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After the time of Nehemiah in Jerusalem, there are no more historical characters in the Biblical OT, yet there are over 400 years of History to cover before the NT era begins. Plenty of writing was being done in these years, so the reason is a mystery. The Jews had been the first to develop an historical awareness, believing, as they had done for several centuries, that YHWH revealed Himself through the events of Israel's linear history, and now others in the Middle East, particularly the Greeks, were beginning to develop their own historical writing.
Had the Jews now stopped writing their Story? Was there was little to write about, during the years they were ruled by Persia? Or had they written as usual, but none of their manuscripts survived? Or, could it be that their records were systematically destroyed? If so, who did it?, and why? These questions can only be explored by deduction and guesswork.
First, manuscripts were always in danger of simply 'wearing out', and unless they were deemed important enough to be copied, they did not survive longer than the first edition.
Secondly, Jerusalem was politically 'quiet', governed by a non-intrusive Persian King, providing there was no trouble. The Jews had no army, they were strictly governed according to the Deuteronomic Law which was enforced by the Levitical 'police', under the leadership of the High Priest whom Nehemiah had appointed, and who was supportive of the 'separatist' policies of the strict YHWH-monotheists. It seems there was no 'trouble' to record historically.
Thirdly, the 'age of classicism' was beginning, in which it was thought that only 'that which is old' is worth keeping. Anything written in 'modern Aramaic' was thought of little value compared with mss. written in old, 'classical' Hebrew. (So new religious writers continued to write books in Hebrew, and cloaked their identity by writing under the name of a famous person from the past). The age of classicism was also linked to the syllabuses favoured for education, so a definite, (and limited?), selection of mss was copied many times, to the detriment of others. This, however, hardly accounts for the disappearance of all the Jews' historical records.
Fourthly, if the Jews' historical records of these years were deliberately destroyed, can we deduce who did this, and why? They seem to have disappeared early on, because the Jewish historian, Josephus, - a contemporary of Jesus, - knew very little himself. The few things he knew, and did mention in his book, The Antiquities, are all very critical of the High Priests, so, - were the missing historical records favourable to them? If so, who destroyed them? The most likely answer, according to our present knowledge, is the Maccabean family, of the 2nd cent. BCE. When they came to power, they also eventually deposed the hereditary High Priest in favour of one of themselves, - because the traditional family was 'no good'. There is also mention of Judas Maccabeus as a collector of books, in 2 Macc.2.14, and collectors always 'select' the books they want to keep, not caring about any others!
What, then, can be known of life in Jerusalem, after the time of Nehemiah? It must have been like a police-state! The Levites were in control, supervising the activities of priests in the Temple, and prohibiting social contact with all outsiders. The Levites supervised the new regulations, preventing any trading on the Sabbath Day in the city, and developing a new style of Sabbath Day worship out in the Judean countryside, along the lines developed, during the Exile, in Babylon. (The Synagogues were coming into being). Nehemiah's appointee as High Priest, together with a few others, and the vast majority of the ordinary folk, were fully supportive of the strict monotheism of the Judean religion, and its consequent Separatist policies. The other priests, together with the indigenous landed gentry of the area, and possibly the merchants, and Persian civic officers, were the opposing minority, known as the Assimilationists. - and the poor didn't count!
It was only very gradually that the priests in general, began to reassert themselves, and reduce the powers of the Levites. The priests and the gentry grew more and more in harmony with each other, and their scholarly scribes were busy, adding to, and editing 'their' story, in the P-Code of the Pentateuch, the books of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, (and possibly enhancing the role of the priestly Ezra in the process?). The Levites were gradually reduced to the roles of Temple musicians and singers, and guardians of the Temple gates. Their authority was preserved, however, in the new synagogues out in the country areas where they were responsible, as before, for teaching the faith to each new generation.
Jerusalem continued to be a Separatist community, and in favour with Persia, for many years. In 401 BCE, Egypt rebelled, with Greek help, and regained its independence from Persia, putting Judea once again between two great powers. The pro-Egyptian Jews kept a low profile, - until Egypt invaded Southern Judea. The situation was soon reversed by Persia, but many of the pro-Egyptian Jews became political refugees in Egypt, where they settled. Persia regained Egypt in 343 BCE, but was exhausted, and much less able to resist the new enemy of ten years later.
Alexander of Macedon had a spectacular career, gaining his father's throne, and all the Greek city states which Philip had conquered, in 326, when he, Alexander, was 20 years old. During the next 13 years he conquered the whole of the Persian Empire, from Egypt to NW India, before dying in Babylon in 323 BCE. He founded the city of Alexandria, in Egypt, but never visited Jerusalem, and his conquests are not directly mentioned in the OT literature.
Plenty of literature was being produced at this time, in post-Exilic Jerusalem. Prophecy had become apocalyptic in style, but now an older type of writing was beginning to blossom, in the writings of the Sages, the scholars of Israel. They had first been established in Jerusalem by King Solomon, and continued there until the Exile. Now they were back, and were editing and expanding the Book of Proverbs, and producing psalms, and other books, in a Wisdom style that had become Israel's own, and different from the Wisdom of neighbouring cultures.
All Wisdom Literature is distinctive, having a 'timeless' quality, and showing no interest in History. It prefers to delve into, and to analyse, the problems of human existence, which makes it more universal in its appeal. In Israel's Wisdom, YHWH is not mentioned by name, but only by the generic title, 'God', or the 'Almighty', and there is no mention of Israel's consciousness of having been specially 'chosen' by God. Wisdom, in Israel, was a divine gift to special people, as to Solomon when he became King, (1 Kgs 3.9-12), so several documents were preserved as having been 'written' by him, that is, pseudopigraphically!
It takes two forms:
There are 3 distinctive OT books produced by the Sages, - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job.
Proverbs 1-9 is a brilliant prologue to the edited rest, in which the wise are so overwhelmed at the limits of their human understanding by the mystery of Creation, that they erupt into praise of God's Wisdom. In ch 8 Wisdom is even personified as 'Dame Wisdom' and described as God's 'darling and his delight', at His side as He worked at His drawing board.
Ecclesiastes is the book of 'the Preacher', but is more a melancholic lecture than a sermon. He challenged the simplicity of Deuteronomic thinking, that the good are rewarded and the wicked punished in this life. It is the first time the problem of Death for the individual has been raised in Israel's thinking. The preacher gloomily reflects that it would have been better not to have been born in the first place! His gloom emanates from his despair in realising how transcendent and remote God is, and how impossible it is for anyone to 'know' God wholly.
Job is a book most frequently misunderstood! It is not the story of a 'patient man'. It is a serious attempt to deal with the human question, 'Why do good people suffer?', by looking into the depths of one person's existence. The prologue and epilogue, an old folk tale in prose, (and talking of God as YHWH), provide a frame for the main discussion which is in poetry, (and speaking of 'God'). Job is the proverbial 'Everyman', who finds no satisfactory answer to his suffering, and wonders why he should have faith in God at all? Finally God answers him 'out of a whirlwind', in chs 38, 39, 'How dare you question me? ... where were you when I created the world? .......Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?' Job is finally and totally humbled, and can only repent, 'I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes'. Job's false ideas of God are put into perspective, and he is converted into a relationship of trust and surrender.
What a pity we know nothing of the personalities in Jerusalem who produced this literature during the years of the Persian Empire, which ended in 333 BCE.!
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