The Makers and Teachers of Judaism From the Fall of Jerusalem to the Death of Herod the Great — Themes and Context

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In Category - Comparative Religion

Authors: Kent, Charles Foster, 1867-1925 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2004 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Bible -- History of Biblical events; Jews -- History -- 586 B.C.-70 A.D. Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Words 133,434

Reading time 581 min

Text sections 11

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An examination of the structure, recurring images, and movement between scenes in Charles Foster Kent's historical study of Judaism from 586 BCE to 4 BCE, focusing on how the text weaves biblical excerpts, prophetic voices, and narrative shifts to trace the evolution of Jewish thought and community.

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Jerusalem was a reflective and a retrospective age in which the teaching of the earlier priests and prophets gained wide acceptance, it was also a creative era. Fully half of the literature of the Old Testament and all of the important writings of the Apocrypha come from these tragic five centuries. Although the historical records are by no means complete, the great crises in Israel's life are illuminated by such remarkable historical writings as the memoirs of Nehemiah, the first book of Maccabees, and the detailed histories of Josephus.

The majority of the writings, however, reveal above all the soul of the race. Out of its anguish and suffering came the immortal poems found in Isaiah 40-66, the book of Job, and the Psalter. Instead of the distinctly nationalistic point of view, which characterizes practically all of the writings of the pre-exilic period, the interest becomes individual and the outlook universal. During these centuries Israel's prophets, priests, and sages became not merely teachers of the nation but of humanity. Conspicuous among the great teachers of his day stands the noble sage, Jesus the son of Sirach, who gleaned out and presented in effective form that which was most vital in the earlier teaching of his race. In his broad, simple faith in God and man, in his emphasis on deeds and character, as well as ceremonial, and in his practical philosophy of life he was a worthy forerunner of the Great Teacher whose name he bore.

This period represents the culmination and fruition of the divine Influences at work in Israel's early history. It was during this period that Judaism was born and attained its full development, Israel accepted the absolute rule of the written law, and the scribes succeeded the earlier prophets and sages. Out of the heat and conflict of the Maccabean struggle the parties of the Pharisees and Sadducees sprang into existence and won their commanding place in the life of Judaism. Hence this period is the natural historical introduction to the study of the birth and early development of Christianity. It is also the link that binds the revelation found in the Old Testament to that of the New.

The volume of literature coming from this period is so vast that it has been necessary to abridge it at many points in order to utilize that which is most valuable. This has been done by leaving out those passages which are of secondary origin or value, and by preserving at the same time the language and logical thought of the original writers. In the verbose and voluminous writings of Josephus the resulting text is in most cases far clearer and more useful; for the repetitious clauses found in the original often obscure the real thought of the writer. No apology or explanation is required for the use of such apocryphal writings as I Maccabees, Ben Sira, the Wisdom of Solomon, or Josephus's histories, for these are required to bridge the two centuries which intervene between the latest writings of the Old Testament and the earliest writings of the New. They make it possible to study biblical history as an unbroken unit from the days of Moses to the close of the first Christian century, and thus concretely to emphasize the significant but often the forgotten fact that God was revealing himself unceasingly through the life of his people, and that the Bible which records that revelation consists not of two disconnected parts but is one book.

To two of my former students, the Reverend Harold B. Hunting and Ralph H. Pierce, I am under obligation for valuable aid and suggestions in preparing this volume for press.

C.F.K. YALE UNIVERSITY, _October_, 1911.

THE EXILE AND REVIVAL OF THE JUDEAN COMMUNITY

Section XCI. THE JEWS IN PALESTINE AND EGYPT

Lam. 2:1-10, 5:1-18, Jer. 43:3-12, 44:1-14, 28.

I. The Significance of the Destruction of the Hebrew State.--II. The Book of Lamentations.--III. Authorship and Date of the Book.--IV. Its Real Character.--Numbers and Fortunes of the Jews Who Remained in Palestine.-- VI. Fortunes of the Jews in Egypt.--VII. The Jewish Colony at Elephantine. --VIII. The Temple of Jahu at Elephantine.

Section XCII. EZEKIEL'S MESSAGE TO HIS SCATTERED COUNTRYMEN.

Ezek. 37, 40:1, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21b, 44-47, 41:1-8a, 43:1-9, 44:9-16, 23, 24, 45:1-8.

I. The Home of the Exiles in Babylon.--II. Their New Conditions and Occupations.--III. Their Religious Life. IV. The Prophecies of Ezekiel.--

V. The Resurrection of the Dead Nation.--VI. The Divine Shepherd.-- VII. Ezekiel's Plan of the Restored Temple.

Section XCIII. THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE BABYLONIAN RULE

II Kings 25:27-30, Isa. 9:1-7, 11:1-10, 13:2-4, 11, 17, 18b, 19-22, Ezra 6:3-5, 5:14, 15, 1:5-6, I Esdr. 5:4-6, Ezra 3:2-4, 6b.

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Kent's volume moves through five centuries of Jewish history by alternating between analytical commentary and extended biblical excerpts, a structural choice that creates a layered reading experience. The preface frames the period as "complex and confusing," yet the organization imposes clarity: each chapter opens with a historical overview, then presents primary texts such as Psalms, Jonah, or Maccabees, followed by interpretive remarks. This back-and-forth between exposition and scripture mirrors the dual role of the "makers and teachers" themselves—both shaping and being shaped by the texts they produced.

Recurring Images of Water and Storm

Throughout the excerpts, water appears as a force of both destruction and deliverance. In Psalm 46, a river brings gladness to the city of God, while the nations rage like a storm that melts the earth. The Jonah narrative intensifies this imagery: a furious wind, a ship about to break, and the sea growing ever more stormy. Kent selects passages where water marks divine intervention—calming after Jonah is thrown overboard, or providing a great fish as both prison and rescue. These repeated aquatic scenes suggest that the editors of this period used natural upheaval to symbolize spiritual crisis and resolution.

Movement Between Public and Private Voices

The text shifts abruptly from communal hymns to individual laments. Psalm 46 speaks in a collective voice—"Jehovah of hosts is with us"—while Psalm 22 turns inward: "All the ends of the earth will remember." Jonah's story oscillates between the prophet's private flight and the public drama of the storm. Kent's commentary often highlights this tension, noting how the post-exilic literature reflects both a national identity and a personal struggle with faith. The movement between these registers is not smooth; it mirrors the fractured experience of a people scattered yet seeking unity.

The Role of the Scribe as Structural Bridge

Kent emphasizes that scribes succeeded prophets and sages during this era, and his own book enacts that transition. The prose sections function as scribal glosses, linking disparate biblical passages into a coherent narrative. For instance, the preface describes the period as "reflective and retrospective," and the body of the work repeatedly returns to the theme of writing and interpretation. The inclusion of the full Jonah story—with its detailed dialogue and narrative pacing—shows how Kent treats biblical texts as both historical sources and literary artifacts, allowing the ancient scribes' voices to structure his argument.

Shifting Scales: From Jerusalem to Nineveh

The geography of the excerpts moves from the local to the imperial. Psalm 46 centers on Jerusalem, the "holy dwelling place," while Jonah is sent to Nineveh, the great Assyrian city. Kent's selection highlights how Jewish thought expanded beyond national borders during this period. The psalmist's confidence that "all the families of the nations will worship" contrasts with Jonah's reluctance to preach to foreigners. This spatial movement—from the temple mount to the pagan capital—reflects the universalizing tendency that Kent identifies as a key development in post-exilic Judaism.

Readers attentive to Kent's arrangement will notice that he rarely lets a biblical passage stand without framing it as evidence of a broader trend. The book rewards those who track how he juxtaposes texts: a psalm of assurance followed by a story of reluctant prophecy. By foregrounding the structure and recurring motifs, one can see how Kent constructs a history not just of events, but of the literary and theological patterns that shaped Judaism.

I keep returning to how Kent’s book traces exile into renewal, that quiet arc of loss becoming structure. Somewhere in those middle chapters, I remembered sitting with The Bible Period by Period A Manual for the Study of the Bible by Periods — Context and Discussion, feeling the same patient rhythm—history not rushed, but held gently, like a hand resting on a closed book.