weather conditions and poor weather resulted in the production of poor crops9. Because of the hardships that the community faced, it was difficult to continue rebuilding the temple, and the activity came to a stop as people merely concentrated on surviving. The Persians had been promised support that never materialized and their leadership forgot them. The returnees who were driven by high hopes of rebuilding the temple faced an uncertain future in which there was a real danger that the community was going to be extinct. Prophet Zechariah and Haggai, however, encouraged the people to get back to their project to complete it and with time, the temple was completed10. However, the temple was no near the representation of Solomon’s temple as there was no skilled labor employed in doing the construction and was considered as a mere shadow of the Solomon’s Temple. The temple, however, provided a center for religious glory once more. Destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70 The Jerusalem siege was as a result of the First Jewish-Roman War where the Roman army conquered Jerusalem city that had been occupied by the Jewish, and Emperor Titus led it. As a result, the city was conquered and the famous Second Temple was destroyed. The destruction of the national entity and the Temple resulted due to the warfare emanating from the Jewish themselves as the warring groups in Jerusalem at the time destroyed all the hopes of victory. At the time, the leadership passed on a permanent basis from the hands of politicians to religious leaders11. Despite the success in repelling previous attacks that had been launched by the Romans, the Jewish were disunited as their leaders could not agree on their differing ideologies. Thus, the lacked the appropriated leadership and training in preparation for the battle against the Romans that was bound to result. The Romans surrounded the city and put much pressure on the water and food supplies. This was achieved by allowing the inhabitants into the city to celebrate Passover and refused to allow them back out. However, the Jewish were able to sneak some food supplies but they were not adequate. They were hostile and killed a number of Roman soldiers. In an effort for seeking for peace, Titus the leader sent Josephus, a representative for a negotiation but the process ended up with violence, and Titus was almost captured but managed to escape12. The Romans were able to penetrate the third and second walls built in an effort of conquering the city, and they turned their attention to the Fortress of Antonia and street fighting. To avoid heavy losses, the Zealots retreated to the temple. However, the Jewish attacks prevented a siege construction towards the Fortress of Antonia, and the Romans failed once more. However, after several attempts, the Romans launched a street attack, overcame the Jews, and took control of the Fortress that provided a perfect position of attacking the temple. In the progress, a Roman soldier threw a burning stick on the Temples walls that caught fire and was destroyed. The Romans objective was not destroying the temple as a result of the massive expansions that had been done by King Herod rather, they wanted to capture it and transform it into a temple for the Roman Emperor13. The fire spread to other parts of the city, and the Jews were eventually overpowered. The Jews who survived escaped through underground tunnels and the city fell into the hands of complete Roman control leading to the destruction of the Second Temple. Hellenism’s influence upon Jewish culture The period of Hellenization began with the spread of Greek culture by Alexander the great late in the 4th century. The period was characterized by a wave of Greek colonization leading to the establishment of Greek kingdoms and cities. As a result of Greek assimilation, the culture, languages, history and civilization of non-Greek communities were altered. The era lasted from the death of Alexander until the Roman defeat in Egypt14. It did not completely assimilate the Jewish culture and any other culture that meet the Greek culture, but significant changes were enduring and irrevocable. Since the Babylonian exile, Jewish communities were scattered all over Asia, and the Diaspora Jewish communities felt the effects of Hellenism more. The question was how much the Greek culture had their Jewish culture risking total assimilation and could end up losing their identity. In terms of religion, they were unique in their monotheism and ethical practices and codes. The religion was exclusive intolerant in what was deemed as foreign as it required the members to remain a distance from any other non-Jewish culture15. Thus, the engagement of Hellenism in the religious sphere of the Jews was not easy. The degree of assimilation into the Jewish culture varied from place to place throughout Judea and Jerusalem. However, those living in the Diaspora outside Jerusalem were more Hellenized into the Greek practice than those who resided in the holy land as a result of the influence of the surrounding non-Jewish cultures. However, even the assimilated Jewish individuals were able to retain Jewish basic practices such as festivals and Sabbath keeping16. According to Norich & Eliav, the religious life of the Jews underwent dramatic changes in the period of Hellenism17. Judaism with all nuances and its varieties became so much different from that which was known and practiced in the First Temple period or even under the early eras of Hellenization. Beliefs and practices that people practiced changed, new institution rose, new religious leadership forms emerged, the number and books that were regarded as sacred expanded greatly as new holidays were added to the Jewish calendar and other older holidays were removed from the calendar. The influence of Hellenism was very evident in the language art, governments, architecture, literature, economics and athletics of the communities involved. The Greek names were given to Jewish children and at times they were changed to Greek names for example, Joshua to Jason. Furniture, food and clothing incorporated were Greek in origin as Greek philosophy was taught in Jewish schools such as the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and Stoicism18. There was also the assimilation of the Oriental cult and religion. Certain government practices were introduced into the Jewish communities turning the Jewish to Greek ways. Consequently, many Jews felt that ways and culture were outdated and embraced the Greek ways while for others Greek assimilation was a great concern to them. The Greeks considered their ways of life and language superior to the Jewish and other communities whom they considered as barbarians. Thus, for them Hellenism was a tool of unifying the vast empire through the introduction of the Greek ways of life throughout the land by founding hundreds of cities. Conclusion The period of the second Temple period in the Jewish history was between 530 BC and 70 AD a time when the second Jerusalem temple was in place. The second temple stood in existence for 420 years but came to non-existence with the first Jewish-Roman War. At the time, Nebuchadnezzar great rule in Babylon ended by 562 B.C and after the death, the empire decline was rapid. Weakened by internal divisions and the threats of the ambitious neighbors, the leaders could no longer hold the empire together. As the internal division was weakening Babylon, a new threat emerged on the scene of history. Cyrus the great ruler emerged. He advanced against Babylon opening the gates without any battle. The fall of Babylon marked the end of a semantic world power and with the emergence of Cyrus rule a new race came into the world dominion resulting to the Persians era. The Persian rule was characterized by the freeing of any captive Jews in Babylon who desired to return to Jerusalem to build the temple. The period of Hellenization began with the spread of Greek culture by Alexander the great late in the 4th century. It was characterized by a wave of Greek colonization leading to the establishment of Greek kingdoms and cities. The Greeks considered their ways of life and language superior to the Jewish and other communities whom they considered as barbarians. Thus, for them Hellenism was a tool of unifying the vast empire through the introduction of the Greek ways of life among other cultures. The Hellenism influence is what drove the Jews to adopt the Greek culture to the extent of giving up on the Jewish values. Bibliography Barzilai, G., 2007. Incidental Biblical Exegesis in the Qumran Scrolls and Its Importance for the Study of the Second Temple Period. Dead Sea Discoveries, 14, pp.1–24. Choi, J.H., 2009. Traditions at odds: A study of the reception history of the Pentateuch in biblical and Second Temple literature. Davies, P.R., 2005. Imperialism and Jewish Society 200 B.C.E. to 640 C.E. (review). Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, 23, pp.154–156. Edelman, D. V, 2005. The origins of the “Second” Temple: Persian imperial policy and the rebuilding of Jerusalem., Falk, D., 2007. Normative and Sectarian Judaism in the Second Temple Period. Journal for the Study of Judaism, 38, pp.441–443. Feldman, L., 2002. HOW MUCH HELLENISM IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL? Journal for the Study of Judaism, 33, pp.290–313. Janzen, D., 2000. 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