The History of the Second Temple Period - Report Example

YourFirst YourLast 01 May The History of the Second Temple Period Part I Introduction The Second Temple era spans approximately over 550 years. This period began in the late Sixth Century B.C and it ended with the obliteration of the Temple of Jerusalem by the Roman Empire in 70 C.E1. The Second Temple Period started with the decline of the kingdom of Judah. Judeans lost their independence, and most of them were held captives and exiled to the city and regions of Babylon. Jews were confronted with many challenges including the decline of their religious beliefs and practices as they came into proximity with people of different religious beliefs and practices. The Second Temple period highlights the plight of the Jews under different rules and culminates with the Jewish-Roman war that destroyed the second temple. The Decline of Babylon The Kingdom of Babylon is prominently placed in the Holy Scriptures. Such prominence is bestowed on the Babylonian rule because most of Israels history revolved around its rise to power. Even approximately, after 500 years, it could develop into a classic representation of wickedness in the New Testament apocalyptic custom. Soon after the demise of King Nebuchadnezzar, the end was nigh for the Babylonian rule. Destabilized by irreconcilable differences and internal rifts in addition to constant threats from ambitious neighbors, the then leaders of the kingdom were unable to restore peace and tranquility within and outside the empire2. Nabonidus, a leader who came to power after a series of assassinations in Babylon, was forced to leave the kingdom after a successful uprising. The leader triggered disunions in the empire that would become disastrous. Nabonidus was a religious neer-do-well, who chose to worship the moon god "Sin" instead of the traditional chief god of Babylon, Marduk. His main undoing was his effort to try to replace Marduk with Sin as the chief deity of Babylon. Citizens became suspicious of his rule, and he was forced to flee the kingdom. Even though he would eventually return, the Babylonian Kingdom stayed divided. It would never come back to what it was before. The Persian Rule The fleeing of Nabonidus left a power vacuum in the Kingdom of Babylon. At the same time, Cyrus, a leader within the Persian Empire had managed to unify tribes that were engaging each other in continuous battles. The king of Persia launched a determined drive to enlarge his territories towards the west. Within a few years, Cyrus had managed to gain significant territories that had been under the Babylonian rule. Cyrus managed to enter and conquer Babylon Empire without much of a fight, as some soldiers defected to the Persians and joined Cyrus in the onslaught3. With Babylon within his grasp, Cyrus had control of the whole Middle-East regions except Egypt. After conquering Babylon, Cyrus was hailed as an emancipator, especially when contrasted with the former policies of Babylon and Assyria. He handled people with dignity and humility, gaining many loyal followers along the way. Because he had taken over the Babylon territory without much of a resistance, the nation was spared the destruction and the aftermath of armed fighting. His reign was characterized by high levels of acceptance and tolerance. His policy of understanding and tolerance gave hope to the Israelites held in captivity, making them believe that through these events, God would liberate them and take them back to their land. Subsequent to his tolerant policies, Cyrus issued his orders that eventually allow the Israelis to go back home. In addition, he ordered the reconstruction of the temple and the return of all items that had been burgled in Jerusalem, financing the reconstruction with funds from his treasury. Despite the farsighted visions of Prophet Isaiah, there were no mass exits from Babylon, and no new Davidic dominion came to be. Many Israelites were reluctant to go and encounter hardships back from their land because life had been comfortable for them in Babylon4. For those who returned, they faced many religious and economic hardships of what some individuals regarded as unsuccessful assurances from the prophets. Although they had been granted the liberty to go back as the prophets had predicted, they faced unfavorable weather conditions that resulted in reduced crop yields. Zerubbabel acted as the head of the Israelites that had returned from Babylon. He was bestowed with some official permissions and authority over the Persian courts. He was given the command to spearhead the reconstruction of the Jerusalem Temple. Zerubbabel was in the company of a high priest known as Joshua, who became the religious head of the reorganizing Israeli community. However, the temple reconstruction works came to a stop as individuals concentrated on looking for a means of survival, given the terrible climatic conditions that had existed for the longest while5. Support from the Persian courts had also ceased, prompting the reconstruction efforts to be dented significantly. Cyrus, the leader who had permitted the Israelites to go back to their homeland, passed on after seven years. His eldest son Cambyses replaced him. Darius of Persia took the throne after an imposter leader had occupied taken over for approximately nine months. In his second year of leadership, Darius facilitated the completion of the temple partially, under the motivation of the intense guidelines and admonitions of Prophet Zechariah and Haggai. The temple was officially consecrated in 516 B.C, approximately 21 years after coming back from captivity. The Israelites were happy and rejoiced ecstatically, even though it was apparent that the Jewish community was far from being independent. Hellenistic Era The Hellenistic period features one of the most far-reaching military excursions in ancient history. The then King of Macedonia, Alexander the Great and his multitude of armies advanced eastwards, dominating Persia and its territories and finally getting to the Indian border. His capture of Jerusalem ended the Persian reign of over 200 years in Judea6. Alexander the great died in the year 323 B.C. His demise resulted in a split of his empire amongst two of his loyal generals: Seleucus controlled the Minor Asia while another general known as Ptolemy took over Egypt. The kings conquest of the Mediterranean region introduced a culture referred to as Hellenism. Famous cities mentioned in the scriptures such as Samaria and Galilee became midpoints of the Hellenic way of life. Jewish populaces stayed in towns during the Hellenistic domain. Some had existed in Babylon from the time when they had gone into exile during the times of the Persian Empire. Others relocated to regions outside Palestine for financial reasons7. There were significant Jewish communities living in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia and Egypt among other places. Jewish life rotated within two focal points: The Torah and the temple in Jerusalem, where sacrifices were continuously offered to Yahweh. Local gatherings were nevertheless becoming even more popular in synagogues where the Jewish community could meet and deliberate on the scriptures while also praying collectively. The synagogues acted as symbols of custom, and they additionally brought them together. The Torah comprised of doctrines that guided the Jewish way of life. The Hasmonean Dynasty Starts with a well-known narrative of Hanukkah. Subsequent to King Alexander the Greats takeover of much of the prehistoric domain, Jerusalem was put under the management of the Seleucid Greek leaders who originated from the Hellenistic Empire. The Seleucids limited Torah learning and violated the Temple of Jerusalem, in an effort to remove "backward" Jewish way of life and religious beliefs. The Greeks desired the Jews to behave in a similar manner in everything they did, from eating and performing the duties. They therefore despised the Jews who continued to practice their traditional way of life. The Hasmonean revolt started at a place known as Modein at around 166 B.C, when a priest from Judea called Mattathias Hasmoneus slayed two persons: an individual from Judea who was offering sacrifices to pagan gods at a Modeinian altar and an officer from the Seleucid Kingdom who was representing King Antiochus IV. The representative of the king was overseeing the offering of the sacrifice at the time he was killed. Mattathias’s intended on sending a strong message to King Antiochus IV, who at that time was ruler of the Seleucid Kingdom and who was constantly interfering with Judean matters. Mattathias’s actions were in response to the king’s efforts to Hellenize the people of Judea and to manipulate them to accept the pagan religious practices. His actions ignited a Judean rebellion against the Seleucid Kingdom that was later recognized as the Hasmonean revolt. In other quarters, it is referred to as the Maccabean uprising. One year after fighting had ended with a Maccabees win, the Hellenists did not agree to give in and accept defeat. Unhappy that the traditional Jewish communities were once again in control of the religion, and, that, the Torah had been reinstated in the regions of Judea, they frequently called on the Seleucids to direct more troops in their direction. Political manipulations in Syria on numerous instances protected the Maccabees by terrifying the Syrian commandants home after rushed peace talks with Judah to defend their individual stations. However, the war lugged on for an extended period. After Mattathias had died, the headship of the uprising transferred to his son called Judas Maccabeus. Judas’s strategies were so successful in battle, so much that he managed to get consecutive victories over several groups of various armies, who had been dispatched to end the insurgent’s revolt. They successively arrived Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple, actions that are annually remembered by the Hanukkah festivities. Subsequent to additional Hasmonean conquests, the Seleucids reestablished independence to Judea, as the "Land of Israel" was now so-called, and, with the downfall of the Seleucid Empire, Jewish freedom was attained8. Under the Hasmonean rule, which stayed for approximately 70 years, the empire recovered boundaries not far short of Kings Solomons kingdom, the governmental union under Jewish decree was achieved and Jewish life thrived. The Roman Rule and the Destruction of the Second Temple Subsequent to the Seleucids replacements by the Romans, a Hasmonean King known as Hyrcanus the second was given limited mandate under the Roman ruler of Damascus. The Jewish community had developed resentment to the freshly installed command and the subsequent years witnessed recurrent insurgencies. A final effort to try to bring back the prior glory of the Hasmonean rule was attempted by Matthias Antigonus, whose conquest and demise brought to an end the Hasmonean rule9. The region later became a domain of the Roman law. Around 38 B.C, Herod, a relative to the former King of Hasmoneans was chosen the leader of Judea by the Roman administrators. Allowed almost unrestricted independence in the nations internal matters, he ended up becoming one of the most influential rulers in the eastern region of the Roman Kingdom. A great fan of Greco-Roman ethos, Herod propelled an enormous structural program, which comprised the towns of Caesarea and Sebaste in addition to the strongholds at Masada. He additionally refashioned the Temple buildings into one of the greatest excellent structures of its period. However, notwithstanding his many accomplishments, Herod became unsuccessful to gain the trust and backing of his Jewish subjects. Many years after King Herods demise, the nation of Judea came under direct Roman rule. Mounting fury against increased Roman dominance of the Jewish society caused erratic violence, which worsened into a full-blown revolt in 67 C.E. Stronger Roman armies led by General Titus were in the end victorious, destroying Jerusalem to the ground. The total devastation the Second Temple was disastrous for the Jewish populaces. Past research shows that the Jewish community suffered many fatalities and thousands of others were taken into captivity and sold as slaves. Part II The Roman Empire The Jews had been under the leadership of the Greeks (Alexander the Great) for a very long time. However, his demise led to the separation of his kingdom into two10. The Romans would later conquer the subdivided kingdom, and the Jewish community would be free again. However, they did not enjoy their freedom long enough as the Roman rulers established their rule and placed it under the Palestine leader from the tribe of Esau. Soon after his reign had ended, his son called Herod "the Great" was selected as the ruler of the city of Galilee. King Herod was a distrustful, ruthless and shrewd man. Herod wittingly enlarged the sureness of the Roman ruling classes. He was acknowledged as the King of the Jews. To find approval amongst the Jews, King Herod reinstated the Temple of Jerusalem. Having been crowned with the King title, he was still outranked by Caesar, the Emperor of Rome. Since the period that the Jews started being governed by the Romans, they were constantly under a Roman leader, a second-in-command of the Roman Emperor. The Jews were permitted to retain their board elders; however, the authority of the council was stringently restricted. The global power of the Roman Kingdom trembled paganism to its bases11. Rome was the center of the globe and there assembled the researchers, authors, traders and other agents of all the states. Each one carried with him his individual pagan belief. Most of the pagans started to lose confidence and hopefulness in the future. With the purpose of seeking blissful stupor, they began to engage in every sort of delight. Several of those individuals fell into hopelessness and terminated their lives by committing suicide. However, most of them, seeing that the globe was headed for obliteration, nonetheless upheld the expectation that from somewhere would arise a Messiah, a savior sent by God or originating from among the people. The Jews, disseminated all over the world after their imprisonment and captivity, spread the information about the impending arrival of the Redeemer of the world. Consequently, the observation of the best individuals in the world of paganism started to turn to Palestine. Amongst the Romans there ascended the common conviction that in the East there would shortly originate a dominant king who would conquer the whole world. In Palestine, amongst the Jews, the anticipation of the Savior was particularly high12. Everybody felt that the period was impending for the attainment of the predictions and the redemption of Israel. Bibliography Coggins, R. 2012. Judah Between East And West: The Transition From Persian To Greek Rule (Ca. 400-200 BCE). Edited By LESTER L. GRABBE And ODED LIPSCHITS.. The Journal Of Theological Studies 63 (1): 228-230. doi:10.1093/jts/fls005. Collins, John J. 1999. The Hellenization Of Jerusalem In The Pre-Maccabean Era. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Institute of Jewish Studies, the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature. Feldman, Louis H., and Joshua Efron. 1994. Studies On The Hasmonean Period. Journal Of The American Oriental Society 114 (1): 87. doi:10.2307/604957. Kasher, Aryeh, and Steven L. Derfler. 1993. Derfler, "The Hasmonean Revolt". The Jewish Quarterly Review 83 (3/4): 419. doi:10.2307/1455169. Köstenberger, Andreas J, L. Scott Kellum, and Charles L Quarles. 2009. The Cradle, The Cross, And The Crown. Nashville, Tenn.: B & H Academic. Little, Robert. 1814. The Decline And Fall Of Spiritual Babylon. Birmingham: Printed for the Society, By J. Belcher. Robert, André, and A Feuillet. 1965. Introduction To The New Testament. New York: Desclée. Williamson, H. G. M., and H. Shanks. 1990. Ancient Israel. A Short History From Abraham To The Roman Destruction Of The Temple. Vetus Testamentum 40 (3): 374. doi:10.2307/1519551. Zeitlin, Solomon. 1946. A Note On The Chronology Of The Destruction Of The Second Temple. The Jewish Quarterly Review 37 (2): 165. doi:10.2307/1452070. Read More