The Persian period of Jerusalem marks the beginning of the second temple period. After Judah was conquered Babylon, the Persians came through and conquered the Babylonians. King Cyrus issued an edict telling all the conquered people to return to their homelands. He even gave the Jews some money to reubild the Temple. But there were different groups of Jews who wanted different things. Some in Babylon wanted to stay in Babylon because they had been there for about 50 years, and had been accustomed to living there. Some wanted to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. And then there were also the Jews who stayed in Jerusalem who were like, hey what are you guys doing? We don't need a Temple and we were doing just fine without you.
There are no non-biblical accounts of Jerusalem in this time period. So in class today, we really focused on the Bible, particuarly Ezekial, Haggai, and Isaiah. Ezekial is the big dramatic, post apocolyptic messenger. A lot of what he describes and prophesizes from Bablyon we can't really see and make a rendering of. But he recreates the idea of a mobile God that can exist without a Temple. The recreation of this idea creates another problem. If God can exist without a Temple or shrine, why do we really need the Temple? It's part of the idea of cognitive dissonance. Conflicting ideas of God, mobility, the Temple, and exile.
Short post today. Got a lot to do!
Joey
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