2/8 Lecture

Persian Jerusalem & "2nd Temple" Period

Persian King Cyrus' Edict of Return, 539 BCE
-Cyrus announces a general return to homelands, fostering the image of "Liberator" for the Jews in exile
-Evidence comes from “Cyrus Cylinder” and 2 Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1-3, and Isaiah 45:1-7 (Cyrus is portrayed as Messiah- this becomes problematic because Cyrus is a non-Davidic King)

Judaism and Zoroastrianism: Influence of Persian religion on Judaism
-Many books of the Bible written during the exile and were thus influenced by Persians
-six periods of Creation ~ 6 days of Creation; Mashya&Mashyana ~ Adam&Eve; introduction of evil counterpart, introduction of angels, etc.

Rebuilding of the “2^nd” Temple, 515 BCE
-Prophet Ezekiel’s vision of the Mobile God (Ezekiel 1): this vision is important because it is the first time the Ark reappears after it gets lost, which shows that God has reemerged and is still “here” for the people again.
-Temple rebuilt under Darius I (Haggai 1). Its construction and destruction parallel those of the First Temple – constructed “in the 2^nd month” and destruction of “9^th of Ab” (Ezra 3:8)
-Is Temple even needed after the exile? People have adapted to practicing their faith without the temple after the destruction of the First Temple and the exile. What defines being a Jew is praying, singing, reading/interpreting, celebrating holidays, and etc. (more of a lifestyle)
-Other “2^nd” Temples built because of different interpretations (Elephantine letter 30, Dead Sea Scrolls)
-Nehemiah 4:16-23: A lot of conflict and tension involving the reconstruction of the temple.

Post-exilic Jerusalem
-3 camps of Jews: 1-stay in Babylon, 2-go back to Jerusalem, 3-never left Jerusalem -> tension
-Population increase
-Poverty: Heavy taxation by Persian Empire
-Conflict with Samaritans (from North, were already in Jerusalem): Jews (worship on 2^nd Temple) vs. Samaritans (Worship differently on Temple on Mt. Gerizim)

What is the significance of Ezekiel’s vision of the new Ark? After the exile, hadn’t the Jews already rationalized their situation by saying that it wasn’t God’s physical presence but merely His Name that resided in the Temple? But I guess this new vision could still relate, because I don’t think the actual, physical Ark was ever found… it just gets replaced by the “Mobile Ark” vision.

One part of this lecture that stood out to me was the Persian influence, mainly from Zoroastrianism, on the Bible and Judaism as a whole. How can a religion that was already established be so easily adaptable to outside influences? How can authors of the Bible pick and choose from a completely different religion what they want to incorporate into their own faith? This also relates back to when Jews were dealing with cognitive dissonance—they had to reinterpret and make changes to their old beliefs to make more sense out of their current circumstance. Is religion really that easily changed and modified?