Yoshiyahu

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1. Introduction - Daniel

   Rabbi Yaakov Medan

   The beginning of Sefer Daniel dates back to the Exile of Yehoyakim – the first Exile of Yehuda. Yehoyakim’s father Yoshiyahu was the final independent ruler of Yehuda and after his death a power struggle began between Egypt and Babylon. The date at the beginning of the book is reconciled with the dates in other books and the description of Yehoyakim’s demise is reconciled with description of his death and burial in Jerusalem.

2. Historical Introduction, Part III - Josiah’s Death

   Shiur #04

   Dr. Yael Ziegler

   תאריך פרסום: 5778 |

   The reign of Ashurbanipal, the last powerful king of the mighty Assyrian Empire, marked both the pinnacle of the Assyrian Empire’s power and the beginning of its decline. Josiah reigned as king of Judah during the period of Assyria’s deterioration and downfall. Significantly, biblical accounts describing Josiah’s reign focus primarily on his personal religious transformation and the way in which it affected his national policies. The nation likely concluded that the two were connected. To understand the repercussions of this, we will examine Josiah’s life and reign.

   Rabbinic sources suggest that the kernel of the book of Eikha begins to emerge in the aftermath of Josiah’s death, which is devastating to the nation. Various ways of dealing with the problem of theodicy ensue, and some different approaches can be found in the book of Eikha. Josiah’s death marks the beginning of the theological crisis and the first attempts to struggle with the complex questions that arise in the wake of unexplained human suffering. 

3. Katef Hinom and the Priestly Benedictions

   Megalim | 7 minutes

   A fascinating discovery at the archaeological site of Katef Hinom sheds a new light on the period of King Josiah’s reign.

   Courtesy of Megalim Institute

4. Sefer Melachim II: Archaeology

   Nachliel Selavan | 41 minutes

   Sefer Melachim II takes place in Iron Age II, a period of tremendous geopolitical upheaval and change in the region. It is an era called “the era of mass deportations” and one which can be termed “the Age of Empires”. The main shift is from regional kingdoms or city states, which are local, powerful players, to Empires, which are administrative innovations which enable a largest territorial dominion the world has ever seen. Beyond the power of Egypt, Assyria became the iron fist which terrorized and held together the Near East. 

   Assyria was responsible for the mass-deportations which destroyed nations and ethnicities, deliberately mixing them up to prevent future rebellions. Check out TED Ed video for elaboration: The rise and fall of the Assyrian Empire https://youtu.be/7pa54hWROpQ.

   The wrath of Assyria has destroyed the 10 Tribes - the entire Kingdom of Israel - which is now gone. 

   With the decline of Assyria who over-extended themselves, there is a power vacuum, in which King Yoshiyahu is able to gain some power, which he quickly loses when meddling with foreign affairs - attempting to block Pharaoh Necho II at Megiddo - on his way to the Battle of Carchemish (605 BCE). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Carchemish

   Babylon wins this battle, and is now the new world power. Babylon eventually destroys the Kingdom of Yehuda and exiles them to Babylon, in two shifts, leaving Gedaliyahu ben Ahikam as governor - who is hastily killed. But there is a relatively happy ending to this Exile, as we prosper in Babylon, and eventually return to rebuild the Temple.

    

   Archaeology Snapshot is a discussion on the location, timeline, main characters and highlights from history and archaeology, for each Sefer in Tanach.