by hadassah | Nov 17, 2015 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
Who Returned First—Ezra or Nehemiah? Aaron Demsky, Bible Review (12:2) 1996. Forty-seven years after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 B.C.E. and deported many of the people to exile in Babylon, Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, who had...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period, The Parts of the Whole
Josephus, Against Apion I, 37-43: Authenticity of Scripture The historian, Josephus, argues the authenticity of the Jewish tradition by referring to the antiquity, accuracy, and divine inspiration of the Jewish scriptures. In the process, he obliquely refers to...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
Malachi 2-3: The Last Prophets Malachi’s prophetic career is probably to be dated to 500-450 B.C.E. He calls for morality and fidelity to God’s teachings, as well as emphasizing the role of the priests as teachers of Torah. Malachi looks forward to the Day of...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
Zechariah 3-14: The Prophecy of Restoration The prophecies of Zechariah date from 520-518 B.C.E. The prophet called for the rebuilding of the Temple and its ritual, as we see in the excerpts from chapters 3-4. The prophecies in the second half of the book,...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
Haggai 2: Recalling the Splendor of the First Temple Haggai encourages those who remembered the greater glory of the First Temple, proclaiming that the Second Temple would eventually surpass it. 2-1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
Haggai 1: Rebuilding the House of the Lord Haggai, prophesying around 520 B.C.E., yearned for the restoration of the Temple to be completed and called upon the nation to devote itself to this project. He attributed all unprofitable activities to the desire of...
