The History of the Two Temples of the Jews Essay

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Fall of the First and Second Temples

The first temple was built in 957 BC and in the Book of Deuteronomy it is told that this temple was important to the Hebrews because it was the place where the Israeli sacrifice to Yahweh took place. The temple was completed by King Solomon who was the son of the famous King David. David had presided over the Jews when the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments given to Moses were brought into the land. King David led the procession of the Ark and the temple was designed to house the Ark as it was a symbol of the covenant between the Jews and God.

The temple was sacked by the Egyptian pharaoh Shoshenq a few decades after it was completed. But the first temple was completely destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. This was during the time of the Babylonian captivity when the Jews were conquered by the Babylonians. The Babylonians ruled the realm for about four decades and many Jews were exiled from the region. In 539 BC, the Babylonians were conquered by the Persian King Cyrus the Great.

The second temple began construction following the fall of the Babylonian Empire. Cyrus the Great liberated the Hebrews and allowed the Jews who were exiled to return. After more than two decades the second temple was finished (around 515 BC). Darius the Great was the ruler of the region at the time.

The dispersion of the Jews influenced Jewish theology because it impacted the way the viewed their home as being Israel.

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They felt strong ties to this land and they viewed Cyrus as significant in the Jewish history because of his freeing of the Jewish people. In a way it was a reminder of how Moses had liberated the Jews from the Egyptians by following the commands of God. Just as God punished the Jews who worshipped the Golden Calf after being liberated from Pharaoh, the Jews viewed the Babylonian captivity as punishment from God for their idolatry. Additaionlly, the Hebrew alphabet was taken at this time. Anotehr important part ofthis period is the prophecies of Ezekiel and the rise of the role of the Torah. The Jews lived without a temple during this period but they had the Torah which they used for guidance. The scribes and sages also became Jewish leaders at this time to help guide the people during the diaspora. Thus the dispersion impacted the Jews theologically because it changed their dynamic—instead of there being tribes they became like smaller groups and families.

What led to the building of the 2nd temple was the decree of Cyrus the Great, who said that the Jewish exiles in Babylon could return and go about rebuilding the second temple. The Jewish sacrifices were begun again….....

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