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In 586 BCE, when Jerusalem had been destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, the second wave of Jewish exiles was deported to Babylon to join the previous hostages who had already been there since 597. TheTemple's destruction was demoralising, and could have proved the end of Israel's unique identity, and of Israel's faith in their God, YHWH, for they thought he had been 'beaten' by the greater god, Marduk, of Babylon. Without doubt, Babylon was a far greater city than Jerusalem, with a much greqter cultural heritage, including Nebuchadrezzar's famous 'Hanging Gardens' along the magnificent, paved, processional road which led from the huge Ishtar Gate past the royal palace, until it finally reached the massive temple of Marduk on top of its ziggurat. Many exiles there, from many nations, became absorbed fully into Babylon and lost their separate identities, but Israel's Story did succeed in continuing, among those Jews who remained 'separate'.

The first exiles in 597 believed they would soon go home again, so had established themselves as a Jewish group, conscious of their identity, and allowed to follow their own customs - thanks to the enlightened policy of Nebuchadrezzar. They were mainly aristocratic priests, and they began the process of recording their family trees for posterity, but when one of their youngsters began to claim that he had been called to prophesy by YHWH, they dismissed his claim as impossible, for YHWH had been 'left behind' in Jerusalem! The young priest was Ezekiel and he had quickly absorbed the latest fashion of religious language, coming into Babylon from Iran, - the 'apocalyptic style' of strange and extravagant visions of the heavens. (His call is described in his book, Ezek.1-3, and reads very differently from Isaiah's vision, Is.6). No-one took much notice of him - he was talking gibberish; he was a priest, not a prophet; when he warned that Jerusalem would be destroyed, they laughed with derision, because they 'knew' that YHWH would never let his city be conquered!; and they also 'knew' that YHWH's voice could not stretch as far as Babylon.

Ezekiel persevered in prophetic agony, receiving many messages for YHWH's people who refused to listen. Chs 16 and 18 reflect the continuing awareness of Hosea's and Jeremiah's themes, and ch 21, like Jeremiah, forecast the impending disaster for Jerusalem. By ch 24 the city was under siege, and Ezekiel could not even mourn the death of his wife at such a disastrous time, (Ezek. 24.15-18). News of the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE is recorded in ch.33.21-23, and the Jews' misery was hopeless - until someone realised that this meant that Ezekiel had been proved right, and must therefore be a true prophet! When the second wave of exiles began to arrive they were met with the unbelievable new hope that somehow YHWH was not 'beaten', and might even now be in Babylon with His people!

Ezekiel's message changed completely after this. He taught that YHWH was still 'in charge', and would eventually rescue them again, as He had done before, when they had been slaves in Egypt, and would one day take them home Himself, (ch 34.11-16) More than that, Ezekiel promised, in ch 37, the whole state of Israel would rise again, like dead bones, when new life would be breathed into them by YHWH's Spirit. Then chs 40-48 describe his vision of the New Temple that would stand once again, at the heart of the restored community. The many years after 586 were times of great theological questioning and speculation in Babylon for the devoted Jews loyal to YHWH, as they struggled to make sense of their experiences, and ideas, while many others succumbed to the delights and bright lights of life in Babylon.

Life in Babylon was certainly different for all the exiles. They soon began to speak Babylon's language, Aramaic, in which all commercial transactions were made. They also began to adopt the new 'square' style of writing, replacing the old cuneiform, both of which made their traditional Hebrew language and documents seem very old-fashioned, and 'classic'. They also followed the Babylonians' interests in history, the wisdom traditions of the fertile crescent, and in the origins of the world, for Nebuchadrezzar had all the old stories, like Enuma Elish, and the Epic of Gilgamesh, (both now available in Penguin Classics), collected and re-copied. He was also interested in updating the old archives, and recording the achievements of his own reign in the Babylonian Chronicle. All this had its effects on the Jewish exiles. While some became rich and began to live in luxury, others degenerated into poverty, and many lost their unique sense of identity as YHWH's people. Others maintained it in a variety of different ways.

Many of the exiles scattered around the area of Babylon, kept together in their family, or clan, groups, or their interest groups, like the prophetic guilds, mourning all that was lost, and sharpening up their sense of identity by beginning to record who 'belonged' in Israel. They were allowed to keep their own customs of circumcision and Sabbath-keeping, but had to learn to worship without sacrifices because of the Deuteronomic Law that was now sacrosanctl This was pleasing to the prophetic groups but not the priestly peoples. The priests were the most hopeful of returning one day, to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. They all, however, continued to teach the new generations as they arrived, Israel's common Story, of Abraham, Moses, the Exodus and Covenant, and the conquest of 'their' land, and their uniqueness in having been 'chosen' by their God, YHWH' to be His special people. Gradually little groups began to congregate according to their various concerns, the Levites to preserve the correct teachings, the priests to record all the details of sacrificial liturgies for the future, and the prophets to emphasise the moral precepts of YHWH's laws in their daily behaviour.

The great masterpiece of the Exile was produced by the prophetic peoples who became almost a 'Deuteronomistic Institute'. The book of Deuteronomy, as found in the reign of King Josiah, was their 'Bible', but in exile they edited it, and added to it, authenticating it by putting it all into the mouth of Moses himself, and, by so doing, preparing for their second entry into 'their' land.

Then they edited all their historical records, (in Judges, 1&2 Samuel, and 1&2 Kings), judging each king in the light of how well he had kept Josiah's (much later) reforms! Their love of the Jerusalem Temple accounts for their lack of appreciation of anyone from the Northern Kingdom.

They also edited again all the prophetic poems they had brought with them to Babylon, and began to write them on longer scrolls of vellum, The scrolls of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel were begun, and the 'Scroll of the Twelve' minor collections, of Amos, Hosea, Micah etc.. Now they were writing the old Hebrew language in the new square script, still in use today.

The Priestly groups were also at work. They were concerned to preserve all the ancient traditions of the Ark and the Tent, and all the 'Names' of YHWH. They produced the 'Book of Holiness', (chs 17-26 in Leviticus), in which the Levites emphasised the high ethical conduct expected of priests who offered sacrifices, see ch 19.18! One of their motives was to validate the sacrificial system of Jerusalem, so dear to their hearts, by writing it 'back' into Moses' instructions at Sinai, (Exodus 25 - 31), and this started them on their major task that was only completed many years later in the final Pentateuch, (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Joshua). They began to weave the Priestly story into the ancient story-codes, J & E, gradually making one long continuous story, starting at the beginning with creation.

First they prefaced the J-story of Adam and Eve with the liturgical hymn of praise in Genesis 1 not a scientific treatise, but a poetic and theological statement of faith. The highlight of this is the belief that YHWH, Himself, was never created, unlike the Babylonian mythic gods, but was 'above' the created world, directing people, the climax of creation, to be responsible for it. This first section ends with the 'saving' of creation from drowning, in the story of Noah.

The second section weaves together the stories of Abraham, with the rite of circumcision validated, and the patriarchs when they were 'saved' by Joseph from death by famine.

Thirdly they added little to the JE story of the saving Exodus, of Moses, and the Sinai Covenant, but gave it all a theological interpretation of their God tabernacling with His people wherever they went! - a lesson they were learning again in Babylon.

All this creative and imaginative theological debate took place gradually as the years continued to pass, and the new generations began to replace the older folk. Life in Babylon had become the accepted norm for the exiles, but political history doesn't, and didn't, stand still.

Babylon had flourished under Nebuchadrezzar, conqueror of many vast territories with his excellent army, builder extraordinaire, liberal autocrat, even over the Babylonian priests of Marduk, but even great men grow old, and he died in 562 BCE., and Babylon almost collapsed overnight! Three kings tried to rule in the next 7 years, but were murdered, before Nabonidus seized the throne and became the last King of that great city and empire.