The title of this section belongs to TheBibleNet, not Jewish tradition. It brings together the five books that complete the Tanach, in both senses of that word. First, they are the very final books. And secondly, the "why?" - because it was Ezra the Scribe, supported by Nechem-Yah the Governor, and inspired by the three great Prophets of that epoch, who drove the process by which the Temple was rebuilt, the Jewish homeland restored, and the Tanach written down, fully and completely for the first time ever, in something very close to the form in which we have it today. Were there a Book of Zeru-Bavel¹, the sixth key figure in this extraordinary process, that would be included here too.
The exile began in 586 BCE, with the destruction of the Temple in Yeru-Shala'im b Nebuchadnezzar, and the removal to Babylon of all that was left of the Beney Yisra-El, the tribe of Yehudah into which Bin-Yamin and Shim'on had long ago been absorbed. The return began fifty years later, when the Babylonians were defeated by the Persian Achaemenids or Medes.
In the book of the Prophet Chagai we learn that Zeru-Bavel led the first group back, not later than 520 BCE, as "Pachat Yehudah", the leader, but without the title Tirshat'a or "governor" which would be bestowed on Nechem-Yah seventy years later. The prophets Chagai and Zechar-Yah were his spiritual guides.
The book of Ezra tells us that Ezra arrived in Yeru-Shala'im in the seventh year of king Artaxerxes 1 (458 BCE), while Nechem-Yah came in Artaxerxes' twentieth year (445 BCE). The prophet Malachi was their spiritual guide.
Quick Look-up Ezra
Ezra 1
Ezra 2
Ezra 3
Ezra 4
Ezra 5
Ezra 6
Ezra 7
Ezra 8
Ezra 9
Ezra 10
Quick Look-Up and Introduction to Nechem-Yah (Nehemiah)
Nechem-Yah 1
Nechem-Yah 2
Nechem-Yah 3
Nechem-Yah 4
Nechem-Yah 5
Nechem-Yah 6
Nechem-Yah 7
Nechem-Yah 8
Nechem-Yah 9
Nechem-Yah 10
Nechem-Yah 11
Nechem-Yah 12
Nechem-Yah 13
Introduction to Chagai
Chagai 1
Chagai 2
Inroduction to Zechar-Yah (Zechariah)
Zechar-Yah 1
Zechar-Yah 2
Zechar-Yah 3
Zechar-Yah 4
Zechar-Yah 5
Zechar-Yah 6
Zechar-Yah 7
Zechar-Yah 8
Zechar-Yah 9
Zechar-Yah 10
Zechar-Yah 11
Zechar-Yah 12
Zechar-Yah 13
Zechar-Yah 14
Introduction to Malachi
Malachi 1
Malachi 2
Malachi 3
¹ Actually there is one. The disparity between the lack of detail surrounding Zeru-Bavel’s biography and his prominent stature likely informed the seventh-century CE apocalyptic work "The Book of Zeru-Bavel". Describing a vision in which Zeru-Bavel foresees an eschatological war between Armilus, leader of Rome, and Messiah ben Joseph, the sefer predicts that Messiah ben David will emerge as the redeemer. At the narrative’s conclusion, Zeru-Bavel witnesses the heavenly Temple descending to Earth. Although there is more to say about "The Book of Zeru-Bavel", for our purposes the larger point is clear. Much as with Av-Raham’s early years, as well as personalities including Chanoch and Pinchas, supernatural biographies are attempts to fill in the Biblical void.
Copyright © 2020 David Prashker
All rights reserved
The Argaman Press
No comments:
Post a Comment