Inner-biblical Exegesis

1
Inner-biblical Exegesis

• Interpreting Jeremiahs prophecy of 70 years.

2

• Assyrians
• 10 Northern tribes exiled in 722 BCE
• Babylonians
• Destroyed Temple I in 586
• Persians
• Allowed Jews to return in 539BCE
• Greeks
• Destroyed Persians in 332BCE
• Romans
• Entered Israel in 63BCE
• destroyed Temple II in 70 CE

3
Important Dates

• 605 Nebuchadnezzar comes to power
• 597 Galut Yehoyachin
• 586 Destruction of Bet haMikdash I
• 539 Cyrus destroys Babylonia, decree
• 520-516 Rebuilding of Bet haMikdash

4
Destruction of Temple I 586 BCEby Nebuchadnezzar
5
Prophecy of Return

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6

• Cyrus the Great conquers the Babylonians and
  permits the Jews to return to Israel and rebuilt
  the Temple
• 539BCE

7
Cyrus Grants Permission to Return and Rebuild in
539 BCE

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8
Paying Back the Loan

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9
Cyrus Cylinder

• Now in the British Museum

10
Cyrus Cylinder in British Museum, London
11
Replica of Cyrus Cylinder in UN, New York
12
Read this
13
Cyrus Cylinder

• 28-33 By his exalted word, all the kings who
  sit upon thrones throughout the world, from the
  Upper Sea to the Lower Sea i.e., from the
  Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf, who live
  in the districts far-off, the kings of the West,
  who dwell in tents, all of them, brought their
  heavy tribute before me and in Babylon they
  kissed my feet. From Babylon to Aššur and from
  Susa, Agade, Ešnunna, Zamban, Me-Turnu, Der, as
  far as the region of Gutium, the sacred centers
  on the other side of the Tigris, whose
  sanctuaries had been abandoned for a long time, I
  returned the images of the gods, who had resided
  there i.e., in Babylon, to their places and I
  let them dwell in eternal abodes. I gathered all
  their inhabitants and returned to them their
  dwellings. In addition, at the command of Marduk,
  the great lord, I settled in their habitations,
  in pleasing abodes, the gods of Sumer and Akkad,
  whom Nabonidus, to the anger of the lord of the
  gods, had brought into Babylon.
• 34-36 May all the gods whom I settled in their
  sacred centers ask daily of Bêl and Nâbu that my
  days be long and may they intercede for my
  welfare. May they say to Marduk, my lord "As for
  Cyrus, the king who reveres you, and Cambyses,
  his son, lacuna." The people of Babylon blessed
  my kingship, and I settled all the lands in
  peaceful abodes.

14
Building of Temple II 516 BCEunder Zerubabel
15
Stage 3 Rebuilding of Second Bet Hamikdash in
520-516 BCE

• Texts Ezra 1-6, Haggai 1
• People Involved
• Sheshbazzar Yehoyachins son
• Zerubabel Yehoyachins grandson
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Dates
• Commences in Darius Is 2nd year 520
• Finished on Adar 3 of Darius 6th year March
  516

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Achaemenid Dynasty

• Cyrus II, the Great ruled from c.550-530 BCE
• Cambyses II ruled 529-522 BCE
• Smerdis (Bardiya), ruled 522 BCE
• Darius I, the Great ruled 521-486 BCE
• Xerxes I ruled 485-465 BCE
• Artaxerxes I Longimanus ruled 465-424 BCE
• Xerxes II ruled 424 BCE
• Sogdianus ruled 424-423 BCE
• Darius II Nothus ruled 423-405 BCE
• Artaxerxes II Mnemon ruled 404-359 BCE
• Artaxerxes III Ochus ruled 358-338 BCE
• Artaxerxes IV Arses ruled 338-336 BCE
• Darius III Codomannus ruled 336-330 BCE

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A Second Interpretation of Jeremiahs 70 years

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18
How to Count 70

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• Reign of Nebuchadnezzar in 605 to conquest of
  Cyrus in 539
• 2. Destruction in 587 to Rededication in 515

19
A third interpretation of Jeremiahs 70

• Read Daniel 9
• 70 70 x 7
• 7 x 7 62 x 7 (434) ½ x 7 ½ x 7 490
• From Nebuchadnezzar to Hashmonaim
• From Destruction I to Destruction II

20
Seder Olam Chronology

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21
Bavli Avodah Zarah 9a

• R. Yose ben Halafta taught
• Persian rule lasted 34 years after the building
  of the Temple,
• Greece ruled 180 years during the existence of
  the Temple,
• the Hasmonean rule lasted 103 years during temple
  times,
• the House of Herod ruled 103.
• Thence onward, one should go on counting the
  years as from the Destruction of the Temple.

22
Comparing Chronologies

• Seder Olam Chronology
• 421 Destruction of Temple I
• 369 Darius the Mede received kingdom
• 368BCE Koresh reigns, decree of return
• 366-352 Purim during Ahashverosh
• 352 - 317 Daryavesh reigns
• 351 Begin rebuilding Temple

• Historians Chronology
• 586 Destruction of Temple I
• 539 Cyrus takes Babylonia
• 538 Cyrus decrees return
• 521-486 Darius I reigns
• 520 Begin rebuilding Temple
• 484 Purim during Artexerxes I

23
Book of Nehemiah

• Arrived in 455BCE
• Ch 1-73 Rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem
• 74-73 Census of returned exiles
• 81-12 Ezra reads the Torah in public
• 813-17 Celebrate Sukkoth
• 9-10 A new covenant
• 11-1226 Repopulation, lists of people
• 1227-133 Dedication of city walls
• 134-31 Legislation of laws

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Early Midrash in Nehamiah Ch 10

• 101-28 List of Signatories
• 29-30 Pledge to keep Hashems law in general
• 31-40 pledge to keep a set of particular laws
• 1031 prohibition to intermarry all people in
  land from Exodus 3411-16 and Devarim 71-3
• 1032 buying is prohibited on Shabbat extending
  Ex 3421 (farm work), 353 (fire), Jer 1721
  (burden), Amos 85 (selling), Neh 135 (selling
  and pressing wine)
• 1033 extends Ex 3011-16 to be an annual tax
• 1035 enables law of Vayikra 61-6, wood to burn
  continually
• 1036 extends Devarim 262 to fruit trees

25
Intermarriage

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26
First Fruit

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