(The Return of the People of Israel from Exile)

The people of Israel lived in exile in Babylon for fifty years. There, the priests and teachers of Israel did not allow their faith to die. Although the Temple had been destroyed, and they were far from their homeland, they still possessed the Word of God, both in the Bible and in their hearts. Some scholars believe that the period of exile marked a renewed commitment to God and to the study of the Bible. The Jews may still have continued to meet for worship, but they had to do so in private homes.

In 540 BC, the Persians defeated Babylon. Cyrus, King of Persia, following Persian custom, allowed the captives to return to their homeland and worship freely, provided they promised not to rebel against Persia. Although not all, a significant number of Israelites returned to Judah, beginning in 539 BC. They completed the construction of a new Temple, albeit on a smaller scale (the ‘Second Temple’), in 515 BC (Ezra 3–6). The prophet Haggai stated that this Temple could not be compared to Solomon’s Temple (Hag. 2:3), yet it remained in use for over 400 years—longer than Solomon’s Temple.

Ezra and Nehemiah were key leaders during the first hundred years following the people’s return to Judah from exile. Ezra, a Jewish priest and scholar of the Law, studied the Law and taught it to the people (Neh. 8). Copies of the Law and historical records were discovered, edited, and once again became the fundamental guide for the relationship between God and the people of Israel. Nehemiah, who was appointed by the Persian king as governor of Judah, oversaw the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (Neh. 2–6).

During the centuries following the construction of the Second Temple and before the birth of Jesus, the Israelites were frequently under foreign rule. This led them to view themselves more as a religious community than as a nation with physical borders and political leaders. During this period, the most important feature of the religion of Israel, known as Judaism, was its emphasis on observing the Law. To be a Jew meant to follow the Law. This included observing all religious festivals as well as the specific regulations for the priests and worship at the Temple.

The Second Temple became the centre of a significant event in the history of Israel during the second century. Antiochus IV Epiphanes, King of Syria, erected an altar to Zeus, the Greek god, within the Temple in 167 BC. This was a terrible insult to God and the Jewish people, so the Jews rebelled against Antiochus and rededicated the Temple in 164 BC. The Maccabean priests who led the revolt to free the Jewish people from Syrian rule established a Jewish state and became its kings. This kingdom endured until the Romans invaded in 63 BC.

Source: Study Edition of the Bible, Indonesian Bible Society