Subjects for Special Papers.
The Great Oriental Empires.
The City of Babylon.
The Prophets of the Captivity.
The Psalms of the Captivity.
The Reign of Nebuchadnezzar.
The Fall of Babylon.
Tenth Study.
The Jewish Province.
From the return of the exiles, B. C. 536, to the final destruction of the Jewish state by the Romans, A. D. 70, the history of the chosen people is closely interwoven with that of the East in general. During most of this time Judea was a subject province, belonging to the great empires which rose and fell in succession. For a brief but brilliant period it was an independent state, with its own rulers. As most of this period comes between the Old and New Testaments its events are less familiar to Bible readers than the other portions of Israelite history. We therefore give more space than usual to the facts, only selecting the most important, and omitting all that have no direct relation with the development of the divine plan in the Jewish people.
I. The history divides itself into FOUR PERIODS, as follows:
1. The Persian period, B. C. 536 to 330, from Cyrus to Alexander, while the Jewish province was a part of the Persian Empire. Very few events of these two centuries have been recorded, but it appears to have been a period of quiet prosperity and growth. The Jews were governed by their high-priests under the general control of the Persian government. The principal events of this period were:
1.) The second temple. (B. C. 535-515.) This was begun soon after the return from exile (Ezra 3. 1, 2, 8), but was not completed until twenty-one years afterward (Ezra 6. 15, 16). It was smaller and less splendid than that of Solomon, but was built upon the same plan.