Transcript Second Temple Judaism

Second Temple Judaism
Ezra-Nehemiah to the
Maccabees
Approximate Timeline (1)
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540
520
458
445
333
Cyrus
Rebuilding Temple
Traditional date of Ezra
Nehemiah
Alexander the Great
Approximate Timeline (2)
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323
200
175
168
164
63
Division of the Empire
Seleucids take Judah
Antiochus Epiphanes reigns
Maccabees Revolt
Rededication of Temple
Roman rule begins
Ezra 1-6
The Book Ezra
• In Hebrew, includes Ezra and Nehemiah
– Ezr 1-6 Rebuilding temple
– Ezr 7 – Neh 13 Rebuilding Wall and
Community
• Variant book (1 Esdras)
– Eliminates Nehemiah story
– Emphasizes Zerubbabel over Jeshua
– Ties to 2 Chronicles
Building the Temple
• Decree of Cyrus [1:1-4; 6:1-5]
• Opposition of “enemies” [4:1-5]
• Confusion of temple and walls – and of
kings [4:6-24]
• Haggai and Zechariah [5:1; 6:14]
– Encourage wall-building
– No evidence of support for rebellion
– Last positive reference to current prophets
Ezra 7-10; Nehemiah 9
Ezra in His Book (1)
• Mission from Artaxerxes
– Ezra 7:11-26
• Trip home
– Praise [Ezra 7:27-28]
– Completing community [Ezra 8:15-20]
– Fasting preparation [Ezra 8:21-25]
Ezra in His Book (2)
• Crisis of foreign wives
– Ezra 9:1-4; 10:9-17
• Reading the law
– Nehemiah 8:1-8
• Feast of booths
– Nehemiah 8:13-18
Nehemiah 1-7; 12-13
Nehemiah in His Memoirs (1)
• Mission from Artaxerxes
– Nehemiah 2:1-10
• Rebuilding walls
– Nehemiah 2:17-20
• Righting economic injustice
– Nehemiah 5:1-13
Nehemiah in His Memoirs (2)
• Settling of Jerusalem
– Nehemiah 7:4-5
• [Nehemiah 11:1-2]
• Keeping Sabbath
– Nehemiah 13:15-22
• Crisis of foreign marriages
– Nehemiah 13:23-28
A Different View
• Third Isaiah
– [See previous class notes]
• Jonah
– Forgiveness for the oppressors
• Elephantine
– Lost Jewish colony
• Ruth
– David’s Moabite ancestry
Daniel 1-6
The Stories
• Daniel 1: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah prosper
• Daniel 2: Nebuchadnezzar’s statue dream
• Daniel 3: The fiery furnace
• Daniel 4: Nebuchadnezzar with the beasts
• Daniel 5: Belshazzar’s banquet
• Daniel 6: Darius and the lion’s den
Other Stories
• Additions to Greek Daniel
– Susanna
– Bel and the dragon
– Prayer of Azariah and Song of the three
• Esther
– Hebrew and Greek
• Tobit
– Story of “Jewish” exiles from Israel
Daniel 7-12
Historical Cast of Characters
• Antiochus Epiphanes
– “Epimanes”
• Mattathias
– Priest in the village of Modin
• Judas
– Maccabeus [The Hammer]
• Jonathan and Simon
– His brothers
Daniel’s Visions
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The four beasts [Daniel 7]
The ram and he-goat [Daniel 8]
Daniel’s prayer – and 70 weeks [Daniel 9]
Vision of the man who predicts fall of
Persia and battles among Greeks, until they
lose in battle against Michael [Daniel 1012]
– Daniel 12:5-13
Related Works
• 1 and 2 Maccabees [partisan histories]
• 3 Maccabees [in Egypt]
• Judith
– Fictional battle won by resourceful woman
• Apocalyptic
– 2 Esdras
– Revelation
– 1 Enoch
Legacy for the Future
• Models of witness / martyrdom
• Divisions in the community
– Sadducees, Samaritans, Pharisees, Essenes,
People of the Land
• Hope
– Community rebirth
– Individual resurrection