Editing Babylonian captivity (section)

==Significance for Jewish culture==
[[File:Gebhard Fugel An den Wassern Babylons.jpg|thumb|''Waters of Babylon'' (1920) by [[Gebhard Fugel]]; Jews sit on the banks of the [[Tigris]], which flows through Babylon, and remembering [[Jerusalem]]. [[Psalm 137]] tells us about this event:<ref>{{tanakhverse|Psalms|137:1, 5|multi=yes}}</ref> "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered [[Zion]].<sup>137:1</sup> If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning."<sup>137:5</sup>]]

In the Hebrew Bible, the captivity in Babylon is presented as a punishment for idolatry and disobedience to [[Yahweh]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2 Kings 24 / Hebrew - English Bible / Mechon-Mamre |url=https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b24.htm# |access-date=2025-02-07 |website=mechon-mamre.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Collins |first=John J. |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19353799-introduction-to-the-hebrew-bible |title=Introduction To The Hebrew Bible And Deutero Canonical Books |date=July 1, 2014 |pages=303 |language=en}}</ref> The Babylonian captivity had a number of serious effects on Judaism and Jewish culture. For example, the [[Aramaic alphabet|Imperial Aramaic alphabet]], which eventually evolved into the [[Hebrew alphabet]], was adopted during this period. Eventually the Aramaic-based Hebrew alphabet replaced the [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Saénz-Badillos |first=Angel |date=1993 |title=A History of the Hebrew Language |journal=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref>

This period saw the last high point of [[Hebrew Bible|biblical]] [[prophecy]] in the person of [[Ezekiel]], followed by the emergence of the central role of the [[Torah]] in Jewish life. According to many [[Higher criticism|historical-critical]] scholars, the Torah was redacted during this time, and began to be [[Biblical canon|regarded as the authoritative text]] for Jews. This period saw their transformation into an ethno-religious group who could survive without a central Temple.<ref>''A Concise History of the Jewish People''. Naomi E. Pasachoff, Robert J. Littma. Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. p. 43</ref> Israeli philosopher and Biblical scholar [[Yehezkel Kaufmann]] said "The exile is the watershed. With the exile, the religion of Israel comes to an end and Judaism begins."<ref name="Nova">{{cite web |title=Secrets of Noah's Ark – Transcript |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/secrets-of-noahs-ark |website=Nova |publisher=PBS |access-date=27 May 2019 |date=7 October 2015}}</ref>

Notably, the period also saw the theological transition of the ancient Israelite religion among the captives from a [[monolatrous]] to a [[monotheistic]] faith system.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mesopotamian and Achaemenid Influence on Jewish Monotheism: Political and Social Contexts in Evolutionary History| author=Vollmar, Justin D and Vo, Eileen |series=World Civilization 101 |url=https://www.academia.edu/44892186/Mesopotamian_and_Achaemenid_Influence_on_Jewish_Monotheism_Political_and_Social_Contexts_in_Evolutionary_History |quote="we can still conclude that the Israelites went into Babylonian captivity as monolatrous and emerged from the Persian era as strict monotheists"}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Nikiprowetzky, V. |title=Ethical Monotheism |journal=Daedalus |volume=104 |issue=2 |date=1975 |pages=69–89 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/20024331}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author= Soler, Jean, and Janet Lloyd |title=Why Monotheism |journal=Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics |volume=14 |issue=3 |date=2007 |pages=41–60 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/29737314}}</ref>

This process coincided with the emergence of scribes and sages as Jewish leaders (see [[Ezra]]). Prior to exile, the people of Israel had been organized according to tribe. Afterwards, they were organized by smaller family groups. Only the [[Tribe of Levi]] continued in its temple role after the return. After this time, there were always sizable numbers of Jews living outside the [[Land of Israel]]; thus, it also marks the beginning of the "[[Jewish diaspora]]", unless this is considered to have begun with the [[Assyrian captivity]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2018}}

In [[Rabbinic literature]], Babylon was one of a number of metaphors for the Jewish diaspora. Most frequently the term "Babylon" meant the diaspora prior to the destruction of the Second Temple. The post-destruction term for the Jewish Diaspora was "[[Roman Empire|Rome]]", or "[[Edom#Identification with Rome|Edom]]".{{Citation needed|date=October 2018}}