Indeed the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem sealed the fate of Judah for
generations afterwards, shaped the national consciousness, the people's
perception of the religion and ritual and the nation's way of historical memory.
It was a period that comprises the most important turning point
in the history of Judah and the Judeans in the first millennial BCE.
However, the destruction, exile and national crisis
were the beginning of a new stage in the history of the people and the land.
This was the beginning of a new Judaism.
The Judaism of the Second Temple period.
The destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation of the royal house and
the old elite, where the opportunity to form new elite and
alternate local leadership, to form other government in called centers.
And to develop new theological ideas justifying
the people who remained in their right of the land.
The main object of this course is to present a comprehensive and inclusive
profile, insofar as possible, of the period of the Babylonian rule over Judah,
and to emphasize that the exilic period is not a time to forget but
a period of historical, archaeological, and
theological bridge between the first and the second temple period.
With the assistance of some of my colleagues, archaeologists and
biblical scholars, we will explore the various aspects and
subjects of this time span based on the archaeological data, on critical
examination of the biblical accounts and on analysis of the extra biblical sources.
I will reconstruct a balance picture of this fascinating period,
emphasizing the changes side by side with the continuity in the place of it.
It's the connecting link between Judah,
the Judahites and the Judaism of the first and
second temple periods.