This week's reading in Ezra and Nehemiah recounts the return of a few members of the tribe of Judah to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and city walls. Some things happened in this time period that ended up influencing the culture of the Jews from that time forward. To understand the social structure at the time of the New Testament, you have to understand the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Prophets vs Scribes:
Many scholars believe that it was during the Babylonian captivity that the traditions and stories of the Jews were written down and compiled into book of scripture. The leaders of the Jews knew that it would be easy for the people, while they were living in Babylon, to give into social pressure and be absorbed into Babylonian culture. To resist this influence, someone or ones compiled a book of scripture that was focused on confirming Jewish identity and giving hope for a life of freedom after captivity. Once this scripture was compiled, people began to rely on it to inform them on the will of God instead of relying on contemporary prophets for guidance. Of course, not many people could read the new scripture because they were illiterate. Moreover, the book was written in the language of the ancient religion, Hebrew, while most of the people switched to speaking Aramaic as their common tongue during their captivity. This gave rise to a new class of religious leaders that were to become the "Scribes" mentioned in the New Testament. Their role was read and study the written law and then interpret it for the unlearned masses. From this period on, people tended to look to the Scribes as the source for the word of God instead of to prophets.
Insuring Clan Purity
After the Jews returned to Jerusalem, they were a bit shell shocked. Before their capture they had believed that Jerusalem and the Temple could never be destroyed because of the Lord's covenant with David. After their captivity they began to realize that the safety of the city and the Temple was dependent on their obedience to the commandments of the Torah. As a result, they went a little overboard in their efforts to ensure that certain rules about clan purity were observed. In Deuteronomy 3:7 the House of Israel is commanded not to intermarry into non-Israelite tribes. The rules for priests were even more strict (Lev 21:15). It was at this time that the Jews began to require people to present a genealogy to become a priest, or even work on the temple. They needed their mother's genealogy, because status as a Jew was passed through the mother. Priests also needed their father's genealogy because eligibility to serve as a priest came through a patriarchal line. This requirement of clan purity led to the alienation of the Samaritans who had been left behind when the northern tribes where carried away by the Assyrians, but who intermarried with people the Assyrians had transplanted into the region. During the Babylonian captivity, the Samarians, (later Samaritan) continued to worship the Lord with sacrifices in local shrines, but when the Jews returned from captivity they condemned the way the Samaritans were worshiping. Because they did not have pure bloodlines they were rejected and despised.
Zerubbabel's Temple
The temple that Zerubbabel built was smaller and less ornate than Solomon's temple. The Temple was defiled and then rededicated after the Maccabean revolt of 167 BCE, but when the Herod family came into power, they expanded the temple complex to the state that existed in Jesus' day. Although the temple was rebuilt, and many of the implements of the temple were returned from Babylon, there is no evidence that the Ark of the Covenant was ever recovered or rebuilt. Evidence is that the interior of the Holy of Holies was empty from this time forward.
The End of the Biblical History
The stories found in Ezra and Nehemiah stand at the end of the timeline covered by the Old Testament. All the stories and wisdom writings that follow these books occurred before or (a few) during this period. The walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt around 440 Century BCE and the last recorded prophet was Malachi who wrote in about 430 BCE. It would be interesting to read a version of the Bible where the books were all arranged chronologically.
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