Keeping a national identity while in exile

In the early 6th century BCE the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and Judah. Many of the Jewish inhabitants were exiled to Babylon in a time now called the Babylonian Exile. Most of those who were exiled were the literate upper class. It is in this time while in exile that the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament were written down in a form we know today. These books were a combination of stories about the history of the Jewish people and its laws. The laws were a combination of old and newer laws which were all ascribed to Moses to give them equal weight. The laws like the Sabbath and kosher laws were likely to have been written and enforced as a way for the people to retain a national identity while in exile. The stories of Moses bringing the Hebrews out of exile in Egypt and the many other stories of homeless peoples were meant to give hope to the exiles that they would also one day go back home. Editors note: I have listened to several courses on the Old Testament which describes many of these stories but this is the first course where I felt that the professor gave a reasonable explanation for the ‘why’ of the Torah. By placing the writing of the Torah in context with the situation of what was actually happening to these people at this time in history the professor gave a good theory which makes historical sense. She also gave other background material during the lecture which strengthened this argument. I felt this was one of those real AHA moments in my understanding the ‘why’ of one of the most influential books ever written.

(The Great Courses – The World of Biblical Israel)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.