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Second Temple Judaism
Ezra-Nehemiah to the Maccabees
Approximate Timeline (1)
• 540 Cyrus
• 520 Rebuilding Temple
• 458 Traditional date of Ezra
• 445 Nehemiah
• 333 Alexander the Great
Approximate Timeline (2)
• 323 Division of the Empire
• 200 Seleucids take Judah
• 175 Antiochus Epiphanes reigns
• 168 Maccabees Revolt
• 164 Rededication of Temple
• 63 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
• 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 10-12]– 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