The Hebrew Bible Chapter five of the Book of Daniel describes the royal banquet of King Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was the Babylonian emperor who had conquered Jerusalem, exiled its people, destroyed the Temple and carried off its sacred vessels in triumph. Interestingly, the Bible portrays him as eventually acknowledging his hubris and […]
Overview 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Christine Hayes, Open Yale Courses (Transcription), 2006. Overview- Jews in the Persian Period (520-332 BCE) …and the Rise 537, Teddy Kollek and Moshe Pearlman, Jerusalem- Sacred City of Mankind, Steimatzky Ltd., Jerusalem, 1991. Biblical History- Jeremiah, Ezra and Esther, c. 586-330 BCE, Steven Feldman, COJS. Primary sources […]
Last time we started looking at the psalms and a number of different genres or forms in which the psalms appear. We were just looking at a psalm last time which seems to explicitly reject the Deuteronomistic interpretation of the national history and the national tragedy, depicting Israel as innocent, and rebuking God for his […]
The Hebrew Bible Soon after the return of the first exiles, sacrifices were renewed, even before the Temple was rebuilt. 3-1 When the seventh month arrived—the Israelites being settled in their towns—the entire people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brother priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel […]
The Hebrew Bible By 520 B.C.E., despite the fact that the Temple had still not been rebuilt, sacrifice began, as explained in this excerpt from the book of Ezra. 3-1 When the seventh month arrived—the Israelites being settled in their towns—the entire people assembled as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak […]
Already before the rebuilding of the Temple commenced, the Samaritans, a mixed people made up of descendants of the North Israelites who were left in the land after the exile by Assyria in 722 B.C.E. and foreigners brought in by the Assyrians, asked to participate. Because of their questionable lineage, they were rebuffed by the […]
The Hebrew Bible Biblical sources assert that after sacrifices were quickly restarted after the Return, the building of the Temple was delayed. Eventually, permission was obtained from the Persian officials, as well as financial support, for the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. The book of Ezra reproduces an edict to this effect said to […]
Ezra arrived in Jerusalem to furnish the Temple, gather the Levites to minister there, and allow the returning exiles to sacrifice for the first time in the Temple. 7-1 After these events,53 during the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia, Ezra son of Seraiah son of Azariah son of Hilkiah… 6 that Ezra came up […]
The Hebrew Bible Ezra was soon confronted with the problem of intermarriage of some Judeans with women from the neighboring nations. Reasoning that the Torah forbade such unions, Ezra forced these men to divorce their wives. 9-1 When this was over, the officers approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the […]
The Hebrew Bible Nehemiah, cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, hearing about the destruction of Jerusalem and the dire conditions there, takes it upon himself to go personally and implement the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. Each section was built privately by a group or family despite local opposition which caused the builders to have to […]