Yahweh Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods (586โ332 BCE)=== {{main|Second Temple Judaism}} [[File:Jerus-n4i.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=A model building, with a large cubic structure to the rear and an open courtyard in front, surrounded by crenelated and turreted walls|The [[Second Temple]], as [[Herod's temple|rebuilt]] by [[Herod the great|Herod]] c. 20โ10 BCE (modern model, 1:50 scale)]] In 587/6 BCE [[Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC)|Jerusalem fell]] to the [[Neo-Babylonian]]s, [[Solomon's Temple]] was destroyed, and the leadership of the community were deported.{{sfn|Grabbe|2010|p=2}} The next 50 years, the [[Babylonian exile]], were of pivotal importance to the history of Israelite religion. As the traditional [[sacrifice]]s to Yahweh (see below) could not be performed outside Israel, other practices including [[Biblical Sabbath|sabbath]] observance and [[Brit milah|circumcision]] gained new significance.{{sfn|Cogan|2001|p=271}} In the writing of [[second Isaiah]], Yahweh was no longer seen as exclusive to Israel, but as extending his promise to all who would keep the sabbath and observe his covenant.{{sfn|Cogan|2001|p=274}} In 539 BCE [[Fall of Babylon|Babylon in turn fell]] to the Persian conqueror [[Cyrus the Great]], the exiles were given permission to return (although only a minority did so), and by about 500 BCE the [[Second Temple]] was built.{{sfn|Grabbe|2010|pp=2โ3}} Towards the end of the Second Temple period, speaking the name of Yahweh in public became regarded as [[taboo]].{{sfn|Leech|2002|pp=59โ60}} When reading from the scriptures, Jews began to substitute the divine name with the word ''[[adonai]]'' (ืึฒืึนื ึธืโฌ), meaning "[[Lord#Religion|my Lords]]".{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}} The [[High Priest of Israel]] was permitted to speak the name once in the Temple during the [[Yom Kippur|Day of Atonement]], but at no other time and in no other place.{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}} During the [[Hellenistic period]], the scriptures were translated into Greek by the Jews of the [[History of the Jews in Egypt|Egyptian diaspora]].{{sfn|Coogan|Brettler|Newsom|2007|p=xxvi}} Greek translations of the Hebrew scriptures render both the [[tetragrammaton]] and ''adonai'' as ''[[kyrios]]'' (ฮบฯฯฮนฮฟฯ), meaning "Lord".{{sfn|Leech|2002|p=60}} The period of Persian rule saw the development of expectation in a future human king who would rule [[Ritual purification|purified]] Israel as Yahweh's representative at the [[Jewish eschatology|end of time]]โa [[messiah]]. The first to mention this were [[Haggai]] and [[Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)|Zechariah]], both prophets of the early Persian period. They saw the messiah in [[Zerubbabel]], a descendant of the [[Davidic line|House of David]] who seemed, briefly, to be about to re-establish the ancient royal line, or in Zerubbabel and the first High Priest, [[Joshua the High Priest|Joshua]] (Zechariah writes of two messiahs, one royal and the other priestly). These early hopes were dashed (Zerubabbel disappeared from the historical record, although the High Priests continued to be descended from Joshua), and thereafter there are merely general references to a Messiah of [[David]] (i.e. a descendant).{{sfn|Wanke|1984|pp=182โ183}}{{sfn|Albertz|2003|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Xx9YzJq2B9wC&pg=PA130 130]}} From these ideas, [[Second Temple Judaism]] would later emerge, whence [[Christianity]], [[Rabbinic Judaism]], and [[Islam]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page