from: Israel
Finkelstein / Neil A. Silberman: The Bible
unearthed. Archeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and
the Origin of Its Sacred Texts; The Free Press, a
division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2001; German
edition has got the title "No trombones before Jericho"
(orig. German: "Keine Posaunen vor Jericho"): edition
C.H.Beck oHG, Munich 2002;
Here in this
analysis is used the German version "Keine Posaunen vor
Jericho" of DTV, Munich 2004, second edition of 2005.
All page indications refer to the German version. I hope
the page numbers are not very different.
The
return of the banned and an alleged new rise of the economy
AT claims:
-- according to the book of Ezra in chapter 2 and in the book
of Nehemiah in chapter 7 almost 50,000 Jews are coming back
from the ban to the Yehud province
-- with this also a new rise of the economy is said having
connected
-- and it's also said that there was a jump of the population
in the highlands with this (p.329).
The new southern borderline of
Yehud because of "Idumea"
By the occupation of the Edomites and the
newly founded territory of "Idumea" the southern border has
moved to the North. The new frontier is between the towns of
Bet-Zur and Hebron now, whereas Hebron is not a part of the
Yehud province any more (p.334).
Yehud province: There is a governor and
priesthood - no king any more
A kingdom is not installed any more
(p.331). The province of Yehud is ruled by governors and
priests which are proclaimed. The temple and the temple
community is the new hot spot for the Jewish identity. There
is no royal court any more. The social position of the
priests is rising and are writing new books, the books of
the priests (P) (p.332).
According to Finkelstein / Silberman it's
possible that the invented migration of the faked patriarch
of Abraham and the faked exodus of Egypt were loved topics
in the sermons of the priests [and are loved topics in the
Christian churches until today] (p.334).
What says archeology about the banned
and their return?
According to Finkelstein / Silberman the
number of 50,000 returning Jews from the Babylonian ban is a
wild exaggeration. The total population in the tiny Yehud
province is about 30,000 during the 5th and 4th century B.C.
This population is building now the identity of later Jewry
(p.329).
[So, Yehud province is as big as the town
of Uster (2005) or a little less big as Gibraltar].
The returnees are settling around
Jerusalem. They are adherents of the "1 god movement", and
in sociology and in politics they are better formed and
because of this they are higher rated than the native
population. Tanks of the "holy books" they have survived the
ban and have conserved their identity to be Jewish (p.331).
[But this identity is very wrong, but they
don't want to change].
Now there is a takeover of power by the
returnees:
-- the returning priests are taking over
the leading role in Yehud province (p.331-332) because the
relationships to Babylonia also give political power to the
returnees (p.331)
-- and because Babylonia did not settle
foreign deportees in Yehud, so the returnees have the whole
power immediately (p.331).
The alleged new temple and the
discrimination of the population from the ex northern
Reich of Israel
OT claims:
-- two men, Sheshbazzar and Serubbabel are
said having leaded the first group of returnees, and both
are said having become governor of Yehud province (Ezra
5,14;Haggai 1,1) (p.331)
or:
-- under the leadership of Sheshbazzar a
first group of banned is returning to Jerusalem with temple
treasuries which were robbed by Nebuchadnezzar (p.320)
[robbed from a "first temple" which had
never existed]
-- Sheshbazzar is said having laid the new
base for a new temple, he is said having been the first
"ruler of Judah" (Ezra 1,8) (p.331)
-- some years later there is said having arrived a second
wave of returnees to Jerusalem under it's leader Jehoshuah,
the son of Jozadaus and of Serubbabel, a grandchild of
Jeconiah (p.320)
-- they are said having built an altar and having celebrated
the Passover Feast of Tabernacles (book of Ezra) (p.320)
-- the population of the ex northern kingdom of Israel is
said having requested Serubbabel to help with the
construction of the temple, but the priests Jehoshuah and
Serubbabel are said having blocked any collaboration (Ezra
4,3) (p.320)
-- the ex banned mean that they would possess a divine
privilege now by the ban that they had suffered, and they
mean having the right to determine the character of the
Jewish "1 god belief" (p.320)
-- then the "folks of the countryside" from the ex northern
kingdom of Israel is said having written a letter to the
king of Babylonia with the claim that the returnees would
reconstruct "the rebellious and evil town again" in Israel,
and the people of the northern kingdom are said having
uttered the prophecy that the town of Jerusalem will refuse
to pay their taxes again and will cause new damage bringing
harm to Persia up to the Euphrates river (Ezra 4,12-16)
(p.320)
-- and by this the king of Babylonia is said having
prohibited all further temple complexes, but Serubbabel and
Jehoshuah are said having continued their works with the
temple (p.320)
-- then the Persian governor is said having inspected
Jerusalem himself and having reported this to the new king
Darius with the request for a royal decision (p.321)
-- king Darius of Persia is said having permitted the
further construction of the temple complex and is said
having assured even the financing and the punishment of the
enemies of the temple when there would be any action against
the temple again (book of Ezra) (p.321).
Documents and archeology about
the returnees
Some scientists claim
that Sheshbazzar had been Shenazzar (1st book of chronicle
3,18), a heir of David [remote grade], perhaps he had even
been the son of Jeconiah [then this son would have spread by
a secret relation] (p.331).
But suddenly Serubbabel is not mentioned
any more in the OT. According to Finkelstein / Silberman it
could be that Serubbabel was too powerful in the province of
Yehud and by this was called back [or was eliminated]
(p.331).
