by hadassah | Nov 17, 2015 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
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 conquered the Babylonians and ruled most of the then-known world, allowed the Jews to...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period, The Parts of the Whole
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 all the books of the Bible. He also testifies to Jewish loyalty to...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
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 the Lord when the wicked will be...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
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, represented here by chapters 8 and 14, are taken by...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
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 Lord came through the prophet Haggai- 2 Speak to Zerubbabel...
by hadassah | Apr 8, 2008 | Jewish Literature and Culture in the Persian Period
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 people to build their own homes while neglecting...