{"id":64580,"date":"2019-10-22T15:28:27","date_gmt":"2019-10-22T12:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=64580"},"modified":"2023-05-16T13:07:36","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T10:07:36","slug":"a-silver-lining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-silver-lining\/","title":{"rendered":"A Silver Lining?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[948,949,840],"acf":{"old_id":"64580","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"334","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"And the establishment of a model of Jewish leadership for the ages","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If Nebuchadnezzar thought that the \u201cgift of God\u201d (Mataniah) persona would embolden Zedekiah (see chapter 24), he was right. After nine years of rebellion, the Babylonians returned to Jerusalem, besieged it for two years, and, having brought the population to starvation, breached the walls and put the city\u2014Temple and palaces alike\u2014to the torch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once again, the Temple vessels and furnishings were looted (implying that they had been restored or replaced after their earlier looting in Chapter 24). Those that could be carried off to Babylonia were taken there, while those that could not be transported intact\u2014like the bronze pillars, stands, and tank (13)\u2014were broken up and carried off piecemeal. Zedekiah paid a dear price for his rebelliousness: his own sons were killed in his presence and then he was blinded. The high priest, his deputy, and three official gatekeepers of the Temple were executed, along with the captain of the guard and other military officers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again (see 24:14), only the upper class was exiled; the most impoverished of the population were left behind \u201cto be vinedressers and field hands\u201d (12). To govern them, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shafan, the latter two having been members of the delegation dispatched by King Josiah to inquire of the prophetess Hulda when the scroll of the law was discovered (2 Kings 22:12, 14). From a parallel passage in Jeremiah, we also learn that Ahikam defended that prophet from the mob that sought his death (26:24).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since Jeremiah had counseled capitulation to Babylonia (which is why the mob wanted to lynch him), he was likely viewed favorably by Nebuchadnezzar, and the appointment of Ahikam\u2019s son may therefore have been seen as a politically safe one. Indeed, the only words of his that have been recorded in the Bible are \u201cStay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well with you\u201d (24). Gedaliah did not last long. He was assassinated by survivors of the royal family (hence the Fast of Gedaliah) and the remaining Judeans fled to Egypt in fear of Babylonian reprisal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the other hand, the Book of Kings ends on a somewhat positive note: Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s son and successor eventually released Jehoiachin from prison (27), elevated him to the highest ranks of Babylonian nobility (28), and provided for his lifetime maintenance (29). According to later Jewish sources, the descendants of Jehoiachin became the exilarchs (<\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rashei Golah<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), empowered by the Babylonians\u2014and, later, the Persians, Medes, Greeks, Romans, and Muslims\u2014to oversee whatever self-rule the Jews of Babylonia were granted by their overlords. Even the family of the patriarch (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nasi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), who served a similar function in the Land of Israel, acknowledged the superiority of the exilarchs on account of their more direct descent from the Davidic kings, and the Sabbath morning liturgical passage called <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yekum Purkan<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (\u201cMay Deliverance Arise\u201d) still bestows blessings on the <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Resh Galuta<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as he was called in Aramaic.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":64581,"id":64581,"title":"2kings25-exilarch","filename":"2kings25-exilarch.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/2kings25-exilarch.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-silver-lining\/2kings25-exilarch\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2kings25-exilarch","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":64580,"date":"2019-10-22 12:28:16","modified":"2019-10-22 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