Sorry about the delay, almost forgot this one. Anyway, yesterday's lecture picked up where Tuesday's left off, delving into the reign of Josiah as well as the destruction of Jerusalem and the beginnings of the Babylonian exile. Although he attained the throne at just eight years old, Josiah's time as king was influential in setting the foundations for modern Judaism. Although probably not an ancient document, but rather a text written at the time, Josiah's court "found" a scroll containing laws supposedly handed down from ancient communications with god. In line with the concepts contained within the scroll, Josiah set about undertaking a widespread program of religious reform, restoring the ideals of and even adding to the orthodoxy establishing under King Hezekiah. However, while religious reforms did indeed move the region toward religious centralization, Josiah's death at Megiddo in 609 BCE began a series of events that would force the followers of Yahweh to put their faith into serious question.
After Josiah's death, Jerusalem was vulnerable to attack by the rapidly-expanding Neo-Babylonian empire. Following a few smaller siege-surrender-exile cycles, the betrayal of Zedekiah prompts Babylonian rule Nebuchadnezzar to enter the city, destroy the Temple, and sent the city's entire learned population into exile. Because this act not betrayed the concept of an eternal temple, but also of eternal Davidic rule, the destruction of Jerusalem forced Israelites to put their faith into question.
As a result, the faith became redefined by the "book" Josiah had used to justify his multitude of religious reforms. No longer bound by the concept of eternal rule over Jerusalem, the Israelites were able to redefined their faith by an adherence to the laws supposedly handed down from their god to Moses on Mount Sinai. This redefinition was pivotal in setting the stage for the development of modern Judaism, a faith whose followers are still known as "The People of the Book".
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