Second Temple Judaism is the Jewish religion as it developed during the Second Temple period , which began with the construction of the Second Temple around 516 BCE and ended with the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
127-707: Yahweh was an ancient Levantine deity who was venerated in Israel and Judah . Though no consensus exists regarding his origins, scholars generally contend that he is associated with Seir , Edom , Paran and Teman , and later with Canaan . His worship reaches back to at least the Early Iron Age , and likely to the Late Bronze Age , if not somewhat earlier. While the Israelites held him as their national god , their religion—known as Yahwism , involving
254-566: A Messiah of David (i.e. a descendant). From these ideas, Second Temple Judaism would later emerge, whence Christianity , Rabbinic Judaism , and Islam . Although the specific process by which the Israelites adopted monotheism is unknown, the transition was a gradual one and was not totally accomplished during the First Temple period. It is unclear when the worship of Yahweh alone began. The earliest known portrayals of Yahweh as
381-472: A Messiah of (meaning descended from) David. Wisdom, or hokmah , implied the learning acquired by study and formal education: "those who can read and write, those who have engaged in study, and who know literature, are the wise par excellence ". The literature associated with this tradition includes the books of Job , Psalms , Proverbs , Ecclesiastes , Song of Songs , Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon ,
508-425: A detailed description. This article will attempt to outline the common traits of ancient Near Eastern religions, and refer to sub-articles for in-depth descriptions. The ancient Near East includes the following subregions: The earliest sources, from c. 2500 BC, allow glimpses of Sumerian religion and ancient Egyptian religion . Early Hittite religion bore traits descended from Proto-Indo-European religion , but
635-470: A diversity of spiritual beliefs, and the religions included Zoroastrianism, Mazdakism, Manichaeism, Yazdanism, Mandeanism, and others. Ancient Mitanni was centered in modern-day Kurdistan, and from excavations it was discovered to have a history of Zoroastrian practices. The dominant religious rituals and beliefs of ancient Egypt merged and developed over time. As an example, during the New Kingdom ,
762-595: A dominating regional cult of the god of a city-state. There were also super-regional mythemes and deities, such as the God Tammuz and the descent to the underworld . Divinations : Identification of the gods and goddesses with heavenly bodies—planets, stars, the sun and the moon—and to assigning the seats of all the deities in the Heavens is found in Assyro-Babylonian religion. The personification of
889-527: A figure similar to a Messiah, as a descendant of the House of David who seemed, briefly, to be about to re-establish the ancient royal line. Zechariah writes of two messiahs, one royal and the other priestly. These early hopes were dashed (Zerubabbel disappears from the historical record, although the High Priests continued to be descended from Joshua ), and thereafter there are merely general references to
1016-525: A goddess called the Queen of Heaven , probably a fusion of Astarte and the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar , was possibly also worshiped, though this is often viewed as another title for Asherah. Baal and Yahweh coexisted in the early period but were considered irreconcilable after the 9th century. The worship of Yahweh alone, the concern of a small party in the monarchic period, gained ascendancy only in
1143-412: A harmonious combination of two factors, one of popular origin, the other the outcome of speculation in the schools attached to the temples of Babylonia. The popular factor is the belief in the influence exerted by the movements of the heavenly bodies on occurrences on earth—a belief naturally suggested by the dependence of life, vegetation and guidance upon the two great luminaries. Starting with this belief
1270-478: A minority adopted views from Jubilees and 4QMMT , which promoted the idea that Jews were "radically discontinuous with the rest of humanity". Those works were of Essene, Hasidean or Sadducee origin. Other Jews were dissatisfied with the Pentateuch 's national-geographic definition of Jewishness, which did not sufficiently distinguish the multi-ethnic inhabitants of Judea from Jewish diasporas. For example,
1397-559: A particular interest in the history of Israel: the written Torah (the books of Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy ), for example, likely existed in various forms during the Monarchy (the period of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah ), but according to the documentary hypothesis (disputed by some Christians) it was in the Second Temple that it was edited and revised into something like its current form, and
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#17327654171881524-773: A province under Rome's direct rule. Heavy taxes under the Romans and insensitivity towards the Jewish religion led to a revolt , and in 70 CE the Roman general (and later emperor) Titus captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple, bringing an end to the Second Temple period. The Jewish exiles in Babylon were not slaves or prisoners, nor were they badly treated, and when the Persians gave permission for them to return to Jerusalem
1651-566: A rich literature of their own covering epic poetry, philosophy, tragedy and other forms. Less is known of the Babylonian diaspora , but the Seleucid period produced works such as the court tales of the Book of Daniel (chapters 1-6 of Daniel - chapters 7-12 were a later addition), and the books of Tobit and Esther . The eastern Jews were also responsible for the adoption and transmission of
1778-720: A shared connection. Doeg the Edomite , for example, is depicted as having no problem in worshiping Yahweh and is shown to be at home in Jewish sanctuaries. Unlike the chief god of the Ammonites ( Milcom ) and the Moabites ( Chemosh ), the Tanakh refrains from explicitly naming the Edomite Qōs. Some scholars have explained this notable omission by assuming that the level of similarity between Yahweh and Qōs would have made rejection of
1905-472: A similarity Plutarch used to argue that Jews worshipped a hypostasized form of Bacchus–Dionysus. In his Quaestiones Convivales , Plutarch further notes that the Jews hail their god with cries of " Euoi " and " Sabi ", phrases associated with the worship of Dionysus. According to Sean M. McDonough , Greek speakers may have confused Aramaic words such as Sabbath , Alleluia , or even possibly some variant of
2032-477: A southern zone, Anu being assigned to the first, Enlil to the second, and Ea to the third zone. The astral theology of the Babylonian-Assyrian religion, while thus bearing the ear-marks of a system devised by the priests, succeeded in assimilating the beliefs which represented the earlier attempts to systematize the more popular aspects of the religion, and in this way a unification of diverse elements
2159-442: A variety of Canaanite gods and goddesses , such as El , Asherah , and Baal . In later centuries, El and Yahweh became conflated, and El-linked epithets, such as ʾĒl Šadday ( אֵל שַׁדַּי ), came to be applied to Yahweh alone. Some scholars believe that El and Yahweh were always conflated. Characteristics of other deities, such as Asherah and Baal, were also selectively "absorbed" in conceptions of Yahweh. Over time,
2286-481: Is a development of Canaanite religion, both Indo-European and Semitic religions influenced the ancient Greek religion , and Zoroastrianism was a product of ancient Indo-Iranian religion primarily the ancient Iranian religion . In turn these religious traditions strongly influenced the later monotheistic religions of Christianity , Mandaeism , Gnosticism , Islam , and Manicheanism , which inherited their monotheism from Judaism and Zoroastrianism . The history of
2413-593: Is an artificial date chosen so that 70 years could be said to have passed between the destruction and the rebuilding, fulfilling a prophecy of Jeremiah . The Persian period ended after Alexander the Great 's conquest of the Mediterranean coast in 333-332 BCE. His empire disintegrated after his death, and Judea fell to the Ptolemies , who ruled Egypt. In 200 BCE, Israel and Judea were conquered by
2540-561: Is in the Egyptian demonym tꜣ šꜣsw Yhwꜣ , " YHWA (in) the Land of the Shasu " ( Egyptian : 𓇌𓉔𓍯𓄿 Yhwꜣ ) in an inscription from the time of Amenhotep III (1390–1352 BCE), the Shasu being nomads from Midian and Edom in northern Arabia. Although it is still uncertain whether a relationship exists between the toponym yhwꜣ and theonym YHWH , the dominant view is that Yahweh was from
2667-495: Is made between moral offences and a ritualistic oversight or neglect, yet the stress laid in the hymns and prayers, as well as in the elaborate atonement ritual prescribed in order to appease the anger of the Gods, on the need of being clean and pure in the sight of the higher powers, the inculcation of a proper aspect of humility , and above all the need of confessing one's guilt and sins without any reserve—all this bears testimony to
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#17327654171882794-573: Is mentioned as the ruler of Jerusalem and probably also of Judah. In 587/6 BCE Jerusalem fell to the Neo-Babylonians , Solomon's Temple was destroyed, and the leadership of the community were deported. The next 50 years, the Babylonian exile , were of pivotal importance to the history of Israelite religion. As the traditional sacrifices to Yahweh (see below) could not be performed outside Israel, other practices including sabbath observance and circumcision gained new significance. In
2921-452: Is not possible to determine what their share was in the total Jewish population. Some scholars suggest that Jesus ' quote in the Gospel of Matthew , "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are", is evidence of Jewish proselytism during
3048-410: Is portrayed as full of mercy and kindness, and Ea is in general the protector of mankind, a father who takes them under his protection. The Gods, to be sure, are easily aroused to anger, and in some of them the dire aspects predominated, but the view becomes more and more pronounced that there is some cause always for the divine wrath . Though, in accounting for the anger of the Gods, no sharp distinction
3175-824: Is usually not included in the term. The Greco-Roman mysteries of the Hellenistic period were again consciously connected with ancient Egyptian religion. The origins of the Roman Mithraism , however, are not resolved. There are theories of an origin in the Indian Vedic religion, the Zoroastrianism and the Greco-Roman Religion like Orion . There are broad practices that these religions often hold in common: Typically, ancient Near Eastern religions were centered on theocracies , with
3302-662: The Zugot headed the Jews' spiritual affairs; it was during this period that several factions, such as the Pharisees , Sadducees , Essenes , Zealots , and early Christians were formed. The " people of the land ", that is the uneducated people of the Holy Land , may be seen as another faction of Second Temple Judaism. (Note: dates and periods are in many cases approximate and/or conventional) In 586 BCE, Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II captured Jerusalem , destroyed
3429-408: The 9th century BCE , there are indications of rejection of Baal worship associated with the prophets Elijah and Elisha . The Yahweh-religion thus began to separate itself from its Canaanite heritage; this process continued over the period from 800 to 500 BCE with legal and prophetic condemnations of the asherim , sun worship and worship on the high places , along with practices pertaining to
3556-641: The Chronicles , a history written at this time, reflects the concerns of the Persian Yehud in its almost exclusive focus on Judah and the Temple. Prophetic works were also of particular interest to the Persian-era authors, with some works being composed at this time (the last ten chapters of Isaiah and the books of Haggai , Zechariah , Malachi and perhaps Joel ) and the older prophets edited and reinterpreted. The corpus of Wisdom books saw
3683-564: The Greek Magical Papyri , under the names Iao , Adonai , Sabaoth , and Eloai . In these texts, he is often mentioned alongside traditional Graeco-Roman deities and Egyptian deities . The archangels Michael , Gabriel , Raphael , and Ouriel and Jewish cultural heroes such as Abraham , Jacob , and Moses are also invoked frequently. The frequent occurrence of Yahweh's name was likely due to Greek and Roman folk magicians seeking to make their spells more powerful through
3810-562: The Negev and Beersheba , both in the territory of Judah. Shiloh , Bethel , Gilgal , Mizpah , Ramah and Dan were also major sites for festivals, sacrifices, the making of vows , private rituals, and the adjudication of legal disputes. Yahweh-worship was thought to be aniconic , meaning that the god was not depicted by a statue or other image. This is not to say that he was not represented in some symbolic form, and early Israelite worship probably focused on standing stones , but according to
3937-491: The Seleucids , who ruled Syria. Around 167 BCE, for reasons that remain obscure, the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress Jewish worship; this provoked a Jewish revolt that resulted in the end of Greek occupation. Hasmonean Judea was a client kingdom of the Romans, and in the 1st century BCE , the Romans replaced them with their protégé Herod the Great . After Herod’s death, Judea became
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4064-580: The Temple of Solomon , and deported the elite of the population to Babylon (the " Babylonian exile "). In 539 BCE, Babylon fell to the Persian conqueror Cyrus , and in 538 BCE, the exiles were permitted to return to Yehud Medinata , a Judean province of the Persian Empire . The Temple is commonly said to have been rebuilt in the period 520–515 BCE, but it seems probable that this
4191-594: The ancient Near East spans more than two millennia, from the Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age , in the region now known as the Middle East , centered on the Fertile Crescent . There was much cultural contact, so that it is justified to summarize the whole region under a single term, but that does not mean, of course, that each historical period and each region should not be looked at individually for
4318-642: The creator-god of all the earth is first elaborated by the Second Isaiah , a 6th-century BCE exilic work whose case for the theological doctrine rests on Yahweh's power over other gods, and his incomparability and singleness relative to the gods of the Babylonian religion. Benjamin D. Sommer argues that the distinction between polytheism and monotheism has been greatly exaggerated. The centre of Yahweh's worship lay in three great annual festivals coinciding with major events in rural life: Passover with
4445-554: The resurrection of the dead , which was rejected by the Sadducees) and possibly later led to Christians' expulsion from synagogues (see Council of Jamnia for other theories). While Marcionism rejected all Jewish influence on Christianity, proto-orthodox Christianity instead retained some of the doctrines and practices of 1st-century Judaism while rejecting others. They held the Tanakh to be authoritative and sacred, employing mostly
4572-409: The "astral" interpretation of occurrences and doctrines. It left its trace in incantations , omens and hymns and gave birth to astronomy , which was assiduously cultivated because a knowledge of the heavens was the very foundation of the system of belief unfolded by the priests of Babylonia and Assyria. As an illustration of the manner in which the doctrines of the religion were made to conform to
4699-518: The 19th century to the present day. Research has not yet yielded a consensus among scholars: some believe that Judaism was a missionary religion, and others reject their conclusions. Some assess that the conversion of Gentiles to Judaism in the Hellenistic and Roman periods was a wide-ranging phenomenon of great demographic importance, while others doubt this. Modern research does not have the possibility to determine how many Gentiles converted, and it
4826-536: The 20th and early 21st centuries have accepted that widespread Torah observance began sometime around the middle of the 5th century BCE. However, scholars such as David Zvi Hoffmann and Umberto Cassuto devote lengthy treatises to refuting Wellhausen's theories. More recently, Yonatan Adler has argued that in fact there is no surviving evidence to support the notion that the Torah was widely known, regarded as authoritative, and put into practice, any time prior to
4953-639: The Babylonian and Persian apocalyptic tradition seen in Daniel. The Hebrew Bible represents the beliefs of a small sector within the Israelite community who were exiled by the Babylonians and emphasized on orthodox worship, genealogical purity and adherence to the codified law. In the earliest stages of the Persian period, the returnees insisted on a strict separation between themselves ("Israel") and those who had never gone into exile ("Canaanites"), to
5080-637: The Biblical texts the temple in Jerusalem featured Yahweh's throne in the form of two cherubim , their inner wings forming the seat and a box (the Ark of the Covenant ) as a footstool, while the throne itself was empty. There is no universally accepted explanation for such aniconism , and a number of scholars have argued that Yahweh was in fact represented prior to the reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah late in
5207-456: The Gods than other mortals, the kings were deified after death, and in some instances divine honours were paid to them even during their lifetime. Ancient Near Eastern religion knew an elaborate system of benevolent, neutral and malevolent demons (which more resembled Greek daemons than the Christian concept of evil demons), and much of medicine consisted of exorcisms , e.g. of Lamashtu ,
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5334-562: The Greco-Roman world. Overall, Second Temple Judaism and Samaritanism were two religions that gradually split from the common religion of Yahwism . For most of the Second Temple period, Samaria was larger, richer, and more populous than Judea—down to about 164 BCE there were probably more Samaritans than Judeans living in Palestine. They had their own temple on Mount Gerizim near Shechem and regarded themselves as
5461-740: The Hasmoneans were criticized for blurring the line between gentile and Jew when they converted Idumeans but others, who held a strict interpretation of Deuteronomy 17:15 , feared the Idumean Herodians would usurp the Hasmoneans. But most Jews believed the Idumeans were acceptable converts since they lived in the Promised Land . C.L. Crouch states that pro-integrationist Jews were more likely to descend from Jews who were re-settled in Babylonian urban centers. Second Temple Judaism
5588-487: The High Priest, which was unheard of in earlier times, became the governing authority, making the province of Yehud a de facto theocracy , although it seems unlikely that they had significant autonomy. In the Hellenistic period, the High Priest continued to play a vital role with both cultic and civic obligations, and the office reached its height under the Hasmoneans who made themselves priest-kings. Both Herod and
5715-671: The Israelites, and there is no consensus on its etymology, with ehyeh ašer ehyeh (" I Am that I Am "), the explanation presented in Exodus 3:14, appearing to be a late theological gloss invented at a time when the original meaning had been forgotten, although some scholars dispute this. Lewis connects the name to the Amorite element yahwi- ( ia-wi ), found in personal names in Mari texts, meaning "brings to life/causes to exist" (e.g. yahwi-dagan = " Dagon causes to exist"), commonly denoted as
5842-425: The Jerusalem temple was always meant to be the central or even sole temple of Yahweh, but this was not the case. The earliest known Israelite place of worship is a 12th-century BCE open-air altar in the hills of Samaria featuring a bronze bull reminiscent of Canaanite Bull-El (El in the form of a bull) and the archaeological remains of further temples have been found at Dan on Israel's northern border, at Arad in
5969-460: The Jewish messiah, was God made flesh , who died for the sins of humanity, marking the beginning of Christology . Scholars additionally note the role of Hellenistic Judaism in Christianity and believe that the doctrine of Jesus's death for the redemption of mankind was not possible without Hellenism. While on one hand Jesus and the very first Christians had all been ethnically Jewish,
6096-457: The Jewish people and called from them his first disciples. Jewish Christians regarded "Christianity" as an affirmation of every aspect of contemporary Judaism, with the addition of one extra belief—that Jesus is the Messiah. The doctrines of the apostles of Jesus brought the early church into conflict with some Jewish religious authorities (e.g., the Book of Acts records a dispute over
6223-676: The Late Bronze Age notably included El Elyon and his sons, the Elohim , the goddess Anat and Hadad , the storm god and heroic slayer of Yam . The composition of the Hebrew Bible began centuries after the Bronze Age collapse , but many of these names are still reflected in Biblical Hebrew, including Elohim and the title Ba'al , originally a title of Hadad, as the rival or nemesis of Yahweh . Ancient Iranian lands had
6350-472: The Midianites/Kenites) inside Israel and through their association with the earliest political leaders of Israel. Christian Frevel argues that inscriptions allegedly suggesting Yahweh's southern origins (e.g. "YHWH of Teman") may simply denote his presence there at later times, and that Teman can refer to any southern territory, including Judah. Alternatively, some scholars argue that YHWH worship
6477-460: The Priests and Priestesses built up the theory of the close correspondence between occurrences on earth and phenomena in the Heavens. The Heavens presenting a constant change even to the superficial observer, the conclusion was drawn of a connection between the changes and the ever-changing movement in the fate of individuals and of nature as well as in the appearance of nature. To read the signs of
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#17327654171886604-528: The Prophets were accepted as authoritative by the 1st century CE, but beyond this core the different Jewish groups continued to accept different groups of books as authoritative. The priesthood underwent profound changes with the Second Temple. Under the First Temple, the priesthood had been subordinate to the kings, but in the Second Temple, with the monarchy and even the state in the hands of foreign rulers, they became independent. The priesthood under
6731-517: The Romans severely reduced the importance of the High Priest, appointing and deposing High Priests to suit their purposes. Since the Hasmonean era, the Idumeans were heavily integrated in Judean society. Idumean-majority populations existed in southern and western Judea, and they intermingled with Judeans. It is disputed whether this integration was forced or voluntary. Regardless, their presence
6858-476: The Samaritans seem to have regarded themselves as part of the wider Jewish community, but afterwards they denounced the Jerusalem temple as anathema to Yahweh. In recent decades it has become increasingly common among scholars to assume that much of the Hebrew Bible was assembled, revised and edited in the 5th century BCE to reflect the realities and challenges of the Persian era. The returnees had
6985-459: The Second Temple period, speaking the name of Yahweh in public became regarded as taboo . When reading from the scriptures, Jews began to substitute the divine name with the word adonai (אֲדֹנָי), meaning " my Lord ". The High Priest of Israel was permitted to speak the name once in the Temple during the Day of Atonement , but at no other time and in no other place. During the Hellenistic period ,
7112-419: The Septuagint or Targum translations and adding other texts as the New Testament canon developed . Christian baptism was another continuation of a Judaic practice. Recent work by historians paints a more complex portrait of late Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity. Some historians have suggested that, before his death, Jesus created amongst his believers such certainty that the Kingdom of God and
7239-624: The Zealots shared beliefs with the Pharisees , the latter were more democratic, respected the status quo, and believed Jewishness was a matter of choice than birth. Some historians argue the Pharisees were more interested in converting non-Pharisaical Jews. As a Jewish sect, early Christians also saw themselves as "true Israel". Compared to other Jews, they believed gentiles could assimilate without adopting customs such as circumcision. These beliefs, among others, caused Judaism and Christianity to separate as distinct religions. Whilst most contemporary Jews had no problem with integrating gentiles,
7366-416: The absence of Yahweh from Canaan, his links with Edom and Midian in the biblical stories, and the Kenite or Midianite ties of Moses , but its major weaknesses are that the majority of Israelites were firmly rooted in Palestine , while the historical role of Moses is problematic. It follows that if the Kenite hypothesis is to be maintained, then it must be assumed that the Israelites encountered Yahweh (and
7493-436: The all-pervading astral theory, it will be sufficient to refer to the modification undergone in this process of the view developed in a very early period which apportioned the control of the universe among the three gods Anu, Enlil and Ea. Disassociating these Gods from all local connections, Anu became the power presiding over the Heavens, to Enlil was assigned the earth and the atmosphere immediately above it, while Ea ruled over
7620-422: The biblical account provided in the Book of Nehemiah (chapter 8), a priestly scribe named Ezra reads a copy of the Mosaic Torah before the populace of Judea assembled in a central Jerusalem square. Wellhausen believes that this narrative should be accepted as historical because it sounds plausible, noting "the credibility of the narrative appears on the face of it." Following Wellhausen, most scholars throughout
7747-473: The biblical narrative of an Israel vacillating between periods of "following other gods" and periods of fidelity to Yahweh. Some scholars date the start of widespread monotheism to the 8th century BC E, and view it as a response to Neo-Assyrian aggression. In an inscription discovered in Ein Gedi and dated around 700 BCE, Yahweh appears described as the lord of "the nations", while in other contemporary texts discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei (near Lachish) he
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#17327654171887874-472: The birthing of lambs , Shavuot with the cereal harvest , and Sukkot with the fruit harvest. These probably pre-dated the arrival of the Yahweh religion, but they became linked to events in the national mythos of Israel: Passover with the exodus from Egypt, Shavuot with the law-giving at Mount Sinai , and Sukkot with the wilderness wanderings. The festivals thus celebrated Yahweh's salvation of Israel and Israel's status as his holy people, although
8001-449: The composition of Job , parts of Proverbs , and possibly Ecclesiastes , while the book of Psalms was possibly given its modern shape and division into five parts at this time (although the collection continued to be revised and expanded well into Hellenistic and even Roman times). In the Hellenistic period, the scriptures were translated into Greek as the Septuagint by the Jews of the Alexandrian diaspora in Egypt, who also produced
8128-412: The conclusion that infant sacrifice , whether to the underworld deity Molech or to Yahweh himself, was a part of Israelite/Judahite religion until the reforms of King Josiah in the late 7th century BCE. Sacrifice was presumably complemented by the singing or recital of psalms , but again the details are scant. Prayer played little role in official worship. The Hebrew Bible gives the impression that
8255-425: The construction of the Temple in 957 BCE to its destruction in 586 BCE, exilic for the period of the Exile from 586 to 539 BCE (identical with Neo-Babylonian above), post-Exilic for later periods and Second Temple period from the reconstruction of the Temple in 515 BCE until its destruction in 70 CE. There is almost no agreement on Yahweh's origins. His name is not attested other than among
8382-471: The dead and other aspects of the old religion. Features of Baal, El, and Asherah were absorbed into Yahweh, and epithets such as El Shaddai came to be applied to Yahweh alone. In this atmosphere a struggle emerged between those who believed that Yahweh alone should be worshipped, and those who worshipped him within a larger group of gods; the Yahweh-alone party, the party of the prophets and Deuteronomists , ultimately triumphed, and their victory lies behind
8509-399: The dead were gathered and where they led a miserable existence of inactivity, amid gloom and dust. Occasionally a favoured individual was permitted to escape from this general fate and placed in a pleasant island. It would appear also that the rulers were always singled out for divine grace , and in the earlier periods of the history, owing to the prevailing view that the rulers stood nearer to
8636-399: The deep. With the transfer of all the Gods to the heavens, and under the influence of the doctrine of the correspondence between the heavens and the earth, Anu, Enlil and Ea became the three "ways" (as they are called) on the heavens. The "ways" appear in this instance to have been the designation of the ecliptic circle , which was divided into three sections or zones—a northern, a middle and
8763-476: The demoness responsible for complications at childbirth and infant deaths. In Assyrian and Babylonian mythology the seven evil demons were known as Shedu or Lamassu , meaning "storm-demon". They were represented in winged bull form , derived from the colossal bulls used as protective genii of royal palaces, the name "Shed" assumed also the meaning of a propitious genius in Babylonian magical literature. The deities worshipped in Canaanite religion during
8890-415: The divisions of the earth. All the gods , demons and spirits had their places assigned to them in the heavens, and facts, including such as fell within the domain of political history , were interpreted in terms of astral theology . So completely did this system in the course of time sway men's minds that the cults and sects, from being an expression of animistic beliefs , took on the color derived from
9017-402: The earlier agricultural meaning was not entirely lost. His worship presumably involved sacrifice, but many scholars have concluded that the rituals detailed in Leviticus 1–16, with their stress on purity and atonement , were introduced only after the Babylonian exile , and that in reality any head of a family was able to offer sacrifice as occasion demanded. A number of scholars have also drawn
9144-459: The earliest Biblical literature, Yahweh has characteristics of a storm god typical of ancient Near Eastern myths, marching out from Edom or the Sinai desert with the heavenly host of stars and planets that make up his army to do battle with the enemies of his people Israel: Yahweh, when you went out of Seir, when you marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled,
9271-666: The early Persian period. They saw the messiah in Zerubbabel , a descendant of the House of David who seemed, briefly, to be about to re-establish the ancient royal line, or in Zerubbabel and the first High Priest, Joshua (Zechariah writes of two messiahs, one royal and the other priestly). These early hopes were dashed (Zerubabbel disappeared from the historical record, although the High Priests continued to be descended from Joshua), and thereafter there are merely general references to
9398-412: The early years of the Second Temple period; this left Jews without their version of divine guidance at a time when they felt most in need of support and direction. Under Hellenistic rule , the growing Hellenization of Judaism became a source of resentment among Jewish traditionalists who clung to strict monotheistic beliefs . Opposition to Hellenistic influence on Jewish religious and cultural practices
9525-438: The exilic and early post-exilic period, and it was only in the post-exilic period that the very existence of other gods was denied. The Persian period saw the development of expectation in a future human king who would rule a purified Israel as God's representative at the end of time – that is, a messiah . The first to mention this were Haggai and Zechariah , both prophets of the early Persian period. They saw Zerubbabel as
9652-470: The existence of other deities was denied outright, and Yahweh was proclaimed the creator deity and the sole divinity to be worthy of worship. During the Second Temple period , openly speaking the name of Yahweh in public became regarded as a religious taboo, and Jews instead began to substitute other Hebrew words , primarily ăḏōnāy ( אֲדֹנָי , lit. ' My Lords ' ). By
9779-491: The extent of prohibiting intermarriage; this was presented in terms of religious purity, but there may have been a practical concern for land ownership. Ethnic markers for Israelite (or later, Jewish) identity were radically reformed, with increased emphasis on genealogical descent and/or faith in Yahweh, compared to circumcision . Views on gentile integration varied across Jewish schools of thought. The Sadducees doubted
9906-442: The gods Ra and Amun were syncretized into a single god, Amun-Ra . Such syncretism should be distinguished from mere groupings, also referred to as "families" such as Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. Over time, gods took part in multiple syncretic relationships, for instance, the combination of Ra and Horus into Ra-Herakty . Similarly, Ptah, Seker , and Osiris became Ptah-Seker-Osiris . Heavily influenced by Mesopotamian mythology ,
10033-578: The gods of a subjected people, some have assumed the coin simply depicts the surrender of a Judean who was called "Bacchius", sometimes identified as the Hasmonean king Aristobulus II , who was overthrown by Pompey's campaign. In any event, Tacitus , John the Lydian , Cornelius Labeo , and Marcus Terentius Varro similarly identify Yahweh with Bacchus–Dionysus. Jews themselves frequently used symbols that were also associated with Dionysus such as kylixes , amphorae , leaves of ivy , and clusters of grapes ,
10160-482: The hands of Gentiles is divine judgment for Judean wickedness. Daniel R. Scwhartz considers 2 Maccabees to be implicitly anti-Hasmonean and pro-Pharisee. One reason for the covert criticism includes 2 Maccabees being written too early and their authors being diasporic. In his seminal Prolegomena zur Geschichte Israels , Julius Wellhausen argues that Judaism as a religion based on widespread observance Torah law first emerged in 444 BCE when, according to
10287-400: The heavens was therefore to understand the meaning of occurrences on Earth, and with this accomplished, it was also possible to foretell what events were portended by the position and relationship to one another of the sun, the moon, the planets and certain stars. Myths that symbolized changes in season or occurrences in nature were projected on the heavens, which were mapped out to correspond to
10414-579: The invocation of a prestigious foreign deity. A coin issued by Pompey to celebrate his successful conquest of Judaea showed a kneeling, bearded figure grasping a branch (a common Roman symbol of submission) subtitled BACCHIVS IVDAEVS , which may be translated as either "The Jewish Bacchus " or "Bacchus the Judaean". The figure has been interpreted as depicting Yahweh as a local variety of Bacchus, that is, Dionysus . However, as coins minted with such iconography ordinarily depicted subjected persons, and not
10541-591: The later Hittite religions became more and more assimilated to Mesopotamian religion. Persian Zoroastrianism is a reformed form of the hypothesized ancient Iranian religion , which shares a common Proto-Aryan root with the Indian Vedic religion . Ancient Greek religion and the following the Etruscan religion and the Religion in ancient Rome was strongly influenced by ancient Near Eastern religion, but
10668-514: The latter difficult. Other scholars hold that Yahweh and Qōs were different deities from their origins, and suggest that the tensions between Judeans and Edomites during the Second Temple period may lie behind the omission of Qōs in the Bible. It has been argued that Yahweh was originally described as one of the sons of El in Deuteronomy 32:8–9 , and that this was removed by a later emendation to
10795-479: The life of a newborn child rather than the universe. This conception of God was more popular among ancient Near Easterners but eventually, the Israelites removed the association of yahwi- to any human ancestor and combined it with other elements (e.g. Yahweh ṣəḇāʾōṯ ). Hillel Ben-Sasson states there is insufficient evidence for Amorites using yahwi- for gods, but he argues that it mirrors other theophoric names and that yahwi- , or more accurately yawi , derives from
10922-571: The majority elected to remain where they were. They and their descendants formed the diaspora , a large community of Jews living outside Judea, and the 1st century CE historian Josephus reports that there were more Jews in Syria (i.e., the Seleucid Empire) than in any other land. There was also a significant Egyptian diaspora, although the Jews of Egypt were immigrants, not deportees, "... attracted by Hellenistic culture, eager to win
11049-571: The middle of the 2nd century BCE. Adler explores the likelihhood that Judaism, as the widespread practice of Torah law by Jewish society at large, first emerged in Judea during the reign of the Hasmonean dynasty, centuries after the putative time of Ezra. Nonetheless, this view conflicts with the scholarly consensus. The issue of conversion to Judaism and Jewish proselytism in Second Temple Judaism has occupied many scholars from
11176-476: The monarchic period: to quote one study, "[a]n early aniconism, de facto or otherwise, is purely a projection of the post-exilic imagination". Other scholars argue that there is no certain evidence of any anthropomorphic representation of Yahweh during the pre-exilic period. Yahweh is frequently invoked in Graeco-Roman magical texts dating from the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE, most notably in
11303-402: The name Yahweh itself, for more familiar terms associated with Dionysus. Other Roman writers, such as Juvenal , Petronius , and Florus , identified Yahweh with the god Caelus . Religions of the ancient Near East The religions of the ancient Near East were mostly polytheistic , with some examples of monolatry (for example, Yahwism and Atenism ). Some scholars believe that
11430-526: The national god. Yahweh filled the role of national god in the kingdom of Israel (Samaria) , which emerged in the 10th century BCE; and also in Judah , which may have emerged a century later (no "God of Judah" is mentioned anywhere in the Bible). During the reign of Ahab , and particularly following his marriage to Jezebel , Baal may have briefly replaced Yahweh as the national god of Israel (but not Judah). In
11557-538: The possibility of gentiles becoming Jews but were tolerant of cross-cultural interactions. The Essenes community believed gentiles, including proselytes, were ritually impure, but the Essenes were even stricter and regarded other Jews as impure until they completed a prolonged initiation ritual . Likewise, the Zealots and Sicarii held xenophobic views but were willing to ally with Idumeans (or Edomites ). Whilst
11684-441: The principal deity to whom "one owed the powers of blessing the land" appear in the teachings of the prophet Elijah in the 9th century BCE. This form of worship was likely well established by the time of the prophet Hosea in the 8th century BCE, in reference to disputes between Yahweh and Baal. The early supporters of this faction are widely regarded as being monolatrists rather than true monotheists ; they did not believe Yahweh
11811-652: The religion of the Hittites and Luwians retains noticeable Indo-European elements, for example Tarhunt the God of thunder, and his conflict with the Serpent-God Illuyanka . Tarhunt has a son, Telepinu and a daughter, Inara . Inara is involved with the Puruli spring festival. She is a protective Goddess ( LAMMA). Išḫara is a Goddess of the oath. Second Temple Judaism The Second Temple period
11938-410: The religious systems that preceded them. Not only were rabbinic Judaism and Christianity religious twins, but, like Jacob and Esau, the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca, they fought in the womb, setting the stage for life after the womb." The first Christians (the disciples or followers of Jesus) were essentially all ethnically Jewish or Jewish proselytes. In other words, Jesus was Jewish , preached to
12065-529: The respect of the Greeks and to adapt to their ways." The Egyptian diaspora was slow to develop, but by the Hellenistic period it exceeded the Babylonian community in importance. In addition to these major centres there were Jewish communities throughout the Hellenistic and subsequently the Roman world, from North Africa to Asia Minor and Greece and in Rome. There is also evidence for Jewish missionary activities in
12192-480: The resurrection of the dead was at hand, that with few exceptions when they saw him shortly after his execution, they had no doubt that he had been resurrected, and that the arrival of the kingdom and resurrection of the dead was at hand. These specific beliefs were compatible with Second Temple Judaism. In the following years the restoration of the kingdom, as Jews expected it, failed to occur. Some Christians began to believe instead that Christ, rather than simply being
12319-523: The rituals found in the First Temple era. For example, many Jews argued that only full-body immersion could achieve ritual purity. There was a sharp break between ancient Israelite religion and the Judaism of the Second Temple. Pre-exilic Israel was mostly polytheistic (see Yahwism ). Asherah was probably worshiped as Yahweh's consort, within his temples in Jerusalem, Bethel , and Samaria featuring what seem to be standing stones for another deity, and
12446-439: The root hwy in pa'al, which means "he will be". One scholarly theory is that "Yahweh" originated in a shortened form of ˀel ḏū yahwī ṣabaˀôt , "El who creates the hosts", which Cross considered to be one of the cultic names of El. However, this phrase is nowhere attested either inside or outside the Bible, and the two gods are in any case quite dissimilar, with El being elderly and paternal and lacking Yahweh's association with
12573-571: The same deity in the text, based on contextual analysis. The late Iron Age saw the emergence of nation states associated with specific national gods : Chemosh was the god of the Moabites, Milcom the god of the Ammonites, Qōs the god of the Edomites, and Yahweh the god of the Israelites. In each kingdom the king was also the head of the national religion and thus the viceroy on Earth of
12700-517: The scriptures were translated into Greek by the Jews of the Egyptian diaspora . Greek translations of the Hebrew scriptures render both the tetragrammaton and adonai as kyrios (κύριος), meaning "Lord". The period of Persian rule saw the development of expectation in a future human king who would rule purified Israel as Yahweh's representative at the end of time —a messiah . The first to mention this were Haggai and Zechariah , both prophets of
12827-522: The semantic equivalent of the Akkadian ibašši- DN; though Frank Moore Cross emphasized that the Amorite verbal form is of interest only in attempting to reconstruct the verbal root of the name "Yahweh", and that attempts to take yahwi- as a divine epithet should be "vigorously" argued against. In addition, J. Philip Hyatt believes it is more likely that yahwi- refers to a god creating and sustaining
12954-613: The similarities between these religions indicate that the religions are related, a belief known as patternism . Many religions of the ancient near East and their offshoots can be traced to Proto-Semitic religion . Other religions in the ancient Near East include the ancient Egyptian religion , the Luwian and Hittite religions of Asia Minor and the Sumerian religion of ancient Mesopotamia . Offshoots of Proto-Semitic religion include Canaanite religion and Arabian religion . Judaism
13081-483: The sky also dropped. Yes, the clouds dropped water. The mountains quaked at Yahweh's presence, even Sinai at the presence of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ... From the sky the stars fought. From their courses, they fought against Sisera . ( Book of Judges 5:4–5, 20, WEB World English Bible , the Song of Deborah .) Alternatively, parts of
13208-566: The so-called Sapiential books . During the Hasmoean dynasty, Jews were conflicted on whether to be religiously or politically oriented, which was represented by the thematic differences in 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees . 1 Maccabees, for instance, focuses on Judean affairs, generalizes all gentile rulers as being evil, believes Jewish martyrs were "pious fools", makes little mention of God and prayer, and attributes events to blind chance. 2 Maccabees argues that anti-Judean persecution by
13335-487: The southern region associated with Seir , Edom, Paran and Teman . There is considerable although not universal support for this view, but it raises the question of how Yahweh made his way to the north. An answer many scholars consider plausible is the Kenite hypothesis , which holds that traders brought Yahweh to Israel along the caravan routes between Egypt and Canaan . This ties together various points of data, such as
13462-430: The storm and battles. Even if the above issues are resolved, Yahweh is generally agreed to have a non-causative etymology because otherwise, YHWH would be translated as YHYH. It also raises the question of why the Israelites would want to shorten the epithet. One possible reason includes the co-existence of religious modernism and conservatism being the norm in all religions. The oldest plausible occurrence of Yahweh's name
13589-456: The storm god imagery could derive from Baal. From the perspective of the Kenite hypothesis , it has also been suggested that the Edomite deity Qōs might have been one and the same as Yahweh, rather than a separate deity, with its name a title of the latter. Aside from their common territorial origins, various common characteristics between the Yahwist cult and the Edomite cult of Qōs hint at
13716-507: The strength which the ethical factor acquired in the domain of the Religion. This factor appears to less advantage in the unfolding of the views concerning life after death . Throughout all periods of Babylonian-Assyrian history, the conception prevailed of a large dark cavern below the earth, not far from the Apsu —the fresh water abyss encircling and flowing underneath the earth—in which all
13843-510: The supreme being of the universe and without any equals. In the oldest examples of biblical literature , Yahweh possesses attributes that were typically ascribed to deities of weather and war , fructifying the Land of Israel and leading a heavenly army against the nation's enemies. The early Israelites may have leaned towards polytheistic practices that were otherwise common across ancient Semitic religion , as their worship apparently included
13970-511: The term. Rabbinic sources suggest that, by the Second Temple period , the name of God was officially pronounced only once a year, by the High Priest , on the Day of Atonement . After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE , the original pronunciation of the name was forgotten entirely. Philip King and Lawrence Stager place the history of Yahweh into the following periods: Other academic terms often used include First Temple period, from
14097-572: The text: When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. For the Lord's allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession. ( Book of Deuteronomy 32:8-9, New English Translation , Song of Moses ) Nonetheless, some scholars argue that El Elyon ("the Most High") and Yahweh are theonyms for
14224-601: The time of the Jewish–Roman wars —namely following the Roman siege of Jerusalem and the concomitant destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE—the original pronunciation of Yahweh's name was forgotten entirely. Additionally, Yahweh is invoked in the Aramaic -language Papyrus Amherst 63 from ancient Egypt , and also in Jewish or Jewish-influenced Greco-Egyptian magical texts from the 1st to 5th centuries CE. The god's name
14351-575: The time period. However, scholars such as Martin Goodman , for instance, argue that phrase relates to the Pharisees' attempt to persuade Jews to join their school of thought rather than their efforts to convert non-Jews. Early Christianity emerged within Second Temple Judaism during the 1st century , the key difference between Judaism and Jewish Christianity being the Christian belief that Jesus
14478-411: The true Israel, who remained after Eli , a wicked high priest , convinced the other Israelites to abandon Gerizim and worship at Shiloh. Second Temple Judeans, however, derided them as foreign converts and the impure offspring of mixed marriages. By the late 2nd century BCE, the Jews and Samaritans permanently split after a Hasmonean king destroyed a Samaritan temple at Mount Gerizim; before that
14605-442: The two great luminaries—the sun and the moon—was the first step in the unfolding of this system, and this was followed by placing the other deities where Shamash and Sin had their seats. This process, which reached its culmination in the post-Hammurabic period, led to identifying the planet Venus with Ishtar , Jupiter with Marduk , Mars with Nergal , Mercury with Nabu , and Saturn with Ninurta . The system represents
14732-400: The worship of Yahweh among a broader Semitic pantheon —was still essentially polytheistic or, according to some accounts, monolatristic . However, during and after the Babylonian captivity in the 6th century BCE, the Israelite religion gradually evolved into Judaism and Samaritanism , which are both strictly monotheistic and thus regard Yahweh as God in the singular sense—that is, as
14859-407: The writing of second Isaiah , Yahweh was no longer seen as exclusive to Israel, but as extending his promise to all who would keep the sabbath and observe his covenant. In 539 BCE Babylon in turn fell to the Persian conqueror Cyrus the Great , the exiles were given permission to return (although only a minority did so), and by about 500 BCE the Second Temple was built. Towards the end of
14986-681: Was a major catalyst for the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire . Following the establishment of the Hasmonean dynasty , traditional Judaism was reasserted by the Maccabees across the Land of Israel as they expanded their independent territory. The later years of the Second Temple period saw the development of several Jewish messianic ideas . From c. 170 BCE to 30 CE, five successive generations of
15113-564: Was believed to influence Second Temple Judaism, particularly Pharisaical Judaism. They introduced religious innovations such as ritual immersion in baths, burial in caves with kokhim , and the perforation of pottery vessels so they could be purified. The Herodians continued this trend, with Judea, Jerusalem and the Temple being shaped by Idumean culture. Their contributions were obfuscated by religious Jews belonging to later variants of Second Temple Judaism and Rabbinic Judaism . Hayah Katz sees these ritual immersion rituals as being stricter than
15240-403: Was centered not on synagogues, which began to appear only in the 3rd century BCE, but on the Temple, and a cycle of continual animal sacrifice . Torah, or ritual law, was also important, and the Temple priests were responsible for teaching it, but the concept of scripture developed only slowly. Thus the reading and study of scripture was a late development. The written Torah and the books of
15367-437: Was marked by the emergence of multiple religious currents as well as extensive cultural, religious, and political developments among Jews . It saw the progression of the Hebrew Bible canon , the synagogue , and Jewish eschatology . Additionally, the rise of Christianity began in the final years of the Second Temple period. According to Jewish tradition, authentic prophecy ( נְבוּאָה , Nevu’ah ) ceased during
15494-540: Was no distinction in language or material culture between Canaanites and Israelites. Scholars accordingly define Israelite culture as a subset of Canaanite culture. In this view, the Israelite religion consisted of Canaanite gods such as El, the ruler of the pantheon , Asherah , his consort, and Baal . However, Israel Knohl argues that there is no evidence of any anthropomorphic figurines or cultic statues in Israel during this period, suggesting monotheistic practice. In
15621-635: Was rooted in the indigenous culture of the Kingdom of Israel and was promoted in the Kingdom of Judah by the Omrides . Frevel suggests that Hazael 's conquests in the Kingdom of Israel forced the two kingdoms to cooperate, which spread YHWH worship among Judean commoners. Previously, YHWH was viewed as the patron god of the Judean state . In the Early Iron Age, the modern consensus is that there
15748-486: Was secured that led to interpreting the contents and the form of the religion in terms of the astral-theological system. On the ethical sides, the religion of Babylonia more particularly, and to a less extent that of Assyria, advances to noticeable conceptions of the qualities associated with the Gods and Goddesses and of the duties imposed on man. Shamash, the Sun-God, was invested with justice as his chief trait, Marduk
15875-410: Was the only god in existence, but instead believed that he was the only god which the people of Israel should worship. Finally, in the national crisis of the Babylonian exile , the followers of Yahweh went a step further and outright denied that the other deities aside from Yahweh even existed, thus marking the transition from monolatrism to true monotheism. The notion that Yahweh is to be worshipped as
16002-436: Was the resurrected Jewish Messiah. Judaism is known to allow for multiple messianic figures, the two most relevant being Messiah ben Joseph and the Messiah ben David. The idea of two messiahs—one suffering and the second fulfilling the traditional messianic role—was normal in ancient Judaism and possibly even predated Jesus. Alan Segal states "one can speak of a 'twin birth' of two new Judaisms, both markedly different from
16129-530: Was written in paleo-Hebrew as 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 ( יהוה in block script ), transliterated as YHWH ; modern scholarship has reached consensus to transcribe this as "Yahweh". The shortened forms Yeho -, Yahu -, Yah - and Yo - appear in personal names and in phrases such as " Hallelu jah !" The sacrality of the name, as well as the Commandment against " taking the name 'in vain' ", led to increasingly strict prohibitions on speaking or writing
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