Thus the author observes: "Historically the church capitulated before Constantine's invitation to participate within the power structure, finding itself trapped in a new kind of
Babylonian exile. The only alternative was to not refuse to participate, while clinging to a persecuted status, but to participate in a different way" (p.48).
On the other hand, in contradiction to their principles, Iraqi officials sometimes adopt a racist, anti-Semitic posture as part of their war propaganda, linking current ties between Israel and Iran to the imagined support of the Jews in
Babylonian exile for Cyrus the Great.
Urging peace with Israel's enemies, he can still foresee the coming tragedy of the
Babylonian Exile. The middle chapters of Isaiah (40 - 55) were written after 586, when Jerusalem fell.
He said that the Jews later collaborated with Xerxes, the Persian ruler, during the
Babylonian exile in order to topple Nebuchadnezzar and Babylonian civilization.
Oded retired from the University of Haifa in 2002 after teaching there since 1966, but his long career as a leading scholar of the history of ancient Israel has continued well past his retirement and includes his work, The Early History of the
Babylonian Exile (8th-6th Centuries B.C.E.) (Haifa: Pardes, 2010 [Hebrew]).
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the
Babylonian exile. ...
The authorship and dating of Psalms is complicated, not least because different Psalms reflect different eras (e.g, the introduction to Psalm 30 speaks of the dedication of the First Temple, a pre-exilic event, while the introduction to Psalm 137 refers to the
Babylonian exile).
and the
Babylonian exile in the sixth century B.C., she says, but is a prime candidate for Israelite identity issues.
In Exodus 12, God addresses Moses and Aaron directly, telling them that Nisan, the month of the Exodus from Egypt, "shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you." (Though the Bible does not actually use the word "Nisan": the names of the months as we know them are Babylonian and date from the
Babylonian exile in the 6th century B.C.E.) It makes perfect sense that Nisan, which marks the beginning of Jewish freedom and includes the most important Jewish holiday, Passover, would be the month chosen to begin the year.
One of the spin-offs of the
Babylonian Exile was an extended exposure to non-Jews, forcing some of the liberated Israelites to wonder about the place of gentiles in Yahweh's plan of salvation.
So this must be after the
Babylonian Exile, when Jerusalem was destroyed and the monarchy with it (587 B.C.).
They are coming to Manila during the season when the liturgical readings of Advent recall the cries of the Israelites for their liberation from their
Babylonian exile.