Preview

How Did The Second Temple Influence Jewish Culture

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1500 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Did The Second Temple Influence Jewish Culture
The Second Temple is of great significance because it defined and shaped the culture and religion of the Jewish people. The Jewish people have a long history that dates back the 6th century BCE to the period of the revolt involving the Bar Kokhba around 115-117 CE. It is broad and contains a rich history of the Jewish people including their exile to other nations. The history of the Jewish people has its roots from the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 568 BCE. The Jewish culture only came to exist at the onset of the Second Temple Period. There are many events that preceded the beginning of this period including the takeover of the Persian Empire.
The Persians took over much of the region and were dominant in countries such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Judea. This marked the beginning of the Second Temple Period that continued for over six centuries. The Jewish people were ruled by different empires including the Persians,
…show more content…
This means that the proliferation of the Jewish literature was on the rise although some scholars argue that the activities during this period was obscure. Some of the biblical evidence that talk about the Persian Jewish during this period include the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The books of Zechariah and Haggai are prophetic and cover some of the history of the Israelites in the period of the Persian rule.
Scholars have noted that not all the information in the biblical sources are credible and they represent on a small portion of the Jewish history. The Jewish history does not have much of the Persian story although the information about the two centuries of Persian rule may be sufficient in providing the necessary knowledge. There is a chance that what we know as the Old Testament experienced substantial editing during this period, which could be the reason to explain the absence of information regarding the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The Persian Empire ruled from 559 to 330 B.C.E. Around 2000 B.C.E. the Aryans conquered modern day Persia. The Achaemenid Empire began with Cyrus the Great and he became a king beneath Astyages in ancient Persia. In 550 B.C.E. Cyrus took complete control over the Median kingdom. By 539 B.C.E. Cyrus the Great had conquered both the Lydian and Babylonian kingdoms. After conquering a kingdom he would “decapitate” the leader (not by beheading them but by replacing the existing leader with one of his choosing). Cyrus interfered very little with those beneath the leader which kept them happy and prevented them from revolting. Cyrus almost always honored his subject’s religion by allowing them to worship in peace and not destroy their places of worship. Cyrus the Great ended his reign in 530 B.C.E. Darius the Great ruled from 522-486 B.C.E. Darius expanded the Persian Empire into India. When not occupied by military endeavors Darius was a great administrator, he built extravagant capitals, introduced a standard currency, and extended the road network. Darius also organized a navy comprised of the Greeks and the Egyptians. Alexander the Great took the throne in 336 B.C.E. immediately following his father’s assassination. Alexander continued to follow his predecessors and employ tolerance for tactical reasons. By 324 B.C.E. Greece was the most powerful empire in the world making Alexander the Great the most powerful man in the world at that time.…

    • 1755 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Achaemenids was the Great Persian Empire that was founded in 559 BC. The founder was Cyrus the Great and his empire lasted over two centuries. Cyrus was tolerant, especially through religion. This is how the Persians were able to survive. A strategy Cyrus used to gain the trust of people he conquered was going to honor the temple, cults, and local gods of their culture. The Persian world…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    b) During the sixth century BCE, rulers of the province of Persia in southwest Iran embarked on a series of conquests that led to the formation of an enormous empire.…

    • 2839 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The time depicted in the medium was during the Achaemenid Empire which was the Persian Empire, established by Cyprus the great. 550-479 BCE and the Arabian Peninsula 1000 B.C. first century A.D. The Persian empire was greater than Assyrian and stretched from Egypt to Arabia across Mesopotamia and the Indus river. Persia today the nation of Iran and when Cyprus was conquering the nearing regions. During 539 B.C.E., King Cyrus chose to grow the limits of Persia. He started by vanquishing Babylon. Cyrus was different from other conquerors who ruled and dictated people but Cyrus was known for his kindness to all the people and regions he conquered especially the Jews who were treated unfairly. Cyrus did not transform the people into slaves and…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Hellenistic philosophy extremely influenced Judaism which started in the third century. This philosophy brought the Jews under the rule of two Greek opponents, the Ptolmeys and the Seleucids. After the demise of Alexander the Great, his wife and sons fought…

    • 156 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Day of Empire Essay

    • 1724 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The great Persian empire ruled from 559 to 330 BCE founded Cyrus the great. Cyrus was very tolerant towards religion and explored alternative cultures as well as allowing the conquered people to join him. In 550 BCE, Cyrus defeated Astyages (his grandfather) and took over Assyria, Mesopotamia, Syria, Armenia and Cappadocia. In 539, Cyrus became the ruler of the largest empire to ever exist after conquering Lydian, Median, and Babylonian. Cambyses took over the empire after Cyrus died and ruled from 530-522 BCE, expanding the empire. Darius the great ruled from 522-486 BCE. Darius helped the empire increase in tolerance. He encouraged the people to do what they wanted. When he conquered people he encouraged them to join him and benefitted off them joining by increasing diversity throughout the kingdom and used their skills and…

    • 1724 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The rise and fall of the Persian Empires The Achaemenid Empire Medes and Persians migrated from central Asia to Persia before 1000 B.C.E. Indo-European speakers, sharing cultural traits with Aryans Challenged the Assyrian and Babylonian empires Cyrus the Achaemenid (the Shepherd) (reigned 558-530 B.C.E.) Became king of Persian tribes in 558 B.C.E. All of Iran under his control by 548 B.C.E. Established a vast empire from India to borders of Egypt Cyrus's son, Cambyses (reigned 530-522 B.C.E.), conquered Egypt in 525 Darius (reigned 521-486 B.C.E.); largest extent of empire; population thirty-five million Diverse empire, seventy ethnic groups New capital at Persepolis, 520 B.C.E. Achaemenid administration Twenty-three satrapies (Persian…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC, was the largest empire of the ancient world, stretching from the borders of India and China in the east to large parts of Greece and Libya.The empire was divided into provinces called satrapies.They respected the people they conquered.The timeframe is 550-330 b.c..Persian government was a monarchy system in which the kings had the final say so in how things were supposed to be handled. The first king through 559-529 BCE and the last king ruled from 336-330 BCE. The empire was divided into twenty provinces each ruled by a governor.The economics were that they had a road system and has developed the use of coins, a system of weights, and a measurement system.They also switched to a barter system but China did it first.Also each satrapy paid taxes based on wealth and resources.A satrapy system was an administrative group. A satrap (governor) administered the region, a general supervised military, and a…

    • 380 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The letter of Cyrus the Great concerning the Jews was a letter Cyrus wrote stating his plans of helping the Jews return to their kingdom and promising them to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. He kept his word and made sure that the temple was built and if anyone opposed he threatened them with death. Cyrus’s strategy of conquest was unique because it allowed people that he conquered to have a sense of freedom, even though they were being ruled over. They didn’t have to confirm to Persian culture and religion by force. Rather he allowed the different groups that he conquered like the Babylonians, Egyptians, and others to continue their own religious practices as long as they pay taxes, and gave their sons to be soldiers to the Persian army.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Achaemenid Empire was the largest Empire in Ancient history. It began as a small state located in modern day Iran. It is called the Achaemenid Dynasty is because of the Achaemenes who created the state. It is not until Cyrus the Great came into power in 559 BC did the expansion of Persia begin. He conquers the median empire that controlled Persia at that time and thereafter he and his successors go on to conquer most of the Middle East and Asia Minor, expanding out 8 million km². They even conquered part of Greece another formidable country at the time, but had to retreat after a loss at the Battle of Plataea. After this invasion of Greece is when we start to see a decline of power in the Empire until its eventual fall when King Darius the III died in 330BC.…

    • 1224 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A history is a strong fundamentalism which binds the Jewish people together like: a strong sense of common origin, a shared past and shared destiny. The Jews are a people, and their story tells how, from equally modest beginnings in the Middle East, the people grew, mainly though natural increase, and became spread throughout the world by voluntary or imposed migration. Even though the Jewish dispersion is a very popular, but there is a strong belief that at the end of history the scattered people will be reunited on…

    • 342 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King Herod

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ezra, an Israelite loyal to God of the Hebrews, lived in captivity in Persia under the rule…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the year 1492, the history of American Jewish commenced which marked the eviction of Jews from Spain and thereby, landing in America. This marked the starting of Jewish communal society in North America.…

    • 1006 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The book opens with an introduction comparing the study of the Old Testament and the other religions and cultures of other peoples from the Ancient Near East. Scholars used to believe that the Old Testament was unique among other beliefs in the Ancient Near East but they now view the Old Testament as identical to other religions of its day and time.…

    • 2829 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    World LIt

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Who was the Persian conqueror who in 539 B.C.E. released the Hebrews from a period of exile and bondage in Babylon?…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics