The Troubles of Templeless Judah (Oxford Theology and Religion Monographs)

The time of the Babylonian capitivity ( c .587-539 BCE) is of seminal importance for the formation of the Hebrew Bible as well as for the religious development of Judaism. Previous studies of this era have usually privileged the perspective of the community of captives (the Golah), and the period is known as the "Exilic Age." Jill Middlemas challenges this consensus, arguing that the Golah community represents only one viewpoint, and that the experiences and contributions of the majority of the Judaean population, those who remained in Judah, need to be more fully appreciated. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Contents 10 List of Abbreviations 11 Introduction 18 1. The Social and Historical Situation in Templeless Judah 41 2. Conceptions of Judah, I: Idolatrous Cults 89 3. Conceptions of Judah, II: Yahwistic Worship 139 4. The Voice of the Land: Lamentations 188 Conclusion 246 Bibliography 253 Index of Biblical References 290 Subject Index 301 A 301 B 301 C 301 D 301 E 302 F 302 G 302 H 302 I 302 J 302 K 303 L 303 M 303 N 303 O 304 P 304 Q 304 R 304 S 304 T 304 V 305 W 305 Y 305 Z 305 "The time of the Babylonian captivity (c.587-539 B.C.E.) is of seminal importance for the formation of the Hebrew Bible as well as for the religious development of Judaism. Previous studies of this era have usually privileged the perspective of the community of captives (the Golah), and the period is known as the Exilic Age. Jill Middlemas focuses on the population that remained in the homeland of Judah, and argues that, from their viewpoint, the years following the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.E. would be better called the Templeless period." "The study as a whole establishes the grounds for further work on restoring a distinctively Judahite perspective to the literature of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament."--Jacket The sixth century BCE represents a decisive period in ancient Israel as it is within these 100 years that interpreters isolate a watershed in the history, literature, and theology of the Old Testament.