Josiah’s Jerusalem CONTINUED
Professor Cargill began lecture by talking about the Mezad Hashavyahu Ostracon, containing the Yavneh Yam letter. The Yavneh Yam letter discusses a violation of a rule regarding the returning of a worker’s garments after sundown from Exodus 22. The Ketef Hinnom amulets reference the Bible as well, showing another piece of evidence that demonstrates an increased need for literacy during the time. Also, both show that either knowledge was taken from biblical texts, such as laws found in the Yavneh Yam letter, or the laws stated and written in the Bible were documented after the time the Yavneh Yam letter was written.
Exile, Destruction, and Cognitive Dissonance
Professor Cargill made a quick transition to begin discussion of what was believed to be the end of Jerusalem based on the end of the Davidic line and the failed Promise to David. King Nebuchadnezzar led the Babylonian Exile which consequently caused the destruction of the Temple, the exile of all Jews to Babylon and completely shattered beliefs among all. The promise that there would be a king on the throne in Jerusalem forever, was gone. The promise that there would forever be a temple, a house of the Lord, was gone. The assertion that they were the chosen people and that Jerusalem was there land, was gone. As a result of this, cognitive dissonance began playing a rule in the way that the exiled people of Jerusalem began dealing with such tragedy. The concrete beliefs that they so adamantly believed were defied by reality and as a result they needed to reinterpret the events in relation to the texts to justify what happened. This lead to the new belief that God did not reside in the Temple and rather his name existed there.
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