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After the Babylonian Exile
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Readings for Daily Mass in Weeks 25 - 27 of Ordinary Time, Year I
Zerubbabel supervises the construction of the second temple (Ezra 3:8) - artist unknown
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Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel
(Ezekiel 37:1 - 14) -
Quentin Matsys the Younger
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The faith of the Proto-Israelites originated approximately 4,000 years ago and, like all religions, it evolved over time. Most scholars would argue that the form and the structure of the religion we call “Judaism” today has its genesis in the crucible of suffering the Israelites experienced during the Babylonian exile, c. 586 - 538. Although prophetic books were written during the exile—Ezekiel and probably Isaiah 40 - 55—the Jewish people did not leave much of a written record of events of this period.
In weeks 25 - 27 of Ordinary Time, Year I, we look at the historical books and the prophecies rooted in the two centuries following the exile. This is the beginning of “Second Temple Judaism,” which begins with the completion of the new Jerusalem temple in 515 and ends with its destruction by the Romans in 70 AD.
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To jump ahead to information about specific books of the Bible, please click on the links below.
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Ezra & Nehemiah (Monday - Wednesday of Week 25, Wednesday & Thursday of Week 26)
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Haggai & Zechariah (Thursday of Week 25 - Tuesday of Week 26)
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Baruch (Friday & Saturday of Week 26)
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Malachi (Thursday of Week 27)
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Joel (Friday & Saturday of Week 27)
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Jonah (Monday - Wednesday of Week 27)
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Background: the Babylonian Exile
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Located about 50 miles south of present-day Baghdad, the city of Babylon was founded circa 2300. Twice in its history, the city became the capital of short-lived powerful nations bearing its name. King Hammurabi formed the original Babylonian kingdom in 1792 through his military prowess, but the kingdom collapsed upon his death in 1750. The Neo-Babylonian Empire arose in 626 and became the dominant power in Mesopotamia after defeating the Assyrians in Nineveh in 612. Babylon terrorized smaller kingdoms in the region through regular military campaigns to expand its territory.
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Hand-colored engraving depicting Hanging Gardens and Tower of Babel, Babylon - artist unknown, 19th century
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The Flight of the Prisoners - James Tissot
In 597, King Nebuchadnezzar’s campaign reached Jerusalem, took thousands of Judahite aristocrats and priests captive, and exiled them to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar completely destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 586, leading to the greatest religious crisis in the history of the Israelite people. They had claimed that they were favored and protected by God; how could God allow such a tragedy to befall them? At this time, the faith—now named for Judah, the only remaining tribe of Israel—emphasized that the entire Judahite community must re-dedicate itself to the covenant, that even good and holy people could experience deep suffering, and that religious righteousness was not necessarily tied to political power.
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The Historical Books After the Exile: Ezra and Nehemiah
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King Cyrus, founder of the Achaemenid or “First Persian” Empire, conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539. Persian policy allowed for conquered nations to retain many of their cultural and religious practices, as long as they paid tribute to Persia. In 538, Cyrus allowed the aristocrats from the kingdom of Judah to return to their land and rebuild the city and temple of Jerusalem. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell of three people leading the effort over the next several decades:
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Cyrus Hunting the Wild Boar - Claude Audran the Younger
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Ezra 1 - 6 tell of Zerubbabel (also called Sheshbazzar), assisted by the high priest Joshua, supervising the reconstruction of the temple. Zerubbabel was a direct descendant of David. The work began in 538, was interrupted by interference from Samaritans, resumed in the second year of the reign of King Darius I (520), and concluded in time for the celebration of Passover in 515.
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Ezra was a scribe who led the religious reforms of the period, as attested in Ezra 7 - 10 and Nehemiah 7 - 10. Ezra’s ministry started in the 7th year of the reign of King Artaxerxes of Persia. (That was probably in the reign of Artaxerxes I in 458, although some scholars suggest that Ezra came during the reign of Artaxerxes II, in the year 398.) He reestablished the covenant, reinstated the Feast of Tabernacles and acts of penitence, and forbid Jewish men from marrying non-Jewish women (more on this at the end of this section). Most notably, in chapter 8 of Nehemiah, Ezra reintroduced the people to the Law by reading it to them in an all-day assembly.
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Ezra Reads the Law to the People - Gustave Doré
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Nehemiah Sees the Rubble of Jerusalem - James Tissot
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Nehemiah was a cup-bearer serving King Artaxerxes I of Persia when Artaxerxes appointed him governor of Judah in 445. Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, as detailed in Nehemiah 1 - 6 and 11 - 13, and implemented laws of justice and righteousness. After 12 years, he left Jerusalem, returning later to discover that the people had broken the covenant. He returned to leadership in Judah to restore the people’s fidelity.
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The books of Ezra and Nehemiah do not follow a coherent chronology, with the timeline inconsistent between chapters. While it’s not explicitly stated in these books, there are hints that the return from exile was a socially complex problem. While some common people had stayed behind in the destroyed land of Judah, other non-Judahite people had moved in and made their home there. While many Judahite aristocrats and priests returned to Judah after the exile, others decided not to return, seeing it as fulfilling God’s command to multiply in number in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1 - 10).
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There are three major themes in these two books:-
God can use foreign rulers for the sake of protecting Israel. King Cyrus of Persia is regarded by the Bible as doing God’s work, even if Cyrus is unaware that he is doing it.
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The Jewish people face opposition from the neighboring nations.
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Jews need to separate themselves from other people for reasons of purity, for the sake of restoring the covenant.
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Daniel and Cyrus Before the Idol Bel - Rembrandt van Rijn
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This third theme in particular—especially embodied in Ezra’s edict that Jewish men must divorce their non-Jewish wives—may sound racist, xenophobic, patriarchal, and/or misogynistic by today’s standards, but we must consider Ezra in its original context. The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with God’s commands to welcome the aliens in the land (e.g. Jeremiah 7:5 - 7, Ezekiel 47:22, and Zechariah 7:9 - 10). The Book of Ruth says that King David’s own great-grandmother was a Moabite. Ezra’s edict is NOT about race or gender; it is about protecting the community from the dangers of idolatry. The Bible repeatedly tells us that the exile resulted from the Israelites worshipping idols, and the Bible tells of many Israelite leaders—including Solomon (1 Kings 11:1 - 13) and Ahab (1 Kings 16:31 - 33)—abandoning the worship of God to take up the idolatrous beliefs of their non-Israelite spouses.
Ezra’s prohibition should be understood as fulfilling God’s call in Leviticus to “be holy” (19:2) and “not turn aside to idols” (19:4), especially considering that the same chapter admonishes the Israelites “to have the same love” for the aliens among them (19:34). Nevertheless, Ezra has been exploited over the centuries to justify the prohibition of interracial and/or interreligious marriage. Today, the Church does not prohibit Christians from marrying people of other faiths. The Church strongly suggests, however, that marriage preparation courses include provisions to assist the Christian spouse in continuing to practice their faith.
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The Prophetic Books After the Exile: Haggai, Zechariah, Baruch, Malachi, and Joel
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The Achaemenid Empire lasted from 539 to 330. In these roughly two centuries of Persian rule, Judean society was organized primarily around worship conducted by Levitical priests, rather than around legislation passed by political leaders. During this time, most Jews came to believe that God’s promise to restore the house of David would not be fulfilled until the end of the world.
The prophets Haggai and Zechariah were active in Jerusalem in 520 BC when King Darius I of Persia allowed the rebuilding of the temple to begin again. They exhorted their beleaguered compatriots to finish that work, even though the economic situation was dire. While chapters 1 - 8 of Zechariah appear to be words from the actual prophet, chapters 9 - 14 could be appended from another time period. Zechariah 12 includes the texts we associate most closely with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
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Sculpture of Baruch ben Neriah - Aleijadinho
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While the historical Baruch ben Neriah was an assistant to the prophet Jeremiah and was presumably taken into the exile, the deuterocanonical Book of Baruch seems to have been written by someone else shortly after the exile. The book speaks of certain events—such as observing the Feast of Booths—which would have been impossible during the exile. The author seems to be imagining how to apply Jeremiah’s wisdom during the exile, encouraging people to cultivate a spirit of repentance so that God would relent and end their suffering. Many Orthodox Christians break the final chapter of Baruch into a separate book, “The Letter of Jeremiah.”
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The name Malachi is a pseudonym meaning “my messenger.” Writing shortly before Nehemiah’s arrival in Jerusalem in 445 BC, Malachi sharply criticizes the priests and rulers, which may be why he writes under a pseudonym. It is placed as the last book of the Christian Old Testament. Malachi’s prophecy influences Christianity in notable ways. In 1:11, we read the foretelling of God being worshipped “from the rising of the sun to its setting.” Where Malachi prophesies that Elijah will return (3:23) and leave “the proud and all evil-doers… neither root nor branch” (3:19), we understand the Holy Spirit later revealing the text to ultimately refer to John the Baptist.
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The prophet Joel writes during the double crisis around the year 400 BC of an extreme winter drought followed by a locust invasion. Joel fears that this is the day of the Lord, and he calls the people to gather and repent of their sins so that no other tragedy may befall them. (Joel’s eloquent call to repentance in 2:12 - 18 is our first reading on Ash Wednesday.) Later in the book, Joel envisions a gathering of all nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. In both oracles, the Lord showers the people with blessings.
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Sculpture of the Prophet Joel - Yad Hashmona Hotel, Jerusalem
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Two Other Stories After the Exile: Jonah & Esther
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Jonah and the Gourd Plant -
artist unknown
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The lectionary includes more than 80% of the Book of Jonah, a higher percentage than any other book in the Old Testament. While the character of Jonah is a prophet, the Book of Jonah is a fable, not a prophecy. The story is fast-moving and compelling, and it is perhaps the most humorous book of the Bible because of its use of dramatic irony. The theme is more universal than almost any other piece of post-exilic scripture: God’s mercy is incomprehensibly expansive, and sometimes, the human desire for righteous vengeance runs counter to God’s mercy.
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The Book of Esther is not included in this part of the lectionary, but it is set in Persia during the reign of Xerxes, 486-464 BC. Much of it was probably written in waning days of the Achaemenid Empire, although the version used by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox was not finalized for probably another 200 years. We briefly discuss the Book of Esther on our page about the Deuterocanonical Books.
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Esther -
attributed to Kate Gardiner Hastings
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The response to the first reading during these weeks is usually from the Book of Psalms, with occasional selections from Tobit, Jeremiah, and Jonah. The gospel reading is taken from the Gospel of Luke, chapters 8-11.
This concludes page 10 of 40 in our Lectionary Guide. For a comprehensive reading of the entire guide, we suggest going next to the Deuterocanonical Books.
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