Part 13 (1/2)
1 They received =kind treatarded not as slaves or prisoners, but as colonists At a later captivity by the Rohout the empire Such wholesale enslavement was common after a conquest For some reason the Chaldeans did not enslave the Jews at the time of their conquest, but colonized them as free people This may have been because the captives as a class were of the ”Chaldean party” a the Jews, and hence were treated in a measure as friends The letter of Jeremiah to the exiles (Jer 29 1-7) shows that they were kindly dealt with in Chaldea Soh station in the realanization was ed into the , but retained their own systenized as a separate colony Their dethroned kings had a semi-royal state, and at death an honorable burial (Jer 52
31-34; 34 4, 5) The captives were governed by elders, rulers of their own nation (Ezek 8 1; 14 1; 20 1) Such a systeovern to locality; that is, the different races in one province will each have separate rulers There was a ”prince of Judah” at the close of the captivity (Ezra 1 8) This fact of a national organization was a fortunate one for the exiles If they had been dispersed as slaves throughout the empire, or even had been scattered as individuals, they would soon have beenthe Gentiles, and would have lost their identity as a people Butas a separate race, and in Jewish coathered for a return to their own land when the opportunity came
3 =Their law and worshi+p were observed= There were no sacrifices, for these could be offered only at Jerusaleathered for worshi+p and for the study of the law far more faithfully than before the exile; for adversity is a school of religious character far more than prosperity The exile would naturally exert an influence in the direction of religion While the irreligious and idolatrous a the captives would soon drop out of the nation and be lost a the Gentiles, the earnest, the spiritual, and the God-fearing would grow more intense in their devotion The institutions which date from the captivity (noticed below, under ”Results of Captivity”) are an evidence of this fact
4 =They were instructed by prophets and teachers= Jere of the captivity, made a visit to Babylon, and wrote at least one letter to the exiles (Jer 13 4-7; 29 1-3)
Daniel lived during the captivity, and, though in the court, maintained a deep interest in his people, and comforted them by his prophecies
Ezekiel was his were addressed to theelical and eminent Bible scholars are of the opinion that the latter part of Isaiah, froiven by a ”later Isaiah” during the exile; but whether written at that ti the captives and given thee in the character of the Jehich took place during this period shows that a great revival swept over the captive people and brought theion of their noblest ancestors
5 =Their literature was preserved and enlarged= Internal evidence shows that the Books of the Kings were finished and the Books of the Chronicles written at this time or soon afterward; the Books of Daniel, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, and other of the iven; and a nu this epoch, as such poems are likely to be written in periods of trial and sorrow Out of the many psalms we cite Psal the captivity The exile was an age of life and vigor to Hebrew literature
V =THE RESULTS OF THE CAPTIVITY= In the year 536 B C the city of Babylon was taken by Cyrus, King of the combined Medes and Persians One of his first acts was to issue an edict per the exiled Jews to return to their own country and rebuild their city Not all the Jews availed thee, for many were already rooted in their new hoe number returned (Ezra 2 64), and re-established the city and state of the Jews The captivity, however, left its impress upon the people down to the end of their national history, and even to the present tie=, from Hebrew to Aramaic or Chaldaic
The books of the Old Testae fros After the captivity the Jews needed an interpreter in order to understand their own earlier Scriptures Allusion to this fact is given in Neh 8 7 The Chaldee of Babylon and the Hebreere sufficiently alike to cause the people during two generations to glide ie of their ancient tongue was lost to all but the scholars
2 =There was a change in habits= Before the captivity the Jeere a secluded people, having scarcely any relation with the world The captivity brought thereatlyHitherto they had beenon their own fields; now they became merchants and traders, and filled the world with their coround for his support They are in the cities, buying and selling This tendency began with the Babylonian captivity, and has since been strengthened by the varied experiences, especially by the persecutions of the Jews during the centuries
3 =There was a change in character= This was thesin of Judah, as well as of Israel, was its tendency to idolatry Every prophet had warned against it and rebuked it; refors had endeavored to extirpate, but all in vain; the worshi+pers of God were the few, the worshi+pers of idols were the many After the captivity there was a wonderful transfor his knee before an idol The entire nation was a unit in the service of Jehovah
As of the later prophets, and the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah, there is no allusion to idolatry That crime was utterly and forever eradicated; from the captivity until to-day the Jews have been the people of the one, invisible God, and intense in their hatred of idols We e, but soely perished, and the spiritual element formed the bulk of the captives 2) The idol-worshi+pers a the captives would naturally be less loyal to the national ideas, and would ious aion as their only hope in trial 3) The ion would be the er to return after the exile; hence, the new state was founded by zealous Jeho gave it religious spirit So in ave tone to New England, and through New England to America
4 =There were new institutions= as the result of the captivity Two great institutions arose during the captivity:
1) The _synagogue_, which grew up a the exiles, was carried back to Palestine, and was established throughout the Jeorld This was athe law, and for religious instruction It had far greater influence than the temple after the captivity; for while there was but one teue in every city and village where Jews lived; and while the temple was the seat of a priestly and ritualistic service, the synagogue proht and utterance Out of the synagogue, far rew the Christian Church
2) _The order of scribes_ was also a result of the captivity The days of direct inspiration through prophets were passing away, and those of the written Scripture, with a class ofthe captivity the devout Jews studied the books of their literature, the law, the psalms, the histories, and the prophets After the captivity arose a series of scholars ere the expounders of the Scriptures Their founder was Ezra, at once a priest, a scribe, and a prophet (Ezra 7 1-10), who arranged the books and in a measure completed the canon of Old Testament Scripture
5 =There was a new hope, that of a Messiah= From the tier expectation to the co of a Deliverer, the Consolation of Israel, the ”Anointed One”
(the word Messiah means ”anointed”), who should lift up his people from the dust, exalt the throne of David, and establish an empire over all the nations This had been promised by prophets for centuries before the exile, but only then did it begin to shi+ne as the great hope of the people It grew brighter with each generation, and finally appeared in the co of Israel
6 From the captivity there =were two parts of the Jewish people=; the Jews of Palestine, and the Jews of the dispersion 1) The Jews of Palestine, sometimes called Hebrews (Acts 6 1), were the lesser in number, who lived in their own land and maintained the Jewish state 2) The Jews of the dispersion were the descendants of those who did not return after the decree of Cyrus (Ezra 1 1), but reradually formed Jewish ”quarters” in all the cities of the ancient world They were the larger in number, and later were called ”Grecian Jews,” or hellenists, froe which they used (Acts 6 1) Between these two bodies there was a close relation The Jews of the dispersion had synagogues in every city (Acts 15 1), were devoted to the law, nized as having one hope with the Jews of Palestine The traits of the two bodies were different, but each contributed its own elereat people
Blackboard Outline
=I Cap Isr Jud= 1 Isr 721 Jud 587 2 ass Sar--Chal Neb
3 Cas Sea--Riv Eup 4 Nev ret--Bro b
=II Thr Cap Jud= 1 Jeh cap 607 2 Jehn cap 598 3 Zed
cap 587
=III Caus Cap= 1 Pol Or conq 2 Reb kgs Jud 3 Riv Eg
Bab 4 Div pur dis
=IV Con Cap= 1 Kin tre 2 Org main 3 La wor obs 4 Ins
pro tea 5 Lit pre enl
=V Res Cap= 1 Ch lan 2 Ch hab 3 Ch char 4 Ne ins
(syn scr) 5 Hop Mess 6 Two par peo
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW
Frouished?
What were the dates of these two captivities?
By as each nation taken captive?