Hi all,
I’m wondering where to look for information on how the Jewish faith might have ‘evolved’ from the OT to what we find in the beginning of the gospels.
I’ve wondered if the baptism we see John the Baptist performing were something adopted from outside religions or more of an evolution of the high priest cleansing found in the OT. And I’ve thought the OT ‘promised land’ evolved into the heaven/hell beliefs, but after watching some of Bart’s recent videos, those thoughts evolved over a much longer time, after much of the NT was written.
I’m wondering if there have been any discoveries from that period of time that might show how beliefs and attitudes were changing.
Thanks all,
William
qurtrn10 said
Hi all,
I’m wondering where to look for information on how the Jewish faith might have ‘evolved’ from the OT to what we find in the beginning of the gospels.
I’ve wondered if the baptism we see John the Baptist performing were something adopted from outside religions or more of an evolution of the high priest cleansing found in the OT. And I’ve thought the OT ‘promised land’ evolved into the heaven/hell beliefs, but after watching some of Bart’s recent videos, those thoughts evolved over a much longer time, after much of the NT was written.
I’m wondering if there have been any discoveries from that period of time that might show how beliefs and attitudes were changing.
Thanks all,
William
Hi William,
It looks like you are new to the forum, so I wanted to say hello and welcome. I’ve only been on the forum for just over 2 weeks myself.
I don’t have answers to the questions you are asking, but you do have some very interesting questions. I’d like to know the answers myself.
Welcome to the forum!
Robert said
qurtrn10 said
Hi all,
I’m wondering where to look for information on how the Jewish faith might have ‘evolved’ from the OT to what we find in the beginning of the gospels.Bart interviewed John J Collins as an intro to a course he would be offering on this topic
I thought the video you posted was quite good in many ways. One thing I disagree with however, is that JJ Collins states at the very beginning of his talk is that Judea was a very small “cheifdom” before the Babylonian exile. It’s my understanding that it was pretty much the same size as it was during the reign of Solomon. Do you have any information or insight regarding this? Thanks.
Robert said
The size of Solomon’s Kingdom is exaggerated in the Bible.
I have this from Copilot:
Size of Israel at the Time of the Babylonian Exile
At the time of the Babylonian exile (c. 597–586 BCE), the term “Israel” in historical and biblical context referred mainly to the Kingdom of Judah, the southern kingdom of the divided Israelite states, after the northern Kingdom of Israel had been destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE ** you do not have permission to see this link **.
Geographic extent
The Kingdom of Judah occupied the southern part of the Levant, roughly from the Jordan River in the east to the Philistine coast in the west, and from the Negev desert in the south to the hill country of Judah in the north ** you do not have permission to see this link **.
Political status during the exile
By the time of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, Judah was no longer an independent kingdom. It was under Babylonian control, and after the exile, the returning exiles found themselves in the Persian province of Yehud — a small, administratively defined region centered on Jerusalem ** you do not have permission to see this link **. This post‑exilic territory was much reduced in size compared to the pre‑exilic kingdom, and it was surrounded by other nations.
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I have a map of Judea-Israel that shows what it looked like before the Exile, but the forum doesn’t allow us to post pictures. Maybe I can find a webpage with a map and post the link.
Robert said
The size of Solomon’s Kingdom is exaggerated in the Bible.
I used to have a map (may still have it but it’s in a box somewhere) that showed what the “Monarchy” of David & Solomon would have looked like if it had actually existed as described in the Bible. It would have been a major world empire stretching from the Egyptian border to the Euphrates River! Neighboring civilizations like Egypt and Assyria kept extensive royal annals but none of the documents from that era that survive mention an Israelite empire. Strange. If we didn’t know that the Bible was inspired by God and inerrant (in its original manuscripts) we might be tempted to think the Monarchy was just a legend.
The size of a “gap” between the OT and the NT is somewhat exaggerated as well.
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