Course materials

1. We have argued that a crisis occured for the Israelites/Hebrews in the
years 598
We have argued that a crisis occured for the Israelites/Hebrews in the years 598-587 BCE
when Nebunchadnezzar, king of Babylon, captured, sacked, and destroyed Jersualem. The
Temple was looted, leveled; many were killed or exiled; the land was incorporated into the
provincial system of the Babylonian empire; and in these events the historical life of ancient
Israel as a nation of one God, one land, and one people ended. Out of this crisis arose
Judaism.Questions that arose that gave rise to Judaism included: What now of the deity who
had formed and preserved Israel? What of the conditional covenant that bound the people
and their God? What now of the chosen people, scattered and scared? Was Yahweh dead?
Was Yahweh impotent before the might of Babylon and its gods? Did Yahweh not care, or
was Yahweh angry? If so, what had caused such anger? And what about the land of promise,
the gift of Yahweh?For those remaining in exile as well as for those remaining in the ruins of
the lost homeland, there were questions about after the initial shock had passed and the
weeping subsided. What now? How shall we live? Can we worship without a temple? How
can we retain our identity and unity? What institutions and structures can we build for this?
What is to be our relationship with the people among whom we now find ourselves? It took
eventful centuries to respond to this crisis, and the responses were many. Ultimately
Judaism emerged as the answer to these questions, although there were different ways this
question was answered. Although some undoubtedly rejected the God of Israel, the Bible
preserves new directions for the present and the future.Write an essay in which you discuss
the responses to this crisis and the rise of Judaism in light of the issues raised above.
Consider Ezekiel, Psalm 137, Second Isaiah, and Job and discuss the unique message of
Jeremiah 31:31-34.Your paper must be written from the academic study of the Hebrew
Bible as presented and should NOT reflect your own personal theology (if you choose to
include your personal perspectives, please be sure that you first address the issues from the
perspective of the academic study of ancient Israelite history, religion and literature). You
must discuss all of the texts listed above and should arrange them as an essay that flows
from one text to the next, rather than as a list of texts.The final exam should be 6 pages long.
If you quote from the Bible, please put the textual reference in parenthesis after the quote.
No footnotes or bibliography are required for this assignment.